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Had an appointment with the OB today, and generally things are going well. I unfortunately do not have the okay to do any kind of exercise for exercise's sake (including walking), so that sucks, but generally she seems to think I'm on target apart from the bleed still being a thing. The one thing I'm not on target on... is gaining weight. I've only gained about 6 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight, and the OB would prefer that I'd gained 9 or 10.
This is not a surprise. I've been watching the scale every time I go in, hoping it would creep up a little faster... but no luck.
We talked about a few simple things I can do to add some extra calories to my diet without feeling too full or eating junk food, things like nuts, avocados, replacing my current low-fat yogurt with full-fat, and adding in an Odwalla protein shake or other smoothie. That last one is especially helpful because even though I know they're full of calories (300-370 a bottle) they don't feel like I'm eating extra food, and they have basically no risk of making me feel full. And, as a bonus, they've actually got pretty good amounts of B vitamins and iron and stuff (the iron being particularly of concern since there's some risk of my becoming anemic since I've been bleeding semi-continually since December). So that's good.
( Navel-gazing regarding gaining weight, and the entitled but still problematic weight issues that come from being small. )
So really there's two things going on here - the first being that I'm a little nervous about gaining weight even though I know I need to (and that supposedly breastfeeding will help it to come off after), but the second and probably bigger issue being that I'm afraid of losing my lifestyle. Even when I do walk now I have to be so careful to walk more slowly so I don't jostle and jar things more than I have to or be too active, I'm not even walking like myself. And that scares me immensely more than the thought of gaining ten pounds. More than anything I'm afraid of losing the way I've always walked miles without thinking about it, walking to the local parks and all that. I keep saying that I'll get back to it as soon as I can after the baby's born, and then back to the gym once I'm back to my usual self outside, but I'm genuinely nervous about not being able to recover as quickly as I hope.
And until then, there isn't a damned thing I can do except the exact opposite - sit here quietly, try not to get much activity at all, and eat an extra little bowl of cottage cheese so that hopefully I'll have gained some more weight at my next appointment.
This is not a surprise. I've been watching the scale every time I go in, hoping it would creep up a little faster... but no luck.
We talked about a few simple things I can do to add some extra calories to my diet without feeling too full or eating junk food, things like nuts, avocados, replacing my current low-fat yogurt with full-fat, and adding in an Odwalla protein shake or other smoothie. That last one is especially helpful because even though I know they're full of calories (300-370 a bottle) they don't feel like I'm eating extra food, and they have basically no risk of making me feel full. And, as a bonus, they've actually got pretty good amounts of B vitamins and iron and stuff (the iron being particularly of concern since there's some risk of my becoming anemic since I've been bleeding semi-continually since December). So that's good.
( Navel-gazing regarding gaining weight, and the entitled but still problematic weight issues that come from being small. )
So really there's two things going on here - the first being that I'm a little nervous about gaining weight even though I know I need to (and that supposedly breastfeeding will help it to come off after), but the second and probably bigger issue being that I'm afraid of losing my lifestyle. Even when I do walk now I have to be so careful to walk more slowly so I don't jostle and jar things more than I have to or be too active, I'm not even walking like myself. And that scares me immensely more than the thought of gaining ten pounds. More than anything I'm afraid of losing the way I've always walked miles without thinking about it, walking to the local parks and all that. I keep saying that I'll get back to it as soon as I can after the baby's born, and then back to the gym once I'm back to my usual self outside, but I'm genuinely nervous about not being able to recover as quickly as I hope.
And until then, there isn't a damned thing I can do except the exact opposite - sit here quietly, try not to get much activity at all, and eat an extra little bowl of cottage cheese so that hopefully I'll have gained some more weight at my next appointment.
