Tips, please! Dr says to gain more

Hi, I lurk around here quite a bit. I'm 26w2d with girls (most likely fraternal). I'm measuring 30 weeks, but the doctor would like to see me measuring further ahead. I started the pregnancy a bit overweight at 165 lbs. I'm 5'10" and now weigh 187 lbs. The doctor is happy with the actual weight, but would like to see me measuring further along. The girls looked good on the ultrasound. They were measuring 1 lb 9 oz and 1 lb 6 oz at 24 weeks. I was told that's good. I'm not too worried about the weight thing since there's plenty of fluid for the girls, but I do want them to have every chance to be big, healthy babies.

Any thoughts on how I can do this? I plan to start packing baggies of snacks for work. I teach, but the high school students understand why I need to eat. Also, I take them snacks sometimes, too. I have one student with peanut allergies and I try to keep peanut butter out of my classroom even though he's not severely allergic. Some things I've thought to pack include:

-peanut butter and jelly (to eat during my lunch or free period outside the classroom)
-protein shakes (any recommendations?)
-mixed nuts or cashews
-cheese
-apples w/ cheese or peanut butter

That's about all I can think of. I'm not big on chicken lately. It just doesn't taste good or the texture gets to me.

 

To be honest, I wouldn't worry about it. Some doctors have an unrealistic expectation of how much/how little a woman should gain during a pregnancy. One woman I know gained 70 lbs, another only gained 28. You're tall - do you have a long torso? I am 6 feet tall with a long torso. I only gained 35 lbs total and I didn't even start gaining until 4 months. The babies had lots of vertical room so I never "measured" very large according to the tape measure. They were 6-2 and 6-9 at birth (37.5 weeks). There is a book called When You're Expecting Twins Triplets and Quads (http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Expecting-Twins-Triplets-Quads/dp/0060957239) that a lot of people like and it has tonnes of recommendations for how to gain weight. I used to drink those Instant Breakfast shakes or make my own with yogurt, milk, banana, frozen berries, etc. - you can even add the powdered version of those Ensure type of shakes.

 

I am also 5'10, and started off about the same weight as you. I gained 47lbs by delivery at 37 weeks. I liked the Boost and Ensure Vanilla flavored drinks. I had 3 a day, starting at 28 weeks. My babies were 5.5 and 7lbs.

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ Jan 28 2009, 12:45 PM) [snapback]1165863[/snapback]
I am also 5'10, and started off about the same weight as you. I gained 47lbs by delivery at 37 weeks. I liked the Boost and Ensure Vanilla flavored drinks. I had 3 a day, starting at 28 weeks. My babies were 5.5 and 7lbs.


Thanks! I'll have to look into those. It's always hard to know which ones will be ok and which ones won't. Sometimes they vary by flavor within a brand, too. I'll ask DH to pick some up with the groceries later. I was also told to stop doing the shopping if I want to teach to 36-37 weeks. I'm ok with that. I'm also willing to give up the laundry if the doc says to! lol!

 

Thanks for the thoughts. I'm tall, but have a short torso. My friend tells me I'm a "short sitter". This doctor had twins, too. I tend to find her pretty reasonable. I just want to find something else I can have that will help. There are days when I eat because I have to, but nothing sounds or tastes good at all. I think the shakes might be a way to make sure I get some added nutrition on those days.

QUOTE(CHJH @ Jan 28 2009, 12:38 PM) [snapback]1165846[/snapback]
To be honest, I wouldn't worry about it. Some doctors have an unrealistic expectation of how much/how little a woman should gain during a pregnancy. One woman I know gained 70 lbs, another only gained 28. You're tall - do you have a long torso? I am 6 feet tall with a long torso. I only gained 35 lbs total and I didn't even start gaining until 4 months. The babies had lots of vertical room so I never "measured" very large according to the tape measure. They were 6-2 and 6-9 at birth (37.5 weeks). There is a book called When You're Expecting Twins Triplets and Quads (http://www.amazon.com/Youre-Expecting-Twins-Triplets-Quads/dp/0060957239) that a lot of people like and it has tonnes of recommendations for how to gain weight. I used to drink those Instant Breakfast shakes or make my own with yogurt, milk, banana, frozen berries, etc. - you can even add the powdered version of those Ensure type of shakes.

 

I agree with the Boost/Ensure and also the Carnation Instant Breakfasts :good:
I also snuck in quite a few hamburgers!! (for the iron )!
Good luck!

 

I would say that you are doing fantastic and your doctor is being silly! You have only gained 23 pounds. Well, I too have done the same and my doctor has said that he is very happy with my weight gain. I too am pretty small, but I do workout everyday.

If there is nothing wrong medically then keep doing what you are doing.

In regards to the shakes. If they are "meal replacement" shakes then be careful. Only because you do not want to gain unnecessary weight. Keep calorie counting and you should only eat approx. 600 more calories a day when carring twins. This is based on a 2000 cal a day.

Doctors practice medicine, practice being the key word!

Jenn

 

Hi there!

There's a great book out there "When you're expecting twins, triplets, or quads" in the book it mentions the top 25 hi- protein foods that cover all your food groups.

Tomorrow will be 22 weeks for me and I've only gained 6 lbs so far. (I'm 4' 11 1/2" tall). My doctors are happy with the weight, but I'm reading this book and I should gain some more weight for the babies to be healthy.

I start the morning with yogurt (protein 6 grams) or slim fast (with whole milk = 10 to 12 grams of protein) I never liked the taste of ensure or boost! So, slim fast works for me - not for weight loss but for the protein. Then I eat my breakfast cereal which has about 8-10 grams of protein. That's just the start of my day and I've already had about almost 20 + grams of protein already!!

You can add the protein to your water also. (Kellogg's has drinks out there that help with the fluid intake, but give you a small amount of protein.)

Some of the top 25 foods: yogurt, milk, cheese, apples, avocados, cherries, oranges
Oatmeal is big for breakfast too
Cashews, peanuts, and walnuts (walnuts are great!)
If you can take fresh veggies to work then those help too!
Tuna (once a week)
Cottage cheese

In the book it states that if you work some good snacks are:
crackers, cookies, instant oatmeal, cup-of-soup, canned puddings, applesauce, granola bars, fruit, veggies, and some candy bars (some have protein provide calories & fat that you & your babies need.. like a Snickers bar) along with foods that were mentioned above.

Hope some of that info helps you!!! Good Luck!!!

 

I highly recommend brownies, and ice cream!

Just kidding, well kind of. As previous person mentioned, Dr Luke's book gives a lot of great suggestions for snacks and meals. Detour protein bars are super yummy. I'm not much of a meat eater, so I really like Morning Star Chick'n patties, lowfat cottage cheese, fresh veggies/fruit, yogurt, high protein/fiber cold cereal.

 

Sounds to me you have nothing to worry about ... babies seem to measure really well (mine were 2lbs11oz both at 26 weeks but measuring ahead). I started at 160 and ended with 203 at 38 weeks and I didn't gain 24lbs by 24 weeks at all. Mine measured close to 6 weeks ahead but then it's just a measurement. In the end the u/s gives you the best estimate. I've known plenty of women who gained way more than I did, measured way more than the 43 cm I did at 38 weeks, but didn't deliver almost 8lbs babies!?

One of my neigbors here (also American) gained over 100lbs and she kept wondering while I only gained 43 lbs while here babies only had a combined weight of 1/2 lbs more than mine (she had two 8lbs babies, mine were 15 1/2lbs combined). It's all relative.

If you eat well and healthy, u/s show healthy growth, you're gaining and growing, I wouldn't worry about "only" measuring 4 cm ahead instead of 6 or 8?!

But I am no expert ... JMHO!

 

My favorite food was protein smoothies. I drank 2 huge glasses every night the last 3 mths - it was the only thing that kept me from being hungry in the middle of the night.

It varied, but the basic was:

whole milk
yogurt
little bit of cranberry juice
protein powder
banana
wheat germ
assorted frozen fruit - to thicken to how I liked it.

 

I loved shakes -- protein powder (or Boost vanilla) then icecream premium, fresh strawberries and or bananas YUMMY !!

A cheescake in the fridge is great, I got one of those freezer kind which was great.

Mc Donalds egg mc muffin, egg salad sandwiches with real mayo

Cheese and crackers, crackers and dips, those mexican dips with avocado /beans/ sourcream with taco chips.

Wendy's taco salad -- great salad, chili, tacos.....

Homogenized milk instead of 2 percent milk

wrap with chicken salad

a thermos with soup in it -- you could have this in your classroom Tomato soup with homo milk and crackers.

Heather

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Jan 28 2009, 12:38 PM) [snapback]1165846[/snapback]
To be honest, I wouldn't worry about it. Some doctors have an unrealistic expectation of how much/how little a woman should gain during a pregnancy. One woman I know gained 70 lbs, another only gained 28. You're tall - do you have a long torso? I am 6 feet tall with a long torso. I only gained 35 lbs total and I didn't even start gaining until 4 months. The babies had lots of vertical room so I never "measured" very large according to the tape measure. They were 6-2 and 6-9 at birth (37.5 weeks).


Me too me too!! I'm 6 foot tall with a fairly decently proportioned body (length wise, horizontally though, hahahahaaaa, that's another story!)

I was overweight when I got pregnant. I actually lost weight (combo of morning sickness and only wanting to eat fruits and veggies) until month 7 when I started gaining. By the time I delivered, I was only 30 pounds more than where I started and about 20 pounds of that was water weight from the Pre-E. After having the babies and losing the water, I was actually down 15 pounds from my starting weight. And my kids, while they were early, were absolutely fine. Alice was 4#, 14oz, Royce was 5#, 4oz, at 35 weeks. And then breastfeeding, yay for more weightloss! Boo for weight gain getting back into the swing of life.

 

I'm 5'11 and only gained 36lbs. My boys were born at 35wks 4.12lbs and 5.13lbs, which is really good for their age. ( I had Pre-E) Being tall I think we have more room than a shorter person. I'm fairly short in the torso as well, but my boys are healthy and happy...the best recommendation I can say is IMO, listen to your body! If your hungry, eat....if your not, don't. (of course assuming you are eating enough).

Sounds like you are doing great! You don't have to gain a ton of weight to have healthy babies with good weights...remember, weight does not equal maturity! (that's what my dr. kept telling me, when i was psyched my boys were in the 90% for weight! aha)

 

I too read Dr. Luke's book and truly believe it helped me to deliver big babies for their gestational age (36 weeks @ 6.5 and 5.14). I didn't go insane with it, just used the book as a guideline. Also, I had extreme ms, so I had to eat very often to keep my body functioning normally.

My routine became...I ate a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (mostly as my in between meal snacks), drank 2 Ensures everyday and ate a Whopper (or some equally decadent large burger) and large milkshake once a week. I probably didn't need the Whopper and milkshake, but it was oh so good. I had a really hard time kicking that habit once the babes were born

 

I'll Lend you some weight if you want!!!

 

a nurse and a doctor in Houston told me to gain weight too. She said to eat ice cream every night before bed. The doctor also told me that peanut m&m's are really good to pack it on. The peanuts in them have protein in them.

Of course as long as you are eating all your healthy foods as well. The nurse was really proud of myblood work they took so i guess that's why the ice cream is okay for me.

 

Thanks, everybody! I'm just going to do my best to eat well. I'm trying to ditch a lot of the sugar. I've added in pb+banana sandwiches (a childhood thing) and more mixed nuts for snacks. I may be able to work in more smoothies and such. The girls looked good at the last ultrasound. They're also breech right now which may have contributed to the measurements. We'll see. With the onset of heartburn, I'm eating more meals with less food at each meal.