Weight gain recommendations

What have you been told by your OB or your maternal-fetal specialist is the weight gain recommendation with twins when starting at a normal weight? My OB says 25-30. My specialist says 35-40. The book When You're Expecting Twins, Triplets or Quads by Barbara Luke says 40-56. Just wondering what others are being told since there doesn't seem to be much consensus on the topic.

 

My OB said 30-60, which is a giant range, depending on soo many variables ~ but to not worry about the actual 'number'. Just stay well hydrated, well fed, lots of iron rich foods etc :good:

 

I agree with Tamara, try not worry about the actual 'number'. Just stay well hydrated, well fed, lots of iron rich foods etc. I got alot of different ranges as well. For my OB it was about how I was gaining, he wasn't big on big gains (like six lbs in a week) and liked for me to be steady. :good: I gained 50lbs, so if I were looking at numbers, I was about 10lbs what my OB (well, one of the OB's) suggested. But I was healthy and the babies were doing well. Just keep communication with your OB on your weight gain going if you are worried. :hug:

 

:welcome: to Twinstuff! My OB told me between 35-45 lbs. I agree with the others, try not to worry about the actual number, I know that is hard. I really feel each person gains the amount they need for their pregnancy.

 

My high-risk OB said to disregard the weight gain recommendation in Dr. Luke's book -- he said more recent studies showed no improvement in outcome for such large weight gain and that the twin pregnancy books would likely all get rewritten in the next few years. I was about 10 pounds overweight for my height (partly due to weight gain during IVF), and he recommended 25-35 pound gain for me.

 

My OB also told me around 35-45 lbs, but he is also more interested in gaining in a consistent, well-paced way, rather than focusing on the actual number. I'm (hopefully) nowhere near done with this pregnancy, but I'm just trying to focus on eating healthy rather than focusing on the actual poundage. (I took the "eating for two" literally with dd and had a hard time getting the weight off)

 

My OB said 35-45. The peri (who I only saw once or twice but really liked) said "If your body is telling you to eat, eat -- you can worry about it later." I gained 70. :laughing: But it did come off within a year after the girls were born. I just don't know how I could have gained less -- I had this constant, almost panicky need to eat. Though I suppose I could have eaten more veggies and less ice cream, but I blame (or thank ) Dr. Luke for that.

 

I have gained over 40 pounds so far at 31 weeks, which is more than I'd been planning for...but I agree with the previous poster who said if you are hungry then eat and you can deal with it later. I personally haven't been eating nearly the calories that the Barbara Luke book recommends. In fact my appetite is becoming less and less as the pregnancy progresses, and I'm 100% sure that the amount that I'm eating wouldn't result in this much weight were I not pregnant...so I really just have been trusting my body and that it knows what it needs to do. My babies are big and healthy, they measure 4 lbs 1 oz and 3 lbs 15 oz today so I think I'm doing what's right and them being big and healthy is what's most important right now!

So, I say don't bother focusing on a number. Try to eat healthy, but certainly allow yourself to indulge in some ice cream too as the babies do need some amount of extra calories to grow. And you do want them to grow as much as possible earlier than later

 

My nutritionist told me to ignore Dr. Luke. I didn't even bring her up. She said it was absurd to gain that much, and the professional pregnancy organizations don't recommend that much for twins.

Around 35-45 was what I was told. Concentrating on protein and healthy carbohydrates.

 

All the mommas I know that went full term tried to follow Dr. Luke's guidelines. I sure did. It's not a guarantee, but I definitely think she's on to something. I'd have to see the studies, but I'd be surprised to hear "excessive" weight gain lead to GD, babies with blood sugar problems, etc. Your body knows what it needs, and it needs lots of fuel. No matter how many babies you're having, it seems crazy to keep your weight down during pregnancy. Eat well and listen to your body's needs.

Other PPs have good suggestions. Also, make sure you get plenty of protein for all the cell growth your body will be doing over the next weeks.

Good luck!

 

My doctor never gave me a firm range of what to gain. He told me that if my body was telling me to eat, eat and to eat whatever it was telling me to, even if it was a triple cheesburger, fries and a giant frosty from Wnedy's. He also liked to see a consistent pattern of weight gain instead of jumps all over the place. I ate a TON while I was pregnant, I felt like I was always eating and like I was never full enough. In the end I gained a total of 28 pounds and between the babies and the 4 pounds of placenta that my ob was all excited about....it was fairly easy to drop the rest of the weight. In fact by a month after their delivery I weighed less than when I got pregnant (but my clothes didn't fit at all!) and now over a year later I am right at the weight I was at when I got pregnant.

Don't stress too much about it, listen to your body and what it needs, it will tell you.

 

My Dr never gave me an actual number. I agree that you should make sure you are staying hydrated and eat plenty. :good:

 

My OB, who deals in high risk pregnancies, did not give me number to shoot for - he told me that I could not gain too much weight with a twin pregnancy. I ended up gaining 55 lbs (gulp), but had been considered underweight before I got pregnant. My babies are 6 weeks old and I have lost 45 lbs without exercise or breastfeeding.

 

I was neither underweight or overweight before I was pregnant and my doctor recommended I gain at least 35 pounds. I gained 40 and have lost 50 and my girls are 10 weeks old.