6 Months Pregnant

[mandigirl1]

I have known about my celiac disease for 10 years now. Ive always been on the thin side. Ive never gained a lot of weight. Now, naturally, at 6 months pregnant, Ive gained weight. Ive put on 35 pounds already. Im just hungry all the time! I must admit I do eat sugar, such as rice pudding and chocolate, such as Reeses PNB Cups. I have a gluten-free bagel every morning with cheese. I eat a lot of carbs, not much protein (Im a vegetarian, but eat chicken and eggs to be healthy for my baby). Are there any other pregnant Celiacs who have put on a lot of weight? Or are hungry all the time? Does anyone have any suggestions as to what to eat thats satisfying (filling?) Is it "normal" for a pregnant Celiac to gain so much at 6 months? Does this mean more weight gain over the next few months also and delivering a bigger baby?

I also stopped exercising at the gym since Ive been preg. due to sheer laziness and bad naseau in the beginning. I am active though, since I am a 4th grade teacher, on my feet and up and down 4 flights everyday!

Can anyone shed some light/advice? Thanks!

Also, I have posted a question on here about when to test your baby for celiac disease. So, if anyone also has info on this, that would be great too!

[missy'smom]

Given your diet, more carbs, less meat and weight gain and eating alot of sugary things and hunger, I would be concerned about your risk of gestational diabetes. They aften wait until the last tri-mester to test for it but you may want to bring it up earlier. Is your doctor concerned about your weight? The risk of having it go untreated is that it can cause you to deliver a large baby, which can cause other complications during delivery.

[mandigirl1]

I did the 3 hour glucose fast test last week and my numbers came back fine. Luckily, I do not have GD. Yes, my doc warned about putting on too much weight as it could lead to a difficult delivery. He aslo suggested I go to the gym and exercise more. Im just to exhausted by the time I get home after a day of teaching all day. I'm stuck in a food "rut" and eat the same stuff all the time. Ive had this problem before I got pregnant, too. I will eat the same thing until I get sick of it! Then find something else to become addicted too. Before it was PNB and Jelly on rice cakes and pizza (no, not at the same time! LOL!)

[Mother of Jibril]

I've given birth twice in the last three years (with a loss at 17 weeks in between). In both full-term pregnancies I gained 50 pounds. Normal is supposed to be 15-25 pounds, but my caregiver never commented on it. I'm tall (6'0"), pretty careful about my diet, have never tested positive for gestational diabetes, and I'm not overweight. So... I guess 50 pounds is normal for me. I'm sure I was 35 pounds by 6 months... my weight gain slowed down in the last month. I was hungry ALL the time. I felt lightheaded and panicky if I didn't eat enough proteins and fats. Eggs are great... cheese, avocados... also nuts and nut butter. I didn't know I was intolerant to gluten.

Your weight gain doesn't necessarily translate to the baby's weight. Both of my kids were slightly over eight pounds at birth. There is some danger in having a large baby if you have gestational diabetes. My sister was borderline GD and her first baby was over ten pounds. Have you been tested yet? I think that usually happens around 28 weeks.

[crunchy-mama]

I wouldn't necessarily be concerned about the number, but considering you say you have a high carb/low protein diet I would be concerned. I would focus on upping the protein- aiming for 90g or so a day and also cutting the sugar and carbs way back. Eggs are really good for pregnant women. Also, make sure you are getting in plenty of good fats- especially those Omega 3s- upping your fat and protein should help w/ the sugar cravings. Also, eating so much carbs and sugar puts you body out of whack - making a good ground for candida to take over- which can lead to thrush issues after baBY is born. That being said I followed the Bradley diet w/ number one and ate way carb heavy- thought I was being healthy eating all that whole wheat toast- hah. I did get lots of good food in and good protein, but too much sugar on the side. I gained 55 lbs and had lots of pregnancy pains and tiredness. Second time around I ate mostly gluten-free/cf diet (except for keifir) tried to keep low grains and low, low, low sugar. I exercised my full pregnancy (did the first time too, but was able to keep it much more upbeat this time). I felt great all the time. Seriously wonderful, w/ hardly any pains. Gained 35 lbs. I feel great about that. Normal range from new info I have read suggests 25-35lbs or more if on the smaller side, less on the larger. also, although no one should diet during pregnancy eating healthy is always good and it will make it easier to lose the weight later if you just gain what your body needs!!

[missy'smom]

I did the 3 hour glucose fast test last week and my numbers came back fine. Luckily, I do not have GD. Yes, my doc warned about putting on too much weight as it could lead to a difficult delivery. He aslo suggested I go to the gym and exercise more. Im just to exhausted by the time I get home after a day of teaching all day. I'm stuck in a food "rut" and eat the same stuff all the time. Ive had this problem before I got pregnant, too. I will eat the same thing until I get sick of it! Then find something else to become addicted too. Before it was PNB and Jelly on rice cakes and pizza (no, not at the same time! LOL!)

So glad that you've ben tested and came back OK! By "it" going untreated and causing a larger baby, I meant the diabetes not the weight. I understand the eating the same thing all the time thing and how tiring it is to be a teacher. I like to cook ahead and freeze things but struggle to find balanced vegetarian entrees that I can do that with. (I'm a vegetarian wannabe, but I (force myself )eat meat because my body needs it. One thing that can be made ahead and frozen is to layer corn tortillas, salsa or enchilada sauce, mexican or other rice, refried or whole cooked beans, veg. and cheese on a small freezer to oven(or microwave)casserole.

Whole grains may help fill you up, in stead of eating alot of the processed ones. Brown or wild rice, quinoa, Bob's Red Mill Mighty Tasty Hot Cereal.