Dreambaby #2 Pregnancy BUMP PHOTO! (week 23)

Here she is, the week #23 bump:

23 weeks!

Kenton was taking a nap during this week’s photo session. His schedule is all sorts of messed up since we got back from San Diego.

Pregnancy has taken a toll on me this week – traveling probably didn’t help either – but I am TIRED. I took a blog break yesterday simply because I couldn’t muster enough energy to pull something together. PATHETIC. However, Jason FINALLY felt this baby move. Yippee! His/her movements have really increased this week, which is awesome. I love those little fluttery reassurances that everything is fine.

My OB, at my appointment today, confirmed that my lack of feeling much movement so far is due to the placenta placement (as I suspected, just call me Dr. Michelle!). She also confirmed that I’m gaining too much weight (I also called that myself – really? Why do I pay her the big bucks?).

But, let’s talk about pregnancy weight gain, shall we? I’m in a venting mood – and curious to learn about other momma’s experiences. So far, I’m on track to gain the same amount of weight this pregnancy as I did with Kenton, which was about 45 pounds (give or take, to be honest I stopped keeping track towards the end). YIKES. To date, 23 weeks in, I’ve already gained 22 pounds. How? I have no freaking idea. I suppose too much ice cream? Cheesy carbs? Chicken fingers? Milkshakes? A few too many “sips” of Kenton’s whole milk? Anyway, I digress… it is a bit much and I need to be careful. I would like to not gain 45 pounds this time around, if possible. I was able to lose those 45 pounds – and get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (albeit NOT quickly… breastfeeding melted off nothing but about six layers of skin from my nipples). However, my pre-Kenton-pregnancy weight was ten pounds over my usual weight, which is ten pounds over my goal weight. So, today, I’m 22 pounds over my pre-pregnancies weight, 32 pounds over my normal weight and 42 pounds over my goal weight. Depressing? HELL, YES.

I don’t think I ever shared here on the blog, but I did have a miscarriage before Kenton’s pregnancy. I miscarried at ten weeks along – and at that point had already gained a few pounds. I tacked on a few more while feeling a bit blue and knowing I was trying to get pregnant again right away – so there was no motivation to get back down to my normal weight at that point. The good news, I got pregnant really quickly – three months after miscarrying and those ten extra pounds came along for the ride and have been hanging on for two years now. Crazy!

Weight loss is definitely not on my mind right now – I’m not an idiot. I would just like to stall the gain. But, when this baby is born – hopefully, via VBAC (more on that another day) – I’m going to get really serious about that ever-allusive goal weight.

So, tell me, how much weight did you gain during pregnancy? Were you able to get it off? If so, HOW? (Seriously, don’t keep that to yourself). Or, how is your pregnancy weight gain progressing and what is your plan post-baby? Do share! I’ll go grab some Doritos while waiting to monitor all of your comments…

About Michelle Fortin

Michelle Fortin is a follower of Jesus, a wife and a mom. She's also an award winning broadcast journalist and public relations professional. Michelle spent nearly a decade working in television newsrooms across the country, both behind and in front of the camera. Training future broadcast journalists in her faculty associate roles at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University and at Arizona Christian University was a cherished focus of her post-TV career. Today, she maintains a roster of public relations clients focused on empowering fellow “momprenuers.” She also serves as a speaker for various women's and mom's events. Michelle received her bachelor’s degree from Biola University and Master of Mass Communication (MMC) from Arizona State University. She and her husband, two young kids and English bulldog call Scottsdale, Arizona, home.

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