Hey, remember in my last entry I mentioned my hugely pregnant friend Sarah? She is pregnant no more—little Julia Lena was born last Thursday evening after many hours of labor, two epidurals (the first one didn't entirely work, the second was perfect), and then just a few pushes. The baby is the most adorable thing you have ever seen, and both mom and dad are deliriously happy. Mazel tov to the Chumsky/Gewirtz family!
We also have a new neighbor on our floor: Little Lily Pace was born the day before Julia. When I was talking to Lily's mom Caryn right after she came home from the hospital, she had but one complaint: "Two old ladies in our building insisted on telling me I still look pregnant!" she said. "They claimed that they lost all their baby weight before they left the hospital." You know, I had this same experience: As I was getting out of the car, bringing my first daughter home from the hospital almost six years ago, just two days postpartum, my mom announced that when SHE left the hospital with her new baby thirtysomething years ago, she was thinner than before she had the baby. My response to this is: Yeah, right!
I think we are dealing here with a massive case of selective memory. First of all, it takes several weeks for your uterus to shrink down after delivery. Plus, your skin and muscles have stretched so much that it is virtually impossible for them to instantly pop back into place. So no matter what you remember, ladies, you did not lost all the weight instantly! I think it's also important to point out here that in the 1960s, women were encouraged to gain much less weight than the 25 to 35 pounds that is standard now, so they could avoid having too-large babies. Times have changed, but basic biology has not. So please, moms, grandmas, neighbors, how about smiling politely and saying something like, "Congratulations! What a beautiful baby! You look so happy!"
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2 comments:
Actually, there was something in the NY Times about weight gain during pregnancy on April 10, 2007 (VITAL SIGNS: ON THE SCALES; Findings Challenge Guidelines For Weight Gain in Pregnancy, by Nicholas Bakalar).
Basically, it says that the guidelines for weight-gain during pregnancy need to be re-evaluated. Apparently, women that follow the 25-35 lb gain (for BMI's between 19.8-26) are more likely to have children who are overweight by the time they are 3 years old.
Of course, I should add that this is a correlational study, which means that we cannot conclude that there is a direct cause-effect relationship here, and other factors may be interfering. Still, I thought I'd add this little tidbit into this conversation, as it seems relevant. That is to say, who knows which is better: the advice given now, versus the advice given in the 1960s? To me, it's all just "advice". My personal weight gain during pregnancy is not about being conscious of what guidelines are - I'm just trying to eat healthy, balanced meals, and hoping for the best.
Could their recall have anything to do with (a) being given heavier drugs than we are today or (b) longer hospital stays after delivery? If I had come home after a week post-delivery instead of 24 hours post-delivery I think I would've looked/been much slimmer, too!
Anyway -- welcome home, healthy babies!
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