u/Reasonable_Marsupial

Third time mom, every time it’s taken a few days for my milk to come in. Every time my baby has lost around 11-12% of their birth weight, and every time the hospital has pushed me to supplement within the first two days - setting up weeks of triple feeding.

I consistently read that it’s normal for milk to take days to come in and the weight loss is normal. I know 10% is the threshold, but I don’t understand why when milk isn’t even in yet? How can both of those things be true?

I’m resentful that this has led to weeks of triple feeding for every one of my kids, which is a really hard cycle to break. I spend months trying to get back to EBF and often wonder if I should’ve denied supplementing in the beginning.

Baby is estimated at 8 lb 5 oz at my growth scan today (37 weeks), with an abdominal circumference in the 99th percentile. My fluid is also slightly elevated.

I’ve been mostly diet controlled, had some high fasting numbers (97) this week but got them back down (90–95).

I’ll be induced at 39 weeks no matter what, but with his size in the 95th percentile and AC in the 99th, I am concerned about the risk of shoulder dystocia.

He is predicted to be 4200 grams at birth, so I don’t quite meet the cutoff where they recommend C-section (4500g), but I’m wondering if I ask for it anyway.

What would you do?

This is my third baby but first time with GD and would be my first C-section.

My doctor said he wouldn’t recommend insulin for fasting numbers 95 and under, but I know under 90 is actually the ideal.

My numbers are often in that range. In the last eight days, I’ve had 97, 91, 94, 93, 92, 89, 84 and 92. Since I only had one reading over 95, he said he would consider this controlled.

I’m paranoid and wondering if I should push for medication? I’m currently 33 weeks.

Last week’s growth scan had baby measuring at 55th percentile; daytime fasting numbers are 100% controlled.

I’m struggling with my weight and body image. I know this is not uncommon, but I do feel like it’s uniquely difficult from a Catholic perspective.

I tend to gain a LOT of weight with pregnancy and have large babies. I wasn’t super thin before having kids and each pregnancy has left me with an extra ten pounds, even after working hard to lose the weight. Plus breastfeeding makes it especially difficult to restrict calories without impacting my supply.

I’m currently pregnant with #3 and desperate to try to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight after this. But every healthy weight loss plan has one thing in common: TIME. Slow, steady weight loss is the only sustainable way.

And as a Catholic, I don’t really have the luxury of time. We do practice NFP to space my pregnancies for health reasons, but the vain reason of “I want to lose weight” doesn’t seem like a just reason to TTA for years.

It also feels discouraging that even if I do the work to lose the weight, I will likely have to do it all over again. Rinse and repeat. Not only with weight loss but with pelvic floor and ab repair, etc.

It makes me jealous of my secular friends who know they are done with children, who have their body back to themselves (no pregnancy/breastfeeding), and have all the years in the world ahead of them to focus on fitness.

I’ve just never felt so low and ugly and I’m desperate not to feel this way anymore.