Karen, 13 weeks

Hello! My name is Karen and I am currently 13 weeks pregnant with my third child. I must admit I have been a little concerned about pregnancy weight-gain this time around. My first child Chloe, who is now 4, was born 3 weeks early and weighed 6 pound. In total I put on 14 kilos whilst pregnant with her, however I only weighed 43kg just before I fell pregnant (I am only a small-built person). I never really got back to my pre-pregnancy weight as when Chloe was 4 months old I fell pregnant with my second child, Shannon. He was two weeks early and weighed only 5 1/2 pound. I think at the time of his birth I weighed 56kg. Although both babies were small and a couple of weeks early, having been induced due to a problem I have in late-term pregnancy, both were walking at around 9months old, and doing all that they should at the correct stages, or even before. I was extremely sick with my daughter, throughout the entire pregnancy, however I tried to eat as healthily and as much as I could. I think the reason Shannon was even smaller was that I was so busy running around after Chloe I didn't really have the time to look after myself as well as I was able to with Chloe.

Now I am pregnant with my third child. My weight before falling pregnant this time was 50kg, so yes, this time I am a little worried that I will weigh quite a bit more than I did with my other two children. I have been quite sick again with this pregnancy so far, and so have not been able to eat as much as I normally would. So far I have only gained 1kg. Also, I'm not as young as I was when I had Chloe and Shannon, being over 30 now, and have definately slackened off in the exercise department. I have been trying to go for a 30 minute walk at least three times a week. I didn't get any stretch marks with the last two children and am hoping it will be the same with this pregnancy - I have been religously applying Palmer's Cocoa Butter over my breasts, stomach, bum and thighs everyday!

But even though these thoughts do run through my head quite a bit, at the end of the day, all we really want is to have a healthy, happy baby. If this means putting up with a bit of weight gain, or a few stretch marks here and there, it's really all worth it in the end isn't it? I wouldn't say the same about the morning sickness (or afternoon, or evening, or even all bloody day sickness!!!) though. That is one thing I can really do without!