Another Specialist

I went to the doctor tonight and for the most part it went well. Unfortunately, I have to go see another specialist. Thankfully, I do not have gestational diabetes but I am still going to have to be on a "diet" to stop my baby from growing so much. Can I help it if he's hungry? Or maybe I'm just hungry. I also have to try and start walking 1.5 hours per day. That's right! She actually told me if I get hungry in the middle of the day to go walking rather than eat something. My weight gain thus far is 40 lbs, which is apparently is not as much of a problem for me as it is for my baby. My baby seems to be growing too fast. It could just be, like one specialist said, that he's in the top percentile of size for babies his age. He now weighs approximately 2700 grams which is close to 6 lbs and I am only in week 32. Full term is 37-40 weeks. I need to make it at least 5 more weeks to deliver the safest. Therefore, my doctor has referred me to another specialist. I now have to see my doctor every week to check the baby's heart rate and every two weeks for my normal exams.

I asked my doctor what she recommended I do right now regarding my diet. Overall I do eat pretty healthy. She said she was unable to tell me and I must go to the specialist - this is common in Germany, each person has their job and doesn't seem to know or help beyond their own job description. We, however, continued to ask her for her advice, I'll still go see the specialist. My doctor said I need to limit my fruit to only one piece of fruit a day and have it at lunch. I have been eating 3-5 servings of fruit a day. I also need to eat more vegetables. Carrots have been a favorite but she said to not eat as many carrots because they have a lot of sugar in them. She said eat cucumbers. When I am hungry I need to go walking. She said I need to work up to walking 1.5 hours per day. For breakfast I can have an egg, whole grain bread, cheese, and soy milk. She said no more juice. Throughout the day drink green tea and water. Have a yogurt and not to eat late at night. Also I need to stop snacking even if it's healthy. She said do this for two weeks and we should start seeing a difference.

I was a little surprised but not completely. I have felt pretty hungry and like I have always done, I eat when I'm hungry. It was just kind of hard to hear someone say, when you are hungry, don't eat but go walking or eat a cucumber. Now I have a renewed mission to try and be as healthy as I can for the delivery of my baby. Overall most Germans are pretty healthy. We hardly ever see any who are obese and many people in their 70s and 80s still ride bicycles. So I know what she is saying is important and I plan on adjusting my diet accordingly. I want to have a strong and healthy baby.