Hey, just found out that I am almost 8 weeks pregnant with my second child. When pregnant with my first, I had such a great pregnancy except for definite nausea and fatigue in my first trimester and then pretty frequent fainting (syncope episodes) in my second trimester. I had been doing crossfit for years before finding out about my pregnancy, so I continued (with the help from this site!) working out 4x a week cfit style/walked a lot and continued up until three weeks before I gave birth. I also ate primal throughout and only indulged in cravings a few times.
Here's my question:

I had major water retention! I did crave a lot of salty and cheesey foods, but also tried to drink plenty of water. I walked out of the hospital at 180. Lost 40 pounds of fluid in 1 1/2-2 weeks, and found out that I only gained 10 lbs of actual fat! this pregnancy, I would really like to prevent that if I have that in my power. If it is just how I carry babies, then I can deal with that. I just want to try to really make changes with that if I could. But, I thought I'd ask you, Andrea, and anyone else who may have any pointers about why some women retain so much fluid even when they do not have any preeclampsia or other conditions? I'm wondering if this is diet related.

Any help is much appreciated!! Thank you!

Well, you do need some salt in your diet, but if you are drinking water and working out and sweating, I'm really not sure what caused that for you. Let's see if some of the gals chime in here, and I would ask your Doc if they have any info.

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Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. -Helen Keller

I used to drink about 2L water/day before pregnancy. In my 3rd trimester, I'd have days where I felt SO fatigued & just blah & noticed that I'd feel better if I drank a lot of water. From
30 weeks on I'd say I've been drinking a minimum of 3L/day and sometimes over 4L. I thought this seemed a little excessive & mentioned it to my midwife-- her response, "I know you're drinking enough water because you're the first person I've seen all day without huge ankles." I'm
40 weeks today & other than my wedding band being a little tight, I have pretty much no swelling. So I'd say try more water. Sometimes I add a little juice or a half of a Nuun tab to give it some flavor because I get really sick of the taste of all that water!

I just started having swelling this week (31 weeks) so I'll try drinking more water too. I feel like I drink a ton (full pot of green tea in the morning plus a couple Nalgenes throughout the day), but maybe I'm not drinking as much as I think. I do know with that much water you do have to make sure your electrolyte balance is ok (salt, potassium, sugar, etc.).

Electrolyte imbalance would likely cause symptoms-- cramps, headaches, etc. You can always add electrolytes to your water (Nuun, Gatorade, etc) if you are concerned.

Thank you all! I bet you are right on the money. I'll def try that this time around.

I have been having a lot of water retention too and I am only 24 weeks. I am leery of trying this but my Doctor and his nurse swear by unsweetened white grapefruit juice. They say it helps. Because I am so anti-juice I have yet to give it a try but maybe a glass or two a day would help. It just has to be unsweetened. The nurse said to drink it as often as my stomach and reflux would handle it.

I am getting just desperate enough to try it and if it works I'll pass it along. I just want this water to go away. My last pregnancy I wore my rings up through going to the hospital to deliver and already I am having to take it off throughout the day.

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