How Much Weight 6-Pack Mom Has Gained

From Cosmopolitan

Now that lingerie model and fitness blogger Sarah Stage, who got the nickname “six-pack mom” during her first pregnancy, is having a second child, she's hard at work keeping her social media followers up to date on her pregnancy. She even posed naked while six months along, abs still showing, and recorded her at-home workouts while seven-months pregnant.

On Tuesday, while showing her Instagram followers the scale she uses to track her baby weight, she revealed her total weight gain so far this time around: 18 pounds.

She also posted a shot of herself in a bikini, noting she was 31 weeks pregnant and her baby was “kicking like crazy":

Throughout both her pregnancies, Stage received blowback from her followers on Instagram, who said she was focusing too much on fitness and staying thin throughout her pregnancy. But she has never been here for her haters. On August 15, she posted a video of herself working out next to her child, and slammed “Instagram medical experts” who try to give her advice. At the end of the day, she chooses to only listen to her actual doctor, not random people on the Internet, and has always advised her followers to do the same.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, women with a “normal” body mass index should gain between 25 and 35 pounds during pregnancy, and that number is higher, between 28 and 40 pounds, if a woman has an “underweight” BMI before becoming pregnant. The CDC notes that if a pregnant woman doesn't gain enough weight, she runs a risk of having a baby that is too small, which is linked to increased risk for illness and developmental delays, plus a delayed start to breastfeeding. And if a pregnant woman gains too much weight, she might have a baby that is too large, which could lead to delivery complications and obesity during childhood. During her first pregnancy, Stage gained 28 pounds, and had lost nearly all of it two months after giving birth to her son, who was born weighing nearly nine pounds, which is on the high end of normal.

“There are also some people who assume that since I am exercising while pregnant, that I'm obsessed with how I 'look' but in fact I'm obsessed with maintaining a healthy lifestyle that will give my baby and myself the best possible quality of life,” she wrote on Instagram. “Alternatively, I don't judge anyone who chooses to not be active while pregnant etc. as it's their own life... I'm just sharing my pregnancy journey and appreciate the positive support from most of you.”

She’s also sharing adorable photos of her son, James, and really, that’s what it’s all about in the end, right?

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