[BASarp]

So...recently (ok...11 months ago) I had our first child. I'm not really sure how much I gained during that pregnancy because the clinic here has OLD, unreliable scales and they didn't even tell me my weight when I went, yeah, West Africa isn't like the US. Anyway, I was working on losing some more weight before we had any more children. To be honest, I wasn't working hard enough. Having a new baby and living in a place like this makes it really difficult to eat right and exercise most of the time. All excuses aside, about a month ago I got serious again about exercising and losing weight. I was trying to eat healthier and go for walks or do some exercises at the house every day. Then, 2 weeks ago I found out I'm pregnant again. While I'm excited and thankful for this new baby, I also worry that my weight will cause problems. My first pregnancy didn't really have any problems. Near the end there was possibly a little scare with preeclampsia but I don't really know as the Dr didn't tell me anything that was going on and basically tried to scare me into having a Cesarean. I found out from a friend that is a certified doula that my preeclampsia like symptoms could very well have come from my poor diet at the time and once I started eating better I felt much better. Anyway, our dear daughter was born on Christmas Eve with not complications to speak of.

I know I can't "diet" while I'm pregnant and it's not advisable to try to lose weight while pregnant. I am aiming to try to gain the minimum healthy amount of weight for someone my size. So, any advice on how to keep me and the baby healthy but gain a little weight as necessary? My plan, so far, is to eat as much variety as I can get here, try not to eat a lot of the starchy foods that are prominent here (white rice, fufuo, banku etc) and to try and exercise at least 4-5 days a week even if I just walk a few miles at a semi-brisk pace.
What do you all think?

[ainslie]

Well my dr said I could still lose weight but to eat very healthy. She said to have an extra serving of dairy to make sure I get enough calcium but I could aim to 1-2 lbs a week. The walking is fantastic.

[BASarp]

Wow really? so basically your DR said as long as your eating is healthy and you're getting proper nutrition then weight loss is ok after all? That is encouraging to me. Thanks :-) I don't actually have a doc here. Almost everything is in inexpensive clinic type settings. My first was born in a clinic that wouldn't even be considered nice in the States. Everything that was needed for the birth, we're even talking soap for the nurses and gloves and bleach etc had to be purchased by me and brought when went in for delivery. The only time I ever even saw a Dr was about 2 weeks before she was born and he tried to pressure/scare me into having a cesarean!

[JulesMarion]

I'm encouraged that you had an otherwise healthy pregnancy with your first! I just found out I'm pregnant about 2 weeks ago and am about 6 weeks along at the moment. I have not been to the doctor, but have my first appointment at 12 weeks. I've been eating healthier (at the moment mostly crackers since I have a bit of morning sickness), but last week was pretty bad as far as eating well.

We have about the same BMI and I'm scared/curious as to what the doctors will tell me when I go in. I'd like to think that as long as I am eating healthy and enough food that if I were to lose it would be okay. I plan to continue eating healthy and starting pre-natal yoga, so hopefully that will help!

[kateleestar]

I'm about 18w preg, and my doc told me to eat as healthy as I could - morning sickness doesn't help, and if carbs are the only things staying down, then eat them. Don't go crazy, though.