I think I'm in minor freak-out mode here, so bear with me...

I went into my first pregnancy carrying 20 extra pounds, gained 50, and with some help (and a lot of work!) got back to a healthy weight. I was a healthy weight for the first time since HS, 15 years previous. (230ish->162)

With LO#1 I was on bed rest at 32 weeks... certainly did NOT help. DS was 9# 8 oz - all of the babies on DH's side are huge and we're both athletically built. Small babies are not in the cards here, lol. But still, I was on the "almost too much" weight gain line even before bed rest... if I'm completely honest it was probably a bit too much.

I'm currently W12 with LO#2. I've gained 10 pounds, so on the top side of ok (again!) but it makes me a little nervous. Of course my belly is popping earlier and I'm fighting my wardrobe. The short of it, is that I'm paranoid that I'm going to gain 50 again. I don't mind gaining, of course the baby's health comes first. I'll lose it again if I have to. So for me - it's not a matter of gaining or not gaining, I'll gain. It's fearing excessive gain and having to bust tail all over again, at an older age (I'll be 34) with two little ones instead of one.

Add on top of it... I have to undergo two glucose tests to be sure I don't have gest'l diabetes. I was healthy with DS but I think they're being super-cautious due to the excessive weight gain with DS. I got some advise about not too many carbs... it took about 24 hours to sink in and I freaked out kind of hard about the "if you want a small baby" info.

So here's the question... if pregnant women aren't "supposed to" diet and if we're not "supposed to" track food/calories then how the heck am I not "supposed to" gain too much weight? If I had such a great sense of what to eat/not to eat I would never have had the 50# gain the first time and I wouldn't have had to move from maintenance to diet mode earlier this year. (I was 5 over and needed to nip it in the bud - so a healthy keep-in-check thing).

I guess I'm a bit angry at the system for so many contradicting messages.

So how did you all deal with gaining a healthy amount of weight? (I guess it's almost more of a "how" since I'm ok with gaining part.)

Thanks for listening...
~Becky

Pregnant women aren't supposed to diet, but there's nothing that says you're not supposed to track food and calories. I counted calories with my second and gained around 25 lbs (that was all gone 6 weeks PP) vs the 65 lbs I gained with my first (not tracking or counting calories.) I was also on bedrest for 7 weeks with my first one and it's killer. Not much you can do about it at that point. If you are tracking and counting, just be sure to add in the 200-300 extra calories you need for a healthy weight gain during pregnancy (that's over maintenance level, of course, not weight loss calorie levels.) Keep on exercising and make healthy food choices. Remember that you're absolutely NOT eating for two, but for one and a bean. Even when you're 9 months pregnant you're eating for one and 8 or 9 lbs, never for two.

For me, just being aware of things made my second pregnancy weight gain much easier (and much less!) Maintain your healthy lifestyle that lost you those 70 lbs, adding in a couple of eggs or a container of yogurt or a glass of milk every day. That's really all you need - 200 calories isn't much food.

Good luck, I'm sure you'll have a great, healthy pregnancy!

PS-Everyone I know has to do the GD test. Not everyone has to do two, but it's better to make sure, I think.

I completely understand what you're going through. With my others I gained 60 lbs each and lost most of it afterwards. It wasn't till after #4 that I really worked at losing the weight and was 10 lbs from my goal weight till I got pregnant with #5. I continued calorie counting and increased my protein so I wouldn't get hungry so easily. By the end of the pregnancy I gained 42. I'm very close to my pre-pregnancy weight now.
It can be done just as long as you don't try to lose while you're pregnant.

I'm glad you posted this. I'm concerned about my weight gain because I'm already over weight. The dr. does not want me to gain anymore than 15lbs and that TERRIFIES me. I have not tracked calories since I've gotten preggo, but I have been thinking about it. I'm at week 22 now and I've already gained about 6 lbs. Anyway, I just hate freaking out about it, but it's always on my mind! Ugh!

Shauna, it sounds like you're right on target, congrats!

Rachel & Gale, thanks for your responses. It's such a cautious topic - I'm sure because no one wants to say something to make another try to lose weight during pregnancy, (definitely a no-no!) -it's such a fine line.

Gale, what you've said has been sinking in over the past week, and I think you're exactly right. The same healthy habits as maintenance plus a couple hundred extra calories for Little Bean.

Rachel, thanks for the reminder about protein = satiety. I am not always good about getting enough protein, and when I do it helps. I'm tracking calories so hopefully that will help keep me honest about my hunger (I can be an emotional eater) and the quality of what I'm eating.

Thanks, ladies!