Hi Eriksgirl,
I think you should stop worrying about that 'initial ' weight gain.When you have been very lowcarbing,and then you add a little carbs to your diet,you will initially gain about 5 pounds or so in a week,and that's just your glycogen stores filling out plus some water.
But once you continue at that level,you will see that weight gain slows off,unless you do something drastic,say eat a whole b'day cake in one sitting;-)
I was stressing about my own weight bcoz I am overweight by 40 pounds and bcoz of my nausea(yep,still have it),I am unable to return to low carbing.but I am now eating much healthier than i started off,and I eyeball carb portions.no carbs are off-limits for me now,including treats,I have them if I want to,but I keep an eye on portion sizes.I found that I am gaining around 4 pounds a month average and thats not bad compared to 10 pounds a month gain for last pregnancy.adding the fact that I am not even lowcarbing!
A typical day I have:
lower carb toast(helps with morn nausea for me)
cream cheese/all fruit spread/hazelnut butter/melted Gouda cheese plus tea,no cream
snack:apple
lunch:chicken salad,broiled squash/broccoli/spinach/sauteed cabbage,sometimes brown rice with it
snack:eggs/yogurt/kefir/low carb homemade desserts/fruit like orange,grapes,1/2 banana with almond butter/pomegranate
dinner
ven-roasted veggies(onions,peppers,leeks,turnips,beets,carrots,sweet potatoes),brolied salmon
glass of low carb milk
I also eat dates/watermelon/mangoes occasionally and found no problem.as long as I keep eating every three hours with portion control.
when I indulge,usually its garlic bread,fried rice,pancakes etc and I try to use low carb versions.
You should expect a weight loss of 20-30 pouds postpartum,10 more if you breastfeed.factor that in and you will know how much you should gain/lose/maintain.
my goal was to maintain/lose about 10 pounds,I need to lower my carbs a little more,and I plan to add more veggies and cheese to my diet.I have found that when I eat 90% healthy fiber-filled foods,I don't really crave absurd things.well,there are some days I take it likely,I don't want to be too hard on myself,as long as I eat a clean diet most time.