A family friend is a prominent obstetrician in Germany. He was in the country a few months ago at the very beginning stages of my pregnancy. I had lots to ask him about. My first question was on weight.

With my daughter, I gained about 37 pounds. I was able to work back to my pre-baby weight in about six months thanks to breastfeeding and lots of walks pushing the stroller through my semi-hilly neighborhood. A year later, I was actually 25 pounds thinner than when I started.

I've been able to maintain that weight. And I'm on track to gain another 37 pounds during this pregnancy. My doctor and experts since 1990 say that weight gain is just fine. Women of normal weight should gain between 25 to 35 pounds. It increases to about 40 pounds for moms-to-be who are underweight. It's no more than 25 pounds for moms who are overweight.

But my family friend from Germany was shocked. He recommends a weight gain of no more than 22 pounds to his patients. (There's also no ban on deli meats for pregnant women in Germany. We're told to stay away them because of listerioris here in the U.S. and I really could go for a roast beef sandwich on rye right now. I think I miss it more than wine.)

There's concern that those 1990 recommendations today don't hold true when so many more of us are overweight when we first get pregnant. A growing body of research has found that too much weight gain is bad for mom and child.

There's a higher risk of birth defects, pregnancy complications such as gestational diabetes and problems in labor and delivery when moms-to-be overeat, according to the March of Dimes. And a study that was published in a journal of the American Heart Association found that the 21-year-old children of moms who gained to much weight in pregnancy had a higher risk for obesity.

When the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council comes out with new pregnancy weight gain recommendations on Thursday, I'm guessing they'll be ratcheting down those weight goals. It will be interesting to see what they are.

I'll admit that I could exercise a bit more, though my life is pretty active now. It would be difficult for me to gain less weight during pregnancy. The only way I was able to keep nausea at bay during the first trimester was by eating. I gained more than I should have both times during those first three months. I tried everything except for pharmaceuticals to feel better and had only small success with Sea-Bands. I'd rather fill my face with plain spaghetti than a drug if the spaghetti settles my stomach.

Feel free to share your weight gain experience in our Mom2Mom poll and here in the comments.