I guess it is no surprise that my first real post pertaining to my pregnancy is about food.
I thought it might be something deeper about becoming a parent. Or my fears and hopes? How awesome Justin is? Or the intensity of my “baby fever?” I guess that will all come out in good time. But today I want to talk briefly about food.
Before we get too deep into Nutella and pickles, here are the answers to the questions that I have found people will inevitably ask:
- Estimated Due Date: July 24, 2010
- We will be finding out whether Baby Boley is a boy or a girl at the end of February or beginning of March at the “big” ultrasound. We already had a “little” ultrasound and saw a very tiny, very fast little heartbeat.
- We will be moving to a new apartment in our current neighborhood or somewhere nearby on June 1. There are no plans for the burbs just yet . There will not be cat litter in the new nursery.
- How do I feel? Well, to sum it up in a bullet point: Surprisingly Good. I will probably get into that more later, but I have not been plagued with much nausea or puking–beyond the public display in front of the deli at State and Lake last month–so I feel extremely lucky in that department.
Back to the food.
My first craving: Before I even knew I was pregnant, I really wanted marshmallow fluff and peanut butter sandwich. A Fluffernutter if you will. If you haven’t had one of these, I think you are missing out. But on the other hand, you are also missing out on a ton of calories and sugar, so good for you. But still, you are no fun at all.
This Fluffernutter craving seems like something that a typical pregnant lady might want, right? Not a big surprise there. Everyone “knows” at least two things about pregnancy thanks to TV or movies. #1-Pregnant ladies eat weird stuff and crave things like pickles and ice cream. #2-They have morning sickness. Those two things may or may not be true for everyone.
But most stories of pregnant women on the big (or small) screen have left out the million- and-one other symptoms and weirdness that goes along with growing a tiny human where your other organs used to reside. I guess that constipation, heartburn, and hemorrhoids are not as cute. Fatigue, acne, and nasal congestion are not romantic. And expanding thighs, bloating, and gas wouldn’t make even the sexiest starlet seem very attractive. So, they just aren’t really featured much in pop culture or entertainment for obvious reasons.
However, these lessor known symptoms are featured on the many websites and books about pregnancy that exist today. If you want to discuss your pregnancy related gastrointestinal issues at length, there is a message board (or hundred) for you!* But the only people reading those books or websites about pregnancy are other parents or parents-to-be. So it is understandable that morning sickness and cravings are the common questions that arise when it comes to how the mom-to-be is feeling. And I suppose I am OK with that. Because someone approaching me to inquire about my fat thighs or bowel movements is going to be sorry. Unless you are my mom, and then you get to know all kinds of unsavory details.
ANYWAYS, back to FOOD. So one thing that I wasn’t totally aware of were the food aversions that can occur. Like I said, I have been pretty lucky to avoid many of the nasties on the pregnancy symptoms list thus far, but food aversions was one that hit me hard. And for someone who clearly adores food, this is a sad situation.
For the first couple months, EVERY FOOD sounded gross and smelled worse. The thought of eating meat was less appealing than licking a stranger’s armpit on the train. Chicken was the enemy. Ground meat–so incredibly foul. Blue cheese and I had a very bad break-up after Justin put some in the microwave and stunk up the apartment for some god awful reason. Vegetables were off the menu. My daily Boca and Morningstar burgers were banished. Milk=blech. Needless to say, planning ahead for a meal or grocery shopping in advance of–oh let’s say 20 minutes was worthless.
My only savior was that each day, one specific food would pop into my head and become the one and only good thing to eat. The following day it would be likely be exiled with the rest of the lot, but for a brief moment it was amazing. Justin spent a lot of time at the local Bodega with a list of ingredients that were extremely important to find. I would have starved without him.
Luckily, my stomach became more accepting of other meals around the week of Christmas. I am now eating well and often, so no worries. Food is no longer a foe. We are such good friends again, that I have been open to such unconventional combinations such as this:
Yes, those are Hot n’ Spicy Cheezits on top of vanilla ice cream. It was awesome.
And in other non-pregnancy news, Justin’s nighttime reading now involves several books to learn more than anyone would want to know about bankruptcy law. Schween is “assisting” in this endeavor and runs to bed when she knows it is bankruptcy time. Here are my cute little freaks at bedtime:
Someday in the near future I promise to post a bedtime picture that involves Dr. Seuss and a child rather than a law-book and a poorly proportioned feline.
*I don’t recommend hanging out on pregnancy message boards unless you want to become paranoid beyond belief. They are a scary place.
