Welcome to the first edition of Gestate/Just Ate... my nonsensical exploration of pregnancy and eating (a couple of my favorite topics), and the bond betwixt the two. Do you have something tasty to snack on? I'll wait.
Good. Carrie on.
.........................
I love to eat.
It's not that I'm a binge-eater (though maybe sometimes I indulge in a tadddd too much buffalo chicken dip) or a "foodie," per say. I can generally reign my stomach passion in and stick with reasonable portions, and I like high- and lowbrow eats. Truffle fries are amazing, but McDonalds fries are darn tasty too.
So here's a Captain Obvious observation: pregnancy and food have a pretty famous relationship. But in Facebook-terms... it's complicated.
There are things you aren't supposed to eat, things you should eat only a little bit of, things you should eat a lot of, and things you will eat a lot of regardless of medical advice or common sense because damnit, there is no substitute for that vanilla ice cream craving.
Oh, and also, there's now another human inside of you, so things are getting a little crowded in the abdominal region. You might need to eat 100 teensy portions per day to keep from starving and/or exploding.
So let's explore gestational nutrition today in the form of cravings, yes?
........................
Remember when I alluded to the fact that the first trimester was, ahem, slump-ish? Before I begin bemoaning those weeks of nonstop nausea, let's just get this out of the way: I've been very, very lucky throughout this pregnancy. No hyperemesis gravidarum for me, no sir. No swollen appendages or stretch marks (yet). Yeah, my back hurts sometimes and "the glow" has made my face an oil slick, but other than that, things are peachy keen.
But ick, even mild-continuous nausea is just no fun for anyone. Nothing sounded or looked appetizing for weeks on end. And then a weird thing happened -- when my appetite did made its timid return, I no longer lusted after cheesy/spicy/breaded things. I wanted fruit and sweets. All the time.
Deep dish apple pie. Can't you just hear angels singing?
While I do enjoy cheese and hot sauce and bread again these days, my sweet tooth is still reigning supreme. Before I was baffled and left out, but now I completely understand this almost overwhelming love for dessert that many women claim to be born with. Embarrassingly enough, I think about ice cream several times each day. I could really go for a brownie, or five. Blueberry cheesecake every day for lunch sounds like a pretty good idea. Slices of apple pie have made cameos in my dreams more than once.
Lest you think I'm a totally negligent mother, I still have an almost insatiable desire for fruit too. My "need" for apples and clementines is so intense, I think I understand how addicts must feel about a particular drug.
In spite of all this, I squeaked by on my glucose screening last week (an initial test that doctors use to decide if you need to get the real McCoy test for gestational diabetes). Apparently my body has handled this tsunami of sugar pretty well. And while it might sound like I should be a beached whale at this point, I actually feel slimmer than I have for years everywhere except for the baby bump these days. Bunny, who is still measuring just a tad ahead of schedule, has taken up residence near my stomach and is strictly enforcing portion control, so that helps. But I honestly do buy into the notion that your body craves what you need while pregnant, and within reason, you should listen.
Should more of my sugars come from fruits than desserts? Probably. Will that be easier to aim for when I'm not surrounded by one billion Christmas cookies? Definitely.
But for now, Baby, I sure am glad "you" are enjoying sweets so much. You have excellent taste.
Now let's you and me go find a great big cranberry muffin for lunch, okay?