my pregnancy in a nutshell

I loved being pregnant. I knew I was pregnant very early and started experiencing symptoms very early. I could not stand the smell of coffee. I could not keep myself awake. I got very nauseous when my husband made some not-quite-burned toast--even though I was upstairs with the bedroom door closed at the time. I could hardly stand to be in the kitchen or even the smell of the gas stove/oven being on (even just preheating). I got very upset at my father-in-law who was visiting and who kept frying eggs. One night when I was very thirsty, yet very nauseous, and not sure what I could handle as far as beverages were concerned, I opened the fridge and something caught my eye--it was then I drank an entire jar of pickle juice--and it was soooo refreshing I can not even explain (this is when my husband said, "I don't think we need a midwife anymore to confirm that you are pregnant.")

Most of my pregnancy I could not stand most food. The question was not, "What do I have a craving for?" but "What can I possibly tolerate that will not make me want to vomit?" I remember one of the last meals I cooked before signing off from the kitchen for several months was a creamy pasta dish--and I am not going to explain it any farther because the thought of it still makes my stomach turn and starts my gag reflex. If people were barbequeing in the neighborhood when I was walking or had the windows open, it was very, very rough. I still don't care for burgers.

It seems I could tolerate one specific food at a time--and then all of a sudden I could no longer tolerate it, and I would have to find the next one food to live on for awhile. These are the food phases I remember going through--as close to chronological as I can recall:

-tuna sandwiches from Culvers (although my midwife told me no more than two of these a week--so this was a hard phase, because there was little else I could tolerate)

-oatmeal early on, but I soon became very sick over this

-a very specific turkey sandwich (twice)

-cheap, thin frozen pizza (once)

-There was an entire day where I craved Sour Patch Kids and Lemonheads and that is all I ate; thankfully this was a short phase.

-Cheez-Its (this lasted about a week)

-Corn Flakes (one or two nights, sprinkled with sugar)

-blueberry pie, or any berry pie

-ketchup-doused fries. The more ketchup the better.

-Our family went out to a big smorgasbord in Pennsylvania Dutch country, and I ate a huge plate of pot roast followed by an enormous plate of watermelon.

-pickles (this was one food I could snack on pretty consistently and not get sick). I had jars of every type hanging around the fridge. And, yes, I saved the juice--just in case.

-salt and vinegar chips (lasted about a week)

-Taco Bell bean burrito--with a side of rice (this phase lasted at least a month or two--I did learn this was one of the healthiest things you can order at Taco Bell, which isn't saying much, but still--protein and iron)

-grapes, the more sour the better. Many days I lived on these. I would just bring a huge bag to work and munch on them all day long. This phase lasted most of my pregnancy.

-peaches and nectarines--yum for about a month or two

-baby salad greens. I could eat these by the bags plain or with balsamic vinegar.

-pineapple. I think I ate an entire pineapple for dinner two or three times.

-strawberries. All the fruit was pretty much a constant. Other phases would come and go more readily, but I could pretty much always eat fruit.

-baked potates and sometimes sweet potatoes

-raw string beans--also bought at the grocery store in the morning to munch on during the workday

-apples

-I finally started tolerating eggs and even enjoying them again.

-At 7 months, I actually fully enjoyed my mom's Thanksgiving meal. I think it was the first full meal I ate that actually tasted good and that actually felt good. I started getting more hungry after this point.

-At the very end, I made chicken pot-pie over and over and over again. It was my first time back in the kitchen since the creamy pasta (oh, I did cook on Christmas too--about a month earlier, but I didn't really enjoy the food). I seriously could not get enough of chicken pot-pie. It was my last meal before going into labor.

-I had a very difficult time drinking and finally was able to figure out how to drink plenty of water by adding just a touch of Simply Limeade to it.

Other than food issues, my pregnancy was full of excitement and gratitude and planning for and dreaming about the baby. And it was full of long, long, long walks and hikes. I loved being outside--except when the smell of food wafted through the outside air. We took Bradley classes, and I did my exercises and tried my best to eat all the food suggestions. We visited family, and my three nieces and one nephew surrounded my growing belly with love. They all felt the baby kick over the long weekend. Despite all the nausea and difficulties with food, I felt very healthy and strong and experienced a true sense of wellness. I was so, so happy. I talked to my baby, told him how much I loved him, and sang to him. I thought for sure I would miss being pregnant once he was born. But I never ever did. Once I held him in my arms, I never ever wished that I was still pregnant. I just wanted to hold him and hold him forever, and that is what I did.

[Birth story next.]