“Smack! smack! smack!…. crunch, crunch, crunch…” Repeat a dozen times a day.
I am addicted to ice right now. And not just any ice–specifically ice which is partially (but not completely) frozen in one of those personal sized water bottles. (Thank God Costco sells them for so cheap or I’d have to take out a small loan to support my habit.) I check the freezer a hundred times or so, exactly what I tell my children to never do, and wait until it’s at that perfect stage–just beyond slush but right before it gets frozen solid. Next, I beat the living hell outta the bottle by smacking on the palm of my hand and then I open the bottle up and start crunching.
Frankly it drives my husband insane, but 36 weeks into my fourth pregnancy, he knows the end of this annoying habit is near. So he puts up with it by leaving the room with his ears covered. He is truly a patient man, because it really is obnoxiously loud. I think I would bash someone over the head if they made that much noise. But soon, after this baby has left my uterus, my ice habit will leave as quickly as it came about. Until then, there is little to nothing that can get in the way of me and crunching ice. Not even the sympathy I have for my husband. I am an addict, and even as I write this I am waiting for the bottles of cold water in the freezer to turn to ice so I can get my next fix.
I first noticed this crazy pregnancy-induced addiction problem I have when I was carrying my oldest. Sure, I ate a lot of ice then too–but mostly biscuits. With grape Jelly. Every single day. Wonderful, warm, fresh and buttery biscuits. Sometimes I would buy a dozen and eat them all in one sitting.
With my second it was tacos with nachos and cheese from a carry-out place. (Is it any wonder I had a blood pressure problem?!) Sometimes I went back two… even three times a day. Not even my ever-expanding butt could dissuade me from having them. I needed them. Needed.
My third pregnancy, I had a much healthier obsession–asparagus, steak, and deviled eggs. Okay and cherry soda. But, mostly asparagus! I had them with breakfast, lunch, dinner, and every snack in between. Needless to say I didn’t gain too much weight and my butt stayed in proper proportion with the rest of my body. It was pretty awesome.
This is my fourth pregnancy and though I am obsessed with asparagus and steak again–my budget isn’t as accommodating, so I ended up focusing on the cheaper alternative of pickles and cottage cheese. Well, and cherry soda again (blasted stuff!) I also, unfortunately, realized that I can put away a pack of gluten-free chocolate sandwich cookies in less than a day.
Of course I eat lots of healthy foods too! Plenty of veggies, meat, dairy, eggs, and hoards of black cherries when I can get them in season. But, if you’re anything like me, you’d know it’s hard–nay, impossible–to resist a true pregnancy craving. It’s like a cry from your soul. You HAVE TO have it. You can try and limit it, avoid it, not let yourself think about it–but you’ll likely find yourself begging your husband to head out to some 24-hour grocery store at 3 a.m. because you couldn’t stop dreaming about dipping a snickers bar into an icy cold root beer, or eating a pickle covered in Hellman’s mayo. I mean not that I would ever do that…
So do you other moms have cravings this intense during pregnancy or while nursing? Or is it just me?
