Equal Opportunity Eating

There haven't been too many outrageous cravings this time around, but then again, I never really did crave the weird stuff like peanut butter and pickles. With my first-born, I craved cheese--any kind of cheese! Whole blocks of cheese literally excited me, and I couldn't wait to get home and cut off chunks to feed my guilty pleasure! The thing is, I went into the pregnancy having mediocre feelings about cheese. I neither loved it, nor did I hate it. But prior to getting pregnant, if had a choice of eating a dish with or without cheese, I'd opt for sans-cheese.

With my second, I wanted nothing but salad because the morning sickness wouldn't allow me to eat meat. Then I had an aversion to salad, so for a while there I was limited to eating bread, saltines, and 7Up. After the morning sickness subsided, I craved sweets--lots and lots of sweets! Not just any sweets, I wanted the carb-y kind: donuts, cake (German chocolate), cream cheese & raspberry filled croissants, muffins, cookies, and brownies. (I think that covers just about everything). The non-carby sweets consisted mainly of Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie and creme brûlée. Oh, and watermelon. I could eat a whole watermelon by myself, and since neither my oldest nor her dad liked watermelon, I could eat my watermelon in peace, knowing I wouldn't have to share it with one…single…soul.

This third time around, I can't say that I've had cravings for one particular food group, but I find myself craving that food until I've satisfied it.  Lately, I've been gravitating towards certain items when I go to the grocery store. Strawberries, for instance. I would list strawberries as the Top 5 in my least favorite fruits (along with grapes, bananas, raspberries, and papaya). So coming home from Safeway with the two packages for seven dollars of strawberries always surprises me a little bit. What surprises me more is that I actually eat them and enjoy them! I'd say my cravings this time around are pretty random. But when I do get the craving, it stays!

Today, for instance, I had Ethiopian food. That particular craving has been with me since before I got pregnant, so it was long overdue. I was so satiated after having it for lunch, I found dinner to be somewhat of a disappointment. I ate my dinner anyway. But not with the same gusto that I did with my lunch.

My lunch today consisted of Injera, Mesir Wot, Kik Alicha, Gomen, Rice,  Lamb Tibbs. 

I washed it down with Sorrel (Hibiscus) Tea.

I've also had occasional cravings for burgers. The Habit Burger Santa Barbara style is delicious, along with their tempura green beans. Squeeze Inn has the BEST cheese! They melt cheese to the point of crispy deliciousness for their burgers. The disc of fried cheese extends beyond the sandwich itself, and every bite is tantalizing--crispy, salty, greasy, delicious!

Fried chicken and potato chips are my weakness, so I try my best to stay away from those other than special occasions--like going out to breakfast or lunch with my husband. I've had one sushi craving (vegetable tempura sushi) and a craving for crawfish. After I satiate those cravings, I don't consistently crave anything.

Okay, so I'll admit that I also crave donuts once in a while too. Circumstances beyond my control had me up going for a brief drive at five o'clock in the morning. When I came to a stop, I smelled donuts! I couldn't see where the smell was coming from, but I knew the donut shop had to be close. I Googled it and sure enough, there was a donut shop 0.2 miles away. It was right around the corner! I took it as a sign, and would seize the opportunity to get myself a donut! Unfortunately, they were closed, and I went home empty-handed and tried to sleep off the craving for a couple more hours.

I ended up giving in to my craving after I dropped my kids off at school. I enjoyed a cup of coffee (which I usually never drink), and a maple and chocolate cruller. 

As I was driving home, I realized that I have an uncanny, sensitive sense of smell. I can smell things that other people can't smell, and I can smell odors before anyone else can sense them. It seems that I've passed my "whiffing talent" onto my second-born, along with my cravings for sweets. And how does she like watermelon?!?! I now have to share any type of melon I purchase, as she has as much as a zealous appetite for melons as I do!

And then I thought about my first-born. She's a spitting image of her dad. She has his teeth, and her facial expressions mimic his exactly. She has her dad's and grandfather's knees and toes too, and her great-uncle's eyes. And as my craving with my second-born were passed down, so were my cravings with my first-born. She loves dairy products--especially milk and cheese! And she likes the high-quality, organic stuff too.

This got me wondering what my third baby will look like, and what what foods she'll gravitate towards. Will she love pizza and burgers as her father does? Does my lack of commitment to any one craving mean that she'll be a picky eater? Or does the fact that I'll eat whatever my heart desires mean that she'll be an equal opportunity eater?  What personality traits will she have? Will I look at her and see nothing but her dad, or will I see a younger, lighter version of myself? These are the moments that I relish about being pregnant. Even though we can't predict the outcome, it's always nice to have something to look forward to. That's what keeps us going. Some call it curiosity. It can also be seen as ambition and perseverance. I call it Hope.

Hope not only gives us something to look forward to, but she gives us something to smile about, laugh about, and she keeps our dreams alive. She gives us the perseverance to forge ahead even though our path may not be as clear as we want it to be, or we are riddled with life's struggles. Hope is our future! She's what I've placed into all of my children--including my unborn. And when I look at my two daughters now, I see that Hope is very much alive, and She will show herself again soon in our newborn daughter's eyes.

I wish to dedicate this entry to my beautiful niece who was taken from us too soon, but will forever live in our hearts: Hope Angeli Castellano (02.03.1987 - 09.21.2013).

#NeverLoseHope

Alternative Medicine

It's been almost 2 months since I last posted. It's probably because the morning sickness has taken its exit, and I've been reveling in the fact that I can enjoy my meals and run errands like any normal person. But new aches and pains have taken residence in my changing body that have made me more uncomfortable and irritable.

I've developed what I believe to be a pinched nerve in the right side of my lower back. It's been there for the last few weeks, and then the pinch has recently traveled to the left side. Without being a medical professional, I also can't articulate to my ObGyn exactly what I'm feeling: pressure localized to the left side deep inside my pelvis.

Exercise seemed to exacerbate this particular symptom. It wasn't heavy exercise either. Just a couple of miles of walking at a brisk pace. My walking stick wasn't even enough to provide relief from the pressure I felt, and the pain that shot downward through my pelvis. At first, the pain only happened when I exercised, but the pressure/sharp pain never went away after my last walk a few weeks ago. It hurt to strain myself in any way. From doing simple tasks such as getting out of bed, standing up, sitting down, climbing stairs, and of course, walking. It's been frustrating not being able to locate the exact reason of this pain; and more frustrating that as my belly grows, the onset of aches and discomfort gets worse.

I know that exercise is extremely important during pregnancy, and some of the times I look forward to most are spent walking with my husband and little girls. But with my back and pelvic pain, I'm afraid my movements are limited these days.

I began seeing a naturopath last year. Little did we know that she would also be guiding me through a pregnancy. Although she's very expensive, and our insurance doesn't cover naturopaths (or FSA reimbursements for that matter), seeing her has been very helpful. I don't discount the wonders of Western medicine, but it's refreshing to have someone approach my health from a holistic and natural perspective--where Western medicine has disappointed. My naturopath prescribed the BEST prenatal vitamins that don't make me sick, and unlike many OTC vitamins that the body can't absorb and ends up expelling, my body seems to absorb the vitamins my naturopath prescribed.

I've also decided to begin taking prenatal yoga classes since merely walking to exercise seemed to agitate my symptoms.

I've only been taking yoga classes for a couple of weeks, but I'm hooked! I love going to yoga class, and being surrounded by women in all stages of pregnancy--which, by the way, seems to be a young woman's game. Many of these women are in their twenties and pregnant with their first baby. I envy how they glow and enjoy being pregnant. Wherein, I'm on my third pregnancy and am impatient for the baby to be born.  But I digress…

Although yoga hasn't relieved my back pain, it seems to have helped me manage my pain better with breathing and deep stretches. My lovely husband was confident that my pelvic pain would eventually ease up, and he was right (bless his heart). I do believe, however, that the yoga exercises assisted in relieving some of my pelvic pain, as I'm not as in much pain as I was before I began yoga.

To address the pinched nerve, I'm going to see a chiropractor on Thursday to finally rid myself of this pain, and get back to feeling more myself instead of irritable at the drop of a hat. The chiropractic office also has an acupuncturist--from whom I also plan to seek services as my pregnancy progresses. The good news is that our FSA will reimburse us for services rendered.

There are a plethora of options when seeking prenatal care. I know that every woman is different, and we have to do that which will meet our individual needs. This time around, I'm pulling out all the stops in order to stay healthy and have a safe delivery. It may seem excessive to have an ObGyn, a naturopath, a chiropractor, an acupuncturist, and om-tastic yoga instructors, but I'm determined to stay positive and get through this pregnancy with putting very little into my body in terms of OTC painkillers.

I'm 4.5 months pregnant, and everything is growing and changing. I remain hopeful that alternative medicine will do its part in helping me grow in grace--literally and figuratively--as I progress in my pregnancy.