Cravings and other weirdness

There are some strange misconceptions about pregnant women and cravings. Some of them seem to be part of the culture (ie. pickles) and others just assumptions people make. And most of them are not true.

For one thing, no two pregnant women crave the same things. I haven't had any cravings for pickles and ice cream doesn't appeal to me at all. Another thing about cravings, or at least mine, is that they are not stagnant. I may crave something one day, but once I have it I'm pretty much over it.

As for my own personal weird eating habits, I think they are pretty tame. I like to eat saltine crackers with mild salsa, but I have always liked that. I sat and ate a jar of pickled beets the other day, about 12 in all, so I guess that is pretty weird.

I think the thing that struck me as being the strangest was that I had to buy all new lotions. My mother-in-law bought me all these dessert scented lotions for Christmas that I can no longer use. I had been using Creme Brule, but one day the smell hit me and I wanted Creme Brule so badly--it was all I could think about. Of course, Midland is not exactly the place to find Creme Brule, so that made that craving particularly difficult. I finally managed to get some this past weekend and I don't want it anymore, although should I use the lotion again, who knows. I'll stick to Cherry Blossom, Gardenia, and Peony for the time being.

The only thing I really crave continuously is milk. I love it--ice cold in my San Diego zoo Panda glass. It's so good. It also helps with indigestion, something I have grappled with in the late hours. I am also craving fruit (watermelon especially) and salad.

I think one of the biggest changes has been my super sensitive sense of smell. I have never had a good sense of smell so this is an interesting change. I have nose to rival my beloved Perdita. This can be good, but with more aversions than cravings it can also make me sick when I have to inhale unpleasant smells (a man on the plane last week smelled of refried beans and I thought I was going to be sick). Shopping for fruit is really fun because for the first time I can pick out all those smells you are supposed to check for to determine quality. Strawberries, peaches, and nectarines smell the best.

My hormones have apparently kicked in because my emotions have become more erratic than ever. I can cry for an hour about absolutely nothing. Most days it feels like people are doing things just for the sole purpose of annoying me. And my internal censor seems to have broken down--I can hear myself being a bitch and I just can't stop it. Mostly I just want people to leave me alone because there is a good chance that completely unintentionally they are going to say something to irritate me. Rationality and pregnancy are indeed strange bedfellows.