My first strange prego craving; 'twas eggplant. I even ordered it at a restaurant!
My next identified craving... RedVines.
This craving struck me hard when we were on our Denali camping trip.
Dad, you saw this one in full force..and the death of it!
Since then, it as seemed as if more often than not I'm craving something salty.Cheetos. Ramen. Saltines.
Did I start by craving saltiness? Or did I start eating salty foods because they were tolerable --and now have a new acquired taste for salty foods? We ate a fair share of Ramen on our camping adventure as well -- this being in my early, early pregnancy, did baby learn to push the MSG button the umbilical cord?
As rumors and wives' tales go, if salt is the frequented craving, it means a baby boy man is growing inside the womb.
We shall see!?
Question for all you mothers out there:
What were/are your biggest prego-with-baby cravings?
Do you feel guilty when many cravings are less than nutritional?
Have you noticed any trends among children? Did your healthier pregnancies yield smarter children?
1. I craved a TON of pizza products. I didn't crave straight-up salt, and my cravings changed constantly through my first trimester--basically, just whatever I could keep down. My CNM and the doctor both said that was fine as long as I was getting something into me. I also had tremendous orange juice cravings during the second trimester.
ReplyDelete2. So no, I didn't feel guilty when craving something less than nutritional. The biggest problem with not getting enough nutrients is that you personally aren't getting as many, because God designed our bodies (during pregnancy AND nursing) to give all necessary nutrients to the baby first, then to the mother after that. Step one in putting that tiny person first. And especially during the first trimester, it's most important to just make sure you're getting some sort of sustenance into you and keeping it down. (So my doctor, CNM, and nurse all said.) Also, if you're taking prenatals, that'll help.
3. Every pregnancy is different, so I'm not sure what you're thinking of as a "healthy pregnancy." But I know people who had tons of complications in pregnancy, and people who had "perfect" pregnancies the whole way through. I had horrible nausea, heartburn, and gas in my first trimester. The nausea went away textbook, right at the end of the first trimester, but the heartburn kept getting worse throughout the pregnancy so that by the end I was on a prescription and still having to take Tums before bed and in the middle of the night too. But in both my research and my personal observations, how "healthy" the pregnancy is doesn't seem to make a difference to the child's intelligence, nor does the natural health of the parents. What makes a difference are drugs (legal or illegal) consumed during pregnancy (and even then, the quantity can make a difference--caffeine every once in a while isn't a problem as long as it's not more than the equivalent of a cup of coffee a day), the history of intelligence in the family (IQ is at least partially genetic), and how the parents teach and take care of the child--ie. being neglected during the first couple of years can lower a child's general intelligence, while being nurtured can raise it. Also, breastfed babies generally have an IQ about 20 points higher than bottle-fed babies. Which is not to say that bottle-feeding is terrible--some people really struggle to breastfeed or it just doesn't work for them, and it's wonderful that God allowed people to develop a safe alternative! We just haven't been able to develop something better than what God gives us.
Anyway. That's a lot of information. Sorry about that. Just so you know, I do a TON of research, and I have some amazing groups on Facebook with lots of support (I can add you to one if you want--it's called Mothering with Grace, and is based on the idea that we can teach children about God's grace by being firm and yet also showing grace, rather than ruling them with an iron fist, so to speak) SO if you have any questions, you are welcome to ask me. I'll tell you why I made the decisions I made, but also why people make other decisions. (I get sick of parents who are so firmly set in the decisions they made for their children that they think no one who makes a different decision can possibly be a good parent.)
And if you don't want to ask me any questions, that's fine too, I won't be offended. Just wanted to let you know I'm here if you have questions about anything. (Vaccinations, cloth vs. disposable diapers, breastfeeding vs. formula, rocking to sleep vs. cry-it-out, epidural vs. other pain meds vs. no pain meds., etc. etc. etc. Lots to learn about when it comes to babies!)
Praying for you both still!
Great. My comment was longer than your blog post. *sigh* My writing teachers tried to teach me conciseness.
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