Cravings (yummy!)

I've always heard of how pregnant women have these cravings that last their entire pregnancy, so I was thrown off when mine changed every 2 weeks to a month.

Last week started a new one: homemade vegetable soup. In less than a week, I've made 2 big pots full and I eat at least one bowl of it everyday. Hey, at least I'm getting fiber! This got me thinking.

I honestly don't remember my very first craving with this pregnancy. I just remember eating goldfish crackers and drinking V8 -- my anti-nausea fix. Weird, I know.

Then came macaroni and cheese. Didn't matter if it was homemade, Kraft, Velveeta, or from a restaurant.

I think it was weeks 9-13 that I wanted fettuccine and virgin peach daiquiris. Every weekly doctors appt was followed by lunch at Olive Garden, where they have THE BEST virgin peach daiquiris. Pre-pregnancy, I didn't drink peach daiquiris and rarely ate at Olive Garden. This was the most expensive craving.

The next craving (perhaps the most famous one) was Wendy's baked potato with shredded cheddar cheese, a small chili -- most of which ended up on the potato -- and a small chocolate frosty. YUMMY! This craving was about 3 weeks long. The people at Wendy's knew who was ordering as soon as they heard my hubby on the drive-thru speaker. He went 18 out of 21 days -- about weeks 16-18. Funny thing, I never wanted Wendy's before this pregnancy. In fact, whenever my hubby wanted something from Wendy's, I'd try to talk him out of it.

Well, minus the sour cream and burger

Up next? Key lime pie. This one actually started in the middle of the Wendy's kick, but it didn't get satisfied until a trip to the beach where I finally got a piece of Piccata's key lime pie. It was all over after that. Thank God for Edward's Key Lime Pie from the grocery store's frozen section. AND it was on special the first week -- BOGO!

Another craving was my father-in-law's home-boiled green peanuts. This, I know, is a Southern thing, and it was oh so good. Loaded in salt and (thankfully) protein.

The next craving was simple and completely unhealthy. French fries with LOTS of ketchup and some Dr. Pepper (diet or regular; caffeine free or not). Thankfully, the FF only lasted a little over a week.

I have "off weeks" where I honestly crave nothing. During those times, I go back to my regulars: fettuccine alfredo with broccoli (Smart Ones), salads from a salad bar, and pizza. Oh, and I've had an aversion to meat pretty much this entire pregnancy. No steaks, chicken, pork, hamburgers, etc unless they were masked by other stuff I wanted. Good thing protein comes in non-meat items!

I wonder what the next craving will be?

Baby Kicks

Hands down, the best physical feeling I've ever felt.

I first felt her move at 16 weeks while laying in bed that morning. The kicks/rolls/punches were few and far between though until about 18 or 19 weeks. I actually went days without feeling her move, but at that point, I started feeling her almost every day. At 20 weeks, I started feeling her every day. Now, I feel her several times a day, every day. I've yet to find the perfect way of describing what I feel, physically. But, emotionally, I feel a connection to baby Abigail like no other. She reminds me that she's there, and that just because of that little fact, all the negative thoughts and feelings of the day go out the window and a smile comes across my face. I thank God for this little miracle he's blessed us with. Because, when it comes down to it, she's what matters. Not the rush-rush that is my job. Not the driver in front of me on the road that is going 20 mph under the speed limit. Not the bad dream that I just had. She assures me that she's okay, and that makes everything else okay.

I find myself asking her (sometimes out loud), "What are you doing in there, Abigail?" I would love to be able to see in there all the time. Pregnant women should have a see-through belly for this purpose.

Last night, she was really active. And I felt a huge kick while laying on my left side. Then another, and another. Probably about 5 times in a row but they got weaker (or more distant) each time. I kept thinking, "I wish her Daddy was here to feel this". Later in the night, he did get that chance.

This morning, I felt some light movement, then what felt like a complete body roll. I wanted more, and actually (lightly) pushed down on her to see if she'd kick back ... and she did :)

Since I can't find the words to describe what I feel, here's some descriptions that I've read:

• popcorn popping
• goldfish swimming around
• butterflies fluttering
• a muscle twitch
• rippling sensation
• bubbles bursting
• bumping or nudging
• someone hitting my stomach from the inside
• like being turned upside down on an amusement park ride

If you've experienced this first-hand, feel free to add your own description in a comment below :)