Cravings

Pregnant women and cravings are synonymous. We've all heard of the lady who had to have beanut butter on her pickles. Or the poor husband who has to go and buy a half gallon of rocky road ice cream, and doesn't get even get a bite after his valiant efforts. Or maybe you've heard of a certain husband, who had to drive across a MN town in a blizzard because his wife just had to have fried chicken drumsticks and egg rolls from the Sunmart deli. But at least he was happy because he got to order himself some mashed potatoes and gravy at this same deli.

My cravings were very strong in the beginning of my pregnancy: cheeseburgers, french fries, fried eggs, pizza, cheese, pickles, sausage, chips, meatballs, HOT wings, Chinese food. All the things I rarely ate before. My aversions were even stronger: salads, fruit, hot cereals, vegetables, sweets, water. All the things I loved and lived on before.

I decided at about 10 weeks pregnant, after an exorbitant weight gain, that even though my body was craving these unhealthy foods and they made my nausea go away, I just couldn't keep eating that way for my health, my baby's health and my sanity. It was mind over matter now. Which mostly worked, as I began to force myself to have healthy meals and snacks. Most of the unhealthy cravings have now subsided, or at least lessened.

But there has been one craving that will not let me be! For almost 5 months now, this is what I want:

BEER.

Yes, beer. No, this isn't Genevieve the Alcoholic talking. No, this isn't a normal craving for me. It's actually quite common with pregnant women. Google it. Normally, I think about having a beer about 4 times a year. When it's hot out, and when I have hot wings.

But not now. I wake up very thirsty, and what do I want? A beer. At 7 am. While I'm about 5 months pregnant. I'm sure not going to win that Mother of the Year Award.

I know many women have an occasional glass of wine or half a beer whilst pregnant, and that most health care providers say there is nothing wrong with that,especially in the second and third trimesters. I know when I told my health care provider that I was craving beer, after she got done laughing at outloud, she said it would be fine for me to have some beer every once in a while. I then asked her about my next alternative, which to me, seemed healthier and more convenient(*gag alert*): non-alcoholic beer. She said that would be more than fine, but wondered if I could even stomach the taste of non-alcoholic beer.

So immediately after that appointment, I went straight to the store and bought this:

So the Sharps's is not very good. The other night I had an O'Doul's, which was WAY better, so I'm just finishing this 12-pack so I can buy me some O'Doul's. Hey, I'm not complaining at all!