Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Pregnancy Cravings?

What sorts of things have you mothers craved during your pregnancies?

I don't eat very much fast food-- maybe once or twice a month, if that. However, I have had fast food a LOT during August. Taco Bell has been the main thing I've been craving. And not just Taco Bell, but their bean burritos. I just realized today how much sodium is in one of those things (and I threw up right after I finished eating it), so hopefully that craving is over.

But other than that, I've been craving mostly bland and/or cold stuff. I've eaten a lot of bread, drank a lot of milk and chocolate milk, enjoyed Dreyer's Strawberry Fruit Bars, ice cream, yogurt, pudding and sherbet. I've craved Jello a lot, but I haven't made any to eat, so I just shrug off that craving when it comes. Joe was telling me he was glad I didn't have any "weird" food combo cravings. And the same day he said that, I made myself a peanut butter, jelly, banana, and chip sandwich. It's not TOO far off what I've had before, but I've never had that combo before, and I really was craving all those things specifically... so I combined them.

Our renter moved out last week. The room may sit empty for a while. But in about 3 weeks we should find out the sex of the baby, and then we may paint it and get ideas about how we want to get the room ready.

I went to Target's website to create a baby registry and was happy to find the Puj tubs my old high school friend, Katie Richardson, created available to add to the registry. I knew I wanted one of those long before I was pregnant! I added a couple other things, but I felt completely overwhelmed by all the choices and decided to stop for the time being. I think I may need one of my friends who is a mom to help me know the sorts of things I should add to the registry and what we don't need. It sounds like Joe may be interested in creating a registry on Amazon too. What are your "must-haves" for babies? What gadgets could you do without?

7 comments:

jenn said...

When I was pregnant, I craved steak and burgers. I also drank a TON of milk. I mean like, a gallon every 2 days or so. It was crazy. I also craved citrus flavors, especially lime (which is really bad when you have horrible heartburn) and I craved jell-o and gummy bears. I ate way too many gummy bears when I was pregnant LOL. I was about 6-7 months pregnant around the holidays, so pumpkin and cinnamon sounded incredible to me and I ate way too much of those flavors too. I didn't find I craved really weird things, I just felt like I couldn't live without the things that I was craving. It was such an intense hunger LOL.

We didn't register for anything until after we found out what we were having. I didn't have any ultrasounds before then either, so it was like that point in the pregnancy made it all seem real and it made registering easier. Before then, I felt overwhelmed.

We never got a wipe warmer, although some of my friends swear by it. I think the glider chair was by far the best thing we got- when it's the middle of the night and you are sooooo exhausted from no sleep, you can sit and close your eyes and still be rocking the baby LOL. Put everything you think you might want on your registry- even the obvious like diapers, wipes, etc. The only thing I left out was clothes. People might forget to buy diapers and wipes if they are not on your registry, but just about everyone will see a cute outfit at some point and get it for you. Clothes on a baby registry are pointless to me, especially if the baby will have awesome grandparents LOL That's where Sean got most of his clothes from!

The Absent Minded Housewife said...

Each pregnancy had different cravings.

The first: Mustard, sour candy, rootbeer, taco bell
The second: Cake, glazed donuts, tomatoes, graham crackers, chocolate milk
The third: dark green veggies, tuna fish, McDonald's fish sandwiches, red olives.

All three I had food aversions to eggs and coffee. Couldn't even smell an egg and sometimes even chicken. Though I could eat an egg later in pregnancy with my third.

I find that all the baby stuff they tell you that you need is a bunch of hooey. Keep in mind that there is a billion dollar baby industry that has no qualms about playing into mommy guilt. Know that you won't be a better mommy just because you bought the right stuff. I didn't need bottle warmers even when I bottle fed, baby tubs, a changing table, baby monitors, diaper genies, a boppy.

I used pacifiers, two of my kids liked the swing, the free diaper bags from the hospital were nice and worked fine, I used kitchen towels as burp rags, and weirdest of all...used a large sturdy clothes basket as a bassinet. I still have those baskets.

The Watson's... said...

ha Debra, I just had a peanut butter and banana sandwich with chips on the side yesterday. It was yummy! I grew up on those so I crave it even when I'm not pregnant. I crave Burger King chicken sandwiches a lot but try to find something else to eat to combat that craving when it comes on. I've also craved ice cream often. In my 1st trimester, eggs were completely awful to me and I love eggs. I can eat them now but not like I did before I got pregnant. Oh, and pancakes! I can't get enough pancakes.

As far as baby stuff goes and after having two, I can't live without my boppy while breast feeding and the baby monitor. I liked the boppy much more than a pillow. Don't know if you are going that route, but if so, the boppy is good. And my kids don't sleep in the same room as me and I am downstairs alot, so the monitor was great. I never had a swing but I think I want one this time around. It's not necessary but I think it would be nice to have. Never had a bottle warmer, wipes warmer, diaper genie, or burp clothes. I always used cloth diapers as burp clothes and they work awesome. I will be getting a bunch of those for sure.

Carrissa Hellewell said...

I loves having the bimbo chair with tray. I also tried several different types of swings with both girls and found that they both liked the swings that swung them side to side rather than front to back.... Those are few must haves for me, but I'm not sure what other people liked! I can't wait to hear what the baby is ! :)

The Leithead Family said...

I couldn't eat meat for the first half of my pregnancy this last time, and salad was sooo unappealing. I had green smoothies instead to get my veggies for the day. One thing -- you can try and eat well (read: stay away from sugar) to support your goal of weight loss. I did really well this time and now only have 15 pounds to go until I get to pre-pregnancy weight. I didn't abstain from treats, but I had smaller servings MUCH less frequently.

As for baby stuff..
#1 - I really like having a bassinet at my bedside for tending baby the first month or two (at least until feedings are more than 2-3 hours apart), but I borrow them. You can also get good deals on Craigslist. I would never spend the $100-$300 that they cost new. (Same for cribs, but that's me. I am fine with used.)

#2 - I prefer My Breast Friend nursing pillow to the Boppy. It's firmer. You can check them out at the breastfeeding center at your hospital usually.

#3 - Ergo Baby Carrier. We used ours for Jane all the way up to this past summer. You can get an infant insert for your tiny baby to be worn on a front carry, front carry w/o insert when they're bigger, and then back carry when they're toddlers. This is the most comfortable baby carrier I've ever tried, and they're extremely durable. (And I got mine for $40 off CL, vs. the $100 that they are new.)

Baby tubs are not needed, I just use a sink. I use a regular garbage can for diapers and empty it regularly -- no need to do anything different until they are at least on solid foods. A bouncy seat or swing is nice to have just so there is somewhere to put the baby other than the floor. :)

The Leithead Family said...

Oh, and when you start them on solid foods, have a baby food mill. I buy very little pre-made baby food. It's so cheap and easy to do a small batch at home -- and so much yummier than the ultra-cooked tiny jars of baby food.

Elizabeth Larson said...

Okay, so after reading your other friends comments I will add a few things. one of your friends said a "bimbo" chair- but its actually a "bumbo" chair. I think it was a typo- they are awesome! FOR SURE a must- you can use it as a high chair later on before your baby can actually sit in a high chair, but is starting foods. it's great. Also, You can get a food mill, but I just used our blender. I can give you more info later, but you save a ton of money if you just buy cans of veggies all natural with no salt added, fresh fruits, etc and blend them. Some have to be cooked first. Theres lots of info on this online, but I never needed a food mill. Just a blender, ice cube trays, freezer bags and your good to go! ;)
You'll for sure need a baby monitor. Instead of a bassinet, we got a pack in play for traveling that had a bassinet on top (almost all of them are made this way now). Its not as cute and takes up a little more space in the room, but ours has lasted us in great condition through all three boys. And when you travel or go anywhere, you take it and its great! That is a MUSY have. I think diaper genies are a huge waste of money- we buy scented diaper bags (its like $1 for a box of 50) and throw the diaper in the scented bag into the garbage. We had a diaper genie too, it just never worked right. Just my opinion. I could go on and on, but these are the main things I wanted to tell you ;)