It began with spinach, rapidly moved on to sushi followed by fresh stir fries. Then it was lashings of milky puddings, preferably from a tin and finally it is large helpings of ice cream. According to the experts, I am just one of the 85% of pregnant women who experience at least one food craving during pregnancy, which is said to be caused by changes in hormonal levels.
A couple of weeks ago, as I was doing my weekly grocery shop, the cashier remarked, “I see you’ve got a children’s party this weekend.” I glanced down at the tubs of ice cream, the boxes of Choc Ices, cornets, small flakes and wafers. Should I brush it off swiftly or come clean, I thought to myself. I decided to confide in her and told her about my latest intense craving. Thankfully, she sympathetically laughed as I piled the tubs of ice cream into shopping bags, desperate to dip my finger in for a quick lick before I even reached the car park. The following week, I was back to the supermarket again pushing ice cream through the check-out. The same cashier politely smiled, leant over and whispered, “Still the same craving then?”
The children have understandably adored the latter stages of my pregnancy, gorging mint choc chip and butterscotch ice cream for pudding on a daily basis, perfectly timed at around 5pm, when my sugar levels need a bit of a pre-bathtime boost. However, in recent days the craving has got a little extreme. The Toddler sleepily came into the kitchen at 6.30am yesterday only to discover his mother perched on a stool in her dressing gown gorging on ice cream with a sizeable serving spoon. It was hardly the time to insist he had a bowl of bran flakes and begin the lecture on the importance of a healthy breakfast, so we indulged together.
Friends tell me that cravings are often driven by nutritional requirements. The ones that require more vitamin C sensibly crave fruit. These are no doubt the ones who leave hospital having just slipped back into their skinny jeans. However, unfortunately for me my sugar craving is far from a requirement and goes hand in hand with maternity jeans well after the baby is born. Perhaps there will be some hope for me by Christmas.
