Lemonaidia

When I was pregnant with my first two kiddos, I remember thinking that when pregnant women were having those ridiculous cravings they were just using that as an excuse to gorge. Pickles and ice cream...yada yada yada.

Then, came baby number three.


Let's just put it out there that I am so unbelievably sorry for ever thinking a negative thought about cravings or eating while pregnant. OMG. That pregnancy was so bizarre and unpredictable that it completely changed my whole outlook on that subject.

What's funny is that when I was surfing the net during concern for my sanity (and nutritional safety), I found tons of instances online where so many other mothers had strange cravings and even medical reasons why the most bizarre stuff made sense. So awesome what surfing the web can do. I went from feeling like an alien, to feeling like a 'normal' alien.

Allow me to elaborate. During my first six weeks of pregnancy number weird, I was extremely nauseated. Ironically, the only thing that seemed to help was to eat, but certain things were absolutely NOT on the menu. My bank account was thanking me as my Starbucks habit fell to the wayside. However, I think I kept the ice, orange juice, lemon, and even sponge and cleanser businesses thriving.

At first, ice was the culprit. As time moved on and belly grew bigger, my focus turned to lemons. I had to have lemons constantly. Not just the lemon, but the rind was glorious. Probably about six lemons a day. I was a nanny at the time and would grocery shop for my bosses house, making sure I included a few extra lemons to the shopping list so I wouldn't go without while at work. When we were out to eat, my husband learned to ask the waitress for a side of extra lemons for the table. It was insane.

This went on for a while, but then I took a trip to Home Depot and lemons were forced to share their spot on the pedestal with another new love. Sponges.

It was a chance meeting from afar. My eyes caught a sales rack of random items hanging in carefully planned out visual marketing locations, and there it was... a big yellow sponge. At first I had an unexpected desire to squeeze it. So I did. I fell weak and had to purchase that sponge, confused all the while at what the heck I was doing. I just wanted to squeeze it. The texture in my hand was so obsessive-compulsively needed.

The sense of touch transformed into more...a sense of smell, as I graduated into taking a big wiff of that sponge while it was drenched in dish soap. That's right.

No, I'm not done yet. Sense of taste. I was chewing the sponge. Thank goodness the insanity stopped there and I didn't have the craving to actually eat it, or believe me I would have.

As I found solace with my fellow moms-to-be in online forums, I read of other kitschy little cravings as well and was taken-a-back even more than from my own. Confessions of cravings for dirt and brick mortar made my hang up seem mild. Amazingly, there were scientific studies for why those odd cravings make sense. Evidently, it's called Pica Disorder, which is a fancy word for saying you are grouped in with others who all have a craving of strong tastes or smells (mostly chemical). It's supposed to be a sign that your body is deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. Brick mortar has certain minerals that can be lacking during pregnancy, as well as dirt. Amazing.

A cute last little quip to end the subject...My baby number three just happens to LOVE lemons since she began eating solids. She chews them with the squeezed face pleasantry that I did during those nine months of adventure. Even funnier, we named her Aidia without realizing that if we put 'lemon' in front of it we'd have the perfect nickname...'Lemonaidia'. True story! I've included a few pictures for your viewing pleasure.
Bon appetit!