There is a cute tee-shirt floating around on the internet called “The Baby Made me Eat it!“
It actually inspired this post which is all about exploring those wacky cravings we have as pregnant mamas and the wild journeys they take us on……
Take me for example. I still remember my daily nature walks when I was pregnant for the first time and how good and instinctive they felt. So one morning I was walking along my regular path, enjoying the trees and the sunshine, when one particular tree grabbed ALL of my attention.
There before me was a sea of gigantic juicy lemons growing on a big tree. Why hadn’t I noticed them before? They looked amazing and yet it seemed no one was picking them as there were so many left on the tree. I happened to be having crazy lemon cravings at the time (can you tell?!!) so they looked extra appealing to me, even better than chocolate. (maybe my body was crying out for Vitamin C?)
Only problem was the tree was behind a tall fence in someone’s yard and not hanging over the fence within reach. And to top it off it was one of those high-security fences with intercom. So not easy to access without bothering anybody and I wasn’t keen on trespassing or stealing fruits from anybody’s tree….
I had just walked a few metres past the house, dreaming about those big juicy lemons when the strangest thing happened. Like a crazy woman, something made me turn around and actually walk back to the house with the lemon tree and ring the intercom on the big gates out the front. (I kid you not!) Now please understand that knocking on stranger’s doors and asking for food is not something I would normally do! All I can say is the baby made me do it LOL 🙂
Before I could change my mind, a lovely elderly gentleman answered and so I sheepishly explained that I was pregnant (no need ~ my big round belly said it all!) and craving lemons and would it be ok to have a lemon from his tree? He kindly agreed (he was smart enough not to mess with a crazy pregnant lady!)
He disappeared into the house and came back with a plastic bag. Then he fetched a ladder and the next thing you know, he was climbing up the ladder and collected not one but a WHOLE BAG of the biggest juiciest (I am guessing organic) lemons I had ever seen! They even smelt like real lemons, not the plastic stuff you get from the supermarket. I could tell they were just bursting with vitamin C.
This curious event was like winning the lottery for this pregnant gal ~ I thanked the old man for his kindness and came home as the happiest girl in the world, so proud of myself for speaking up and asking the question, no matter how silly it seemed at the time.
What are you craving? Any wacky foods or combos? Have they taken you on any wild adventures or have you sent your partner (or yourself) out at a strange hour of night specifically to hunt for one particular food that you MUST have?
I would love to hear all about it ~ please leave me a note below or email me here
Yours in embracing the madness and listening to your body 🙂
Katrina Zaslavsky
Birth Goddess: A Positive Birth Revolution
PS For most women, cravings come hand in hand with pregnancy. Studies show that up to 80% of women crave specific foods, particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy. But what do food cravings actually mean and what is causing them? By Eleni Roumeliotou (We explore pregnancy cravings and “my baby made me eat it” in our RIPE & READY issue of Empowering Birth Magazine)
