2.11.2008

The Beast With-in



Thanks everyone for your congrats on the mini human. I thought I would answer a few of your questions...but first, let me tell you about Saturday morning.

I was in Frisco (local mountain town) with Dave and my mom. We went out to breakfast at my favorite little joint; "The Log Cabin Cafe." I was incredibly torn between breakfast choices, and could not bring myself to settle on a meal. Typically my favorite item at this restaurant is the veggie egg sandwich. But I was hesitant to order this delightful item as I've heard horror stories of women eating their favorite meal during pregnancy, getting sick, and never being able to eat it again. In addition, blueberry pancakes have been one of my "go-to" meals since pregnancy has ensued. Now you see the difficult dilemma I was facing.

My mom was set to order one gigantic blueberry and pecan pancake. I tried to talk her into splitting it with me (and then I would still get myself the egg sandwich)...but she wasn't thrilled with the idea of being stuck with only a half a pancake. Who can blame her? Then it dawned on me - she could order TWO pancakes and just give me one of hers! In total relief I shut my menu and felt I had dodged near disaster. I figured if the egg sandwich smelled the least bit funny, I would push it aside and focus on my pancake. But if the sandwich tasted good I would stick with that and pawn the extra pancake off on Dave.

The waitress came to the table and Dave and I placed our orders. Then, my mom ordered "A short stack of pancakes - one with blueberries and pecans, and one with just blueberries." The waitress said "If I place the order that way the kitchen will mess it up...so I'll just put in two separate orders for single pancakes.”

With that she walked away and I realized what had just happened. I had officially ordered myself two breakfasts.

My two breakfasts arrived and both smelled and tasted delightful. So I threw caution to the wind, and went ahead and ate both breakfasts (after all the shame is in ordering two breakfasts not eating them right?) Did I mention I also ate half of my mom’s side of bacon? When breakfast was over, we all jumped in the car and headed for Denver. 20 minutes later I said, "I’m so glad I got both the sandwich and the pancake. They were both delicious, and I don’t even feel overly full!" Dave and my mom just looked at me funny as if to say, "Are you seriously still talking about breakfast?"

I tell you this story only to illustrate the theme of my pregnancy – food. Since I have been pregnant all I think about or talk about is food. When is the next meal and what will it be? During the first 11 weeks I was horribly sick, and food was the bane of my existence. I had constant nausea that would dramatically increase or decrease based on how much food was in my tummy. The longer I went without food, the worse the nausea would become. Nothing ever sounded good so every 45 minutes I would be near tears at the thought of having to force feed myself YET AGAIN, especially since I ran out of food ideas on day 2 of pregnancy. But I would choke something down and the nausea would retreat a bit.

The worst day was when food seemed to have no power over my nausea. Typically if I didn’t feel better after eating it meant I hadn’t eaten enough, or hadn’t eaten the right thing. So one sad day I kept eating and eating and the nausea only got worse and worse. Finally at dinner time determined to win the battle, I force fed myself a beef brisket sandwich with pickles and BBQ sauce. Each bite was extremely painful, but I knew I had to press forward. 30 minutes after the BBQ beef was down I ran to the bathroom, and spent the next 3 hours watching everything I had forced down that day come up. Turns out I had the stomach flu in addition to being pregnant. Go figure. Tip: don’t force feed yourself a BBQ beef brisket sandwich with pickles if you have the stomach flu.

During this period of time I also had zero energy. Dave would come home and the house would be a total disaster. I would be lying in bed, in the dark, in my PJs, with my laptop by my side as I attempted to "work." The bedroom/bed would be covered with remnants from the meals of the day including 5 bowls, 3 spoons, 7 plates, 8 forks, 6 cups, and crumbs covering the length of the bed.

Dave would tip toe in and say "How do you feel?" I remember one day he looked at me with trepidation and asked quietly "do you think things will ever go back to normal?" Poor guy. He was a real trooper.

Week 11 was a huge turning point. The nausea mercifully subsided, the energy came back, and I was myself again! It has been a glorious 5 weeks and I feel 100 billion times better. Of course I still need to eat every 2 to 3 hours, and am still obviously obsessed with food. But I can actually exercise, clean, work, cook, and smile. Isn't smiling wonderful?

So there you have it people. That's how pregnancy has gone thus far. I don't know how you people are pregnant with kids. I could barely take care of myself that first trimester let alone another human being. I keep voicing this concern to friends who are moms, and they assure me that is what the TV is for.

I am really excited to have a little baby join our life. Time can not possibly go fast enough. Did I mention on Sunday someone asked me if I was having twins? Maybe I should lay off the double breakfasts.

18 comments:

Emily said...

Wow, all the different stages of pregnancy. And then we go through it again and again. Way to go on the 2 breakfasts.

Anonymous said...

Carrie has ALWAYS had a very good appetite, so it will serve she and her baby well. She is however a very healthy eater. But it was a good decision to get 2 pancakes because I really did want more than a half and boy was it yummy. Of course I wasn't hungry again until dinner. How about you Carrie? When did you eat again?

However thinking back when I was p.g. with Carrie, the only time I wasn't sick or throwing up the whole 9 months, was when I was eating and swallowing food. Could that be why she has such a good appetite??

Christina said...

That sounds all too familiar. I will never forget the night I downed 5 large tacos with Jared nervously watching me. And I could have kept on going! I'm glad you can eat food and enjoy it now. We can't wait for your little baby. :)

Natalee said...

just an FYI carrie, you have ALWAYS been obsessed with food. Have you forgotten the midnight shakes, tang on ice, or the nachos with hearts of palm and random toppings?? Or what about your applebees potato boats and oreo shakes. Oh, and jr cheeseburgers and fries dipped in frosties cannot be forgotten. I guess we both share the obsession. Love you! Keep feeding that baby!

Janice said...

Sounds like a typical pregnany. With toothsome #2, I had the stomach flu and did the same thing. It took my doctor to finally say, "This doesn't sound like pregnancy, it sounds like the stomach flu" for me to figure it out. Granola bars have never been the same for me again.

sara said...

i'm a big fan of two breakfasts, prego or not. i have 2 every day... the only difference is, i usually split them by a couple of hours.

i can't wait for a new cousin for oz!!

Amanda said...

I'm proud of you for eating two breakfasts! It is a GREAT day when food is good again. I remember the same sobbing breakdowns when I was preggars "What will I make myself eat next?"

Yah Yah said...

So given what good eaters you AND Dave are, the $64,000 dollar question is HOW MUCH and HOW OFTEN will pending Denham child eat? I have never met two people who can eat so much, so often and still be thin, fit, and gorgeous. You guys crack me up.

In regards to ordering 2 breakfasts, always remember Sara's advice "it is better to be safe than hungry".

Yah Yah said...

So given what good eaters you AND Dave are, the $64,000 dollar question is HOW MUCH and HOW OFTEN will pending Denham child eat? I have never met two people who can eat so much, so often and still be thin, fit, and gorgeous. You guys crack me up.

In regards to ordering 2 breakfasts, always remember Sara's advice "it is better to be safe than hungry".

Anonymous said...

Amanda I am not sure if you saw the rules of the blog, but one of the rules is that the words preggars, preggies, preggers, and pregs are prohibited from use. I will give you a pass this time, but if you mess up again your commenting rights will be revoked.

carrie said...

Just ignore him Amanda. He also gets mad at me when I say "Sans." As in, I would like a sandwhich sans mayo.

Yes, i'll admit, i've always been a fan of food. But the relationship has increased in intensity these past few months.

Anonymous said...

Don't forget Uber as in uber cool. Because it totally is NOT uber cool to say uber.

Amanda said...

Dave! You REALLY are the moody preggie one aren't you! Here I thought it was just a big joke. Silly me!

Does it bug you when people say "anyways"? Why add the S ? It's not a word. That bugs me. Just say "anyway" sans the S.

Amy said...

I love the day when food is enjoyable again while pregnant. For me it was at 13 weeks this thime around. Actually the only thing with this one that sounded good was pankcakes and Blake and I ate them for lunch and dinner somedays, now I can't stand the thought of pankcakes!
And yes with the 2nd one wait till the 1st can watch tv. Blake has been watching tv nonstop for the last 2 months, except of course when Chad was home in the evenings!

di said...

carrie, i feel your pain! i cannot seem to stay far from the bathroom or the hospital for that matter! when people heard that we were having a baby they couldn't believe that i would put myself through the torture again. just remind yourself--the outcome is definitely worth it! you are going to be a FABULOUS mom! look at how amazing you have been your whole life! love you! diane (gerdy)p.s. it looks like we are finally getting our girl!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

This comment is for Di, alias Diane Gerdy. I clicked over to her blog to tell her how excited I was she was having a girl. I saw nothing about her telling her blog readers the great news, so made a comment here in hopes she would read it. I didn't want to blow her cover, if she hadn't announced the exciting news it yet.

In order to totally experience life, one must have a child of each sex. Plus little girls are so much fun to dress, especially past size 2 Toddler. Just ask Rand's wife after 3 boys. So fun fun fun!

carrie said...

Congrats on the little Girl Diane. That is so exciting! I can't imagine being sick all 9 months...9 weeks was enough to put me over the edge.

Amy I can't believe how close are due dates are! Too bad you aren't still around, our little babies could be buds.

leslie said...

love this post!! you deserve every last bit of food your little heart desires carrie! btw, i want belly pics!!!!