It's been just over three months since I've shared a recipe or kitchen triumph (or tragedy) with you. Amazing how life changes as soon as you find out your family is growing, huh? Well, we've still been at it in the kitchen (and other places - obviously!) and while I hope 2013 will be a year of sharing more of our kitchen (and baby) adventures with you, I thought this would be a good time to write about my favorite thing we're baking at the moment...Baby Coke!
Keep in mind that I'm not a fan of the sappy, mushy, twinkling hearts and Precious Moments clip art writing style (and hopefully my hormones never steer me in that direction). So in true Kristin fashion - and in no particular order - here's a list of things I've learned over the past 25+ weeks of growing a tiny human inside my body. Enjoy. :)
Seven Things I've Learned During Pregnancy...
1. Spaghetti is delicious for breakfast. I wouldn't say I've experienced any "strange" cravings (I prefer my ice cream with hot fudge and no pickles, thankyouverymuch) but on several occasions, I've had the overwhelming sense of, "I NEED TO EAT THIS RIGHT NOW!" While staring into the refrigerator one Saturday morning, pondering over several healthy breakfast choices, I saw it...hiding behind the fruit salad and whole grain bread, quietly beckoning to be shoved in the microwave and wolfed down. It was a perfect and beautiful container of leftovers with my name (and Baby Coke's) written all over it. That was the morning I decided to forgo the oatmeal and low sodium V-8 juice...and have spaghetti. And it was the most heavenly breakfast I've ever consumed.
2. Our pets know we're pregnant. Normally, my cats love nothing more than to deploy an aerial assault, landing on my stomach and commencing to make biscuits (that's what we call it when our cats knead). And, for the first few weeks of pregnancy, a couple of them would still attempt that feat (which I cleverly thwarted with large throw pillows). But after a while, they realized I wasn't eating too much ice cream and getting a pooch...I was carrying life! Now, the cats carefully avoid my belly during snuggle time. Well, except when I'm laying on my side, then all bets are off. Although, if Baby Coke decides to kick, the cats can feel it, and they're noticeably annoyed. Maggie, our Collie, has also been clued in to the pregnancy, but her...reaction...is a story for another time.
3. Everything you eat causes indigestion. Oh sure, I expected it from bell peppers, pineapple, red onions and hot wings...but I did not expect it from peanut butter, bananas, chicken 'n dumplings and chocolate chip cookies.
4. Am I forgetting to pee? On more than one occasion, I've gotten up from the couch, gone to the bathroom, peed, returned to the couch, only to find I need to pee...again. So either I'm forgetting, or Baby Coke is secretly squeezing my bladder, waiting for the most opportune moment to interrupt my day (or night) with the "sudden and frequent urge" to go.
5. Feeling your baby kick, move and roll around in there is not only incredibly awesome, but it's also incredibly weird. Yes, you Hallmark watching, Dove chocolate eating, Cozy Comfort tea swilling ladies are correct...feeling your baby move is miraculous, awesome and amazing. To really know there is life growing inside of you is incredible, and makes me appreciate how great our God truly is. But, at the same time, Baby Coke does things inside me that really make me think we're getting close to that scene in "Alien" (come on, you know the one...) and I have to ask the baby to PLEASE STOP PLAYING MY RIBS LIKE A XYLOPHONE! It's weird. Amazing and awe inspiring, but weird.
6. Everyone has advice for you during pregnancy. Even if they've never had children. Or have a womb, for that matter. I think any mom can agree to that...people will give you a plethora of unwarranted (and sometimes completely whackadoo) advice for no reason, other than they assume you must need it. This is especially true during the first pregnancy. Everyone from great grandmothers to the guy stocking the freezer section at our Publix has some bit of sage wisdom to share with me. Some of it is great advice, and some of it...well, I politely smile and nod, sometimes even say "thank you", but in my head I'm wondering if their children would be better off if they'd been raised by wolves...
7. Enjoy your pregnancy the way you want to. It's your pregnancy; not your aunt's, not your co-worker's, not your neighbor's. Share the information you want to share, with who you want to, and don't feel guilty when folks badger you about names, the baby's sex, breastfeeding (seriously, why do SO many people want to know about my boobs?) sleeping arrangements or child rearing...you don't have to share anything with these people. Take time to rest, put your feet up, eat bonbons, watch all those lame B horror movies you've been storing in the DVR since October(sorry about that, honey!)...and go on many, many date nights.
Because in a few months, your world will be turned upside down, and life is going to completely change...in a beautiful, miraculous, endlessly loving (and sometimes exhausting) but blessed and amazing way.
