When you're pregnant, actions that are usually socially unacceptable suddenly become A-okay. For example, wearing elastic waistband jeans when you're not preggo: heinous. Wearing elastic waistband jeans when you're incubating a small child: necessary and highly encouraged. Fortunately I haven't had to resort to maternity jeans quite yet, but I have had to occasionally get clever with a rubber band or even just throw all caution to the wind and unbutton my jeans while driving (my apologies to anyone who saw me re-button my pants while I was waiting for the elevator in the parking garage the other day). One of the typical pregnancy habits that I have unashamedly found myself partaking in is eating...like all the time. You think I'm kidding, but right now I feel like a fallen away member of over-eater's anonymous on a cruise ship: buffets all day, everyday.
I usually wake up around 4:45 every morning and before my feet hit the floor (or the dog, as the case was this morning) I'm already salivating over the thought of having a big bowl of Cherrios...or Frosted Flakes...or maybe a bowl of each. Remember how I told you that after my trip to the Dominican Republic all I wanted was a bunch of cereal? Yeah, well that craving had definitely not subsided. If I run out of time in the morning to eat cereal, I throw a bunch into some Tupperware and eat in the car while Joe drives us to work. I should mention however, that Joe is not a big fan of this practice and has threatened to cut me off from eating cereal in the car because one time (or maybe two or three times, but who's counting?) I accidentally left my Tupperware in his car with leftover milk in it and it wasn't a pleasant experience for him when he found it later and had to clean it out.
I usually wake up around 4:45 every morning and before my feet hit the floor (or the dog, as the case was this morning) I'm already salivating over the thought of having a big bowl of Cherrios...or Frosted Flakes...or maybe a bowl of each. Remember how I told you that after my trip to the Dominican Republic all I wanted was a bunch of cereal? Yeah, well that craving had definitely not subsided. If I run out of time in the morning to eat cereal, I throw a bunch into some Tupperware and eat in the car while Joe drives us to work. I should mention however, that Joe is not a big fan of this practice and has threatened to cut me off from eating cereal in the car because one time (or maybe two or three times, but who's counting?) I accidentally left my Tupperware in his car with leftover milk in it and it wasn't a pleasant experience for him when he found it later and had to clean it out.
Once I arrive at work, I usually open up Outlook, start running through all the emails from the overachievers that came in at ungodly hours of the night, and promptly begin planning my next snack. Today I got a sudden craving for Girl Scout cookies, but realized I finished off the ones I brought with me while I was working on Saturday...needless to say, I was heart broken. Not willing to give up on my craving, I googled Keebler (you know, the elves who make fantastic knockoff versions of Girl Scout cookies) so that I could at least look at the variety of cookies and daydream about eating them. Believe it or not, the Keebler website has a search function that lets you find where their cookies are sold and I was curious if there was such a place near me, so I typed in my zip code and waited for some good news. While there wasn't a store nearby, I did discover that there are some crazy fans of Keebler that resell their cookies on Amazon. If I wanted, I could have delicious cookies delivered right to my desk!
Since the cookies wouldn't come until tomorrow at the earliest, I decided to give up on my cookie search and resort instead to raiding my lunch for sustenance. Before it was even 8:30, I had already gone through a container full of strawberries and blueberries, two Special K bars, and a bag full of tomato-basil Wheat Thins. All that was left in my lunch at that point was the meatloaf that survived from last night's dinner. For whatever reason, I have to be constantly eating all morning long and that's what leads to what I like to call "Second Lunch."
My coworkers know the phrase all too well now. Just about everyday, I finish off the lunch I bring from home by about 10 am and wander into the other trailer to see if anyone wants to go to second lunch with me later. It's inevitable that by 11:30 am, I'll be famished again and without any food to satisfy my hunger. Fortunately for me (and unfortunately for my wallet), I have some easily persuaded coworkers and a plethora of restaurants surrounding my job site. I've convinced myself that eating two lunches is totally acceptable: one lunch is for me and one lunch is for the baby, right? What baby wants, baby gets, and baby wants second lunch. One day, I even had to tell the owner of our project (who is representing a very large, difficult to please company) that the site walk I was leading him on was cutting into my second lunch time so we needed to pick up the pace. I figure it's important to keep my priorities straight: food first, customer service second. Besides, I usually go above and beyond for this owner, so the least he can do is stand out of the way of this pregnant lady and her second sandwich.
I know that I'm not really supposed to eat much more than I did before I was pregnant, but I figure that this is my last chance to eat as much as I want of whatever I want before my metabolism hits a wall and my mother's prophesy will come true that my days of a naturally thin body are gone. But until that day comes, if you're ever in downtown Portland around lunch time, feel free to give me a call. I'm always looking for some company for second lunch. If I'm not too overcome with hunger, I'll even let you pick the restaurant.
KC 03.03.14
Since the cookies wouldn't come until tomorrow at the earliest, I decided to give up on my cookie search and resort instead to raiding my lunch for sustenance. Before it was even 8:30, I had already gone through a container full of strawberries and blueberries, two Special K bars, and a bag full of tomato-basil Wheat Thins. All that was left in my lunch at that point was the meatloaf that survived from last night's dinner. For whatever reason, I have to be constantly eating all morning long and that's what leads to what I like to call "Second Lunch."
My coworkers know the phrase all too well now. Just about everyday, I finish off the lunch I bring from home by about 10 am and wander into the other trailer to see if anyone wants to go to second lunch with me later. It's inevitable that by 11:30 am, I'll be famished again and without any food to satisfy my hunger. Fortunately for me (and unfortunately for my wallet), I have some easily persuaded coworkers and a plethora of restaurants surrounding my job site. I've convinced myself that eating two lunches is totally acceptable: one lunch is for me and one lunch is for the baby, right? What baby wants, baby gets, and baby wants second lunch. One day, I even had to tell the owner of our project (who is representing a very large, difficult to please company) that the site walk I was leading him on was cutting into my second lunch time so we needed to pick up the pace. I figure it's important to keep my priorities straight: food first, customer service second. Besides, I usually go above and beyond for this owner, so the least he can do is stand out of the way of this pregnant lady and her second sandwich.
I know that I'm not really supposed to eat much more than I did before I was pregnant, but I figure that this is my last chance to eat as much as I want of whatever I want before my metabolism hits a wall and my mother's prophesy will come true that my days of a naturally thin body are gone. But until that day comes, if you're ever in downtown Portland around lunch time, feel free to give me a call. I'm always looking for some company for second lunch. If I'm not too overcome with hunger, I'll even let you pick the restaurant.
KC 03.03.14