All About My New Eating Habits

One of the biggest surprises since becoming pregnant is how much my eating schedule has necessarily changed. This became even clearer when we visited Ohio last week, and even more so in the few days since we've returned.

Before I was pregnant, I would get up on weekdays at 8 a.m. I may or may not eat breakfast as I got ready. Lunch would be at 4 p.m., supper at about 8:30. On weekends breakfast would be later and lunch earlier.

Now I get up at 7:30 a.m. and eat breakfast before I do anything else. I can't function without a bowl of cereal, and maybe some toast. Second breakfast starts when I get to work -- usually a giant muffin from the farmer's market, or a blueberry scone from Starbucks. I try to eat it slowly and make it last til at least 11.

By 12:30 I'm hungry again, so I snack on some animal crackers, or maybe some leftover pasta in the fridge if I have any. Lunch is at 2 and rarely later -- if I eat it too late, I know from experience that I'll be sick. I try to eat McDonald's or Burger King once or twice a week for the calories, or maybe get some soup and a pastry at Au Bon Pain. Yesterday I mixed it up and got some potato concoction and fried plantains at a Cuban place.

More animal crackers in the afternoon, and my new thing is munching on a mini bagel on the subway ride home (thanks, Mom). This is the iffiest part of the day. By the time I leave at 6 or 6:30, my stomach is a little lighter, and the jerky subway ride home doesn't help matters. By the time I get home, I often (but not always) feel awful and need a baked potato right away. Eating a potato also seems to be a good way to keep down my horse-pill of a prenatal vitamin (which, if you didn't know, is the most awful thing ever to puke, followed by tomato sauce and watermelon - luckily, not in combination).

If it was a bad trip home, it's difficult for me to eat the rest of the night. I can usually eat an ice cream sandwich very slowly. Maybe some frozen spinach. (But again, I must beware -- gag that, and it tastes like you just upchucked an iron bar, not to mention that it looks just awful in the toilet. It actually scared me when I saw it.) On a good night I can have pasta or chicken and rice or even tacos. Ah, the variety!

So that's my eating life right now. But it was so much better in Ohio! I was extremely concerned before we went. Both my and Paul's parents asked about my food preferences and aversions before we came, but it's still not the same as having a fridge full of your own food. Furthermore, I didn't want to be an inconvenience.

Luckily, it went fine -- I was actually able to eat better and a greater variety there than I'd been able to before or since. Almost everything Paul's mom suggested sounded great -- pesto, bacon, scrambled eggs, salad, meat and potatoes -- I don't even know what all. Really the only thing I nixed was lasagna. And my parents' house was the same way. I was addicted to the shredded pork sandwiches they made one night and tried my best to eat all the leftovers before we came back to New York. And one day for lunch we went to a Mexican restaurant, and the salsa tasted so good!

Of course, my eating schedule was different in Ohio. That is, I didn't have one. I pretty much just ate constantly. And there were a couple of nights in which I slept 12 hours. That probably didn't hurt either.

Now you know more than you ever wanted about my new eating habits. Whatever they are, they must be working. I still see men on the street who look more pregnant than I do, but my jeans sure are a tad bit cozier nowadays.