The Oreos Kept Me Going

Spencer and I have been wolf den leaders ever since we moved at the end of July last year. We did a planning night where we got some good ideas from the scouts on what activities they would like to do.

Finally, we got around to hiking the Y last Thursday.

For those who don't know-- this is a 1.1 mile hike up the Y Mountain with 13 switchbacks. Which basically means you're zig-zagging your way up the mountain.

The elevation difference is 1,074 feet once you get to the top, which was making this California girl huff and puff the entire time!

We had six scouts come with us, along with a few other adults besides Spencer and I. My doctor recommended me getting 20-30 minutes of light to moderate exercise each day. But once morning sickness had hit full swing, it's an accomplishment to get out of the house once a day... much less exercise.

I hadn't hiked the Y since 2015... It's been four years. So to say I was nervous for this was a bit of an understatement. I had already had a headache (which I tend to already get when I change elevations), and my nausea wasn't going away.

At 7 p.m. we get to the beginning of the trail and we start our ascent to the top! I was trying to go at a steady rate, but I was in the middle to the last of the pack.

I noticed that one of our smallest, newest cubs who had turned 8 not even two weeks ago was somewhat by himself but in between two adults. I slowed my pace and started to talk to him.

As the hike progressed, Spencer and I were the last ones in our group with him. I used to be able to hear or see the other scouts, but they were long gone.

I picked up my pace, hoping that we all could be at the top at the same time and take a picture.

While I didn't want to leave both of them behind, I felt like the longer rest breaks made me not want to continue at all. I sucked it up and continued my journey up the mountain by myself.

By the the 6th and 7th switchback, I wanted to give up, sit on one of those benches, and text everyone to leave this fallen soldier behind! I was much too tired and my headache was not getting any better.

But, I persevered, for the Oreos! Spencer and I had them in my snackpack for everyone at the top. I couldn't let any of the scouts down, even though they didn't even know about the Oreos!

I got more hope with each switchback achieved. I didn't care that everyone else in front of us probably thought I was ridiculously out of shape (albeit probably worse than I expected). I was determined to finish this hike!

I got to the top, stoked to have made it with minimal cramping (my doctor said that if I started to cramp up while exercising I should stop). I had made it in about 1 hour and 10 minutes!

The scouts were VERY excited to get the Oreos! It was fun since I had also brought pretzels and the scouts and I were switching snacks from our snackpacks.

The scouts began to descend from the Y as they had been to the top a lot longer. We didn't get the picture I was hoping for, but I did win brownie points loading up the scouts on sugar! I waited for Spencer and our youngest cub to get to the top. Once they arrived I continued to eat more Oreos with them.

One of the cute things that the cub scout told Spencer while hiking was that I'd be pregnant soon. If only he knew!

Pro tip: Don't hike the Y while pregnant and out of shape. Your ankles, calves, thighs, and hips down will extremely hurt after (and you struggle to walk)  and you can't take ibuprofen. 2/10, do not recommend.

The baby told me to eat it!

I was really curious on what all of my cravings we going to be once I got pregnant. So I figured I'd make a list since they're entertaining and I want to remember them! I've been having a lot of cravings so I'll be posting ten of them periodically. I already have enough for a second post...

Lactose free ice cream!

All I can say is that this baby must love dairy or something, because it's a lot harder to be dairy-free when all you want is cheese...

I'm going to skip all of the boring cravings when all I could eat was bread, toast, strawberries, club crackers, saltines, powerade/gatorade, watermelon, etc. Since who wants to read about those?!

1. Microwaved popcorn
Now I'm not entirely sure if this was really a pregnancy craving or not... But I had just discovered at my graduation barbecue (and I was already pregnant then but didn't know at the time) that the Acts II popcorn had an ACTUAL (not)BUTTERED POPCORN FLAVOR THAT WAS DAIRY-FREE. 

I dunno WHAT'S in that popcorn, but the fact that it tasted like the real buttered popcorn that I've craved since becoming dairy free... (Freshly popped popcorn with Smart Balance ain't the real thing chief.) ...We HAD to go out and buy an 18 pack of this popcorn since I was eating it EVERY. DAY.

Sometimes I didn't even want to wait until the evening (when I usually eat my popcorn) and I would eat it randomly in the afternoon-- happy as I could be!

Accurate representation of me inhaling popcorn

But now the saddest thing has happened... I can't eat popcorn anymore! It's just something now that's unappetizing completely. A couple weeks ago I popped a bag of delicious popcorn, and I ate about a few handfuls. Then it just stayed by the cream puff (love sac), waiting for someone to eat it.*cough*SpencerSinceIAin'tTouchingIt.*cough* It took a four of five days or so before it was gone.

My most common craving: 

2. Slurpees
I got a slurpee with Hillary a couple days after I found out I was pregnant. 10/10, would have three more slurpees since then! This is one craving I want ALL THE TIME since I'm always feeling warmer. But we have a nice supply of Otter Pops so we don't go to 7-Eleven all the time. Bless, saving the monies.

The rest will be somewhat in order, but I really can't make any promises.

3. Hummus
I remember talking about how badly I wanted hummus in the beginning so I could dip my leftover extra veggies from my graduation barbecue. We went to Walmart and I accidentally left the hummus behind as we were picking out good strawberries. Tears were almost shed.

Then a couple days later I made a trip almost solely for the hummus. I ate my roasted garlic hummus for a few days before realizing that I actually don't like hummus... It's still in the fridge.

4. Meringue cookies
I haven't made these meringue cookies since they take WAY too long to make and I get impatient with beating the egg whites. But I just wanted these cookies since they melt in your mouth and they are so delicious! I was very distraught when I over-baked them as they were on the top rack. I was very protective over these cookies and I didn't want to share with anyone but Spencer!

But now it's been over a month and we still have a little Tupperware full of these cookies, and I really only ate them for two or three days (before I got really sick and couldn't eat sugary foods.) Spencer pops one in his mouth every now and then and tell me they're still good!

5. Potato salad
Probably not one of the more interesting foods. But while I was sick, potato salad was one of the few foods that I didn't get sick of. I tend to get up pretty late these days due to really bad sleep. So I'd wake up at 11 a.m. and get me some potato salad for breakfast!

Once again, my stomach has struck again and I haven't finished the potato salad in the fridge... There's probably two servings left in there, but I can't bring myself to eat it.

6. Wendy's
I always love Wendy's, but there's been something about a crispy chicken sandwich that gets to me... Plus the fact that Wendy's is one of the places that has a Coca Cola machine where I can get peach soda! #GeorgiaGirlForLife

Technically, I always got the chicken sandwich and not a burger, but minor detail.

Jennifer and I went to Wendy's when we went to and from California. By the time we were driving back to California, I could only bring myself to buy an overly expensive salad because I was NOT feeling well enough for fried food. Wendy's is not on my good list since they only had pre-made salads that had feta cheese on them. Feta cheese gets everywhere and I tried my hardest to pick it out and failed. Jen could tell you of the repercussions after my best attempt of avoiding cheese. (I even took a lactase enzyme pill.)

Wendy's, you DID ME WRONG!

7. Bam Bams Barbecue Swatchos
Some of you may or may not know what this is, but I'ma tell you... If I was allowed to eat one dairy meal without any consequences for the rest of my life, it would be THIS.

Yes, I know it's completely unhealthy, but SO good. It has tortilla chips, brisket, beans, nacho cheese, and sweet barbecue sauce on it and it's heavenly. Spencer and I share one plate because we can't eat our own.

When I celebrated taking my last college final ever, I treated Sarah (who is from Texas) to Swatchos. She approved! I've had at two additional times since then, but I haven't been able to eat as much because pregnant people are supposed to eat every 2-3 hours or something, so I can't eat as much as I usually do. *rolls eyes* 10/10, would recommend! I will probably get this again once my appetite comes back. (I love me some nacho cheese, even before I was pregnant.)

8. Veggie Straws
This was a classic "monkey see, monkey want" craving (and this is how it mostly goes for the remainder of my cravings). I was babysitting Kayla and Cooper at my apartment for Heather and they brought veggie straws as a snack.

I am not proud of this moment, but neither of them were interested in eating said veggie straws. They were more interested in the goldfish crackers, popcorn, and granola bars. These veggie straws just happened to be right by my feet. So what did I do....?

I snatched those veggie straws right up and hid them in my lap!

I proceeded to munch sneakily on those straws while Kayla and Cooper weren't watching. But don't worry, once Cooper was asking for those veggie straws, I put them back down on the floor where I found them. He was very excited to eat his veggie straws and I left plenty for him.

Then, Spencer and I were babysitting Marie, Adam, and Nathan. Commence the eating of more veggie straws!

I didn't have as many since I wasn't feeling super well. But shortly after babysitting we got a huge bag of veggie straws ourselves. I'm pretty sure we ate 1/3rd of the bag in one sitting because they were full of salty crunchy goodness. I ate quite a bit of veggie straws the few days after... but you guessed it! I haven't touched them since. I even packed them in my backpack of snackages for our California trip a couple weeks ago, but I didn't touch them once.

9. Taco Bell
I think I wanted to go to Taco Bell once before we visited Christie and Tim to tell them the happy news, but I can't be sure of it. I was talking about cravings with them, and Christie mentioned that she wanted a bean burrito from Taco Bell randomly. I turned to Spencer and gave him this look...

So after we said our good-byes, Spencer took me to Taco Bell so I could get my Double Decker Taco! Bless him.

10. Nacho Cheese Doritos
I'm pretty sure this one is higher up, but I can't for the life of me remember when I watched this video. It probably didn't help that I was learning all about the chip. The texture, the flavors, the ingredients, and it was a 45 minute video about nacho cheese Doritos. 

I kept asking Spencer, "Do you have nacho cheese Doritos at work?" No, they really only have the cheddar cheese and sour cream Ruffles. "Okay those work too!" I happily ate those chips, but I still craved my Doritos. A couple days later he surprised me by getting nacho cheese Doritos from a catered lunch and sacrificed part of his lunch (the chips) for me!

Fits weird but I BLESS SPENCER WITH ALL THE BLESSINGS.

I was SO happy and was SO excited to finally get my Doritos!

Then at the family reunion Mom got a huge variety pack of chips for our lunches. Lo and behold! There were nacho cheese Doritos in said variety pack! Did I sneakily eat those Doritos when no one was looking? Yes. Do I regret it? Not really.

Then Mom told Jen and I to take the rest of the chips with us for snackages on the trip back. Did I sneak the majority of the Doritos into my snack backpack to save for later? Yes. Are they all gone now? Also yes. Am I still craving these chips to this day? You betcha! ...Which is unfortunate because it's the kind of chip I SHOULDN'T eat.

Honorable mention: I've had 6-7 pieces of buttered toast within the last 24 hours.

But don't worry y'all, I haven't gained a thing! 😆

Wrongness

When I thought about pregnancy, I always thought it was going to be so great. Didn't have to worry about cramps or tampons. Just it being fine and dandy!

Oh, how wrong I was.

A couple weeks ago, I learned that not only I get cramps... But I get really painful cramps because of the round ligaments in my body to support my uterus expanding and stretching to make room for the baby. Fun.

Apparently these sharp pains can last for mere moments or hours. On June 7th, it was lasting hours.

One of the unfortunate things about being pregnant is that they don't recommend you using hot tubs, having super hot baths, and not using a rice pack on your abdomen because it could cause birth defects. *Silently sobs*

I was in a lot of pain that evening until I fell asleep around 2 a.m. But that sleep was short lived as I woke up a little bit before 4 a.m.

I'm wilting as I sit on the cream puff (love sac) while wallowing in pain. I've noticed earlier that if I'm tossing and turning in bed I've woken up Spencer a few times. I didn't want him to get bad sleep because of me!

Is this a bit excessive? Yes. Do I care? NO.

What I thought to my uterus?

As I tried to mitigate my pain, I began coming up with a song that I would sing to my head.

(To the tune "My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean")
Do I care that the second line has an extra syllable? NO.

♪♫My body is cramping all over
My uterus is expanding in size
My body is cramping all over
So please bring back my slumber to meee
Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my slumber to me, to me!
Bring back, bring back, oh bring back my slumber to me!♫♪

-June 7th, 4:26am

I sung that song to myself as I pitifully dragged myself into bed (after some snackages and Powerade.) I fell asleep around 5:45 a.m.

My Fitbit registered my sleep in three separate chunks because I forced myself to sleep more after I woke up around 10 a.m.

I got less than 7 hours of sleep that night, and I'm pretty sure that was the worst night of sleep I've ever gotten while pregnant.

I wouldn't wish this upon my enemies.

BREAD.

I could never comprehended the fatigue and morning sickness of pregnancy until I was pregnant myself.

Bless all of the women who came before me, my appreciation for you has never been stronger!

I'd consider week 6 and 7 to be the hardest weeks so far. I had practically no appetite whatsoever, and had to eat the smallest meals. (They were also really bland- saltines, bread, soup, gatorade, etc.) With nausea and morning sickness, larger meals tend to irritate my stomach. But unfortunately, that means I get hungrier more often.

At the beginning of pregnancy, I used to wake up in the middle of the night twice to go the bathroom. My achy stomach didn't help one bit since I struggled to fall back asleep for over an hour...

Can you guess what would happen in that period of time while I tried to fall asleep?

First, I would get HUNGRY. 

I would try my darnedest to try and go back to sleep and ignore my stomach growling

But I gave in and would grudgingly walk to the kitchen to get myself a piece of bread.

I would happily munched down my bread! But then after I settled back into bed after 15 minutes or so, I would get thirsty. I usually had a glass of water by my bed side, but by the time I had gotten up the second time, it would be gone.

Once again, I tried my darnedest to try and go back to sleep and ignore my parched throat! But of course, I would give in shortly after.

I'd walk to the kitchen to get myself some orange juice (since I heard citrus helps with morning sickness) and drank it. ...But on this specific day (May 31st), I made a momentous decision.

I grabbed the loaf of bread with me, JUST IN CASE I got hungry and didn't want to get up again to get another slice.

It's *bed bread, y'all.

Bread, on the floor next to my bed! An amazing discovery!

Now that it's been two weeks and I have so much more wisdom of combating morning sickness... I have bread next to my bed every night.

I have never received such comfort from bread in my life. 

Bread cat, just because I love bread.

Can't wait to see what amazing discovery I'll figure out next!