There’s this myth about pregnancy that says when a woman is pregnant she’s going to start craving very strange things like, for instance, a big dill pickle smothered in mint chocolate chip ice cream. Like a lot of myths, cravings are both true and false.
The ice cream and pickles bit may be true for some women, but not for most of them. In fact, craving, if it happens at all, will be different for every woman. The reason for it is, once again, those wacky hormones running crazy through her body.
Those hormones are causing changes in your partner’s sense of taste and smell. That causes her to be looking for different food combinations. Most women who have cravings talk about needing sweets and dairy products, as well as sour fruits and spicy foods.
Crackers
Here’s another fun bit of pregnancy: morning sickness. This little biological gem is thought to be caused by way too much estrogen running riot through a woman’s body. Basically, morning sickness results in a woman waking up in the morning and rushing to the bathroom to vomit up whatever’s in her stomach. Although it’s called morning sickness, it can happen at any time during the day. For the most part, morning sickness vanishes sometime after the first trimester.
You might wish morning sickness was a myth, but, dude, it’s not. Fortunately it doesn’t happen to every single woman who gets pregnant. But, when it does, it’s not a lot of fun.
Here’s another tip. When she’s sicking up in the bathroom, don’t just lay there in the bed wishing she’d get it over with quickly so you can go back to sleep. Get your lazy butt up, go in there and help. Whether it be holding her hair out of the way, getting a wet towel to wipe her mouth, or even just rubbing on her back so you can be there for her. Do not roll over and pretend to sleep through it. She’ll know. And do not run around panicking asking “What do I do,? What do I do?” Just remember high school and college hangovers. Get some water and just be there.
Pregnancy is not something that just happens to her. When she’s pregnant, so are you and it will make it easier if you accept this as soon as possible.
Most of those fancy books recommend that, to fight morning sickness, women should lie still in bed and then eat some dry crackers before getting up. That’s probably a pretty good idea, no matter that you might have to brush cracker crumbs out of the bed. If it stops her throwing up, isn’t that worth a few cracker crumbs in the bed? You know you’ve had worse in bed so deal with it.
I Look Like I’m What?
Morning sickness, unfortunately, isn’t confined to just the morning. With some women, in fact, it continues throughout the day and severely affects their appetite. Which means there will be a lot of food left over on her plate.
We know you’ll be tempted, but, dude, don’t eat it. You will regret it.
For a lot of dudes pregnancy means not only will she be getting bigger, but so will they. If their wife or girlfriend doesn’t eat, many dudes will gorge on her leftovers. If their wife or girlfriend is eating like there’s no tomorrow then a lot of dudes will start to match her plate for plate.
Either way, there’s every possibility that you’ll gain just as much weight as she does. Too bad for the dudes that they don’t lose anything at the end of the pregnancy. It sticks around and when we say around we mean, you know, round.
– Richard
Tags: A Dude's Guide to Babies, bathroom, Chip Ice Cream, Chocolate, Dairy Products, Dill Pickle, dude, eat, eating, Estrogen, First Trimester, food, Food Combinations, girl, Girlfriend, Hangovers, Hormones, Lazy Butt, Man, men, Mint Chocolate Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, Pickles, pregnancy, Pregnancy Morning Sickness, Running Riot, Sense Of Taste, Single Woman, sleep, Spicy Foods, Strange Things, Waking Up In The Morning, weight, Wet Towel, wife
My wife craved pickles dipped in BBQ sauce. It was crazy. As for the weight, yes I gained a lot too during each of her pregnancies and she of course lost it each time and I am a hefty 60 lbs heavier!
You are not alone, dude. Believe me.