Mrs. Hyde

Pregnancy has made a certain problem of mine much worse. Namely, my tendency to morph into a volatile monster when hunger hits. Acquiring food becomes my singular goal. My hands shake; I get lightheaded and weak. I snap at Christian for any perceived slight and simmer with anger at the world.

I'm always surprised at how quickly my foul temper abates after I've eaten something. Within minutes of ingesting a high-protein snack, I feel like a new person. The sun shines again and I realize there's more to life than a turkey sandwich (though it may be a yummy, well-crafted sandwich with spinach, tomato, and red onion....mmmm).

During pregnancy, I find that I must eat at least every two hours or risk the perils of low blood-sugar. When I was pregnant with Eowyn and still working in an office, my schedule was thus: wake up and eat breakfast; eat snack on the way to work; eat snack upon arrival to work; eat snack before lunch; dream about lunch; eat lunch, etc. There were a few morning meetings which disrupted this precarious schedule and which almost resulted in me passed out on the floor. My coworkers quickly learned to hand off any extra food to me. Approach me in my cubicle at any point in the day and I invariably had crumbs on my shirt. One of my newly hired coworkers asked if I was always so obsessed about food. Though I felt a little ashamed, she became pregnant herself later on, so I'm sure she understands in hindsight.

At home with Eowyn, the situation is both better and worse. I have easier access to food, but I'm often too busy taking care of Eowyn to remember to eat it.