Bloating

 Bloating… 

So initially I thought nausea, vomiting and general loss of appetite would be the only thing that would prevent me from eating something… guess what… bloating is its own beast and champion. 

Today, I ordered Starbite beef burger. I was starving at 3pm after my sparse meals all day, I knew more bananas wouldn’t save me. 

And suddenly, I wanted Starbite beef meat pie, then the Starbite burger, and as I placed my order on phone, I wanted the Starbite apple crumble as well. I’d have ordered a raspberry and yoghurt muffin in addition but they had run out at the Tema branch. I waited for my feast to be delivered and realised I was going to pay hard for this. 

Halfway through my burger, I knew I had to stop eating. I didn’t and finished it off but then I couldn’t get myself to consume the delicious fries. Hm… the crumble and pie made its way to the fridge. 

Craving stuff at your fingertips that you can’t eat out of sheer sensibilities is torture! One of the reasons I look forward to sleep tonight, just to end the cravings and usher me into a tomorrow that gives me a fresh opportunity to finally eat my currently chilling treasures. 

This thing called bloating…

I only have a slight baby bump now, nothing massive, quite unnoticeable under fairly loose clothing. But funny enough, it’s my bloated tummy that makes me “look pregnant”. From day one, it’s looked bigger and “moved forward” way more than my lower abdomen like a bulging muffin top. I’m sure my baby bump may have been noticeable a little earlier if my constantly bloated upper belly didn’t hide it. 

My diet’s changed a lot too. Pepper could make me throw up just from too much bloat. Oil isn’t my friend. Powdered and Evaporated Milk are pretty good enemies to me now. And I can’t have oranges after 12noon any more. I’ll speak to aversions another day but my bloaters pretty much cancel out most of our Ghanaian meals, and pretty much slay 80% of my cravings on the altar of “don’t touch me”. My darling kontomire abomu died at that altar too… I still mourn my loss driven by its pepper, rich groundnut paste and palm oil… boi! 

So here I am, 22:49, paying for my Starbite crime against my pregnancy. At least, it’s worth it and it’s pretty kind tonight. Unlike the coconut gari soakings I had that contained powdered milk. I could barely get a comfortable position to sleep in that night, and the following day my tummy was sore for hours!

Now my average intake each day consists of 2 bananas (it has to be the local variant - shorter, more tangy bananas), one orange (not the local ones, but the ones that are the colour orange evenly all round), 2 boiled eggs, a cup of oats, if I’m lucky I’d have almonds or cashews, and sometimes fruit and fibre with my oats. And that’s it! Juice may follow and of course, plenty of water. No wonder I’m losing weight. 

One of the things I won’t miss when pregnancy is over is this… the limited ability of a Foodie to simply eat at will, just because of the risk of intense bloating. Sigh. 

I miss being adventurous with food. Now I just have to be patient with myself and my body as she manufactures a whole new life in me…. Such a delightful thought to end with, a higher calling by all means. 

11:09pm

- Pregnancy Diaries || Wednesday, 23rd June, 2021 || 16 weeks, 1 day