Pica and weird cravings

[melsy]

The last few weeks Ive been having the need to sniff or chew natural wood,(lollypop sticks are marvellous for this). Ive even chewed a box that some biscuits came in, although havent digested it. Im just loving the smells and textures , dd's natural wood dolls house is just a dream to sit near right now!

I had a mad craving for rice cakes with dd's pregnancy 3 yrs ago and went through a packet a day and with this wood/paper thing I thought it safer to get into the rice cakes again. I must say its really satisfying the craving, but Im not sure 6-8 a day is healthy , although I am eating proper meals to!!!

Whats your weird cravings ? I havent seen any threads for it so far.

ok someone else must be wanting or eating some weird stuff , cant just be me and me wood!!!!

humour me , Im in need of distraction.

I had an overwhelming craving for ice cubes towards the end of each pregnancy. I would spend hours constantly crunching through them. Used to have loads of trays in the freezer to cope with the demand. I even went to see the dentist because I was so worried about damaging my teeth. Craving stopped after baby arrived. Bizarre!

lol at huge amounts to cope with demand!!!! I remember frequent trips to M&S & Sainsburys to buy at least 2 bags full of rice cake packets. Isnt it weird how we need the chosen item in excess. I got told off at hospital for eating them, think breast feeding counsellor thought that was all I was eating!!!

Actually ice sounds quite good!

charcoal

Actually, come to think of it, used to have cravings for orange juice, mash potato and gravy in the early pregnancy days. Morning sickness was hideous. The only thing I could tolerate also was chicken and sweetcorn soup from the local takeaway! Isn't it strange.

bath sponges

Mine is cucumber and Dove soap. Love to lick it then have to wash my mouth out!!!!

i used to crave washing tablets?? not the taste, the smell, i used to put a wash on for 2 pairs of jeans just so i could smell the damp washing nearer the end of the pregnancy i actually used to hang the little washing nets with tablets in, around the house.

also loved the smell of bleach, flash and cillit bang.

Lanismum can agree with the bleach and Flash (must be bathroom spray thou) and the smell of the washing. Again, must be Fairy non bio....

Must go and wash my hands again.....

Also will try the thing with leaving it around the house......

Bath sponges (the smell and texture) Dog biscuits (the taste and texture)

oh god snowboo, now iv made you as odd as me!

Melsey, it might be worth you speaking to your m/w about the wood craving, they say to want to eat wood means you're lacking iron. My nephew used to chew the garden fence and it turned out he was low on iron.

My biggest craving so far that I just can't get enough of is strawberries dipped in coleslaw, not sure it is that strange though!

ahh lol at all of these.

Thank you for that bit of advice NatalieJane, I didnt know it could be that. I had pph with dd and was severly aneamic post natally. Will ask tommorow as seeing consultant.

I wanted to eat my stretch mark cream and had to settle for very flowery turkish delight, had to throw the cream out or i would haveeaten it.

strawberries dipped in coleslaw IS a little weird

I have just been told I'm anaemic, so I will have to see if my charcoal craving goes now I am taking iron tablets!

LOL Trinity, not as strange as eating stretchmark cream, or coal for that matter!!

Im not sure whos is the wierdest here!!

Natalie John I think you were right, my iron levels have started geting lower , not to low , but doctor suggested I take some of the floradix I have at home. Hes also taken my bloods to check the levels , as the results he had are from 4 weeks ago, so could be lower now.

Still have to eat my 8 rice cakes a day though !!I have to put the packet away encase I just want to eat the whole lot in one go!!

when expecting dd I loved the smell of the grout between tiles in the bathroom..we live in a new home and one of the showers hadn't been used much thus smelling even better ..!!! dh caught me in the shower one day scratching the grout out of the wall and eating it ..

I also had a teracotta plant pot that smelled devine once wet..!!! Loved to lick it..!! .

I'm pregnant again so will see what/ if any cravings I get this time round..!!!!

Thick greek yohurt spread onto.... Toast.

from 6 months pregnant i could not get enough of sand, i now have an 8 week old baby and the craving is still going and very strong.am too embarrassed to tell my doctor or health visitor. any ideas?

ICE! I went through bags of the stuff. There was something about crunching it I could not get enough of. This went on from about the start of the third trimester. DD was a summer baby, though, so towards the end it was a helpful craving.

I read up on pica a bit and discovered that a craving for ice or other wierd stuff often indicates anaemia (which it later turned out I had), so started to eat bloody steak for a bit too and take iron tablets, which helped reduce the ice craving, but didn't get rid entirely.