Whitney and Dave had been married for three years and were very excited about becoming parents for the first time. In three months, they would be welcoming baby girl Danney into the world. Both Whitney and Dave were successful dental hygienists. While Dave still worked full time, Whitney began working only two days per week when she hit the 6 month mark.
Whitney led a pretty healthy lifestyle and exercised regularly; even throughout her pregnancy. Her daily diet usually consisted of lean protein, legumes, fresh veggies and fruits. She would have an occasional cookie here or there but she was not really big on sweets. Granola bars were her go to snack if she wanted something sweet. Dave on the other hand, would eat anything. However, since Whitney had been pregnant, her appetite changed and she had cravings. She still ate healthy but her portion size increased a bit and she craved dark chocolate almonds all the time!!!
Whitney kept a stash of dark chocolate almonds almost everywhere in the house. She would eat a handful while watching TV or reading a book in the living room. She would pull some out of her bedside table and eat a few before going to sleep. Whitney would even pop a few in her mouth while taking a soak in the bathtub.
On Whitney's non-work days, her routine was basically the same. She would get up and get dressed. Take a mile walk. On her way home from her walk, she would stop at the store and pick up whatever she needed to make dinner and a ¼ lb of dark chocolate almonds. After so many calls during the pregnancy, Dave knew at this point to bring home dark chocolate almonds after work (even if there were some already there).
As a dental hygienist, Whitney knew the possibility of damaging her teeth. She still took really good care of her teeth and still ate healthy otherwise so she figured she would not deny herself of her pregnancy cravings as this was a special time for her and her family. Dave dared not say anything to Whitney for risk of being verbally attacked by the pregnancy hormones that could possibly arise in his sensitive pregnant wife.
Whitney's pregnancy had been pretty smooth. She didn't experience much morning sickness or nausea, just an occasional headache or pain every now and then. One thing Whitney did experience though, was dreaming. She dreamed every night. Sometimes pleasant dreams, sometimes nightmares and sometimes just those senseless dreams that people have after falling asleep watching television.
Whitney was now in her third trimester, she was 8 months pregnant and on maternity leave. She was preparing for bed and excited for her baby shower the next day. She kissed Dave, grabbed a handful of dark chocolate almonds from her bedside table, gobbled them up, went to use the bathroom and then went to bed. On this particular night Whitney had a dream, or nightmare like none other. She dreamt that there was a little baby forcing dark chocolate almonds into her mouth. Although her mouth and cheeks were filled, the baby kept stuffing and stuffing her mouth. Whitney ran all over her house trying to find a place to empty her mouth but every place she went, there were more almonds! She ran into the bathroom but almonds filled the tub and toilet. She ran into the kitchen, almonds filled the sink, she ran over to the trash can- almonds! Every place Whitney ran, the baby was chasing her while waving and throwing dark chocolate almonds at her! She ran to the garage and opened her car door and dark chocolate almonds began spilling out everywhere! Whitney woke up in a panic. She was sweating profusely and her heart was racing. She sat up which started Dave. He asked her if she was ok and all she said was "I'm ok but I don't ever want to see another dark chocolate almond in my life"! Dave was surprised and comforted his wife until she was able to get back to sleep. Dave layed back down and whispered to himself: "Just a few more weeks"!
The day of the baby shower had finally arrived. Whitney and Dave's families and friends were all excited to help celebrate the new member of the family. The banquet hall was decorated beautifully. There was plenty of good looking food, hour de vours, and a beautifully decorated cake. One particular decoration stood out to Whitney though. Every table had a silver dish filled with dark chocolate covered almonds. Whitney tried her best to overlook what was now disgusting to her instead of a delight. Her sister Debbie knew of her cravings but not of her nightmare, so when she decorated for the event, she made sure that the decadent treat was in Whitney's reach wherever she was in the hall. After all the gifts had been opened and everyone was enjoying themselves and eating the delectable party food, Debbie came over to her sister and offered her a generous helping of dark chocolate almonds. Whitney declined, smiled and said politely, " No thanks, I'll just have a slice of chocolate cake".
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