not interesting, but every night i make my husband go down to the convenience store and get me those chocolate hostess cupcakes with the white loopy thing on top. *drool*

I honestly just think cravings are up because the media tells us pregnant women are supposed to crave things.  Every single movie or TV show about a pregnant woman shows her craving something weird.  I didn't crave anything, and neither did most of the other pregnant women I know.  I should say, we didn't crave anything more than what a non-pregnant person would crave.  In my non-pregnant life, I crave various foods all the time, so I think the difference is that pregnant women automatically attribute normal food cravings to pregnancy.  But I always heard that if you're craving a non-food item like coal, that's a serious medical problem indicating a vitamin deficiency of some sort.  

I'm pregnant now, and that's one of the first things people ask me. I agree, Shannon, my cravings are the same as they were in pre-pregnancy life, but everyone expects me to have one. I have always liked pickles, and everybody freaks now when I eat one: "Oh, look, a pickle! You're sooo pregnant now! ha ha ha."

That said, the things I really "crave", I can't have: sushi, prosciutto, beer.

I would say that I don't crave anything weird, I just crave A LOT of the things I already really like.  So instead of eating half of the Ben and Jerry's Chubby Hubby, I polish the whole thing off.

Having cravings for non-food items - dirt, soap, etc - is called pica and is often an indication of some sort of deficiency.  I have always wobbled on the line of being iron deficient/anemic, and I know when it's gotten bad again because I have this strong uncontrollable urge to chomp on ice all day long, and I've noticed it's gotten worse with pregnancy.  

Milkshakes, strawberry.  Drank one 20 oz. milkshake a day without consequence.  Odd since I have been lactose intolerant for 27 years.

Walking to work a few weeks ago I smelled something mildly sulfuric, and after that I had a serious hankering for deviled eggs (a tough craving to satisfy - thankfully, a girlfriend offered to bring some to a dinner gathering the next day). I've only had a few cravings and they're for things I normally  love anyway, like ice cream, milkshakes (in fact anything cold and dairy) pickles.