There are no shortage of books and articles and internet know-it-all tidbits about what/where/how/why/who to eat when you're cooking a baby. The irony here is classic, though. They tell you to eat ALL THE THINGS without telling you that most of it will be, at best, unappealing and, at worst, send you running for the toilet.
I've been lucky enought not to have been plagued with unbearable morning sickness or nausea (thank you, Pregnancy Jesus). For about 2 weeks (you read that right: PAST TENSE! Yay!), I'd wake up on empty and feel a little icky, but as soon as I had something to eat, it would mostly go away, and by lunchtime all icky feelings would be gone completely. Sometimes if I wake up super famished, I still feel a little gross, but eating usually cures it pretty quickly. However, I haven't escaped eating challenges altogether, because my sense of smell seems determined to make me starve.
Not even joking, Jeff regularly shoots me sideways "whatever you say, crazy lady" glances when I tell him things like how our house smells like the fish section at a pet store (BECAUSE IT DID THAT DAY).
I find myself particularly averse to cooking meat, eggs, and brewing coffee. I've found I can eat some meat if I push through the initial smell and get it in my mouth, and if it's well seasoned (think taco meat). Last night we ended up at Rib Crib and upon being assaulted by the smell of barbeque as I walked in, we almost walked back out. It's one of Jeff's favorites, so I held my breath and got through it like a champ. Back pats for me! But we probably won't be going back until my nose returns to being blissfully unaware of just how fragrant the world is.
So we're finding ourselves navigating the tricky world of pregnancy eating, and my super smeller isn't just making me look insane, it's also making nearly every food with a scent unappealing. Not quite at the makes-me-want-to-vomit level of cooking meat, but even some of my formerly favorite foods are now just, meh. I find myself gravitating towards sweet foods that have little-to-no smell to them. Things like graham crackers (also a bit of childhood nostalgia here), fruit, and popcorn. And carbs. Sooooo many carbs. Bring on the pasta, the pizza, the dinner rolls, and the pretzel dogs (sans hot dogs-no nitrates for this lady and her baby!). I try to balance with fruit and veggies but the carbs are so delicious, and when you have to pick and choose, you take what you can stomach at any given time.
At nine weeks and four days, I've probably got a solid four weeks until things get a little more "normal" for me. In the meantime, I'm eating what I can and forcing down some nutrition for Peanut so s/he doesn't starve. I'm hoping it won't be this challenging to feel this baby once it's here!
Only 213 days to go!!
