Every couple deals with the tug-of-war that is meal planning. In the Team Soell household, this usually looks something like this:
Me: What do you want for dinner?
January: You know what sounds good? Ethiopian.
Me: Yeah, I don't know if I'm feeling Ethiopian tonight. What if we cook up some peppers and onions and made fajitas or something?
January: Fine, but if you're cooking, you're cleaning.
Of course, sometimes it's a little more involved and with one or both of us having a stronger stubbornness toward what they're craving, but in general it's at least a debate. Figuring out what to eat when one of the participants is a nauseous pregnant woman operates under an entirely different set of rules. Take tonight for example:
January: I'm getting nauseous again, i think i need to eat something.
Me: We have those turkey burgers, how about that.
January: *gets up, runs out of the room to throw up*
Me: OK, guess not. Maybe something lighter, like a salad?
January: Are you TRYING to make me throw up?? No!
Me: I don't know, what sounds ok to you?
January: I don't know, suggest something.
Adding to the complexity of the decision making process is the fact that, with some exceptions, the foods that sound good to her are often a one-time thing. While at one time or another in the past month she absolutely *had* to have vegetarian corn dogs, sushi, spaghetti, potato chips, and cream of broccoli soup -- not all in the same meal, of course -- these are all items that now the mere mention of disgusts her. By my estimates, we I'll have actually cycled through every combination of food available by the third trimester.
Fortunately, we have found a few cornerstone items that she seems to always be able to eat, and it's mostly pretty easy to put together. So in the meantime, we're stocking up on watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, and rice krispy treats and I'm learning to bat cleanup on the foods that she can't eat. Hopefully the second trimester will bring her appetite back to normal before the third trimester cravings kick in.