It’s hard to believe we were still residents of South Korea a little over 3 months ago. We have changed virtually every aspect of our lives since then; Jason works full time while I am now the Housewife, we live in a city where we can communicate without circus gestures, we have carpeted floors in our apartment, our shower is a separate entity from the bathroom as a whole, we’re expecting our first baby (girl) in October, and most importantly… we have a garbage disposal.

You heard right. The first baby Demantski is on its way! Conceived while we were still in Korea, and now a resident of the worldy city of San Francisco, this unborn baby girl is already more cultured than most adults. I’m guessing she will be eating kimchi at one week old and will be reading “The Ramayana” as she exits my womb.

Although we couldn’t be happier about our upcoming baby, I have to admit that my first pregnancy hasn’t been easy.  Not only did I throw up 4 times on the plane ride home from Korea to SFO (in barf bags), but later (6 weeks into the pregnancy) I started getting real, full-blown morning sickness. Why they call it “morning” sickness I will never know. Apparently, for me, “morning” lasts the minute you wake up to the second you fall asleep at night. I was miserable. All. Day. Long. And it’s not just the feeling of having to constantly throw up all day, but the thought that this could last for months was very unnerving.

Along with the beautiful side effect of “All-Day Sickness”, I also couldn’t stand about 95% of most smells. This included the smell of fresh produce, the entire kitchen, the entire fridge, any cooked food, my prenatal vitamins, and people’s breath. I’m surprised I didn’t pass out from holding my breath so much during the first trimester, because I could barely walk into our apartment without gagging from the everyday, normal smells. Poor Jason could barely get close to his miserable wife even after showering and downing a tin of mints.

Anyone who knew me pre-pregnancy knows that I am a garbage disposal, meaning I eat almost everything. Once I started feeling the nausea and smell aversions, however, I became Jason’s worst nightmare. The only foods I could eat were things that are on Jason’s “Hell No” list of foods, such as Campbell’s soup from a can (only chicken noodle or vegetable), tons of carbs (pasta, mac and cheese, bread, bagels), crackers, strawberries, and cereal. The best part: an empty stomach aggravated my nausea, so Jason had to watch me eat these things at least every hour. It was a rough time for both Daddy and Mommy.

I’m happy to say that I am now well into my second trimester, the nausea is gone, and I’m eating healthy again. Unfortunately, the minute the nausea left, I started getting pregnancy back pains that became so bad at one point that I could barely move. But thankfully that has improved and I am now active and exercising regularly. This little baby is going to get as much nurturing inside the womb as possible! How else is Jason going to get his Steve Jobs entrepreneurial child?

Filed under: Post-Trip