Baby Did You Know?

1. You cannot swim with mammals. A little common sense but still made me go, huh?? Chris and I got married in Florida February 19th of 2010, and I was 2-3 months pregnant at the time. We had put swimming with dolphins on our list, but when I called to put our name down, the lady asked if I was pregnant and then said I wasn't able to :-( Dolphins have a sonar ability, which allows them to see a human like an ultrasound. They know when a woman is pregnant and their paternal instincts kick in. They are so excited by this new life, and can be protective of the pregnant mother, which, since dolphins are at least 500 pounds, can be a bad thing. If I were to get in the water with them and with another human, and that human got close to me the dolphin could feel protective and put itself between me and the "threat." How sweet is that!! Definitely a downer though, that would have been an amazing honeymoon experience!

2. Fewer than 10% of babies are born on their exact due date, 50% are born within one week of the due date, and 90% are born within two weeks of the date. My stubborn little girl was due August 12, 2010. I walked, I jogged, I bounced on an exercise ball, I took warm baths, I drank castor oil TWICE!! I ate two whole pineapples. You name it, I probably tried it to get that kid out! I was finally induced on August 24th at 9am, and delivered Nevaeh at 12:19am August 25th :-) She's definitely a strong willed Virgo, that's for sure! A friend of mine was due on December 25th 2010 and that's when her daughter was born. Right on time!

3. While not all pregnant women will crave pickles and ice cream specifically, pregnancy cravings are rooted in the body’s extra need for minerals and comfort-inducing serotonin. Hmmm what does A1-sauce have to do with serotonin?! That's what I craved the whole time, I had A1 on everythingggg. I'd even get my food to go just so I could take it home and dump A1 sauce on it. I should have just carried the bottle around with me! I also was really lovin' eggs, and now I can't eat scrambled eggs because I made the terrible choice to put castor oil in scrambled eggs when trying to naturally induce. Terrible TERRIBLE idea!! If I ever do castor again I'll just suck it up and do it shot-style.

4. Pregnant women must eat for two, and must gain at least 25 pounds. Uhh, totally false! Americans already eat for two without even being pregnant. Portion control is non-existant in restaurants so whatever they're giving you on your plate is way too much! I gained 20 pounds during my pregnancy, all in the belly. I had some water swelling at the very end but it didn't add any weight. My daughter was born 9lbs7oz and the rest of the "junk" to come out was another 10lbs. I lost 19 of my gained weight just from giving birth! There is no set weight a woman has to gain, just so long as the baby is healthy and gaining weight. I hated having people tell me I needed to eat more. I snack all day, I don't like big meals.

5. Sympathetic pregnancy is REAL. My husband gained 10 pounds, craved the same things as me, and became much more emotional during the pregnancy. He was very in tune with me and it was definitely a great bonding experience for us! He'll deny it up and down but he totally teared up when we found out we were having a girl :-)