Some of the Strange and Fun Experiences and Facts About Being Pregnant

An interesting slideshow on the Australian Mother and Baby website, which can be linked to here, talks about some of the stranger aspects of being pregnant. Some of them are very cute, so I will share some of them here.

The first interesting fact that is not widely known is that you only need 200 extra calories a day when you are pregnant in order for the baby to have enough nutrition. A normal healthy woman should gain only about 25-35 pounds, so if you are adding this amount of daily calories, it is easy to stay within the normal range. This extra caloric need can be satisfied by, for example, an extra slice of toast and a banana with your breakfast meal.

Something else not many people know is that when you become pregnant, and especially when you find out you are pregnant, it takes a very long time for your pregnancy to be noticeable. Then, if you don’t tell people, no one will ask you for quite a while, because they do not want to offend you if you are not pregnant.

Something that most people do know is that when you are pregnant, your hormones are totally crazy. You may burst into tears over nothing, or start fights with people over some perceived offense, when you normally would not act that way.

Another great article about fun and interesting facts of pregnancy can be found by clicking on this parents.com link. The first interesting fact they mention is that you will stop traffic whenever you cross the street when you are pregnant. Also, many people will look at your growing belly and smile, since your being pregnant has made their day brighter somehow. Of course, we all know this doesn’t happen with everyone, but it does happen sometimes.

When you are pregnant, you might notice that you can eat a whole pint of chocolate ice cream without feeling guilty. And you can repeat the same thing every night. You can also eat pickles with the ice cream, and think it tastes great! Or some other food combination that when you are not pregnant would thoroughly disgust you, but when you are pregnant, it sounds like heaven on earth.

You also take lots of naps when you are pregnant, and again, you don’t feel guilty or lazy when you do this. You also get to watch your husband turn into a daddy when “he kisses your belly goodnight, reads to the baby in utero, and stays up until 3 am putting the crib together – just in case the baby decides to come eight weeks early.” :-)

You don’t feel quite so embarrassed in a bathing suit, since you want to show off your belly instead of hiding it. You also get to imagine the possibilities. And my favorite from their list is the incredible anticipation. It is the most exciting anticipation of your life waiting for the baby to be born.

So these two lists had some really cute and interesting fun facts about pregnancy, and I hope you enjoyed reading them. For more cute and interesting pregnancy facts, you can visit our twitter page, where we tweet about pregnancy pretty often, as well as our facebook page, where more fun and cute pregnancy facts are often shared. Click here for our twitter account, and here for our facebook page. You can also visit our pregnancy massage page by clicking here.

Pregnancy Products Every Mom To Be Should Have

This article will present some of the best items for moms-to-be to have during their pregnancy. Some products are available on Amazon, Babies R Us, and other websites. Pregnant women can also benefit from a pre-natal or post-natal massage to help with the aches and pains that pregnancy brings, as well as to balance their hormones to make the birth easier and promote healthy lactation and nursing.

The first and most important product every pregnant woman should have is a maternity or pregnancy pillow. There are many to choose from, but some are much better than others in terms of support, firmness, and areas addressed. The most popular maternity pillow is the Boppy pillow. This link will take you to Amazon's Boppy pillow offering. This is the pillow I have used on many pregnant women. It has removable pieces, so that you only use what you actually need. The same pillow can be found at Babies R Us by clicking here. You can read reviews of this pillow by following this link or this link

Some people do not like the Boppy pillow, because it might separate at night if you are a toss and turn type of sleeper. Then you have to search for all the other parts when you wake up in the middle of the night. The concept is sound though, since some people are not comfortable sleeping on their sides, but that is all they can do when they are pregnant. So, for those who want a one piece pillow, the Snoogle might work for them. The Snoogle is a full body pillow with a part that goes behind the back to keep you on your side, as well as between your legs and next to the belly, and a separate part that goes under your head. Click here to buy it on amazon. Here is a similar product made by Babies R Us that might be slightly less expensive than the brand name Snoogle. Here are some reviews about this pillow from Babies R Us. You can also read some reviews on babycenter comparing the two pillows here.

Another must have item that has come highly recommended from both older and newer moms is the maternity support. This straps around your back, and helps to hold some of the baby's weight in a more evenly distributed manner. It can help somewhat with leg and back pain, as well as with your posture. You can find it by following this link. You can check out the reviews for this product here. Some people who used it found relief, and some just found it uncomfortable. Purchasing from Babies R Us or Amazon would give you a pretty flexible return policy if you don't like it.

This next item is by far the cutest in this article. It is a pre-natal listening system made by Summer Infant. It allows you to hear your baby's heart beat, coughs, hiccups, and any other sounds that they make. It even comes with two sets of earbuds, one for dad and one for mom! It gives you a similar effect to an ultrasound, except without the visuals. You can purchase it from Babies R Us here. You may want to buy a higher quality set of headphones than the ones included in the package, since that was the most common complaint of the reviewers.

A really cute and creative product also offered by Babies R Us is the ProudBody do it yourself pregnant belly painting kit. This kit includes everything you need to paint your rounded belly in all sorts of pretty and symbolic designs. The paints are FDA approved, water based, and non-toxic. They will not harm the mother or the baby by using them. There are eight paints in this kit, and it is a great idea for an activity your other kids can do to help them bond with the new baby before it arrives. You can find the item on Babies R Us here. You can also find it on Amazon by clicking here. The same company makes a belly casting kit, which also includes paints for after the cast has been made. This is great if you don't want to paint your belly, but still want to be creative with your growing belly, or if you want to always remember what your belly looked like as it grew. These can be linked to in the similar products area of the links above.

Psi bands acupressure wrist bands are also a mommy to be must have! They can help to relieve nausea, from motion sickness or morning sickness, or just general pregnancy nausea. The kit contains two bands, which are meant to be worn at the same time. They are no more cumbersome than a wrist watch, and have a similar design. You can find them on Babies R Us at this link (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=12448402&prodFindSrc=prodCrossSell).

Another alternative to help with morning sickness are the Organic Preggie Pop Drops. They are drug free with all natural and organic ingredients that have helped some women to find relief from morning sickness and general nausea. You can find them by clicking here.

And, of course, there are the ever important pre-natal vitamins. Pre-natal vitamins can also be prescribed by a doctor, but sometimes a woman needs more of a boost in the vitamins she needs during pregnancy. Some vitamins may have less of certain nutrients and more of others, so it may be a good idea to supplement with another pre-natal vitamin. A good one to try are the vitamins made by FoodScience Laboratories, and listed on Amazon's website here. You can also try Deva Vegan Prenatal Vitamins if you are a vegetarian and would like a supplement that is not sourced from animals. You can buy them from amazon here

Many times, the vitamins prescribed for you are sourced from animal products, and also contain other fillers that you might wish to avoid. The March of Dimes has found through their research that many birth defects are caused by vitamin deficiencies, particularly folic acid and other B-vitamins. Their research has played a role in gaining acceptance in the medical community for pre-natal vitamins for all women who are pregnant.

While some of the items in this list are more important and essential than others, I hope you have found this list to be helpful in determining what items you might need for your pregnancy. One thing that is often overlooked is self care for the pregnant woman. Your body needs help relaxing, and could also use some help in balancing hormones, among other things. A pre-natal massage can help with both pain and hormone balance, both during the pregnancy and after.

It has also come to be more accepted among physicians when a woman is complaining of aches and pains, or when she has a hormone profile that is not ideal. With the products listed above, as well as several pre-natal and post natal massages, a woman can have a happy, healthy pregnancy with fewer new pains developing, and with much greater ease in both the birthing and nursing process. When planning for your needs during pregnancy, these are definitely some things to take into consideration. If you found this information helpful, or would like to contact me, I would appreciate your feedback on this topic. Feel free to suggest other items that every mom to be should have that have not been mentioned in this list.