Tell me a fascinating fact about pregnancy...

[bcblondie]

or babies... or birth.

I was reading recently and learned about the "breast crawl." When babies are born, you shouldn't wipe their hands clean, because the hands hold the smell of the amniotic fluid, which helps them find the nipple, which also smells of fluid. And within about half an hour, the newborn will wiggle his way over to the nipple, and nurse, all on his own!

What have you come across lately, or not so lately, that just put you in awe of the whole process?

[MountainMamaGC]

Babies dream in the womb.

[MaerynPearl]

I have experienced firsthand the difference between a natural hospital birth and natural homebirth.

I am fascinated that... although I thought I was fairly relaxed in the hospital... being at home with a ton of support actually made it hurt less, the pushing phase go faster and the amount I tore and how much I hurt after is not even comparable.

I cannot get over how much of a positive difference having DD2 at home was... even after thinking my natural hospital birth with DD1 was easy!

[bcblondie]

Congrats Maeryn!!

[WifeofAnt]

Related to the breast crawl: If you help a newborn piglet to his mother's teat, he will starve because he'll never be able to find his way back.

A newborn's cry mimics his/her mother's speech pattern.

The stepping reflex present at birth never disappears, their legs just get too heavy to continue it for very long. If placed waist-down in the water the legs become buoyant enough for the stepping reflex to 'return'.

Infancy is the only time when humans can breathe and swallow at the same time.

[bcblondie]

Originally Posted by WifeofAnt

A newborn's cry mimics his/her mother's speech pattern.
.

Um. My newborn didn't cry for like a week. He had this weird grunt that sounded like a machine gun. What does that say about my voice? LOL.

[minkajane]

It was once believed that it was very important for a pregnant woman to have whatever she craved to eat. If she didn't, the baby would be born with a birthmark in the shape of whatever she craved.

[lach]

Babies recognize the language that their parents speak when they're born. Not the words, obviously, but a baby gestated in an English-speaking environment can tell the differentiate between English and another language.

[bcblondie]

That is cool! I think this is the best idea for a thread I've ever had. lol.

[cocoanib]

Love this thread. subbing

[MountainMamaGC]

I found this.

According to a Time Magazine article published in 1945, the longest pregnancy on record is 375 days (as opposed to the usual 280 days). Amazingly, the delivered baby was only 6 pounds, 15 ounces.

[MaerynPearl]

Originally Posted by bcblondie

Um. My newborn didn't cry for like a week. He had this weird grunt that sounded like a machine gun. What does that say about my voice? LOL.

Same here! 2 1/2 weeks old and I have heard her cry twice... once at birth and once for her PKU test.

And its certainly that I dont talk. I talk. All. The. Time. (which should not shock any of you)

Originally Posted by minkajane

It was once believed that it was very important for a pregnant woman to have whatever she craved to eat. If she didn't, the baby would be born with a birthmark in the shape of whatever she craved.

lol what would chocolate therapy from ben and jerrys be shaped like?

[Aliy]

okay that is all really neat....

i really can't think of anything intersting right now

[lach]

Originally Posted by bcblondie

Um. My newborn didn't cry for like a week. He had this weird grunt that sounded like a machine gun. What does that say about my voice? LOL.

DS never cried either. I was actually worried that there was something wrong with him. We'd really refer to him as "the baby who never cries." We made jokes about how he'd better start making some noise if he wanted us to remember that he was around.

Then at my 6 week PP OB appointment there was some sort of emergency and I was in the exam room for 1.5 hours, and my mom and DS were in the waiting room, and DS decided he was hungry. And there was something big going on (no idea what) and they wouldn't let my mother bring him to me and no one told me about any of this, and he screamed for 1/2 an hour. By the time I got out there my mother looked something like this: flipped

After that, he seemed to have found his voice!

[bcblondie]

Lol aww.

Yeah that actually scared me at the birth too. Especially since he'd had some decels in the heartrate during labour. I'm like, come on baby, cry!

[starbyfar7]

a mother to a preemie will have breastmilk that has a much much higher fat content than a mother to a full term baby.. since the preemie baby has many more pounds to gain.

the largest baby ever was 23lbs at birth.. this was 1879. can you imagine pushing that kid out???

[ryleeee]

your heart grows!!!

[MaerynPearl]

the heartburn = hair old wives tale is actually true.

not 100% of the time of course, but more often than not.

Both heartburn and fetal hair growth are believed to be caused by higher amounts of estrogen.

I actually thought this was false for the longest time as well, despite that I have horrid heartburn and three babies with full heads of hair (and more heartburn with the first two than the third, and the first twos hair was thicker)

[bcblondie]

^^^ It was true for me! And I'm having heartburn with this one too so. Bring on the hairy baby!

I just read this
"The baby is becoming familiar with the mother's smell and within a few days will pick out his or her mother's breast pad from other women's breast pads"
http://breastcrawl.org/foreword.shtml

[ryleeee]

i just read this one:

May babies are on average 7 ounces heavier than babies born in other months. I would like to suggest this is because the moms have been pregnant during Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, which are all big "food holidays." My biggest weight gain was over Christmas!

oh man! i have a may baby on the way!