6,000,000 women in the United States will become pregnant in the next year. I hope to become one of them.
I will be living in Texas, and I would really like to avoid being very fat and sweaty and hormonal during the 95 degree summer heat. So that means that I need to time it a bit.
Right now I am researching. Why, you might ask? We know how people get pregnant, what is the big deal?
Folic acid is what started me thinking. You have to take enough folic acid before you get preggers, if you start popping folic acid supplements when you find out, it is just too late. Folic acid is used to make the extra blood your body needs during pregnancy. Neural tube defects usually develop in the first 28 days of pregnancy, often before a woman even knows that she is pregnant. Small window, so best be prepared.
I figure there must be tons of these little things you need to know before you get pregnant, like what sort of exercises to focus on etc. Some studies suggest that the fitness of the mother results in shorter labor, fewer medical interventions, and less exhaustion during labor. That sounds good to me! Oh wait, if you exercise too strenuously, you can restrict oxygen from your uterus. Bad for baby? What is my optimal heart rate so my baby can still get blood, but I can get fit?
I am in love with the idea of baby sign language. I have spent time with friends 1 year – and two year olds, and I have no clue what they are talking about. Becca, a little girl that I know, says “juish” for everything. Everything. And 90% of the time her mom knows exactly what she means. But what about the other 10%?
Babies have the mental capacity to communicate, but the control over their vocal cords hasn’t caught up to their brain. They know they would like something, or what to tell you something, but they can’t say it, only think it. How frustrating would that be? This could be a reason for the “terrible twos.” However, young children do have motor control, and would be able to sign their thoughts if they were only taught it like a language along with speaking.
I think their lives and my lives will be less frustrating, but I need to learn it before they are born, cause something tells me I will be too busy afterwards.
Check back tomorrow to find out more about my my exercise/get-in-shape for baby plan tomorrow and what all that baby weight really is!
