a parasite?

There was a time when I believed the world was overpopulated. The ever expanding population would surely outgrow the limited resources of this planet. This led to me to write a paper for a college philosophy class that spelled out a woman's right to end her pregnancy. I used the excuse of the fetus being a parasite on the mother. Much to my surprise, my own Ob/Gyn used this phrase too during one of my prenatal visits. After all, I was complaining about being exhausted.

But things change, there had been tsunamis, flooding and hurricanes all over the world just since 2004. Not to mention all the life lost in Iran, Iraq, etc. So there was no way I was going to get rid of this parasite. I suddenly really wanted to have this baby. And by the way, I got a B in that philosophy class.

So what do human parasites need? Food, shelter, warmth. If you read What to Expect... it gives you step by step details of what nutrients are needed at each critical step of development of the baby. Interestingly enough, I craved pizza early in the pregnancy. Mother Nature's way of letting me eat more of it than I needed because in a few short months I couldn't eat any tomato containing substance due to heartburn. My little parasite also caused cravings for mango. I personally kept Mexican mango farmers in business last year. And since you need lots of folic acid I ate quite a bit of home baked bread with added wheat germ and bran. Then there is the multi-vitamin with DHA. Fortunately the Neevo brand has a pleasant taste, sort of like vanilla.

Older parasites may cause you to crave deli sandwiches. You're not supposed to eat cold cuts, and I usually don't because I don't like them but I just couldn't help myself. Although I prefer miracle whip, I had to give it up for regular mayo later in pregnancy (heartburn).

One thing is for sure, you must eat a lot of fiber when pregnant. I had never experienced constipation like this until I was pregnant. We're talking eating a box of triscuts every few days. Oh, and don't forget the water. Seems like I was always thirsty. I drank a lot of blueberry, cranberry, and pomegranate juices too.

As for the shelter and warmth the little guy needs, well don't wear those low cut maternity pants unless you want to pee yourself. Those tight jeans looked so good when I tried them on. It only took a few tries at wearing them to realize they weren't for me. And I was still in my first trimester! The secret belly panel pants are where it's at! But they can creep down on you and if you are active they require a lot of pulling up. They work great for later pregnancy. All of this said, I was a size 6-8 before getting pregnant. If you are heavier or thicker than I was, you may not have these wardrobe issues.