Blog Posts by Being Pregnant

There's a lot of concern - and even a little hostility - toward home birth. The prevailing thought in many women's heads is, "But what if something goes wrong?" Many women are, understandably, concerned that if something did go wrong, their life or their baby's life would be in danger if they were not in a hospital.

Usually we only hear stories from women who were pleased with their home birth experiences, in which everything seemed to go perfectly. It's why so many of these women hear, "You got lucky."

But do things go wrong at home? And if so, what types of things? And what happens to those women and babies? I set out to get answers to those questions.

Finding the right pediatrician that jives perfectly with your family can be tricky. There are so many different kinds of parenting styles and techniques that finding a provider accepting of these and who's open to your choices can be a project.

I strongly encourage parents to take the time to not only research providers, but also sit down and interview them to really know who you're choosing to be your child's doctor. I learned this lesson with my oldest son.

I've heard that eating eggplant Parmesan can put you into labor, but I have never heard of a cupcake to be labor inducing. Apparently, there is a cupcake shop in Charlottesville that has many overdue pregnant women flocking. Why? Because they have a cupcake that can supposedly jump-start labor!

Cappellino's Crazy Cakes makes a Lemon Drop Cupcake that mothers swear if eaten, will put you into labor. So far, a total of 19 pregnant women have eaten this cupcake and have gone into labor. A few even went into labor just hours after eating one! There are even some OBGYNs in the Charlottesville area sending their overdue mamas to the shop to eat a Lemon Drop Cupcake!

Related: Postpartum jumpsuit: Must-have or heck no?

twitter

How else would I know that Alyssa Milano is hilarious and loves Howard Stern as much as I do? Or that the normally hard bodied musician Pink feels clumsier than ever before?

Forget People Magazine. With the advent of Twitter, celebs are announcing pregnancies, posting baby bumps and even baby's first pics all on their own.

Not only that, but we all get to follow each twist and turn of a celeb's pregnancy. From Mariah Carey's false labor to the first photos of Alanis Morrissette's little guy - we are totally in The Know.

There are also a couple of pretty hilarious bloggers tweeting away as well.

Related: According to wives tales, my daughter should have a penis.

Check out some of the funniest pregnancy tweets around:

Researchers in the UK polled over 2,000 families with various arrangements of children under age 16 (not families with only children, but we already they're the happiest). Their provocative conclusion? Two girls make for the happiest families. Apparently, two girls play relatively well together, make less noise and are generally nicer to be around.

Keep moving in that direction, however, and things take a turn. Parents of four girls reported the most strife. Big families of girls fight a lot and require more space and an extra car. I found it interesting to read all of this - the family combination I grew up with (two boys, two girls) ranks second to last in terms of happiness whereas the family combination I have now (one boy, one girl) ranks second to best - but I'm taking it all with several grains of salt.

I, like most pregnant women, get ideas in my head … and food cravings … and interrupting my thoughts and plans will lead to major trouble. My husband, trying to be helpful, cleaned out the fridge. Only he threw away the leftover salsa (that had only been in there for four days…not two weeks, as he thought) that I was planning to eat for lunch. I was extremely unhappy and threatened not to eat any lunch if I couldn't have what I wanted (this baffled him…"Can't you just go buy more?"). Luckily it was in a sealed in container and had only just been thrown away, so I got it out, washed it off, poured it in another bowl, and went about my lunch.

Crazy, right? But this little situation led me to think about all the things that husbands really shouldn't say to their pregnant wives….

Even those of us in the best of matrimonial arrangements would likely agree that marriage can often be hard work. And my marriage is no exception. Only it's a breeze for me. The hard work, it turns out, is all Caroline's. Because I'm tough to stay hitched to. If for no other reason than a series of well-intended quirks that make me a bit … strange.

But here's thing: Caroline used to love these quirks. Sadly, now she doesn't. See, this pregnancy has made my wife increasingly irritable. (In a sweet way, honey.) As such, she doesn't have the patience she normally has. Which is bad news for me and my, um, proclivities. For they're no longer deemed quirky and endearing. They're deemed annoying. And here are the top 3:

1. I'm a Loser: Yep. It's true. I lose stuff. A lot of stuff. Constantly. Sunglasses, cell phones, keys, credit cards. Even hair. I've been losing that left and right. Can't find it anywhere. Anyway, at one point Caroline thought it was kinda cute: like "Oh, ha ha. The poor

File this one under reproductive (p)arts and crafts. The "Super Period Fun Time Uterus Piñata" is not only a stunning example of the kind of niche papier-mâché products Etsy can deliver, but an opportunity for party planners everywhere.

Trying to come up with games for the annual obstetrics and gynecology conference? Planning the "it's a girl" baby shower? Celebrating uterine involution after you've given birth? Looking to turn girl's poker night into a full-blown fiesta? Just got your first period? Or had your last?

Get out the sticks!

Related: 5 crazy things you didn't know about orgasms in pregnancy