Monday, August 10, 2009

Hairy Baby?

So I Googled heartburn and pregnancy (I've been having a lot of it this time). I found more "old wives tales" - these say that if you have heartburn your whole pregnancy, your baby will be born with a lot of hair.
It turns out this one is true! At least in one study: In a 2007 study at Johns Hopkins, 64 women were surveyed throughout pregnancy. Of the 28 that reported moderate to severe heartburn, 23 of the women had babies with "above average hair thickness."
I wouldn't call what I've had severe heartburn, but Rolaids have definitely become my friend. When I was pregnant with Nathan, pretty much the only thing that gave me heartburn was pepperoni. But it seems like several times a week something will give me an uncomfortable feeling, and it's usually not even anything spicy. So we'll see about this baby.

Paul and I were talking last night.... Sometimes not even genetics make sense in how your baby turns out. Dark hair is a dominant trait/gene. Paul and I both have dark hair - 3 of 4 of our parents have dark hair. Nathan ended up with light hair. Brown eyes are the dominant trait - if one parent has blue eyes (me), and one parent has brown eyes (Paul), the child is supposed to have brown eyes. Nathan's are blue. (Although, in this case, 3 of 4 of his grandparents have blue eyes, so I wasn't surprised.) Paul and I both have freckles, which is su - 3 of 4 of our parents have fair skin and at least some freckling. Nathan appears he's going to have dark skin like Paul's dad. (I know it's probably too early to tell on that for sure, though.) We did call it on him being hairy, though - Nathan didn't have a lot of hair when he was born, but now his little legs are very fuzzy. I call him a hobbit (I'm mean). So far, no evidence of flat-footedness, either (something Paul and I both have) - I'm glad of that.
I think each child is a wonder and totally unique. I am amazed at what God can put together. I can't wait to find out how this one hidden inside me turns out.

1 comment:

carrie said...

I never had heartburn once and my kids were all hairy. Especially Jack. He still is.