Heartburn

Pregnancy comes with a host of symptoms. I actually made someone in small group squeamish by describing the sensation after I use the restroom. Basically, it feels that my bladder is supporting all my internal organs, complete with the one holding the one-pound baby, and when my bladder goes down, all the organs sink back into my pelvis, which is a bit smaller than their previous location, and they have to squish and it uncomfortable.

She did not seem to appreciate my attention to detail.

As the prenatal yoga person on the Daily Burn website said, we will be giving birth and pregnancy is no time to be recalcitrant about words for things!

But it seems like everything is a symptom of pregnancy. There are nice charts in my various books that tell you what symptoms you should watch for, what symptoms you should call the doctor during office hours, and what symptoms you should call right away for. All good to remember.

Heartburn, however, is a standard one. If I called the office, they would tell me something like, "That's perfectly normal, totally to be expected. Hormones make the barrier between your esophagus and stomach relax, which allows some of the contents of your stomach to leak through. You could try and avoid it by managing your weight gain, avoiding foods more likely to give you heartburn, and drinking milk. You could also use Tums or Rolaids, calcium-based antacids, just no sodium-based antacids."

When you have the Internet, who needs a doctor? Of course the Internet is notorious for telling you that your symptoms could mean you're dying, and doctors seem to lean the other direction in that "it was probably nothing. Let me know if it happens again."

So yeah, heartburn. Part and parcel, who cares as long as I manage it and don't let it bother me?

Well, I only care because of something I read in What to Expect When You're Expecting: Heartburn Today, Hair Tomorrow? Feeling the burn bad? You may want to stock up on baby shampoo. New research has actually backed up what old wives have maintained for generations: The more heartburn you have during pregnancy, the more likely your baby will be born with a full head of hair. Implausible as it sounds, seems the hormones responsible for heartburn are the same ones that cause fetal hair to sprout. So pass the Tums, and the detangler.

Still don't understand why I care? Have you never seen a baby born with a full head of hair? Squeeee!