Tuesday, August 14, 2007

In Utero

Do you think that you can tell the personality of your baby while still in utero? I've been asking myself this question a lot lately. My initial reaction was absolutely not. A desperate grasping of straws by a hormonal, gestating mamma who can't wait until November to find out who this new person is going to be. Now, I'm not so sure.

This baby just feels different. And, by different - I mean different than the Boy. Of course, I know that Baby Earth is not going to be a carbon copy of the Boy. And it's because I know that AND because this baby feels different, that leads me to question whether or not a person can have some sore of foreshadowing of baby personality in utero.

So far, my eating habits have changed dramatically. Baby Earth lurves spicy food, for one. You can't make a sauce spicy enough for me these days. I may be sweating and coughing, but I won't stop eating it. I will even eat whole chili peppers. Bring it on! In fact, if food is too bland, then I am slightly revolted by it. The Boy In Utero, however, preferred mild combinations of bread and cheese, and came tumbling early into this world due to a last minute decision to have Thai Spicy Noodle for dinner.

Baby Earth is also having me avoid chocolate and Starbucks like the plague! Chocolate and Starbucks!! Two words that could quite possibly be used as Nomo Descriptors - or fifth and sixth food groups. They are things that never fail to make me happier and easier to live with, and I no longer like them. (Don't get me wrong, though, I still eat chocolate. Mamma loves chocolate. Mamma will not be denied chocolate. I just feel slightly ill afterwards, and usually regret it. I haven't been to Starbucks in months, and end up going to Timothy's for a chai latte to soothe the caffeine fix.) I think I avoided caffeine entirely until the 3rd trimester with the Boy, but then still loved my café au laits. I had several early weeks of nausea with the Boy where I avoided chocolate entirely, but after that I ate loads and loads. As far as I'm concerned, the chocolate aversion this time around has gone on too long, and must be stopped.

Plus, this baby is kicking the bejeezus out of me. I've had a lot of people say "oh, you probably just didn't notice it the first time around...". No. I was hyper-aware of movement the first time around, and even ended up in the hospital when I hadn't felt it in a while. The Boy simply did not move much. He was content to stay rather still, and give the occasional kick to remind me of his presence. I'm not surprised he was breech - I think he grew one way and never turned around. At. All. Baby Earth almost never stops kicking (hard), and you can see my belly shake when it happens. (And with all that extra fat, it's not pretty.) A couple of times, I've come close to saying "Hey, cool it man, I'm your mamma - you're supposed to like me!" No dice.

The only thing these two babies seem to have in common is that they both like lemon flavoured drinks. Last time it was store-bought lemonade, and this time it's San Pellegrino Limonata.

So is all this just a slice of what's to come? Do I have a hot tamale who can't sit still on my hands?? And, more importantly, am I going to give birth to a child who doesn't like chocolate?? Please tell me - did your baby behave similarly in and out of the womb? If you have two children, could you feel the differences even while baby #2 was still in utero? Eek.

17 comments:

Kyla said...

I do think that in utero behavior is a bit of a model for postnatal behavior. My kids have held pretty true to it. Except my food desires/aversion...those didn't seem to be an indicator of what they would one day like. But the behaviors; active, lazy, stubborn, those have real world matches.

cinnamon gurl said...

Swee'pea also didn't move a whole lot in utero... I never really felt big rolls or anything like that; just kicks and punches and LOTS of rib pain -- I swear he spent the whole pregnancy bracing his feet against the bottom of my ribcage and when he was first born his legs were straight and he LOVED to brace them against my hands or elbows while he nursed. I have to say that I also forecasted he would be mellow and laidback like his dad and he mostly is.

On the eating front, I lost my taste for spicy food for most of the pregnancy but now Swee'pea loves curry and anything with garlic. I ate a lot of chocolate but discovered at about 8 weeks postpartum that that was what was causing extreme fussiness. He became a much happier baby when I gave it up (UGH!). I never could understand that when I ate so much during the pregnancy.

Bottom line? I think you can predict personalities in utero but not food tastes and aversions...

Gabriella said...

Samantha moved around alot inside and to this day we say she has ants in her pants as she still hasn't stopped moving ;)

Anonymous said...

If you give birth to a child who doesn't like chocolate, that's one less person you have to share it with...

I didn't notice any particular correlation between uterine activity, food, and the resultant child. They were all pretty active inside; two of the three are pretty quiet types now. I tended to like the same things when I was pregnant: spicy, acidic things, all three pregnancies.

(I once made a huge pot of hot and sour soup that had my husband gasping for air. I ate the whole thing myself. Took three days, but I did it.)

My kids will pretty much eat anything, and we all still like spicy food!

kittenpie said...

WEll, I only have the one so I can't copare, but Pumpkinpie was a stretcher, not a kicker. And was a fairly calm baby, though she was eager to walk and then run. I don't recall my eating habits being at all affected by her, either, ecept for extra biscuits and crackers to soothe the nausea early on. And she will try anything once, foodwise, even though she doesn't always like whatever it is.

Beck said...

Ho ho. I truly do believe that their behaviour in utero is a good indicator for what their newborn behaviour will be like - although neither of my daughters show any sign of being ready to join the Olympic kick-boxing team, which we suspected they might be ideal for while I was pregnant.

Girlplustwo said...

i've only got the one, so i don't have much to compare it to. but if it's true then you've got a spicy one on your hands and i'd take that over sweet any day of the week.

ewe are here said...

MF was a footballer in training when I was pregnant: active, active active. I'm surprised my belly wasn't black and blue.

Baby Boo, otoh, had a lot more room to play in (due to my larger belly second time around), so I'm not sure if he was slightly less active than his brother or just felt that way. He seems pretty eager to move now, though....

I've just realized, I don't really have a point here... except, well, Baby Boo got a lot more caffeine than his brother did in utero.

Probably because I gave up trying to cut back -- I needed it to get through the days.

:-)

Bea said...

Baby Earth sounds a lot like Bub - he was very active in utero, and I didn't regain my taste for chocolate until six weeks AFTER he was born. (Sorry.)

To this day, he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth - and another trait that held true is that he has always responded strongly to music, both in the womb and out (far more so than the Pie).

NotSoSage said...

No idea.

But a child who doesn't like chocolate? Sacrilege, I tell you.

painted maypole said...

well, I cna't compare as I only have one, but MQ has been very active both in utero and out.

scarbie doll said...

Totally feeling differences in personality this time around. But we'll have to wait another few weeks before I can confirm if there's anything different in personality outside the womb.

Sorry about the chocolate thing -- luckily for me, (though unluckily for my ass) this little weirdo LURVS chocolate! And if it wasn't for the evil heartburn, I'd be downing Limonata too! Have the craving, just don't have the guts.

Mimi said...

Well, in utero Baby Fetus was a strong puncher and kicker who often got the hiccups and then flailed aroudn in a rage afterwards. Miss Baby did this a lot after she was born. Also they had in common that there was a lot of midnight activity and a lot of sleeping in until 9am.

Munchkin now shares my obsession with fresh peaches--we used to joke that we knew she'd be born fuzzy because I ate so many peaches, and not she can't get enough of 'em.

The point? My baby seemed to match activities and tastes on the inside with those on the outside.

moplans said...

I love Limonata but could not stand more than a sip while pregnant. Chocolate I could eat this time but not with the first. Oh and I craved meat with the first one and she is a total carnivore now.
I definitly think some of their personalities are evident in utero.

Anonymous said...

Sometimes whether or not we can feel movement in utero has to do with the location of the placenta. WIth The Happy Boy, I felt everything. Placenta was on the back. With the Weed, I felt very little (and was oh so dissapointed) - placenta on the front.

THat being said, I still think reactions to food are so interesting! With The Weed, everything I ate gave me heartburn, more so then with my first. Ahh..fun!

karengreeners said...

it's a girl.

This one is trying to kick her way out - she sometimes pushes so hard against the same spot that it actually hurts.

I think you're having a girl.

Christine said...

really hard to say. my two were very different kickers in utero but the food desires were pretty much the same.

my second was a kicker too. made feel more confident that he was still ok!