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I don't know if I have told you yet, amigas, but I am pregnant...again! Yes that's right, I just barely had a baby so our two babies will be only 13 months apart. To say que sorpresa is an understatement but now that I am out of the shock part of it I am actually looking forward to the locura of it all. Que se puede hacer, verdad?
So I read this funny article on Latina old wives' tales on pregnancy and I certainly could relate to some of them. Here are some other ones I have heard:
1. You'd better be calm and never stress out (relajate pues, mi hija!) while you are pregnant or your baby will be a big llorona. If there was ever anything to stress me out during pregnancy, it's this aforementioned statement. Whenever my abuelita says it to me, I start stressing out about stressing out too much. What a vicious cycle, sabes?
2. Whoever you look at most when you are pregnant is the way your baby is gonna look like. My mama told me this one and sure enough my first baby, a girl, does look a lot like my husband. I happen to think it's because of their shared genes but sure enough, once my mama got a good look at her she said to me "aja, just as I thought. You looked at your husband a lot when you were pregnant and now your daughter looks like him." Jaja! For the record, my husband is good looking so my baby is not fea.
3. If you want your baby to sleep through the night, start staying awake at night and begin sleeping during the day when you are pregnant. My Chilean amiga said her family all told her this dicho. She actually tried it and said her baby slept through the night from day one. I guess it kinda makes sense. The baby in my womb seems to move around the most when I am resting at night and during the day my movements seem to rock her to sleep but, amigas, I just don't have time for that. I have two other kids to take care of. But maybe you can try it...
4. If you cut your hair when you are pregnant, your baby will be born blind. I have faint memories of hearing this and, while you are at it, ni piensas en dyeing your hair! Anyway, I'm not sure how hair and blindness is related but I do have to say I don't really like to cut my hair whilst pregnant. It gets this gorgeous pregnant shine to it and looks so healthy. I love my hair when I am pregnant!
5. If you lift your hands above your head, your baby could be strangled by the umbilical cord. I'm going to let BabyCenter.com back me up here. Here's their take: "The movements of your arms are in no way related to the movements of the umbilical cord. Exercising is very beneficial for both you and for your baby, and lifting your arms or sorting out the closet will not affect your baby's cord at all. Some babies are born with the cord wrapped around their neck, but it's caused by the baby's own movements inside the womb."
What about you amigas? What kind of stories have you heard about pregnancy? As for me, I tend to think in Spanglish. Maybe my baby will come out speaking some Spanglish too? I'd like that myth to become a reality. Jaja! Nelda is a mami to two lovely children. Her mom is from Mexico, her dad is from Germany and she enjoys being a product of three cultures. In her spare time, she likes to sing karaoke (Selena only) and dance bachata (Prince Royce anybody??).
