My husband and I are having fun “guessing” the gender of our child that is due in August.  We’ve checked the Chinese Birth Chart, and we’ve pondered our child’s heart rate. We’ve looked at the way I’m “carrying”–which is all out in the front.  Does that mean it’s a boy?

I’ve also looked at my diet and my cravings to see if I could ascertain our child’s gender that way.  I’ve considered a few other “old wives’ tales” that my great grandmother told me about in an effort to discover the gender of our child.  My great grandmother was a lay midwife and had 6 of her own children, so she should have known a thing or two about babies!  I think anyway….

Yet, I am still uncertain as to the gender of our child.  I know–all that effort for what? I suppose it makes the pregnancy go faster?

Last night, my aunt asked me how active our child is in utero.  At this stage, I mostly feel flutters, so I can’t quite gauge it’s activity.  My aunt claims that her male children were more active in utero than her female children.  I suppose this held true for my pregnancies too; my son was more active than my daughters.

Have you noticed a difference in the activity level during your pregnancy between your male and female children? Do you think you can use this to determine gender?

As I was pondering all things pregnant this morning while gazing at my rapidly growing waistline, I wondered what my food cravings mean.  Do cravings tell you something, or is there no real reason for them other than to annoy your husband when you demand that he get you fried chicken take out at 11pm?

When I was pregnant with my older children, I craved carbohydrates.  All of my older children happen to be girls too.  I wonder if it was all the ice cream, pretzels, and cookies I ate during those pregnancies? Doesn’t that nursery rhyme say that little girls are made of  sugar and spice?

When I was pregnant with my son, I craved vegetables and meat.  With the child I am carrying now, I crave spinach souffle and sardines!  I don’t get it either, but it makes my husband laugh.  He tells me that he can’t wait until this child gets old enough to hear Popeye jokes.

My most embarrassing craving moment happened with my first child.  I had a craving for a sundae with whipped cream.  We lived in a very rural area and I stopped at both of the ice cream shops in town asking for a sundae with whipped cream.  Both of the shops had run out of whipped cream!  I actually refused to take the sundaes because of that and instead drove to the grocery store about a half and hour away to get ice cream and whipped cream.  By that time, I decided to just buy the whipped cream to eat.

I was eating a bowlful of whipped cream in my car when a neighbor spotted me!  She promptly gave me a long lecture on nutrition and scolded me for being so irresponsible.  I  patiently listened, waited until she left, and then resumed eating.  I felt so guilty afterwards though!

What food did you crave when you were pregnant?

Giving in to cravings is one of the most fun aspects of pregnancy. Revel in the joy of fulfilling your every culinary whim and desire while you can.

But if you find high-fat, empty-calorie foods are causing your weight to creep up faster than the recommended rate, look for healthier alternatives that will still satisfy your cravings.

I notice that my cravings are usually directly related to the lack of certain vitamins and nutrients in my system?most notably calcium, vitamin C and lycopene. For the first three months of my pregnancy, I wanted nothing but pizza and milkshakes. After keeping the local pizza shop and ice cream parlor in business for several months, I came up with some easy-to-prepare, at-home alternatives.

Old-Fashioned Egg Cream

If I?m craving dairy products, first I take two Tums calcium supplements and wait a half hour. If the craving persists, it?s time to break out the pint glasses and whip myself up an egg cream.

Pour eight ounces of non-fat milk into a 16 oz. glass. Add about a tablespoon of Hershey?s chocolate syrup (or vanilla or strawberry, if you prefer). Stir well. Top with club soda or seltzer for a tasty, calcium-rich treat with less calories than a milkshake. The bubbles in the soda also help eliminate gas pains, if you have one of those annoying burps that won?t come out.

Quick & Healthy Pizza

For a low-cost, healthy alternative to pizza (especially frozen pizza), make your own with this recipe.

Take 2 one ounce whole wheat pitas or a whole wheat / whole grain English muffin (split). Do not split the pita bread?keep it whole. Read labels carefully to make sure that whole, unbleached wheat flour is the first ingredient, and that the bread is not made with high-fructose corn syrup.

Cover the top with pasta sauce. I like Ragu Fresh & Simple Vegetable Sauce in a pouch.

Add spices to taste: oregano and basil, pizza seasoning or minced garlic tastes great!

Add about 1 to 1.5 tablespoons low-fat or nonfat shredded mozzarella cheese.

You can also get creative and add diced peppers, baby spinach, olives or other veggies.

Bake on baking sheet on middle rack at 450 degrees for about five minutes.

Broil an additional minute or two, until cheese melts completely. (Watch carefully so it doesn?t burn!)

Orange Juice

Orange juice, packed with Vitamin C, is a common pregnancy craving. (Or maybe it?s just memories of that scene in Baby Talk where Kirstie Alley pours gallons of the orange stuff down her throat.) Instead of drinking calorie-laden, sugar-filled store bought juice, squeeze your own. Leave lots of pulp for extra fiber. Just be sure to drink it immediately. Fresh-squeezed juice isn?t pasteurized or loaded with preservatives that will allow it to keep for weeks in your fridge.

Oatmeal Cookies

If you?re craving something sweet, these oatmeal cookies made with whole wheat flour and brown sugar are packed with 6 grams of fiber, making them a healthy indulgence.

Or try these 5-grain cereal cookies, which include loads of cranberries and raisins for a fruit-filled treat.

It?s more than okay to indulge your cravings with the real thing every so often. But nightly milkshakes and giant slices of New York pizza can empty your wallet and expand your waistline quicker than you can say ?baby fat.? Try these tasty treats for a change once in a while.

Pregnancy legends say whatever you eat in your first trimester will be your baby’s favorite foods later in life. As my husband and I both sat here devouring the sweetest Florida oranges you could ever want to taste, I cringed thinking about my future food bills – specifically, the price of fresh fruit!

Pre-pregnancy, I loved vegetables. Fresh green beans, canned peas, broccoli, cauliflower, even brussel sprouts and lima beans. You name it, I’d eat it; raw, steamed or saut’ed with garlic and butter. I ate a relatively balanced diet, but never shied away from my greens.

I realized around week 5, when I finished my steak and brown rice and left my salad sitting in its bowl, that I had lost my taste for vegetables. “Since when do I leave my salad for last?” I moaned to my husband. “Our future child won’t like vegetables, and it’s your fault!” My husband likes only a handful of vegetables, all raw, and corn in any form except creamed.

Concerned about not eating enough healthy foods during pregnancy, I ransacked the produce section of Stop n’ Shop. “If the kid doesn’t like vegetables, he’s going to eat fruit!” I came home with oranges, apples, grapefruits, blueberries, strawberries, bananas, and kiwi fruit.

I’ve been making a smoothie in my Magic Bullet once a day with a banana, five to seven strawberries, a handful of blueberries and a cup of non-fat milk. Not only does it calm the nausea and fill me up for a whole two hours, it’s probably one of the healthiest foods I actually have a desire to eat.

I started to get worried this morning about my fruit stock. Last night, I ate the last banana and the last apple and my strawberry supply was running dangerously low.

When my husband came home from work with bananas and oranges, I hugged him as if he had given me diamonds and the keys to a new car. I dug deeper in the grocery bag and found sugar snap peas, one of the few foods on his list of ‘approved vegetables.’ I tossed them aside in hopes of revealing a pint of strawberries.

Two out of three isn’t bad, I guess, but if this is a glimpse into the future, I’m thinking we ought to reconsider our vegetable garden concept with rows of tomato plants and green beans. We’ll just need to buy enough land to grow an orchard.