A few more random baby facts

Just a few more random baby trivia - I seem to stumble across them frequently in magazines and in weekly baby development emails.

-The fetus has the ability to cry at 18 weeks

-The fetus savors its mother's meals, first picking up the food tastes of a culture in the womb (Noah must loooove mushrooms, rice, and sweet corn by now :-)

-Women pregnant with boys need more energy (this starts even before they're born, apparently...), supporting the theory that carrying a male fetus also needs more energy and thus eat more when carrying a boy. At birth, boys tend to weigh about 100 grams (3.5 ounces) more than girls. An international research team wondered whether that meant that boys' moms ate more during pregnancy. In data from a study conducted by the Boston Public School of Health, the scientists now confirm that's exactly what happens. Though women eat more when carrying a boy (190 calories more), they don't gain more weight during pregnancy than do women who have girls, researchers find. (yes! yet another reason to eat more! hopefully A's goodies count :-)

The researchers speculate that the signal tells a mother's body that it has extra work to do to bear a son. Studies have shown that during fetal development, the male sex is clearly the more fragile one. This idea probably elicits a hearty laugh from parents who have seen their rambunctious sons dive over furniture and survive daily bruising while cavorting with pals.

Junior commandos might not seem fragile, but before birth, boys are more at risk than girls. Researchers suspect that the higher energy demands of boys during fetal development may represent some evolutionary adaptation that increases their odds of survival.