Greasing the wheels of pregancy

Ika is 7 months pregnant and sporting a nice little belly. She has put on some weight but its mostly around that area and the rest of her has maintained quite well. I think this is part of the reason she feels so good. Today Ika, Yenni and I went to Bintang supermarket in Seminyak to buy some special oil. Up till now Ika has been applying some aloe vera sauce to her belly to help with the stretching. Yenni, who has had 3 kids told us to use olive oil. No problem I said, there is a bottle in the fridge. Yenni said there is a specially formulated type for mothers called Minyak Zaitun.

I had never heard of such a thing but sure enough we found it in the mums section. My friend Jim told us to crush vitamin B and rub it on the stomach and to get Ika to drink milk after giving birth. Seems everyone out here has their own ideas about pregnancy. The Balinese reckon a sand bath followed by a dip in the ocean is good for expecting mothers. They also say that coconut milk several times a day during pregnancy helps the baby slide out. Ika is small and she will need all the help she can get. Expectant fathers, watch out for veteran mothers talking to your wife, horror stories abound.