belly casting

What is it? A pregnancy belly cast is a plaster cast made of an expecting mom's beautiful pregnant form. Our pregnancy belly cast kit enables moms to create a lasting memory of their pregnancy in the privacy of mom's home in as little as 30 minutes. Photos and video can't capture an expecting mom's shape the way our pregnancy belly cast can. A pregnancy belly cast enables a mom to forever remember how she looked during her pregnancy and the special nine months she shared with her growing baby. As one mom aptly put it, "It is a really cool way of capturing your pregnant body. You can show your child later that this is what mom looked like when you were inside!" At what point in my pregnancy should I make one?   Making a belly cast is usually done 3-4 weeks before your due date, but you could also make multiple belly casts to capture the miraculous changes in your body throughout your pregnancy. Many couples enjoy making a belly cast or mask together, providing the father with a unique bonding opportunity with your baby. Photos only capture a flat 2-dimensional image, but a belly cast captures this exciting transformation in a full 3 dimensions! You will treasure your belly cast forever.   History of the Belly Cast   In the past, there have been many different ways that a mom could preserve the memory of her pregnancy. Some expecting moms took a lot of pictures to put into their baby's baby book. Others made videos to show to their babies when they were older. Making a pregnancy belly cast is a unique way to remember this special time in your life.   Belly Cast Decorating   After you make your pregnancy belly cast, you can leave it in its original form or you can paint it, apply sequins, mirror, tile, beads or any other decorations. You could even glaze it and use it as a fruit bowl or have it bronzed! Many moms hang it as a wall decoration in their bedroom or in their baby's nursery. Other moms wait until their babies are born and apply paint to their baby's hands and feet and put the prints on their cast. When your baby is old enough, you could even paint and hang it together. Your imagination is the limit! Please visit our picture gallery page and tips page for hundreds of decorating ideas!   You can also purchase one of our decorating kits. They are available in BOLD, PASTEL or VINTAGE paint colors. Each decorating kit contains a colorful decorating sheet and the BOLD and PASTEL kits contain a color wheel to help you mix colors.

We've noticed over the past few years that more moms are painting their bellies during pregnancy.  The reason we developed our belly painting kit is that we learned of moms using either poster paints or acrylic or latex paints to decorate their bellies. These paints are not safe for use on skin and we wanted to provide a safe product for mom to use in exploring her creative side!   Our paints are FDA approved and are water based so they are very easy to use. As a bonus, we've included a sheet of temporary tattoos with which to have some fun!

How Many Calories Does the Body Naturally Burn Per Day?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says a normal caloric burn is about 2,000 calories per day, but author and nutrition professor Marion Nestle reports it's more like 3,050 calories a day for the average man and 2,400 for the average woman. The differences in these estimates make clear that knowing how many calories the normal body burns per day varies and can't easily be calculated. Equations to estimate your calorie burn exist, but they're just that -- estimates. The normal daily calorie burn varies from person to person according to size, body composition, gender, age and physical activity.

How You Naturally Burn Calories

A calorie is simply a measurement of energy -- the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of a milliliter of water by 1 degree. Your body uses this energy to function.

You hear fitness instructors promise to help you burn calories, or fitness gadget infomercials say their product will melt calories away. While exercise does make up some of your natural daily calorie burn, simply existing -- breathing, pumping blood and digesting food -- also uses calories. The caloric amount used to simply survive is known as your basal metabolic rate, or BMR. Activities of daily life, from washing dishes to showering, also burn some calories and add to your BMR, as does any physical activity you do -- whether that's running a marathon or building a house.