Lion + Goat + Snake = Baby

Last night, I read an article about how the baby is actually giving me fetus cells and I have stem cells floating around from the beginning of the first trimester. That doesn't seem so shocking, but the article also claimed that the baby's cells might continue to circulate in my system for the rests of my entire life. Which means I will forever actually BE part of my child (and vice versa, obviously, as it is taking everything it needs from me). I guess when more than one person's cells mingle in one individual, it's called microchimerism. The word is derived from the Greek Chimera. It describes any mythical animal with parts "taken from various animals"--and also implies an impossible or foolish fantasy. 
I can only hope that our baby doesn't end up looking like this:

The fact that this unborn child is stripping my blood of what it needs and developing its Dad's cells as well makes this dude's tribute to his mother all the more real: Biologist's Mother's Day Song. 
What is surprising is that these cells include cells from Dad--which now means that it's possible that Dan is actually part of me (when I took marriage vows "until death due us part" didn't have the same meaning it does now)--and each embryo and fetus in my womb could be a part of every other embryo and fetus that has or will set up camp in there for four weeks or more. And those sibs may pass on cells to successive kiddos.
Of course I liked the idea that the good little fetal cells might be protecting me from some forms  of cancer, developing my immune system and increasing my body's resistance to certain diseases thanks to the cells from Dad--thanks, Dan! Let's hope this baby is full of goodness because my thyroid could use a little boost. But the part about the bad fetal cells wasn't all that settling. Turns out those fetal cells can cause cancer or can cause autoimmune diseases to worsen. Only time will tell if our bundle of joy was well behaved or angry while it set up shop in my uterus for nine months. (I guess I had better be particularly nice to it now. How can you bribe a lion/goat/snake thingy?)