Misbehaving Mums to be.

I have just sat down and watched 'Misbehaving Mums to be' which aired on BBC 3 on Thursday night.


From the second it started I knew it was meant to shock.  The program follows three pregnant ladies each week who have 'vices' and shows them what they are doing to the health of their unborn children.


This week we were shown a lady who smokes twenty cigarettes a day and did so while she was pregnant with their first child, a woman who continued to drink, and a lady who was extremely obese.


I found the program incredibly uncomfortable to watch.  It wasn't the lady who drunk or the obese lady who shocked me, it was the woman who smoked.


From the second I found out I was pregnant I gave up my 'vices' which were coke (of the drink variety!) and alcohol.  By no means was I a heavy drinker but I did like to have a few glasses of wine during the week and at the weekend.  I am also addicted to diet coke and drink at least five glasses a day.  I actually found the coke harder to resist than the alcohol but resist I did manage.  I did not touch a drop of either from the day I took my pregnancy test.


By no means am I saying that women should not drink alcohol while pregnant, or drink caffeine.  I have lots of friends who have had the occasional glass of wine- this was my personal choice and a goal I set myself to see if I could do it.  A lot of my friends carried on drinking coffee as well, and I still ate chocolate which has caffeine it, it was more a test to myself cause I know how unhealthy it is.


But what I just cannot understand is why people continue to smoke that many cigarettes during their pregnancy.  I smoked heavily while at university, from when I was about 17 for a few years but when I met Mr E he really disliked it so I stopped then and there and never smoked regularly again.  I did have the occasional wobble when tipsy and would have the odd cigarette here and there but I haven't had one for a couple of years now.  Smoking is an addiction and I do understand that it is hard for people to give up, as people have different willpower levels, but the woman on there made me so angry.  


I know people do find it difficult but if they are trying to give up then that is the main thing.  If they go and seek help then at least they realise that they are causing a danger to their unborn child and that shows that they are already being a mother.  If they can't give up totally, but manage to cut down or at least attempt to cut down then in my opinion they should be praised because at least they have tried.  By not even attempting to give up, they are causing their baby a serious health risk and I find this incredibly selfish.


This is just my opinion and I know that other people will disagree and that is totally fine as we are all entitled to our own choices but the sight of that lady perching an ashtray on her bump while puffing on a fag really made me uncomfortable and I won't be watching it again.

My first ever flashback Friday.....Those two little lines!

So for my first ever Flashback Friday I thought that I would write about one of the most important days of my life....the day I found out I was going to be a mummy.


Mr E and I got married in December 2009 and I was desperate to become a mummy and he a daddy so on our rather lavish honeymoon to Mexico and Miami (which we are still paying for!) we talked about starting a family asap.


Roll on four months later and we didn't realise it was going to happen quite so quickly...


I was away on my own in Bournemouth for a business trip.  I knew that the dreaded Auntie Flo (sorry!) was due to be making an appearance on the Tuesday but I arrived in Bournemouth on the Sunday night and the whole way in the car I couldn't stop thinking about it.  Was this going to be the month?  Was there a little poppy seed growing in there already?  


Me being me couldn't wait to test till Tuesday even though I had promised myself that I would this month.  So as soon as I got to my hotel room I dug out one of my little white sticks.  Even though they say to use first morning wee I thought I may as well give it a go and I wouldn't be disappointed if it was negative because firstly I was doing it in the evening, and secondly I was two days early testing.


I sat down in my rather swanky bathroom (one of the perks of working in the travel industry- they always give you the nicest room) and did my business.


I felt nervous waiting the two minutes and put it on the sink and told myself not to peek.


Obviously I didn't wait the two minutes, I got as far as about thirty seconds, and then I tentatively picked the test up to have a look.


This is what I saw.....

Yes this is the actual stick- maybe a bit strange to take photos of it but I think I was a little delirious at the time.


When I saw this, I actually felt like I was going to faint.  I didn't think that it was going to be positive if I am honest, and so I was a bit shocked and I didn't really know what to do or how to react.


Here I was in a hotel room in the middle of Bournemouth, Mr E was miles away at home none the wiser and now I wasn't quite sure what to do.


So I did what everyone would do in my situation...


I danced around the room.  Literally.  I danced around and shrieked and actually jumped on the bed.  


Then after a few minutes of doing this I did what every insane newly pregnant woman would do.  I peed on another little white stick.  Just to check.


Then I danced and shrieked and jumped on the bed some more because the two little lines appeared again.


After this I was faced with a dilemma.  What to do now?  There was no way I was going to tell Mr E over the phone as I wanted to see his face when I told him I was growing a little person in my tummy.


I hadn't thought of this.  Now I was in Bournemouth with lots of business meetings planned until Thursday and it was only Sunday.  That was a lot of sleeps till I was due home.


So I did what every insane newly pregnant woman would do.  I went to the supermarket and bought more little white sticks.


And over the course of four days I peed on a lot of them.  And lots of lines appeared.  Some words too on the fancy digital ones.  All showing the same clear message- that I was going to be a mummy.

And I took a lot more photos!


Those few days were probably the most exciting, happy and frustrating of my life as I couldn't wait to go home and tell Mr E.


Eventually Thursday came and I must have gone about 90mph down the M25 to get home.  (I don't advocate speeding but this was an emergency!)


Finally I got home and Mr E was chilling on the sofa.  I sat down and finally got to tell him the news- he was going to be a daddy.  The look on his face was priceless and worth the four days of torture.


Unfortunately I don't have a photo of that!