I’ve already proclaimed my love for the “What to Expect” series of books on this blog so when I was offered a chance to review the film inspired by them I gladly accepted.
The film has a star studded cast including Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, Chris Rock and Ben Falcone amongst others and follows 5 couples in their journey to impending parenthood. There are tears of joy and sadness and laugh out loud comedy moments. I particularly enjoyed the scenes with The Coopers and the rivalry that takes between father and son and “Mother” in law and daughter in law, both pregnant. Mother in law (Skylar) is a much younger woman an pregnant with twins. She experiences very few pregnancy symptoms and boosts a tiny bump, eventually giving birth with a sneeze!! Meanwhile daughter in Wendy becomes pregnant after two years of trying suffers from the first start, with hilarious consciences, and eventually gives birth by emergency cesarean. It offers a great light hearted look at pregnancy and birth and everything that goes with it, I really enjoyed it.
The film made me realise just how different every pregnancy and labour is. I suffered with sickness all the way through my pregnancy with Imogen, my first, but tiredness didn’t really effect me and I managed to work full time in a highly demanding job up until a few weeks before she was born. Her labour was hard and I spent a total of 6 days in hospital despite having a natural delivery. Joseph’s pregnancy was a lot tougher with SDP effecting my mobility and sleep from about 20 weeks and eventually putting me on crutches. His labour was an awful lot easier though and whilst I was induced my actual recorded time in labour was just over an hour and I left hospital just a few hours after he was born.
One thing that helped me through both pregnancies was information, being clued up on how to keep healthy and eat properly (remember – eat for you not for two!).Help from sites such as Start4life was invaluable during the early days too with lots of much needed advice on feeding.
We’ve teamed up with Start4Life to give you the chance to win one of THREE copies of What to Expect When You’re Expecting on DVD. To enter simply do so via Rafflecopter below.
Just how awful having no sleep continuously is!!
i wish i knew how difficult it was going to be dealing with post-natal depression!
how tired you were going to feel
How tierd I would be….Kids are older now and still feel tired all the time lol
wish i knew how quick the time flies by and that they grow up sooo quick!
Wish i knew they grow up so quickly and don’t seem to stay babies for long
@toc83
that the other babies keep you more awake then your own on the ward lol
lack of sleep
To get as much rest now as possible as it would never happen again!
Exactly how pain full child birth was going to be, mind you couldn’t of been that bad I had 5 of them lol x
How badly SPD hurt, and to ask for help sooner rather than later.
having no sleep
How worrying it is to have this precious bundle depend on you? Son had to have blood test in first few weeks of his life and it was so upsetting.
How tired you’d be!!
The Heart burn
Tiring
I’d wish I’d known how hard it would be to work while pregnant (sitting on a PC for 9 hrs a day)
i wish i knew for sure the sex! had a 20 week scan having a girl now at 31 weeks it’s a boy! was initially heart broken as i have a boy already but still feel a sense of loss but going to have another mummy’s boy! xx
How difficult it can be for a dad as well as a mum when their partner is pregnant.
How your life really does change totally!
Wish I knew how my body would change its shape after the birth.Still they worth everything.
I wasn’t prepared for how quick one phase ended and a new one began, had to learn to not stress and just enjoy each and every stage as it went so fast
how tiring it can be
That your boobs would become spaniels ears
(
How emotional it actually is
How hot it is on the ward. I was boiling and sent my OH to get a fan…
@caro_mad
would love to win this
How hard dealing with the sleep deprivation would be.
No one told me how sore my nipples would be for the first 5 days of breast feeding….ouch!!!
How long labour could go on for!
my first born came 5 weeks early I wish I had packed up work earlier than maybe I wouldnt have developed pre eclempsia toxemia and had to have an emergency cesearean
the tiredness….
That it would be a year before my husband and I could sit down and eat a meal together again sue to the crying ….what did people do before microwaves!!!
Lack of sleep
I’d not have a hot cup of tea for 6 months
The piles post labour! Omg…I would have gone through childbirth again rather than suffer that pain!
STAYING AWAKE NO SLEEP
I wish i knew just how much life changes when expecting and from then on!
the fact that it you go off something when you are pregnant (for me it was a cup of tea) you will never be able to drink/eat it again.
The weird food cravings – vegemite and sardines on toast anyone?
I wish I’d known that after giving birth you still look pregnant only with a horrific jelly belly of wobbly flesh!
How much I’d miss sleep
I wish somebody had let me know you leave your brain in the delivery room after giving birth!!
How much you get foot cramps especially at night.
Lack of sleep
That everyone is just muddling through to, you’re not the only one still in you pj’s at 1pm and covered in baby sick!
how tired and emotional i’d be!
I’ve never had children so no idea
Just how much it can change the relationships in your life! ♥
how much i missee my bump
Heartburn
Hopefully one day my time will come to be a mother & carry full term
That it was possible to have terrible morning sickness (day sickness even) all the way through your pregancy. I had been told it would stop after a couple of months but it never went : P
the terrible morning sickness and nausea i had for the first 6 months, i couldn’t bear the smell of any food…was really difficult for me
The tiredness, it just hits you when you don’t expect it… or when you shouldn’t sleep…like at work
I wish I had known how hard baby weight is to lose afterwards !
I wish I’d known how much heartburn I’d get, I would have stocked up on antacids
I’d love to watch this with my mum and hear her say how everything was different in her day
The heartburn!!
just how tiring it would be!!!
How its the most amazing time but also the most hardest thing you will ever do
How to get rid of continuous indigestion!
which i knew that most of my “friends” would dissapear
How to help the wife stop feeling sick
The cravings… number one was big macs, number two was ice, and number three was buckets of ice to the point where my tongue had lost its sensations and then to top it off lemons on lettuce
just how precious all that me time was that I had previously taken for granted.
the heartburn…my god i had it really bad!
How much you need your family around you.
I wish I knew how expensive children were going to be
That birth plans often go out the window!
I wish i’d known how to clone myself as another pair of hands to go get everything else done while i just sit and hold my baby or to let me get a nap would have been nice!
The utter exhaustion, but also the unutterable joy of having my wonderful son.
great prize
i wish I knew that I was expecting a fast birth ~ was not prepared for a 4 hour in total delivery (from first contraction to cord being cut)
I wish I knew more about different births. My first time I just thought my waters will break, I’ll go to hospital give birth and come home with a baby. Instead I had a bleed went to hospital and had a section so stayed for 3 days. Not quite what I expected lol
I wish I knew how to look after a baby!
How often I’d check in my knickers!
How much I would miss my bump
i wish i had known everything was going to be fine, and then maybe i could have relaxed a little!
how hard breastfeeding is!
That in the end its all worth it and all the bad bits are easily forgotten
That you should sleep/rest as much as possible when pregnant as that will be the last chance for a while!
I wish I’d have known how much kids take over your life
Wish I’d taken the advice before having my first- sleep as much as you can… pregnant with twins/subsequent children did not allow that!!
Just how much water there is when your waters break…I soaked our bed, 4 towels & 3 pairs of pyjama bottoms before it stopped! If I’d known I’d have stood in the bath for 10 minutes!!!
The lack of sleep
The lack of sleep.
Great prize, I’ve got all this to look forward too…
I wish I knew that I should not eat so much after pregnancy as the weight didn’t just come off
that you will lose all dignity!
I wish I knew to ignore advice from well meaning people, and to just do it my own way.
lack of sleep and how tiring it could be.
I wish I knew just how exhausted I would be in the first few weeks after my daughter was born, I would have spent the last few weeks of my pregnancy getting lots of rest instead of all the cleaning and running around i did.
How terrible colic is
That my child was on the autism spectrum & I could start reading up on it. One day maybe….
I wish I’d appreciated more how much assistance my wife would need so that I could have planned to help her more.
How you find it hard to sleep in the later stages
lack of sleep lol
I had a shock when I took my first baby home as I was so unprepared and did not know what to do. I wish I had gone to some classes first.
that your world will never be the same again!!
That you’ve never loved someone like you’re about to love someone!
all I can say is massive life change!! all for the better but it can be tough! lol
i wish i knew that everyone suddenly becomes a baby expert and knows better than you!!!!
Agree with others – definitely the tiredness you feel.
How hard life would be when he was older and the fight we would face to get a medical diagnosis!
Just how hard it is to have a colicky baby. Luckily 4 of my children were perfect babies but 1 suffered terribly with it. It was awful & I cried as much as the baby!! x
Just how life changing it really is
How bad colic was and how to cope with it
Just how tired you become and it stays with you for the rest of your life
That you cant run to the Loo
Who the father was, sorry could not resist that. But really I did not believe this who idea about cravings, but soon as I was pregnant, my poor husband was out buying me cooking apples. So, so silly now thinking of it, but I was eating them raw like no tomorrow.
I wish I knew how hard the lack of sleep would be
How much it hurt to go to the toilet for days afterwards.
Just how *much* the lack of sleep can affect you… you can’t really explain it but when you have put your shoes in the fridge for the third time in a row you can’t deny it lol x
I wish I knew that I should enjoy the baby months cos it’s a whole lot worse when they are toddling around making a mess!
How little sleep you would get!!
How tiring it all is
Heartburn
lack of sleep
I wish I knew that everyone gives advice and has the best solution for new parents – when actually the parents themselves usually know best!
The cravings!!! Pickled Gherkins??
How much sleep I would miss!
Not being able to walk without a waddle!
Theres no point having a birth plan, you will most likely end up with the exact opposite!
That when you get close to your due date don’t wish away the time. Use it to sleep, relax and enjoy before the hardwork truly kicks in!
To try and enjoy every second of it! It is over before you know it and then that’s it – life changes FOREVER!
How much lack of sleep really affects you
Definitely the lack of sleep!
The guilt that comes with never knowing if you are doing a good job.
How much you miss them once they start school
All them times wishing for a break and then when they start and you get one you want them back!!!
love at first sight
I wish I’d known how my normally good memory would be non-existent and how tired I’d be, especially in the first trimester.
I wish someone told me that they wouldn’t stay little forever. I wish I had enjoyed more cuddles with my newborn! x
how your emotions will go crazy
love the film
How your old life doesn’t matter as your children always come first!
how quickly they grow up love and appreciate every stage they go through