Every Sunday night was the same…  We’d go to church and then to our best friends place (or they’d come to ours) and we’d have an easy supper.  It was the highlight of our week as we’d talk and chat about anything and everything, sometimes into the early hours of the morning – ringing in the week with a tired headache but happy hearts.

But this Sunday was different.

We had a little secret that we were dying to tell them but were waiting for the right time.

Instead of the usual, we thought we would share our news while treating them to some pizza.  So there we were, debating the merits of sharing or having our own pizzas and that look that says, “I’m eating for two now – give me my own pizza or face the wrath of crazy hormones” briefly flew across my face.  The gig was up.

We all burst into giggly laughter and joy as we let our bests know that we were pregnant!  The pioneers of our group of friends – we were the first to venture down this path of poop filled wonder.

As my tummy grew, so did my desire to devour any and all reading material on anything pregnancy related.  If it said baby, pregnant, birth – I read the heck out of it. Birth stories were my favourite.  I found myself watching those shows on TV about births and crying waterfalls down my ginormous whale body.  My husband?  Not so much.  While he may have indulged my every whim and desire in terms of eating with me, massaging my bulging body and just being there for me, reading was not for him.  He’d learn on the job he said.

Not on my watch. NOT ON MY WATCH!

Off we went to our antenatal classes.  Early enough so that if I went into prem labour I’d be ready but not so early that we’d forget everything.  (Which worked out well considering she was 2 days late).

I bounced on a ball while he rubbed my back, we practiced me calling him all kinds of names and how he’d dodge the punches, we squirmed through all kinds of overly exposed birth videos and we debated our birth plan (which went somewhere along the lines of – make sure baby is healthy and give me all the drugs).  Maybe a lot of the stuff was a repeat to me because I was regularly looking up the “exit strategies” and complications, but I think it was really helpful for Seth who may have preferred hearing it from a professional and not just regurgitated from his hormonal wife.

We left the classes feeling happy and informed about the pregnancy and birth situation and far more prepared to welcome our little girl into the World.

Now although we’re probably not having any more children, we all know that I far more broody than most people so I still spend some of my time reading up on the subject.  With Pregnancy Education Week coming up I have noticed some shocking stats – although pregnant women accessing health care has significantly increased in the last few years, less than half of them seek care/treatment before 20 weeks and of those, a large percentage only get care/treatment when they are IN labour.  Even less than that will attend an antenatal class (only 5%).

Why is it so important?  Well, I’m not one to take risks – especially with a little life at stake and even though we thankfully had no complications that affected any of our babies while I was pregnant, I would have been more prepared for it if it had gone that way.  So maybe you do all these things and just confirm that everything is healthy and on track or maybe you do these things and it saves your life.  Pretty necessary either way.

3 Kids, 2 Dogs and 1 Old House and I are joining with Bio-Oil, a number of childbirth educators and hospitals to highlight the importance of being informed during this phase of your life.

Attending an antenatal class* where you can engage and ask questions is vital to ensuring that you soak up all of the information that you can with regards to pregnancy and birth as well as how to care for the newborn baby.  Meeting with other expecting parents is not only encouraging but they may bring important topics for discussion and may even become lifelong friends.

*To find a childbirth educator in your area or for more details on childbirth education and Pregnancy Education Week visit The Expectant Mothers Guide.

Do you know what my very first gift was when my bestie found out that I was pregnant?

A large bottle of Bio-Oil.

It’s definitely the go to product to help with the appearance of scars, stretch marks and uneven skin tone – no wonder it’s sold in over 81 countries across the World and the No. 1 scar and stretch mark product in 18 of those countries!

So it only makes sense that my gift to you as you embark on your parenting journey is Bio-Oil too.  Just think of me as your bestie!

WIN!

We have a gorgeous Bio-Oil baby hamper worth R1,000 to giveaway. The handy basket contains a hooded towel, a soft muslin blanket, a cute bunny and fabric building blocks as well as Bio-Oil’s ‘Tips from Moms for Moms’ and ‘Guide to Pregnancy Stretch Marks’ and three bottles of Bio-Oil (60ml, 125ml, 200ml).

All you need to do to enter to win the Bio-Oil hamper valued at R1000 is to either share this post on Facebook or Twitter via the buttons below and then comment to tell me which one you’ve done.

This time around I will give one extra entry if you do any one of the following:

• Follow 3 Kids, 2 Dogs and 1 Old House on Facebook
• Follow 3 Kids, 2 Dogs and 1 Old House on Twitter

Please leave this as an extra comment and tell me which you have liked/followed to gain your extra entry.

So if you have left your first comment AND done one of the three things – make sure that you have left TWO separate comments.

Competition closes on Wednesday night – the 1th of February 2015.