On Monday night at one of my regular sojourns to the supermarket I made an impulse purchase of a dvd. There were two dvd's in the box and the titles were Romancing The Stone and the sequel Jewel Of The Nile.

Romancing The Stone must have been made twenty five years ago. Honestly, it seems like yesterday I saw it at the movies. In fact, when I was watching it my husband said that we saw it together but I don't think so. I said to him that it might have been him but I cannot recall. You know, when you have been hanging around the same person for years it is a bit hard to remember just who you went to the movies with.

The main star was the gorgeous Kathleen Turner. She really was a beautiful creature in her heyday. Kind of gutsy and funny. She was in a few other movies as well. One of them was Body Heat in which she was a real femme fatale. Plus she did the voice for Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

Anyway, I was watching the movie last night, enjoying the absolute 80's appeal of it all and I was reminded of my hospital stay when I had my son.

When I was pregnant I had long blonde hair. Very glamorous looking. Not a yellow ditsy blonde, more of a caramel colour with blonde highlights. Extremely high maintenance to keep looking good. People at work would say I had hair like Kathleen Turner. I was a bit pleased about it.

During the pregnancy my hair was so thick and glossy it was a delight. Truly, despite the hard work it was the one time I really loved my hair. Of course, after I had my son I am sure that half my hair fell out and the other half stayed in a pony tail for months ever after.

But I digress.

Whilst I was pregnant I ate like a pig. I was hungry all the time. I woke up thinking about food and had a 24 hour a day empty stomach. My husband could not believe it. Once I even got up in the night and ate a peanut butter sandwich using mouldy bread. I was so hungry. Just makes me sick thinking about it. I ate and ate without giving a shit about the consequences..

All that eating was fine for the first five months of the gestation as I also had really dreadful morning sickness and usually vomited up half of what I ate throughout the day. However, the last four months of the pregnancy I was not ill and just put on weight. In fact, one time I was sitting on the bed when my incredibly brave husband said to me "Linda, do you know that you are the shape of a volcano? Wide at the base and narrow at the top." Can you believe that?

Towards the end of the breeding programme I had to shop around for some things to take to hospital. In particular I was looking for a lovely pair of pyjamas. And one day I came across the most divine pair of snow white linen pyjamas. Made in France. Cost a fortune. I cannot tell you the exact amount as I believe I have erased it from my memory in shock.

When I got them home I hand washed them, ironed and folded them and then put them in the case to take to hospital.

Seriously, I had this idea that when I had "the baby" I would greet visitors in hospital wearing my wonderful white linen pj's and nursing my new baby that would be all swaddled in the overpriced Peter Rabbit baby wrap I had bought. I would look as glamorous as Kathleen Turner, my hair all lovely and my face made up. Like out of some magazine shoot.

Ah, of course, you laugh. Firstly, I had a c-section and could hardly move. Then, all that food I ate for months on end did not magically disappear overnight. I had put on so much weight that those overpriced linen pj's would not go past my mid thigh and even that was hard to get them up that far. As for the pyjama top, well, my huge udders made sure that any button closing was impossible.

I ended up wearing my maternity clothes. It was a humbling experience.

As for those pyjamas. I accidentally put them in a hot wash and they shrunk so much that they looked very silly on me even when they did finally fit me. Not long after they were relegated to the rag bag for dusting use only. The most expensive dust cloth I have ever used.

Well, there really is only one Kathleen Turner of course.

But it was nice to aim a little high at the time.

Ciao
LC

Linda,

Isn't it sad what we go through during pregnancy? I went through it FOUR times!! We even planned each one! I can not imagine what you must have gone through emotionally when those expensive pjs did not fit.

One thing you CAN say, that you did loose the weight. I still struggle just a bit with my weight. I was always a nice size 5 or 7. Now I am a solid 12. It is a bit uncomfortable for me. People say I am not fat, but I KNOW the difference. I feel different. My clothing reflects the difference, sweats and t-shirts.

I live in constant concern of gaining more weight because as we get older, our metabolism changes. It seems nothing works with me trying to loose the weight.

If I stay this size the rest of my life, that would be "ok". I'd rather loose the weight.

Presious: I think that with each child it is so much harder to lose the weight. I carried the extra weight for a long, long time (being on anti depressants made it worse). Now I just eat well, no junk food, no alcohol etc, and exercise a lot.

Being a lone mother with four children makes it extra hard to focus on yourself. So, don't be hard on yourself. Keeping weight down to a good level is a daily event and, in turn, that is a life thing. Anyway, you have to make a choice - small bottom means thinner face as you get older. Madonna is a good example of that. You have to carry a bit of fat on you.

Thanks for the encouragement. It does get really hard sometimes. I really don't have time for me. It's one of those things that I have to force it.

The only way I can get a nice, hot, spa bath is to "make" my boys look after my grandson while my daughter is at work. Not always sure this is fair to them, but without my sanity, the house will not run correctly.

We have to pull together as a family and support each other. My boys really don't have a problem with looking after their nephew, I just don't want to make him their responsibility. I gotta do what I gotta do to make things work.

Exercise was my stress reduction at one time. I loved step aerobics at the gym. My treat afterwards was the jacquzzi (ck sp..lol). I can't afford the pay for the gym anymore.

Okay, this is catty, but I think these days Kathleen Turner is the one fitting in the pregnancy clothes.

In Body Heat, she was so good, I would have walked into any trap she laid, willingly.
Note to Vegas:
She has suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and the treatments caused weight gain.

Presious: Exercise keeps me on an even keel mentally. No exercise and I will get depressed.

I wonder if you might be able to find some good exercise dvd's, although sometimes it is hard to motivate yourself to actually watch them (I have a couple of ANCIENT ones).

Don't worry about your boys looking after the little one. My sister had a baby at 15 (I was 11) and I spent every spare moment and school holiday pushing that little baby of hers all over town and out with my friends. That little baby is now 34. Eeek!

LindaLou: She has, unfortunately, had a hard time aging. She is on medication for her rheumatoid arthritis and everyone knows, in Hollywood, no fat gals allowed! Fat being anything over a size zero. Also, no wrinkles allowed. In fact, no sign of aging allowed at all.

Ray: She was sexy in that film. I love her husky smoker's voice. It was tough she put on weight and it was out of her control. That is frustrating for anyone, let alone a person whose career depends on being gorgeous.

Loved that moovie. Where she is in her apartment and can't find any tissue, only notes telling her to buy tissue! Hilarious.

And when the go to the bandit's house and he recognizes her "Joan Wilder? THE Joan Wilder?" and leaves the guy in the dust.

And of course Cow always a sucker for a happy ending. Luuuuve the happy ending. All in all, a great movie, a classic. Haven't seen the sequel too often, but now must dig it up.

Great essay. So sorry about the pj's, they probably would have been beauteous. Console yourself with your beautiful son, anyway.

Moo!

I love Kathleen Turner. I saw her in a movie just recently, She played a very funny part in Marley and Me. She was the dog trainer.

she was definitely a great beauty of her time, and so are you.

Yes, I bought a very slinky "nursing" nightgown for my suitcase to bring to the hospital, and my boobs poked out of it constantly. Very embarrassing. Especially when visitors arrived. yikes. When K2 was born, I just wore a maternity outfit. Much easier for nursing.

Topiary Cow: I love it when they were in the plane and burning the "leaves" and having a drink. Looked like an interesting way to spend an evening (and wake up with a headache).

Indeed a classic movie.

Karen: She is so funny. I liked her in a movie where she was a tough talking policewoman. V I Warsomething.

Yes, having a baby is a bit of a shock to the system. Never in my wildest dreams did I think the size of my breasts would overtake the size of my bum - but I am sure they did at some point.

Can't believe you bought anything slinky to slip into. That is more of a denial than me buying snow white linen overpriced pj's.

Yeah that scene in the plane is priceless. Cow luuuved the chemistry between them...but then, after reading about Michael Douglas in real life, it seems he probably had chemistry with any woman to cross his path. Or whatever parts they did cross...

Modest Moo!