Pregnant mum in Madonna Hung Up Parody

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So, what on earth got me making this video??? It's a combination of a few things, seven to be precise:

1. I used to be a Madonna Tribute artist (The Madonna Experience)
2. I was overdue, bored of waiting and needed a project
3. I had been planning to go to a pop-themed party dressed like this, really pregnant, but never made it... because I was really pregnant.
4. I was thinking: 'God, I'm so fed up waiting for this baby' and suddenly this lightbulb went 'ping!'
5. I think I may be slightly mental.
6. My husband (Ben Simon) is a video director.
7. My husband is mental.

I told the idea to said husband when I was 8 days overdue. I was like: 'hey we can just film some stuff around the house and show the kids when they're older it will be really funny!' And him being a total perfectionist said he would only do it if we did it properly, in a dance studio, with proper lyrics. And me being totally pregnant said, 'are you crazy?'. And him being totally stubborn said, 'no, just saying, put your back into it'. And I said, 'I'll put my back out!' And then in the morning, on the day of filming, when I was 9 days overdue we had an argument about it. And he won so I booked a studio, wrote the lyrics, we recorded the vocals, filmed for a couple of hours at the studio and then at home. The following day we went into hospital for an induction, filmed the last line in the video and then I gave birth in the evening.

Was it the dancing that finally got things moving? Maybe.

Did I enjoy the process? The music video, yes, the birth, not so much.

Is this video the silliest thing I have ever done? Yes. (So far.)

But silliness aside, I do want to shout out to all mums out there who may be struggling. Because exactly one day after laughing my head off and being silly, the first day of Billie's life, I felt a terrible panic. And this panic lasted for months. And this is kind of why it took me soooo long to release this.

I had Post Natal Depression and it's brutal. It's the worst possible timing for any illness you can ever get and it feels like your life has ended.

And I just want to say PND does end. There is help out there and if you are going through something similar, talk to those around you, talk to your GP and do get help. And please know that you will get back to your normal self.

I did! (As 'normal' as I'll ever be)

There are a few people I need to thank now as well:

Madonna for providing the original song & music video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDwb9jOVRtU
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna_(entertainer)

My husband Ben for insisting we film this properly: http://www.bensimon.co.uk

My parents for being the best parents I have ever had.

http://www.marinastudios.co.uk for getting us into a studio at such short notice.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital for (unknowingly) providing a venue for the last line of this video. And generally for being great at what they do.

H&M for the outfit I bought back in 2000 or something: http://www.hm.com

So take care all you lovely people. Hope you enjoyed the video, I think I have a few more ideas in the pipeline, so sign up!

Annelies x