Hello.New here...

[laura39]

Hey everyone. I am 28 and a mother of a one year old. I have been smoking since I was 17 with many attempts to quit. I was able to quit when I became pregnant and stayed quit for the entire pregnancy...but 5 days after she was born I was back to smoking. In my other quits, I had a habit of using the patch for a week or so, then smoking on the weekends, and back to the patch on Monday. I want to be able to stay quit for good! I read about this group in Parents magazine and am hoping to hear how other moms cope with the stress of quitting and to offer any advice if I can! I have been smoking every day for the last month and I am back on the patch today. I want this quit to be the last quit!

Laura

[skye]

Good morning Laura!!
I too read about this site in the Parents magazine. they guilted me right into it. 🙂 I quit on march 20, but tecnically the 21st because I took ONE hit in the AM. I was so upset with myself. but I am past that and moved on. I have found that it's easier, yet harder to quit with kids. Easy, in the sense that while I'm doing this for me, it's also for them. And i don't feel guilty now when I give them a big hug and hold them close...I don't smell anymore! harded in that as much as I love them, they are a big trigger.

[annie17]

Hello Laura... I have 2 kids. (3 and 1) they are a big trigger for me, but I keep the thought in my mind that maybe in the near future they will forget that I smoked and I won't have to be the one they tell thier kids "Grandma died of cancer so don't smoke!!" This trick worked for me - Each time I needed a smoke I would say to myself "I'll smoke it later" and when later came I would say it again and again until I didn't have to say it anymore! (I never did smoke it later... lol) You really have to want to quit more than anything because if your just doing it to do it than it will keep getting you.. You have to want to! and remember this - after you use your patch to stop smoking, and your going to stop using nicotine... withdrawl symptoms only last while the nicotine in your body is dropping (about 3 days)...when the level of nicotine in your body has hit 0, it's all in your head, there are no more real withdrawls, just your thoughts! That helped me get passed a lot of the emotional side effects, just knowing that It was me not the nicotine... Find something that works for you and stick with it... YOU CAN DO IT!!! Keep On Keepin' On!!! 🙂

[laura39]

Thanks, Ladies!
Skye, I hear you about being able to hug your child without worrying about all the toxic chemicals they could be inhaling off of you. Annie, you are right...I can't quit just to quit, I have to want to. I think that has been my problem before. What I mean is, I didn't want to be a smoker but I still wanted to be able to have a few with my friends and when I had a few drinks on a friday (I think this was more of just doing something "adult" after being with my daughter and the kids I nanny for all week). I have accepted that I need to find other ways to relax and unwind after a long week. Anyone have any ideas? 🙂

Yesterday was a great day. I had a little bit of a nic fit before bed and a hard time sleeping but I woke up this morning and my first thought was not about smoking. I went to the gym today and felt great afterwards. I think that is the best thing about quitting smoking, Feeling good about myself and not having anything to feel ashamed of! So it's 2:11 right now and I haven't had any real cravings yet. I can do this!