Watch Carmen's tragic death scene on Shortland Street here:
If you ever watched television in the 1990s – no doubt you will remember 'Stanley'. Stanley came to be known as the ASB baby – the on-screen baby of a pre-Xena Lucy Lawless and a pre-Packed to the Rafters Erik Thomson. Poor old Stanley had fiscal outlooks read to him by his yuppie parents, rather than nursery rhymes, and with all the talk of financial futures and importance of savings accounts, Stanley is probably working on Wall Street now.
Watch the ASB ads here:
One of the most famous – and regal – babies ever to visit our shores was Prince William. He's made the trip a couple of times since, but never was a chorus of 'ooh's' and 'ahh's' greater than it was on his 1983 trip. Still in rompers, and sporting a little bit more hair than now, the little Prince made a beeline (groan) for the iconic Buzzy Bee that generations of Kiwi kids have loved and slobbered on.
Watch Prince William play on the lawn here:
While Jacinda Ardern may be our first prime minister to have a baby while holding office, she isn't the first MP to have done so. That honour belongs to Whetu Tirikatene-Sullivan who, in 1970, gave birth while a sitting MP. She later became the first Cabinet minister – both in New Zealand and the Commonwealth – to give birth. Alas, there's no moving footage of the historic babe in this documentary, but it does give a good potted history of trailblazing women in office.
Watch Nothing Venture, Nothing Gain here:
In 1965, the name 'Lawson' was known by nearly all New Zealanders. It was the surname of the famous Lawson Quins – quintuplets who made world headlines by being the first quintuplets conceived using hormone treatment. The quins – Samuel, Deborah, Lisa, Shirlene and Selina became household names and a national obsession. Sadly, when out of the public eye, the family wasn't a happy one. This award-winning documentary explores the tumultuous life of our own famous five.
Watch The Five of Us here:
Shelly West came to our attention in 1993 when she was the subject of a moving documentary that chronicled the challenges facing Shelly and her beau Miles. Shelly suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and was blind, while Miles had spina bifida. The two were determined to have a baby and Kiwi audiences watched with baited breath and crossed fingers to see how Shelly would cope with the birth. A collective sigh of relief was heard around the country as Shelly was delivered a healthy baby girl, Michela.
Watch Mum, Dad and Michela here:
Okay, this next baby is not human but it's cute. Baby Iwani was a Siamang gibbon and was rejected by his mother at just six weeks of age. The documentary was filmed at Auckland Zoo and children and adults alike were captivated by the story of the little abandoned primate. Zookeeper Christine Tintinger takes on the role of surrogate mum and hand-raises Iwani before giving him back to his natural mother a year later.
Watch Zoo Babies here:
New parents were the target audience of the 2012 series Keep Calm and Carry On. Fronted by Jaquie Brown, it chronicled the young mother's first year as a mother to baby Leo. The documentary is honest about the realities of modern parenting – everything is up for discussion including inverted nipples, car seats and pelvic floor problems.
Watch Jaquie Brown get to grips with motherhood here:
