The Bump Series: Finding Out

We found out we were pregnant at approximately 3am on a Tuesday morning, wide-awake in our little London flat. We had been up for a half hour, jet-lagged after a quick trip back home to New Zealand for a whirlwind week of road-tripping and family time topped with a superb wedding. I was pretty sure I wasn’t pregnant. We did a test right before we went on holiday as we knew with all the celebrations on the cards, there would be plenty of rosé and soft cheese. Turns out I was wrong. I walked back into our bedroom, test in hand, in a mild state of shock and an odd sense of excitement. I said to Sam “uh, we’re pregnant”, to which he responded, without skipping a beat, “of course you are, have you SEEN your boobs!?” He was right, my chest had grown inexplicably over the last couple of weeks. Now we knew why.

So, uh, wow. I’m not really sure how to sum up those first few days eloquently and accurately with words. They were a hazy blur of highs, excitement, doubt and trepidation. We had no more than one night together knowing we were expecting, and then Sammy was off to Switzerland for a few nights, followed by one-night reunion before I then jetted off for seven nights in Las Vegas. Vegas in itself is another story when you are six weeks pregnant. It took a while for things to really dawn on us with all that time apart.

I vividly remember going out for a run in that first week, with a pink sunrise over Hyde Park. I had so freely gotten out of bed that morning. It took me no more than four minutes to put on my running kit, grab my keys and walk out my door. As I was jogging past the Royal Albert Hall, I thought about how we haven’t even seen a show there yet, and once bubba comes, how will we ever do that? Coincidentally a friend reached out to us that week about seeing Swan Lake there in the summer…we signed up in a heartbeat. This was the year I planned to get proper fit (as I plan every year, 'plan' being the operative word). I was going to build a perfect London wardrobe complete with a Burberry trench. We had just been invited to a wedding over Mardi Gras in New Orleans in early 2017, and had grand plans for a holiday in either Sri Lanka or South Africa or Indonesia this year. Most importantly, we were hoping to maybe, just maybe, find a house habitable and affordable enough in this city to buy. Our lives revolved around us. We like us, it’s what we’ve known for so long (in the nicest but most honest way).

Obviously we knew what we were up to. And by no means do I want to give the impression that we are ungrateful. We are completely and utterly aware of how lucky we are, and we do not wish to have things any other way at all. Things happened a little earlier than we thought, and in our current little 300 square foot flat, we have some changes to make. Soon.

I’m going to continue writing a few posts around our experience. We’re only four months in, but I feel like I could write a novella. It’s not that I claim to be an expert on any of this - I am definitely at the other end of the spectrum. Friends have asked all the questions I've only just found answers to, and and I am learning so much that I’d like to share it. I don't know many people closely yet who have had bubbas, but for those that I do, I have asked so. many. questions. I have come to realise I know so, so little. Both of us, Sam and I, we know very little. But despite the anxiety and the work to be done before Oct 31st, we are very, very excited.