We’re having a baby!

I’m very excited to share that Ben and I are expecting our first child! There’ll be a new member joining our nerd tribe in just three months and we couldn’t be more excited. 

We found out I was pregnant about a day or two after arriving in Lisbon in December – we were still in our short-term Airbnb, still unsure if this was going to work out, and had two suitcases of essentials between us, the rest of our home having been packed up, donated or sold. That might have been part of the reason it took a while for it to truly sink in. I took a pregnancy test every few days for the first weeks and spent the first 3-4 months not quite believing it was happening.

We had our first scan here in Portugal, pic below, which was a gas experience as our Portuguese was woeful and the sonographer didn’t speak any English. Luckily, we both had a bit of Spanish and managed to muddle our way through.

We had a lot of fun telling our close family and friends over Christmas, and have enjoyed bumping into people (pun intended – Ben hates puns 😝) on our visits to Dublin and surprising them with the news. 

Our second scan was back in Dublin in Holles St and though the pictures from it are indecipherable smudges, the experience of seeing our baby’s heart beating and legs kicking was surreal and wonderful. I’ve been feeling more kicks since then (and Ben has even felt a few too), which is both insanely cute and very sci-fi.

We took these shots (with the help of my tripod and the camera’s self-timer for the ones we’re both in) over the weekend in these gorgeous botanical gardens that are a 15 minute walk from our apartment. It was mad wandering around imagining future visits with a baby in tow. We can’t wait to meet this kid in August!

Ben has blown me away with his constant love, care and support. I don’t think it’s the hormones talking when I say I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to jump into this adventure with. Thank you also to my amazing sis Kelly, mother of four, who has been a FaceTime call away to answer my many (many!) n00b questions about the weird and wonderful world of pregnancy (which has luckily and thankfully has been going well so far) and to Ben’s parents, who wrap me up in love and put me under strict instructions to “not lift anything heavier than a cup of tea” every time I visit. My own mum, who I haven’t seen since New Year’s Eve, visits Lisbon this week, and I’m looking forward to showing her the city – and the bump.

Thanks too to the many other mums and mums-to-be I’ve been chatting to – mainly through WhatsApp or Instagram DM – for sharing so much advice and insight, I feel lucky to have such a great community of inspiring women to talk to and follow.

—

(On a more sombre, but important, side note, it was our first scan I was referring to in this tweet. The thought that I wouldn’t be able to go home for medical care and support if something had been detected at that early scan filled me with sadness and anger and is one of many, many reasons why it’s so crucial that we trust women and repeal the 8th next week ❤).