May 14, 2020 Nicola Monteath

What to expect when you’re expecting: Rossi Campbell

Rossi Campbell, founder of @mrs.wwdubai takes us on her pregnancy journey ahead of the birth of her son, Louis.

July

My husband and I had the most amazing month in June, we had our wedding and honeymoon pass us by and had decided it was time to start thinking about starting a family. I had always wanted to start my own family and it just felt like the right time, after all the madness of the month before had calmed down. I will never forget the day I found out I was pregnant, I had absolutely no signs of pregnancy nor did I feel any different, but something inside was telling me to take a test.

I took the test at work, as I had absolutely no intention of seeing a positive result and therefore did not think about sharing the moment with my husband. As soon as I took it and saw the words ‘pregnant’ I was in complete shock! I ran up to my friend at work and blurted out the news. We both cried.

I spent the day at work researching million and one things I should and shouldn’t do when pregnant. I built the moment up in my head all day as to how I would tell him and what his reaction would be, but instead as soon as I told him to sit down on the sofa he knew. He blurted out ‘You’re pregnant, aren’t you?’ and that was that. We had a huge cuddle and sat in complete shock for the rest of the evening. I will never ever forget that day.

August

This was the month the dreaded morning sickness kicked in. I had my mum visiting from the UK and we had loads of plans for her holiday. Since I was never actually physically sick, I never put the way I felt down to morning sickness at the beginning. I just felt extremely tired, strong headaches and a loss of appetite. My mum and I had a trip to the mall planned and I remember my mum looking at me and saying you’re not well, are you? She explained how everything I was feeling was completely normal and that my body was working overtime to produce all the major organs for my baby. As strange as it sounded, it had never occurred to me before that all of my energy was being used to create a life.

September

It was finally time for our 12-week scan, as I found out I was pregnant from almost day one. The next 12 weeks felt like forever. We were beyond excited to finally see our little one on the screen.

The doctor had told us that she could very clearly see the gender of the baby already and if we wanted to know she would tell us. As hard as it was, we had decided to not find out and keep the baby’s gender as a surprise, so we politely declined. It took all of my strength to not just say ‘Yes, please tell me!’.

October

We had two weddings to attend in Spain and Scotland. This was a completely different experience to what I had imagined when pregnant. Whilst the day time events were lovely and we got to catch up with friends and family the struggle of exhaustion and standing on my feet all day became difficult in the evenings. I found myself counting down the hours until I could get back into my bed again and curl up in a blanket. However, by this point, my bump was finally starting to show and the extra attention and care from other people had started to kick in. I loved being waited on hand and foot.

November

It was time for our 20-week scan, this scan had both its ups and downs. We had finally got to see our little bundle of joy in detail, we counted all of our baby’s fingers and toes and even got to see its little heart beating. This was the first time it really kicked in that a little person was actually inside me.

However, during the two-hour-long scan, the doctor had found extra fluid in the baby’s kidneys. Although she advised this was not something I should panic about, she did inform us that she would monitor the situation again at our 32-week scan. She discussed the possibility of the baby needing an operation when born to fix the issue however also advised that it could just as easily resolve itself whilst in my womb, so we just had to wait and see.

December

The news the month before was in both of our minds, as I don’t think you ever truly expect to hear some negative news during a baby scan. But with the help of my step mum who is an NHS Midwife in the UK, she explained the situation in detail and put our minds at ease. It was now almost Christmas and we spent our time with family, back in the UK. It was so exciting to know this would be our last every Christmas without our little one to share it with.

January

This was when the final countdown began. We were no longer travelling anywhere, and it was time to get the babies nursery done and buy all of the cute little baby bits needed. This was such an exciting time, I enjoyed every last bit of getting the house ready for baby.

February

After the long wait since our 20-week scan, we had our second growth scan appointment to check on the baby’s development and the fluid in baby’s kidneys. I had dreaded this appointment for so long and during the days leading up to the scan I had slept with worry.

As I lay on the bed in the room, my husband held my hand tightly whilst she checked the baby’s kidneys. She looked at me and said ‘All fine.. baby’s kidneys are back to normal and no longer a cause for concern’! I had a huge sigh of relief and we could now sit back and watch the rest of the scan without a worry in the world. Baby even stuck its tongue out for us.

March

Due date month! Baby is nearly almost here. This month was full of excitement as it felt like the longest wait for our beautiful baby was almost over. The family were coming to visit, work had finally finished and our lives were about to change forever. What we did not expect were the terrible events that took place with the Coronavirus pandemic. All flights to Dubai had been cancelled, the country was on lockdown and pregnant women were at high risk.

This was an extremely sad time, we had never expected this to happen. All of our family had to cancel their trips and my husband and I had to face the reality of no one other than ourselves being able to meet the baby for the foreseeable future. It was a very scary time to be pregnant. Hospital visits were cut short and mine and babies’ safety were all that mattered.

Despite all of the uncertainty in the world, one thing remained the glimmer of light in this situation. On March 31st, we welcomed our beautiful baby boy into the world. He is now safe at home with us, place ready to meet the family once life returns to normal again.