Yes, you read it well… WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!

After been disappeared from all my social channels for the last three months, I thought it was time to give some explanations. And I guess this is the best one that I could have ever shared.

We are happy beyond the moon for this little human being we expect to join the family on February 2019.

Now that the BIG NEWS is out, let me share some updates regarding my pregnancy.

PREGNANCY UPDATES

I’m now 20 weeks pregnant, probably by the time I’ll publish the article, I’ll be almost 21 weeks.

I found out that I was pregnant on May 30th and it was the biggest shock of my life. I’m going to dedicate a proper post to explain why this pregnancy has been such a big surprise. But obviously, it was the BEST surprise ever. By the time I discovered I was expecting I was almost 5 weeks. I immediately booked an appointment with a gyno who confirmed my pregnancy.

The first trimester was a real rollercoaster. So many emotions. The biggest feeling was actually the fear to lose the baby.

I didn’t have any nausea, vomit or problem with food and smells. I simply wanted to eat super healthy because I wanted to give to the baby everything she/he needed. And I stopped eating sweets because I only wanted savoury food. Give me pasta instead of chocolate!

But I felt constantly small pains everywhere. Little cramps, very similar to the ones I normally experience with my period. So this made me always feel scared. Was it an alarm for something bad? Probably not, it was just my body adjusting to the new condition. But I was constantly worried.

After the first ten days spent on the sofa because I was too afraid to move around, I finally decided to take little steps and I went for short walks (in malls since it was June and it’s crazy hot in Dubai) and I also decided to go swimming.

8 WEEKS: SOMETHING HAPPENED

Everything was going great. Massimo and I were planning how to give the big announcement to our families. We were supposed to go back to Italy on June 29th so we planned to tell them on that day. We watched so many announcement’s videos on You Tube and we always cried all the tears out because we were just too happy and too emotional. The only thought to share the news with parents and family made us cry like babies.

But our plans didn’t go really well because on June 24th I started bleeding. It was the worst day ever. It was fresh red blood which in my mind meant only one thing: miscarriage. I was 8 weeks so still in the dangerous first trimester. We rushed to the ER and I remember waiting to get a scan, thinking that everything was already over. But our little bean was still there, stronger than ever! The bleeding lasted for few hours. They gave me an extra shot of progesterone, telling me that it might be normal to experience bleeding during the first three months and it doesn’t always mean that you are having a miscarriage.

We went home, still scared but at least with our baby with us.

The next day I started bleeding again and it was stronger than the day before. I was less worried this time ( I mean still worried but the fact the 24 hours before I heard my baby’s heartbeat made me think positive). Again we run to the ER, we checked the baby who was totally fine. But doctors talked for the first time of a risk of miscarriage and they put me in total rest for at least a week.

At that moment we decided to call our families and to tell what was going on. Especially because we needed help. Moral support first as we were experiencing all these emotions by ourselves and physical support since Massimo took some days off but then he had to go back to work and I couldn’t stay at home alone. My mom immediately jumped on a plane as well as my mother in law. Having someone with us for the following month was really important. Being able to talk with my mom about what was happening and what I was feeling made me already feel better.

In those moments you understand how expat life is hard. Everything is different when you have your family close by.

Anyway, we spent another month in Dubai and then on July 27th, after finally hitting twelve weeks, we went back to Italy.

I don’t know if it was the thought that the first trimester was over, or the atmosphere of joy for the news or the fact that we were at home but at the 13th week I started feeling great. I spent one month in Italy, eating amazing food, meeting friends, relaxing and with a growing baby bump.

On August 29th I came back to Dubai and since then I must admit that I’m still feeling well. Recently I started to experience some back pain, but I guess it’s because of the size of my belly which is now showing. I haven’t put a lot of weight so far although I’m always hungry! I’m probably eating 4-5 meals per day lol.

NEW CHAPTER FOR BONJOUR CHIARA

I’m sure many of you are asking how this pregnancy is going to affect Bonjour Chiara. I wish I could tell you that nothing is going to change, that I will still talk about my personal style, shopping tips and beauty reviews. But truth is that I have no idea how this baby will change the blog. For sure there will be changes.

My life has already changed so much.
Buying tiny socks are making me happier than a designer bag!!

I’m struggling to find a way to dress my bump. As I said I haven’t put a lot of weight so far, I still fit in some of my clothes. But clearly the image that I see in the mirror is so different now. Sometimes I have an idea of outfit in my mind but when I try the items on is a total disaster. Maybe that outfit was cool on the old Chiara, but at the moment I have different curves to dress up!

The only shopping that I’m doing at the moment is for the nursery of my little baby. And the only fashion I’m interested in is fashion for kids.

So yes, a lot has changed in my life and since Bonjour Chiara has always been my personal space I’m sure it will reflect this new chapter. But I’m happy with that. Very happy!! And maybe I will still be able to help women to find inspiration for them and their little ones.

Photography by Noemi Mazzucchelli