What to expect when you are a ballerina expecting !

 I am super happy to announce that I am PREGNANT !

Me and my partner Henry are beyond excited, we had our 12 week scan last week and couldn’t stop laughing, when we saw this “kiwi’ size thing wiggle inside me, it was incredible, we were beyond happy! So the question is what does this mean for my job? And what a question that is. The career of a ballerina is short and hard and the time-span that a woman has to become pregnant is also short and matches almost exactly the career span of a dancer. As a woman you can put it off as long as you want but eventually a decision must be made – do I want to have children and if so when? Do I have a child early and come back to dancing or do I wait until retirement and risk not being able to get pregnant? Of course, these are not questions that male dancers face….

Ballet has always been first in my life you subconsciously put everything second. I’m sure this is the same for every serious ballet dancer - the amount of big life celebrations, weddings,parties, family get-togethers and holidays that I have missed throughout my career is incredible. Even where you live is something you’ve got to consider - is this good for after a showafter I’ve spent an hour winding down and adrenalin dumping can I get home at 11:30 at night? Relationships take second place for years, that’s why it is so common for dancers to marry other dancers, nobody else has the appreciation of what it takes and the patience to feel loved even when the stresses of ballet are taking over.

But something dawned on me after the scan that this is the first time in my life that I will have to put ballet second. I’m not going to lie, this makes me feel uneasy. All I’ve ever known is how to single-mindedly work hard and strive for that next step in ballet and that has become like an anchor to me, something to hold onto through life’s twists and turns.

Now the pregnancy comes first…. Is this new state what anchors me to life? Do I have to conform to the Hallmark version of pregnancy, its all you ever see and I don’t know any other way yet! I guess this is the beauty of motherhood, you forge your way.

I will be blogging my experience so keep tuned to find out how I get on! Any tips or recommendations for shops, websites, vlogs or just experience, I am all ears !
Please comment below ..