When is bub due?
"We were due Christmas Day but it’s a big baby, they’ve brought it forward so the due date is technically the 20th but Sam’s 30th birthday is the 14th of December so because of my back problems – I had Poppy naturally, no drugs. I actually wanted all the drugs, I just had no time for them, I had her in three hours, she was so fast! That’s how that birth turned out! It wasn’t the most ideal birth for someone with a bad back so we’ve looked at possibly having a caesarean this time around. It does make me nervous but I think birth in all its forms is a nerve-wracking experience."
Did you plan to have the babies so close together?
"We did. We planned to have them even closer but you have to listen to your body and go with what’s possible. We have always wanted to have kids very close together because they’ll be so close growing up. But also for the fact that I have some really serious structural issues with my back so the closer we have kids together, the closer I’ll be to getting that fixed and then potentially looking at having another baby. We just wanted to get two in just in case anything should happen – which I’m sure it won’t but we just wanted to have two really close together."
What issues have you had with your back?
"It’s always been a long-term issue. I’ve had two surgeries. Four stays in hospital, I’ve changed a lot of my life. I’ve got a team of doctors around me helping me out with it and everyone has their thing – this is mine. After a game, our house is a bit funny because Sam is usually pretty beaten up and I’m hobbling around pregnant. I just have disc issues – I have a degenerative disc issue in my back. Sometimes I just need to rest which is tough for someone who is quite active but I’m looking at getting a final fusion a year after I’ve had this baby so hopefully that will help. It’s just an ongoing thing and there’s no answer for it. It’s chronic pain. We just deal with it all together.
"I was really athletic as a kid. Back issues usually start out being hereditary but I was in a skiing accident, I played representative tennis at university, I rowed, I did swimming, water polo – I did everything but I think the skiing and the tennis and probably not looking after it with Pilates and my core strength – over time it just caught up with me. I probably didn’t look after it as well after my first surgery."
This article originally appeared on WHO.