Nikki Sanderson, a former Hollyoaks and Coronation Street actress, and Anthony Quinlan, a former Hollyoaks and Emmerdale partner, had a difficult pregnancy.
When soap star couple Nikki Sanderson and Anthony Quinlan got the positive pregnancy test result they’d both been dreaming of, they were hit by a whirlwind of mixed emotions.
While Nikki, 41, was “on cloud nine,” she began to worry about possible complications from the pregnancy. “I felt absolutely elated that we got this confirmation and that the baby was fine – the first time seeing the heartbeat on the scans was the most amazing, incredible feeling”, she says. However, I also experienced a lot of worry, just worrying that our journey would be smooth and that the baby would be okay. I had a lot of worries and was very excited and over the moon.
Former Hollyoaks and Emmerdale star Anthony, 41, adds, “We were thrilled but kind of held back from getting too excited because we’re aware of the troubles that can happen. You’re in that protective mode where you want everything to be OK, but there can be difficulties, especially in the first trimester.”
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Nikki is due in the spring, but understandably declines to be too specific about dates in order to avoid unwanted stress when the time comes. “I’m concerned about the pressure of people saying, “Has she had the baby yet?” explained the actress, who resigned from her Hollyoaks starring role in April. “But we’re happy to say it’s going to be a lovely little spring baby”.
Nikki, who took the pregnancy test alongside Anthony at their North Manchester home, recalls the moment she learned she was expecting. “It was just amazing. Her pregnancy came as a surprise even more as she was only four to five weeks along, with no indications of what she was expecting.
“Some people have nausea very early on and can have symptoms that give them a clue, but we didn’t have any of that”, she tells us. We simply continued with life. Even we entered a fitness competition together. It was literally only that I missed my period that made us do the test”.
Anthony claims there was “a little shock” as the happy news arrived. He goes on to say, “Because we’ve had a few instances where it wasn’t the result we wanted, it was like, “Is this for real?” The couple had endured a two-year struggle to conceive and had already taken the first steps towards having IVF.
“We’ve had a lot of ups and downs in our journey to becoming parents and it’s been really hard on us”, admits Nikki. It’s just incredible, though, waiting for our gorgeous baby to arrive. Sadly, each person’s journey to conception is unique, and some are simpler than others. But being where we are now makes all the ups and downs worth it”.
We were somewhat constrained by the possibility that we might require IVF treatment, Anthony adds. We had to give it a lot, but we were just hoping. While such struggles can strain even the strongest relationships, Nikki and Anthony have remained a tight, loving unit throughout.
“We’ve been blessed that we are a team,” says Nikki, who also played Candice Stowe in Coronation Street. “We knew this process wasn’t going to be easy and I can totally understand why it can take a huge toll on people. It’s not just the physical element, it’s the mental and emotional sides to it as well. But we really had each other’s backs through the highs and lows.”
Squeezing Anthony’s hand lovingly, Nikki adds, “I feel incredibly lucky that I’ve had this journey with Anthony. It can’t be easy for him either, and you have to take into consideration how it makes your partner feel.” Anthony agrees. “It’s a team effort. If you’re going to bring a little person into the world, it’s not a flippant thing, it’s life-changing and one of the most amazing things you can ever experience as a human being.”
In the early days of their romance, Nikki – then in her late thirties – says she was acutely aware her biological clock was ticking. She wanted to avoid having children in the future, which meant having an awkward conversation with her new partner. She says, “I just thought it was something to think about freezing my eggs.” “Anthony and I had only been together for a few months and it’s such a big conversation to have, so I was a little anxious. However, he simply said, “Nick, I think that’s a really good idea. “
At first, Nikki wanted to find out whether the baby was a boy or a girl, but she overheard a change of heart. “The further we got into the pregnancy, the more I warmed to the idea. Really, we have no control over what we have. We will be very, very happy as long as the baby is healthy. We don’t know quite when]we’ll find out the gender], but it’s the next step for us”.
The couple intends to have the scan results sealed in an envelope that they can open either alone or with their friends and family. Nikki won’t be spending any money on a home birthing pool until after the baby is born.
“I would definitely like to be in a hospital environment”, says the star, who tells us she is “classed as high risk” due to her age and other medical factors. I prefer to be somewhere where a team is present to immediately intervene and provide assistance if something were to go wrong.
Anthony and Nikki will only decide on a name once the baby is born, although they will whittle the options down to “two or three” beforehand. We prefer girls’ names over boys, says Nikki. Anthony likes some names, and Anthony likes others that I don’t like. Then, when we do like a name together, after two or three weeks, we’re like, ‘ Oh, actually, no, we’re not really fond of that name any more. ‘ They therefore continue to change.
The expecting mother-to-be appreciates that breastfeeding her baby is not always that simple. “I would love to be able to breastfeed, but ultimately, if for some reason that isn’t a reality for me, then I’m not going to get stressed over it”, she says. Some infants don’t latch on, others prefer to be breastfed, and others prefer bottle feeding. I’ll move on to what’s best for the baby if my milk doesn’t flow properly or something.
Anthony, who sweetly says he “can’t wait till we’re a little team of three”, has been enjoying Nikki’s pregnancy. The actor, who also runs an online PT and supplements business, says, “Initially it kind of felt a little surreal.” However, when I saw her with a bump and the baby kicked, it really hit home. That is the most magical feeling. It suddenly became extremely real and even more thrilling.
It hasn’t all been plain sailing though – Nikki admits the first 14 to 16 weeks of her pregnancy were “pretty difficult” as she battled nausea, extreme exhaustion and even had a couple of emergency scans to check on the baby due to bleeding. She claims that there were a lot of different things going on, but things have since cooled and she has grown more content with her pregnancy.
“We’re getting to experience all the lovely sides of pregnancy now, which is just incredible,” she says. The couple have already started stocking up on cute outfits for the tot. “We’ve got one babygrow that says ‘milking it’ on the front, which is adorable,” says Anthony, who tells us he will also be buying his son or daughter Manchester United’s new kit when it comes out in June.
He says, “It’s crazy how you can love something so much that isn’t even present in the world properly yet,” clearly moving by the prospect of fatherhood. It’s an overwhelming feeling and so bizarre to explain, but I just want to squeeze him or her. I’m in a rush to see it. When Nikki claims that she is excited that it will finally be made public, he continues, “I want to shout it from the rooftops.”
Source: Mirror
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