I deliberately got pregnant with baby No.2 when I should’ve been 39 weeks with my first – my kids are the same age
HOPPING into the sack just four weeks after her C-section, mum-of-two Chloe Allies deliberately didn’t use contraception.
Because the now 26-year-old from Droitwich, Worcestershire, wanted to get pregnant - despite her son Ezra, now five, being in neonatal intensive care at Royal Worcester Hospital after arriving six weeks prematurely, weighing a tiny 5lb 10oz.
She fell pregnant just a few weeks later with son Elijah, also five - a week before what was Ezra’s due date.
“It’s mad to think I was pregnant with my second boy when I technically should have been 39 weeks gone with my first,” she said.
“But I was absolutely delighted. As soon as Ezra arrived I loved being a mum and wanted another.
“I was exhausted and would walk 30 minutes each day to go and see him in hospital but at the same time I was up for sex - I really fancy my husband.”
Chloe, and husband Sean Allies, 34, met in 2014 on a night out and quickly decided they wanted to try for children.
It took them around five months to fall pregnant with Ezra and everything went relatively smoothly until her waters broke early in February 2016 and she needed an emergency C-section.
“We were both wrapped up in that typical newborn life and, of course, I’d been warned about not having sex until six weeks post-partum.
“That’s the time it generally takes to heal from a C-section.
“But, honestly, going back-and-forth to the hospital to see him I just felt like I recovered really easily.
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“So I wasn’t surprised when I felt that tell-tale sickness and realised I was pregnant again. I was happy - Sean was too.
“Work paid me £3,000 of holiday pay and I went straight from maternity to maternity.”
Chloe said her second pregnancy was “easy” - despite wrangling a newborn.
“Ezra was out of NICU within two weeks but I couldn’t breastfeed him,” she said.
“I would go to hospital for my scans and you could see the nurses and midwives eyes widen as I walked in with one newborn and a growing bump but everyone was really nice and I experienced no mean comments.
“My parents joked ‘you should get a TV’ but they were happy for me.
I was exhausted and would walk 30 minutes each day to go and see him in hospital but at the same time I was up for sex - I really fancy my husband.
Chloe Allies
“I coped well. Of course there was a lack of sleep but I just got on with it.”
In December 2016 - the same year she delivered her first baby - she went to full-term with 6lb 14oz Elijah.
“I had a second C-section because doctors were concerned my scar would stretch as both pregnancies were so close together,” she said. “But it was fine.”
The brothers, despite being born in the same calendar year and both currently being five, are not in the same school year.
And Ezra attends a special school as he has autism.
Still things weren’t always plain-sailing.
“The early days were exhausting,” she said. “There were bottle feeds every two to three hours and a lot of nappy changes.
“I was like a walking zombie for months but it’s actually worse now. They hardly sleep. After I had Elijah I constantly leaked even if it was Ezra I was sorting out.
“I had to change my breast pad every 10 minutes.
“Meanwhile public transport with a double pushchair was a nightmare. I got some looks for taking up so much space.
“The thing I’ve struggled most with is mum guilt. I stayed in a lot in the early days as I couldn’t drive and it was a challenge getting to places with two very young children.
“But now it’s lovely having two boys so close in age - although they wind each other up.”
Lia Brigante, Quality and Standards Advisor at the Royal College of Midwives, said: "It’s important for women to give their body time to fully recover from pregnancy and birth before planning the next.
“The evidence suggests that there is a small increased chance of complications such as a premature birth, low birth weight and maternal anaemia if the gap between pregnancies is less than 18 months.
“Midwives advise pregnancy spacing of at least 18 months for optimum health of mother and baby.
“Ultimately it should be a woman's choice about when is the best time for her to become pregnant again.
“Using the right contraception at the right time following birth will help give them control over that choice.
"If you have concerns about this during your pregnancy and after, do speak to your midwife, GP or health visitor who will be able to provide you with advice, and support you in making an informed choice about when you try for another baby."
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