Certified Babymakers: Lali & Tom
Read time: 2 minutes
For anyone meeting you for the first time - tell us a little about you both?
Tom: I’m 42 years old, a lawyer and originally from the Isle of Man.
Lali: And, I’m 35 years old, a veterinary surgeon originally from Venezuela and so the chances that we would ever meet were slim.
Tom: However, luckily we did when we both moved to London, which is where our story began, thanks to a dating app. Fortunately I had said that I love dancing salsa and was learning Spanish (both true) which seemingly helped us to match!
Take us back to the start - what has your babymaking journey looked like for you both?
Tom: We had concerns at the outset as to whether it would be possible and thought there might be challenges. So we both had fertility checks: I did a semen analysis test and Lali went to a gynaecologist for an internal scan and on the back of those we decided to start trying two months after.
Lali: At the beginning we said to each other that we would give ourselves a period of time to try and conceive with no expectations or pressure, before considering our options. We were very fortunate to be able to conceive, which resulted in the birth of our beautiful boy.
Looking back, were there any small or simple changes that ended up making a big difference?
Lali: We always try to have a healthy lifestyle. Tom added pomegranate seeds, nuts and OVAHim to his diet. And once I knew I was pregnant. I tried to eat organically where possible and drink bottled water and continued to take the OVAHer throughout.
Not everything is serious all the time - were there any moments of joy, laughter, or surprises along the way?
Tom: Yes - there was a lot of joy and laughter. We continued to travel and do the things we enjoy - gigs, salsa, sport. We were lucky enough to conceive earlier than we had anticipated, and so we tried to make sure that we enjoyed time together the two of us, before we became three.
Trying to conceive can easily take over… how did you find balance and still make space for “normal life” and each other?
Lali: At the outset we said to each other that we would give ourselves a period of time to try and conceive with no expectations or pressure, before considering our options. This meant that we didn’t put pressure on ourselves and we continued to be able to enjoy ourselves.
How has this experience changed the way you think about becoming parents or the kind of parents you want to be?
Tom: We feel very lucky that Lali was able to give birth to our beautiful boy (of course we are biased), and knowing the challenges that can be faced to conceive, we don’t take our blessing for granted.
If you could sit down with someone who’s just starting out - or who’s finding it really hard - what’s the one thing you’d want them to know?
Lali: Every journey is different and so you shouldn’t compare yourself with others. You need to be kind to yourself. Getting pregnant, being pregnant and being a parent isn’t straightforward. However, it’s worth all the effort.
