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Baby surprise – I had no clue I was due

At six months, Saffron still had a flat tummy and abs!

As told to Jessica Cripps

Saffron Heffer was a size eight with a flat tum, but she was in for a shock. Here she tells her story in her own words.

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Dressed in my amazing black dress and new heels, I smiled as my friends pointed their phones at me, snapping photos.

‘Here, get one on my phone,’ I said, passing it over.

I wanted to capture this moment.

It was New Year’s Eve 2017 and I’d dragged myself out, despite feeling exhausted.

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I had my fingers crossed that the new year would bring me luck.

The last few months had been really difficult.

I’d become so tired and lethargic that I didn’t recognise myself anymore.

It was completely out of character for me – at 17, I was always full of energy.

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My doctor had run tests that showed I was anaemic and vitamin deficient, but even with medication I didn’t feel any better.

Suspecting I might be coeliac, my GP suggested I needed to go gluten-free.

But that didn’t seem to help at all either.

By New Year’s Eve, I was determined to try and carry on with my life.

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Shortly after midnight though, I could barely keep my eyes open and went home to bed.

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Me in my New Year’s outfit (Credit: Kennedy News)
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Me at SIX MONTHS pregnant (Credit: Kennedy News)

The next day, my mum, Melissa, found me in my room sobbing.

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‘No-one knows what’s wrong with me,’ I cried. ‘I just feel like I’m never going to get better.’

What if I’m dying? I panicked.

‘I promise we’ll figure this out, Saffron,’ Mum said, giving me a hug.

Back at the doctor, I was sent for more blood tests.

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Then one day, I was at the supermarket when I spotted the lettuce and strawberries and just had to have them.

I also got an overwhelming urge to pick up a box of Cornettos.

Mum thought I was mad when she saw what was in my shopping bag.

‘My body knows what it wants,’ I told her.

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Weirdly, the ice-cream made me feel loads better – not worse.

So, from then on, I gave up being gluten-free.

And giving in to my bizarre cravings, I snacked on lettuce leaves hourly, before switching to Cornettos in the evening.

After that, Mum and I decided to take matters into our own hands and
I joined the gym, thinking that if I exercised it’d kick up my energy levels again.

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A size 8, and with a flat stomach, I knew I was in shape but I wanted to feel healthy again.

I loved running beside Mum on the treadmill. One day, we were doing sit-ups in the exercise area.

‘Look at the way my stomach goes into a funny triangle!’ I laughed.

Mum giggled too, but three weeks later a gust of wind pulled my T-shirt up over my stomach.

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My bump slowly popped out after the baby was turned (Credit: Kennedy News)
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Within a week I looked full-term (Credit: Kennedy News)

‘Saff, you’ve got a pigmentation line,’ Mum said.

I hadn’t noticed it before, but now she mentioned it, it was obvious.

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It ran all the way from my belly button to my undies.

‘Do you think you could be pregnant?’ Mum said.

I shook my head.

My last relationship was nearly nine months earlier.

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I’d be almost full term!

‘There’s no way I’m pregnant when I look like I do,’ I said.

Besides, I was on the pill.

‘I think you should do a test, just to rule it out,’ Mum said, going to
buy one.

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I was terrified when two lines appeared. Mum got me an emergency appointment with a midwife.

‘I can definitely feel a baby,’ the midwife said, her hand on my belly.

I was stunned.

I was still a size 8 – and I didn’t even have a bump!

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‘Your baby appears to be breech and is rather close to your back,’ the midwife explained.

‘Do you mind if I turn it around?’ she asked me.

I nodded, still in shock.

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Little Oscar – I was shocked at first but realised I could be a mum (Credit: Kennedy News)
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Me and my wonderful little boy (Credit: Kennedy News)

She pressed down on my tummy muscles and gave me what felt like a really hard massage.

I felt my stomach lurch and then I felt a strange flutter.

It was the first kick. From then on, my baby was suddenly very active and I could feel every movement.

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My bump started to grow hour by hour. In just one week, it had ballooned into a full bump!

At my second appointment, I was told I was 37 weeks along with
a little boy.

Still in shock, I didn’t feel like I was prepared to be a mum at all – let alone in three weeks!

The father of the baby didn’t want to be involved and I felt like it was too much.

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‘I don’t think I can do this,’ I sobbed to Mum.

‘I’m going to help you,’ she said, hugging me.

I can do this, I realised after a couple of weeks.

On June 3, 2018, Mum and Dad held my hands as I pushed my healthy son Oscar into the world.

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He weighed 3.6 kilos.

The moment I gazed into his gorgeous brown eyes
and saw his thick brown hair, I was in love.

I didn’t believe it was possible to not know you’re pregnant until it happened to me.

Now, Oscar’s almost two and absolutely perfect.

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I wouldn’t change a thing. The main thing I love is seeing him happy.

Every time Oscar laughs or smiles, I know I’m doing something right.

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