Fast confession – The pregnant Sandra Parmová: We won’t be talked into changing our daughter’s name
Paradoxically, she met the love of her life in the rather unpleasant period after her divorce. After having known each other for a few months, they got engaged and she is now expecting a baby girl with her boyfriend Pavel. Sandra is currently six months pregnant. Although the attractive presenter is for the time being commuting between Prague and Brno, everything will change when the baby arrives. In an interview for LP Life magazine, she divulged which city she plans to raise her daughter in, how they chose a name for her and why she has cut down on contact with certain friends.
You said in the media that you are not experiencing any nausea. I read everywhere that you are an advert for pregnancy. So how are you enjoying it?
I read one of your previous interviews on the LP Life website and learned there that anyone who says that pregnancy is beautiful is lying. I can’t agree with that. I am having such an easy-going sort of pregnancy that I would never have imagined that it could be so lovely. It has exceeded all of my expectations, so I really am enjoying it.
Who did you tell about your pregnancy right at the very start and how did that go?
The first people I told were my parents during the Christmas holidays. We were discussing their plans for next year at that time. They are passionate bikers, so they already had a lot of motorbike dates in their calendar. So we told them that in August they would have to reorganise things a bit because they would have something else they needed to do. They looked at us for a while not understanding. First of all, they thought that we had gotten engaged, that we wanted to get married and that we had planned a date for the wedding. Then it dawned on them that we were expecting a baby. So they were happy.
Were they moved?
They were moved. Mum realised first and then my sister, dad took a bit longer and then he was happy too.
What do you think things will be like when the baby is born?
I have no idea. For the time being, I am able to imagine the course of my pregnancy and am even slowly starting to get ready for the birth. I am planning where to give birth, who wants to be there for it etc. But I can’t yet imagine that stage when I am actually holding the baby in my arms.
When I was pregnant, it really bothered me when people were always trying to scare me with one thing or another. For example, that I wouldn’t have time for anything and everything sounded really negative. Is that happening with you too?
Over the course of the past six months, I have met a lot of people who are trying to stress me out, trying to scare me or give me advice like: Wait until this or that happens …for example wait until you start putting on weight or your ankles start to swell.
And what do you think about that?
I think that if a woman isn’t at ease in her relationship during that period, it could really spoil the pregnancy for her or at least those words could stress her out. I am lucky that Pavel is a reasonably-minded man, we always filter out those negative things and thanks to that, I am not stressed. I have also cut down on contact with people who tried to scare me needlessly. I would rather see those ones who see everything in a reasonable light.
What does that mean?
That they see that certain things are part and parcel of pregnancy. That the woman will gain weight and that pregnancy is linked to life changes, and a lot of them are only temporary.
Are those hormones flying up and down? Women do tend to be oversensitive during this time...
That hasn’t happened to me yet. I don’t feel extremely oversensitive in any way. Maybe I am watching the right films which are moving me emotionally (laughs). So far, everything seems completely normal to me. Now, in the sixth month, there is of course that difference that I am more scared about the baby. She is already making herself known by kicking. And kicking more intensively now...
What was it like the first time she kicked?
I started placing my hand on my tummy from about the fourth month, waiting to feel it. But it was Pavel who felt her kick for the very first time. He always put his cheek on my tummy and then looked at me every time with such an amazing look when the baby started to wiggle. So I experienced the first feelings more via him.
Pavel is from Brno. Where in fact are you going to live? Things won’t be about two people going out together and commuting to see each other anymore.
No, they won’t. The way I see it is that as long as my condition allows me to work, which could be right up to July, I would like to be in Prague. Then, I will move to Brno for some time. I would like to give birth there and stay there at least for the postnatal period of about six weeks. And as soon as the time is right, I would like to return to work. We plan to find somewhere to live together in Prague. We will keep the place we have in Brno. Pavel has a little house there, so we would like to somehow combine things.
That is a sort of compromise...
Definitely, and I am happy that it wasn’t only my idea. Pavel never wanted me to give up work, because he knows that it gives me energy and that I enjoy it, that I am happy. Not only when I am presenting the news on Prima, but also when I present or take part in lots of other events. In this case, it was clear that we do need some sort of base in Prague. He also has work which requires him to be in Prague from time to time, so a place to live there will come in handy for us anyway.
You said that you would be giving birth in Brno. Have you already got a doctor there?
I haven’t. I have at the moment found a young lady who I would very much like to act as midwife. She is really nice and I need to have somebody with me who will have similar energy to me and Terezka absolutely does. So I would really like it to be her and I think she now suspects that a little. But I don’t have everything completely planned out. I still say to myself that there is still plenty of time for all that.
You inadvertently divulged the sex of your baby to the media. What did your partner have to say about that?
I told him that I would definitely let it slip like that sooner or later and it wasn’t such a serious thing. He didn’t mind. And in fact even I don’t mind that people know it will be a girl. But a lot of colleagues told me that you can never be certain about that it is going to be a girl until the very last moment, so in fact we will have to wait and see.
And are you already thinking up names? And do you agree?
I think we came to agreement without any problems at all. We had a method for choosing names which I can really recommend. We gathered inspiration for about a month or two, our parents also got actively involved, giving us lists of names. We chose royal names, Spanish names, Czech names and in the end made a list of about twenty names. One evening, we sat over it and gradually crossed off those which one or the other objected to the most, so we got down to about seven names and not one of them would have been a bad choice. In the end, we said which our three favourites were and then agreed on one.
And are you willing to divulge that name?
We are not going to tell anyone. Not even the grandmothers and grandfathers and not even Pavel’s daughter knows. Although we have promised to tell her first, just before the birth. We want to keep it to ourselves, because you know how it is. If you tell someone a name, especially if it is a little unusual and people start to dissuade you or comment what they think about it. We want to avoid that.
And there is also often the danger that somebody else will steal that name.
Exactly. Friends have also told us that.
When you are talking about the baby, do you call her by her name?
Absolutely. I am also afraid of letting it slip, because we already call the baby by her name so that we can get used to it, so I have to be careful that I don’t let the cat out of the bag again.
What do you think the greatest luxury for a baby is?
Kind parents who have a nice relationship not only with the baby, but also with each other. I think that I couldn’t have wished for a better father for our little girl than the one she will have, because whenever I see Pavel playing with other children, it is so wonderful that I am able to just sit there and watch him. He really is amazing with children.
You really are a walking advert for contentment. Is anything lacking in your life at the moment?
(Shakes her head) Absolutely not. I am grateful that things are the way they are now.
