ARTICLE : Sabine Appelmans about her pregnancy and her new house

Sabine Appelmans & Serge : When our house is finished there will be a second baby!

Together with their son Obi, born on Friday 9 November at 6.40pm, Sabine and Serge spend the last weeks in their apartment in Asse. Afetr childbirth a second big undertaking approaches : moving. Soon the new parents will move to their completely restored farmhouse. They plan on celebrating the New Year in their new house.

Sabine and Serge are visible happy when they hold and hug the little boy. "The pregnancy and the delivery, all went well without problems" says Sabine. "I ended my tennis career in January although I might have played a few more years but I wanted a child before my 30th birthday. That was the main reason to quit. We didn't have to wait long for our baby : a month after my retirement I was already pregnant.<br />That pregnancy made me very happy. I had a new aim in life. For nine months I only experienced joy and happiness. I wasn't sick for a single day, I was able to stay active and I even painted the rooms in our new house. However I did neglect the prenatal execises a bit. When I look back at that, I'm surprised because during my tennis career I have always kept up discipline. The result was that I gained a lot of weight, 19kg to be exact. But that's OK, I've almost regained my normal weight.<br />The delivery went as smooth as the pregnancy. I felt very relaxed once the contractions started. Just before entering the delivery room I called my mom to tell her the baby was on his way. I will never forget the moment of birth. It was so beautiful, Obi layed on my belly for 20 minutes. Then they washed him... those were incredible moments for Serge and me, very emotional.

Once I was back in my hospital room, I felt how tired I really was. I had a fever for a few days. But that's all over now and Serge and I enjoy our little boy, who makes himself heard sometimes.<br />Our parents are also in seventh heaven at the moment. When I told my mother I was expecting a baby, she immediately started buying a bed, toys and other stuff. She was more prepared than I was!She also said I wouldn't need a babysit 'Just bring the child to us!' My parents live in Erembodegem which is only 10 minutes by car from Asse so that won't be a problem."

Sabine starts working again mid-February as a presenter on Belgian TV VRT. In January the Australian open, the tournament she loved so much, will start. For the first time in many years Sabine won't be there. Doesn't she regret that?<br />"Not really, no. I feared I would miss that tournament very much, especially because of the nice weather in Australia : now it's summer over there, while it's freezing cold in Belgium. I don't like grey skies and cold weather cause that gets on my mood. But now it doesn't bother me at all. The reason for that is simple : Obi."

Sabine and Serge are preparing everything to move to their new hhouse soon. When Sabine started playing tennis as a young girl, she had one dream : to build a nice house with the money she earned. "I made that dream come true", says Sabine, "First we wanted to build our own house but we didn't find a good spot in the region. Finally we found a 100 year old farmhouse which we liked very much. The restoration works lasted for more than a year but now everything is finished. We will move in December cause we would like to celebrate New Year over there."

Will there be a second baby? "Yes but not right away. First we have to be completely installed in the new house."

---------------------------------------

There are some nice pics in the magazine but unfortunately I have no scanner. <img src="mad.gif" border="0">