Luise Vestergaard

Tell us a little about yourself

My name is Luise, I am 37 years old and live in Vesterbro, Copenhagen. I am married to Tim and together we have a little son, Eddie, who is almost 3 months old. When I am not on maternity leave, I work at Elle magazine as an Art Director. 

You moved from Denmark to Australia in 2014 to pursue love. What was it like to start a life on the other side of the world? 

It was really exciting, at times hard to be without my family and friends. It takes time to start over in a new country, but I was fortunate to be welcomed by Tim’s family and friends. I also made my own friends, both Australians and Danish expats, who are still a big part of my life. At the beginning, I prioritized going to a lot of events and thus managed to build a large network and to get job offers within my industry. I spent five good and eventful years in Australia before I lured my husband back to Denmark in December of 2018. 

You are now back in Copenhagen with your Australian husband. What do you think, we Danes can learn from Australians?

Australians are very spontaneous, incredibly service-minded and open to new people. I think we can learn a little from that. 

You have just become a mother of a little boy, Eddie Robert, in August. How was your pregnancy?

I had a good pregnancy with Eddie and loved being pregnant. But it was not entirely pain free and I have experienced a few bumps along the way. We had not tried to get pregnant for very long when I first saw two lines on the pregnancy test. However, the joy did not last long and after 3 days I had a miscarriage in week 6 of pregnancy. Just a month later I found out that I was pregnant again and we were overjoyed, but at the same time we did not dare to be overly excited and were cautious. We went to several early scans to make sure there was still life inside. At the early malformation scan in week 13, we were again put back a bit because the blood tests correlated with my age showed bad results and a risk of having a child with malformation. I was offered a placenta biopsy, but as the placenta got in the way of the procedure, I took a NIPT test instead. After a nerve-wracking and incredibly long week there was finally a response from the hospital which, to our great relief, was negative and on August 10th 2020, I gave birth to a healthy and fit little boy. 

"When the two lines appear on the pregnancy test, try not to let yourself be overwhelmed with worry, but celebrate the success and focus on all the exciting new things that lay ahead of you"

What advice would you give others who would like to become pregnant or may have just become pregnant?

Be extra good to yourself! Prioritize a healthy diet and exercise and possibly put the alcohol on the shelf already while you are trying to become pregnant.  When the two lines appear on the pregnancy test, try not to let yourself be overwhelmed with worry, but celebrate the success and focus on all the exciting new things that lay ahead of you.

How did you feel when you first became a mother?

I think it’s great to be a mom and the first time is really special. But it is certainly not without the occasional tears and sweat on the forehead. Together with a little one, there comes a huge responsibility and a lot of new things you suddenly have to decide on – you know that if you take the best decisions now, he will grow as he should. And then, there is the fatigue and those days when everything just goes wrong. But here we are now, three months into my new role as a mother, and I am still madly in love and very grateful. 

How do you take care of yourself during a busy day?

I have to admit that I don’t have that much time to "take care of myself" anymore, but now during my maternity leave I try to make time for a bath, to dress myself and eat breakfast before my husband needs to go to work. In this way I get a good head start on the day, whether I have a day at home or have appointments out in the city. 

What does health mean to you?

I try to live a healthy life, to choose organic produce and have a varied diet. I choose, as much as possible, natural beauty products free of dangerous chemicals and I like to practice Pilates reformer. I am not a fanatic and after having my son, I have eaten an impressive number of buns with butter and cinnamon rolls. At the moment, the only exercise I get are the daily walks with the stroller. But it’s all right. For me, health means to feel good and I have learned to accept that I have changed and so have my needs and body.

How did you hear about La Roar? 

I heard about La Roar through a colleague and I subsequently wrote to Tine, the founder of La Roar, who kindly shared her experiences and gave me great tips on how to prepare the body for a pregnancy. 

"After my miscarriage, I needed to do something nice for myself and to lift myself up again. I have never really taken food supplements before, but was curious to try FertilityCare™"

 

Why did you take FertilityCare™?

After my miscarriage, I needed to do something nice for myself and to lift myself up again. I have never really taken food supplements before, but was curious to try FertilityCare™. Very quickly I became happy with the product and ended up eating it for one month until I became pregnant and I continued throughout the first trimester of pregnancy. 

Why did you choose to become an ambassador for La Roar?

La Roar manages in a really nice and honest way to share their knowledge about vitamins and minerals and about what women and men can do for their fertility. I would really like to help and spread the word about La Roar and their food supplements to others who wish to become pregnant and who may have difficulties in finding a supplement suitable for the periods before, during and after the pregnancy. 

Where do you hope to be in 10 years?

I hope that my family and I will continue to be healthy and well. Maybe we will live in a villa apartment or a house in a cozy suburb, preferably close to friends, the sea and nature. I also hope I will still be working for a magazine.