Photography: Emily Chalk
Best-selling healthy cookbook author Kelsi Boocock knows what it takes to bring a baby into the world, even though she’s still awaiting the arrival of her first child next month. The star has been so focused on the latest addition to her Schnacks family – a strawberry version of the on-the-go protein drinks in a can – that she’s barely had time to prep for her new baby.
Kelsi, 28, even waited for her Black Friday sales to finish last month before she and husband Andrew Trembath started preparing the nursery of their new home, north of Auckland. Yet none of this will come as a surprise to her 400,000 Instagram followers after “Healthy Kelsi”, as she’s known to fans, was forced to let them know when she was only 13 weeks pregnant.
“I had terrible morning sickness until about 24 weeks,” she says.
“I couldn’t face doing food posts when I was vomiting three times a day and I really couldn’t share me sitting on the bathroom floor. That’s not great for a food blogger. I was so sick, I ended up on a drip at the doctors.”
After marrying Andrew, 29, earlier this year, the couple was surprised at how quickly Kelsi became pregnant. When her acupuncturist suggested she may be carrying a child, the entrepreneur took a test and neither could believe the result!
A surprise announcement
“I came downstairs and said to Andrew, ‘I’ve got a surprise.’ Usually if I’d said that, it would be something stupid, but then I showed him the stick.”
Andrew recalls, “I said, ‘No way!’ I was lost for words. I got super-excited, then we just had to get on with our day, which was so weird.”
The couple kept the big news to themselves until they presented Kelsi’s parents Rose and Paul with a baby onesie. It will be the second grandchild on her side, but the first for Andrew’s parents Dennis and Margaret, who were equally thrilled when their son sent them a photo of the scan.
Counting their blessing
Kelsi admits, “I didn’t know how long it would take to conceive. We were very lucky and blessed for it to be quite fast. Starting a family was always the plan, but I have so many friends who have struggled with that. They’ve been wonderfully supportive and I hope that we all have families growing up together.”
With the baby due soon, this will be the first Christmas since Kelsi herself was a baby that they haven’t been at the family’s Mangawhai base. Instead, the couple have decided to stay closer to home in case of an early arrival.
A different kind of Christmas
“Usually on Christmas Day, we go surfing – obviously, I won’t be this year,” grins Kelsi.
“But the baby has helped me get back into swimming. “I can walk to the beach to swim, and I’m still trying to do Pilates and stay as active as I can. I’m pretty good at forgetting I’m pregnant. Andrew keeps encouraging me to have a nap! “I used to be so good at doing nothing and now I suck at it. I need to get better at just lying down, but the baby’s probably going to force me to do that.”
Going with the flow
While the couple, both meticulous organisers, have a birth plan in place, they know not be too determined to stick to it. And with Kelsi making no decisions on how long she’ll be on maternity leave, they’ve hired staff to work on their Schnacks business.
She explains, “You’re never going to have your first baby again and I want to be super- present with that.”
Keeping it mysterious
In a possible indication that the Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef will step back from regular social posting when her baby arrives, Kelsi and Andrew chose to not do a gender reveal.
“We don’t know what we’re having and that’s exciting,” she enthuses.
“There aren’t many big surprises in life.”
Balancing work and baby
Yet as a couple who love to be forever on the go, they’re already planning a month in Indonesia next year to help celebrate her father’s 60th birthday. Their aim is to have a child who will be adaptable and not one that needs a strict routine.
Kelsi reflects, “I hope they like adventure, trying new things and living life to the absolute fullest, which is what I learnt through my parents growing up.”
Given what their mum does for a job, they’ll likely have an adventurous palate too. Perhaps a baby range of food will be the pair’s next arrival?!
