Christine Lampard has said her pregnancy is “a little bit of happiness within her family” but described her nerves at having a baby during a global pandemic.
The presenter, 41, announced she is expecting her second child with footballer husband Frank at the weekend.
The couple, who married in 2015, already share two-year-old daughter Patricia.
'It's a little bit of happiness within our family, that's for sure.'
We're SO thrilled for Christine and Frank as they prepare to welcome a new baby to the Lampard family ❤️
Watch #LooseWomen ➡️ https://t.co/OQJh5NFFEV pic.twitter.com/EpfMwIBK1w
— Loose Women (@loosewomen) January 12, 2021
She told ITV’s Loose Women: “It’s a little bit of happiness within our family, that’s for sure, in amongst the bleakness that has been the past year.
“So it’s been lovely, I’ve got two very excited parents back in Northern Ireland who just cannot wait.”
She first shared the news on Instagram with a photo of herself cradling her baby bump.
She wrote: “A new year and a new baby on the way for the Lampards!
“It’s been a strange and worrying time to be pregnant but we’re hoping and praying that cuddles from family and friends are not too far off.
“Sending all my love to everyone going through pregnancy during this crazy time.”
Chelsea manager Frank, 42, is also father to daughters Luna, 15, and Isla, 13, with his former fiancee, the Spanish model Elen Rivas.
Asked about not being able to see her family during her pregnancy due to the pandemic, she told the ITV show: “It’s been very weird, if I am being honest, purely because we are very, very close thankfully.
“Christmas was going to be that tiny little bit of light at the end of the year and sadly that didn’t get to happen at all so Mum and Dad haven’t got to touch the bump at all, they haven’t seen it in the flesh.
“Thank goodness for Skype and FaceTime and everything else. But it does feel a bit more isolating that your family and friends can’t just put their arms around you, you do miss that contact definitely. It’s been a big, big shift compared to the first time around.”
Lampard said she did not deliberately wait until she more than 20 weeks pregnant to share the news, but felt there was never a good time in the current climate.
She said: “It wasn’t even that it was a big secret, most people that I know knew certainly but it was a lot to do with every time I went to do the little Instagram post, Boris (Johnson) would beat me to it and announce something dreadful on the news and it never felt like it was an appropriate moment to share a little bit of family happiness
“Suddenly another week went by and you know what I am like anyway, I am very cautious and bit kind of low-key and no fuss.
“It sort of suited me to tick things along, to get to a point where you felt relatively safe, if you can do it at any point in a pregnancy. It just felt nice to get past the 12-week phase and then suddenly it was past 20 (weeks).”
Lampard revealed the baby is due in early April and said her husband Frank is “very, very excited”, adding: “I mean, gosh, football consumes 99% of his brain, but the one per cent that is left got very, very excited.
“It is personal happiness, within the four walls of our house, where we are spending most of our time.
“It is just a little bit of happiness, it is something to look forward to. I am starting to think about maybe buying a few little bits and pieces, it is all starting to feel a bit real.
“It has brought a smile certainly to my family and friends, it’s just a lovely something to look forward to, there is so much darkness and bleakness and miserable news… it’s been a lovely time.”
She said one of the benefits of being pregnant during a pandemic is she is not missing out on any social events, telling the panel: “It’s a strange time to be pregnant, as much as it quite stressful because you are trying to take care of everything, yourself and this little baby.
“But on the flip side, you can’t go out, you can’t go partying, you don’t feel like you are missing out on anything because none of your friends and family are doing it either. It is a bizarrely odd time to be pregnant but quite appropriate because no one else is enjoying themselves.”
However, she said she “definitely” has concerns about giving birth under the current circumstances, adding: “It’s a lot to do with the unknown, you don’t quite know what the outcome is going to be, you just have to look after yourself as best you can.
“Hospital appointments have changed, you can’t bring people with you and stuff, and that’s fine… that’s what you have to do. I am sort of thinking ahead to April and what will happen at that point, hopefully the world will be a much better place.
“Ideally, I would like Frank alongside me, I don’t want to do that on my own, and lots of women did have to do that the first time around.
“There is just a lot of uncertainty and you are just trying to be overly protective. I really do try to be as cautious as I possibly can… but it’s a bit lonely going to hospital appointments on your own all the time.”