Serena Williams has shared an honest update about her pregnancy, revealing the entire experience has left her brain a little “weird.”
The 35-year-old, who (accidentally) revealed she was expecting her first child back in April, explained that maintaining routine, however bizarre, has been key.
“Every night I grab two huge jars and fill them with water and usually get a snack, like watermelon, because I’m always starving and I keep it by the bed so I don’t have to get up and go all the way to the kitchen,” she told People.
“I go to bed at like 9 p.m., but wake up at 5 a.m.,” she continued. “My brain is different, it’s so weird!”
The tennis great added that she likes to stay in bed until the sun rises.
“I just turn on Netflix,” she said. “A lot of people have trouble sleeping during pregnancy, but I’ve been fortunate.”
The 35-year-old is expecting her first child with fiancé Alexis Ohanian.
As for when the baby arrives? Serena revealed there’s a family ritual she hopes to pass along to her own bundle of joy, with the help of her fiancé Alexis Ohanian.
“Growing up, I would sleep with one of my sisters and they would tell me stories about sisters!” she recalled. “That was my thing. I would say, ‘Tell me a sisters story.’ I was so grateful to them.”
“Alexis is really good at telling stories,” she added. “He loves doing that. One of us will have to tell our baby stories. That is going to be really important to me.”
The superstar athlete went on to explain that she’s beginning to feel the strain of pregnancy, but “can’t wait” to give birth.
“Through this pregnancy, my weight distribution is different. My stomach is obviously bigger, and my hips are different,” she said. “I’ve had few problems in general, but some days my back can really hurt.”
Despite increasingly-loud rumours — fuelled by the tennis star’s sister, Venus Williams, no less — of another girl entering the Williams clan, Serena remained tight-lipped regarding the sex of her baby.
“We’re not releasing the gender yet!” she said. “Or any name.”
WATCH: Venus Williams appears to accidentally reveal the gender of her sister’s unborn baby. Post continues…
Serena made headlines late last month as she posed nude in all her pregnant glory for the August issue of Vanity Fair.
In the cover story, shot by renowned photographer, Annie Leibovitz, the undisputed queen of tennis revealed that her joyous pregnancy was, in fact, very much unplanned.
“[I] did a double take and my heart dropped. Like literally dropped,” Serena, 35, told Buzz Bissinger.
She thought: “Oh my God, this can’t be – I’ve got to play a tournament. How am I going to play the Australian Open? I had planned on winning in Wimbledon this year.”
Serena went on to recall the moment she handed her fiancé a paper bag containing half-a-dozen positive pregnancy tests, before explaining the entire experience still doesn’t seem “real.”
“It just doesn’t seem real. I don’t know why. Am I having a baby?” she said. “If you would have told me last year in October or November that I would have a baby, not be pregnant but have a baby, I would have thought you were the biggest liar in the world.”
She added: “This is kind of how I am right now. This is happening sooner than later, and it’s going by so fast.”
In April, Serena broke news of her pregnancy by accidentally uploading a photo of herself (and her burgeoning baby bump) to Snapchat with the caption “20 weeks.”
Her representatives were forced to confirm the exciting news just hours after the tennis star posted (and quickly deleted) an image of her growing baby bump.
The pregnancy announcement was met with utter joy and no small amount of amazement as quick-thinking fans worked out that the 23-time Grand Slam winner was approximately eight weeks pregnant during the Australian Open—which she won—in January.
Not long now! We wish Serena all the very best during this final stretch.
