Latest Mom Diary

ISABEL FJELKING

“I could feel his heart pound—and then he got down on one knee.”

Isabel Fjelking shares her journey into motherhood – from falling in love at Distortion and a wedding in the Italian mountains to months of nervousness, hormones, and hope. She talks about a December night when her water suddenly broke, about a birth that progressed faster than she was prepared for – and about the relief that washes over you when everything makes sense the moment your child is placed on your chest.

February 25, 2026

Latest Mom Diary

ISABEL FJELKING

“I could feel his heart pound—and then he got down on one knee.”

February 25, 2026

Isabel Fjelking shares her journey into motherhood – from falling in love at Distortion and a wedding in the Italian mountains to months of nervousness, hormones, and hope. She talks about a December night when her water suddenly broke, about a birth that progressed faster than she was prepared for – and about the relief that washes over you when everything makes sense the moment your child is placed on your chest.

Meeting with Jonas

Isabel and Jonas meet at Distortion in 2017 – “back when Distortion was at its peak in Vesterbro.” Isabel has just returned home after five years in Australia, where she worked with hair and taught the trade through Toni&Guy. She is now back in Denmark, feeling a bit "at square one," and arrives in Copenhagen with a sense of having to start over.

In the park, she and her sister are sitting with a blanket and wine when her sister asks, "Who do you think is cute here?" Isabel spots Jonas – "long hair, surfer dude… that was totally my type." And before Isabel can think, her sister calls him over.

They talk for a long time. "Jonas goes back to his friends – and Isabel and her sister walk really slowly, because… well, he hasn't asked for her number yet. Finally, he comes running."

And that's how it all begins.

<p>A Proposal on the Amalfi Coast</p>

A Proposal on the Amalfi Coast

They had been on a road trip in a van for several days – "a bit scruffy, a bit tired, just the two of us" – when they checked into a hotel on the Amalfi Coast with a balcony full of flowers. It was beautiful, but Isabel didn't think much of it.

Until Jonas suddenly became insistent. "Shouldn't we take some pictures? It's so beautiful out here."

He never usually said that. But the view was fantastic, so she went along with it. They stood close, as if they were going to take an ordinary picture. And that's when she felt it.

"I could feel his pulse going crazy – THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. And I was like, 'Are you okay? What's going on?'"

The next second, he got down on one knee. He had hidden the ring among the flowers on the balcony. He had a long speech ready in his head, but in the moment, it vanished. The only thing that came out was the most important: "Will you marry me?"

Two years later, they got married in Umbria, in the middle of the Italian mountains, surrounded by their closest friends and family. They chose a small venue with lights in the trees, long tables, wine, and laughter. Nothing grand or showy – just an atmosphere that felt authentic. Raw, romantic, and warm. "It was just supposed to be us and our people," Isabel says.

And it was.

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When the desire for a family became very real

Isabel says she was never “the type who dreamt of becoming a mother from the age of 17.” But with Jonas, it suddenly felt natural: “He’s going to be my husband… so I want to have a family with him.”

After the wedding, they get ready – really ready. They actively try, but nothing happens, and after a few months, Isabel gets a strong gut feeling: She wants to be examined.

They start fertility treatment and get pregnant on their second attempt with insemination.

“We were really lucky.”

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Between nausea and love

The first trimester is mentally taxing. Isabel describes a feeling of unease and nervousness about miscarriage – and at the same time a strange sense of relief in feeling physically ill, because it feels like a sign that it "is working."

She is tired, nauseous, bloated – and her body is changing rapidly.

“I gained 6 kilos immediately. My entire body just changed.”

The second trimester gets better. The bump appears, and it becomes easier to show it off – and easier to be in it when it can also be seen from the outside. But the third trimester is hard: heartburn, vomiting, and especially lower back pain from around week 17 – which is extra challenging in her job as a makeup artist, where she stands a lot.

And yet, she works almost right up until the end – until she gets sick with the flu the week before the birth and has to cancel her last big jobs.

<p>Four weeks before due date</p><p></p>

Four weeks before due date

Isabel gives birth on December 19th – four weeks before her due date.

In the middle of the night, she wakes up to a sudden, warm sensation. Not dramatic. Not a bang. Just a clear feeling of something letting go.

"It was like something just opened up. And then there was warm water. My first thought was: 'Is it just pee?' But when I stood up, it continued. Then I knew what it was."

It's around three o'clock. Jonas wakes up from a deep sleep, and in a few seconds, the mood shifts from calm to serious. They go to Hvidovre, where Isabel is checked and is 2 centimeters dilated. It's busy, and they are allowed to go home and wait. She is actually convinced that this will take a long time – after all, she is a first-time mother.

So they drive home again. Past Lagkagehuset for sandwiches. Home to clean. Isabel moves around the apartment with an almost instinctive energy – tidying up, showering, blow-drying her hair. When a contraction comes, she calls Jonas, who presses on her lower back. When it's over, everything is almost back to normal. The contractions are short, irregular. Not entirely to be taken seriously. Until suddenly they are.

In the car on the way to the hospital, everything changes character. The urge to push comes, and Isabel works her way through the contractions in the backseat, holding on to the seat in front of her. Jonas is behind the wheel and feels how the situation changes from "we have plenty of time" to something far more urgent. Jonas says, "I look at the GPS – 32 minutes – and I think: Should I stop and call an ambulance? And then I just drive." Christmas music plays in the background. And now they are truly on their way to becoming parents.

<p>10 cm – and 2.5 hours</p><p></p>

10 cm – and 2.5 hours

When they finally arrive at the hospital, Isabel says it immediately: "I need an epidural. Now." She knows it's probably too late - and it is. The midwives check her and quickly state: "You are 10 centimeters. You need to push now."

But the moment she enters the delivery room, something strange happens. The urge to push that she had felt in her body on the way there almost disappears. The contractions become shorter, the breaks longer - and suddenly she faces the most frustrating thing: having to push without feeling her body helping.

"I just screamed 'My lower back, my lower back, my lower back!' That's where it hurt insanely," she recounts. Jonas becomes her anchor in the room - she hardly remembers anything but his voice and the fact that he was not allowed to move from her side.

2.5 hours pass before Ziggy finally arrives. And when the head is out, the relief hits like a shock: "The relief in my lower back was insane. And then the rest came - and it didn't hurt at all."

Ziggy is placed on her chest immediately. He is warm, he is fine - and they both cry. Isabel only asks for one thing: to be allowed to try breastfeeding before anything else. And almost immediately he seeks the breast himself.

"I was like... wow, how lucky am I."

<p>The adrenaline afterwards – and the initial fear</p>

The adrenaline afterwards – and the initial fear

They stay in the hospital for three days. Isabel describes the time after as an adrenaline rush she wasn't prepared for.

"I didn't close my eyes for three days. Is he too warm? Too cold? Is he breathing?"

When they get home, it initially feels like a relief. Until the next day (on Isabel's birthday), the health visitor assesses that Ziggy is very jaundiced – and they have to go back to be checked for jaundice.

Fortunately, it eventually gets better, and then Jonas's parents arrive from Sweden with Christmas dinner.

Their first Christmas turns out to be different than planned – but it proves to be nice to be together. To have family close amidst all the newness.

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The postpartum body

Isabel says she was nervous about everything concerning the time afterwards: pain, hormones, depression, her body, breastfeeding. She had read a lot and prepared herself mentally – and feels that it actually went better than her fears had suggested.

But now that some time has passed, she feels the need to take care of herself again – not to "get back" to something old, but to include herself in the equation.

"I don't necessarily want to go back to the same body. But I do want to exercise – do things for myself."

She has started attending mom fit classes with women from her mother's group, and it feels like a small shift: an activity, a community, a way to be "Isabel" amidst all the newness.

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<p>Working life, ambitions – and Ziggy in the middle</p>

Working life, ambitions – and Ziggy in the middle

Ziggy is only two months old, so daily life is still completely new and unpredictable. Right now, it's mostly about breastfeeding, sleeping in short bursts, and finding their footing as a family. But even now, Isabel and Jonas are talking about how their working lives can be shaped around their new life.

Being two self-employed individuals in the same home requires structure, trust, and ongoing coordination. In return, it provides a freedom they know will mean a lot. They can take turns. Adjust the calendar. Take half days. Move meetings when necessary. Work more in some periods and less in others. This gives them the opportunity for Ziggy not just to fit into their work – but for work to also adapt to him.

“It's really great. Especially with Ziggy. Jonas can work a half day and come home – and that gives us a flexibility that means everything.”

Isabel looks forward to returning to her work as a makeup artist, but at a pace that makes sense. She will choose her assignments more consciously and not necessarily say yes to everything. Jonas has the same approach: ambitions are still important, but not at the expense of family life.

<p>Small tips that actually help</p>

Small tips that actually help

Isabel and Jonas laugh a little at how difficult it is to give advice when you're completely new to it – but then they give it anyway:

Buy clothes a little larger, and don't buy too much newborn, they'll grow out of it immediately.

"And yes... sometimes it makes sense for dad to sleep somewhere else. Not for his sake – but because it can be too difficult to watch someone sleep while you're breastfeeding at six in the morning."


Foto: Cecilia Jørgensen

Art Direction & Tekst: Laura Gilling Rosenberg

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