01 November 2023 , 00:01
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Strictly Come Dancing's Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec went through a traumatic journey with IVF before bringing their baby Lyra into the world.
The It Takes Two star, 39, became a mum for the first time in July after revealing she and Aljaž, 33, had tried to conceive for years. After numerous negative pregnancy tests, the professional dancers decided to try IVF to boost their chances – until Lyra "decided to pop up".
Speaking about their journey to becoming parents, Janette said: "I remember sitting at It Takes Two a couple of years ago saying, ‘Hopefully we fall pregnant, hopefully we can conceive,’ and then I’d take another test and it would be negative again, so it got to the point where we thought we’d have to deal with different ways of doing this. We went through the whole process of IVF. I took the hormones, we did the tests and I was about to start the injections – and then Lyra decided to pop up."
Strictly Come Dancing stars Janette Manrara and Aljaz Škorjanec welcomed their longed for baby daughter Lyra into the world in July (Nicky Johnston / Prima UK)
They call Lyra their 'Christmas miracle'Recalling the sweet moment they told their loved ones their joyous news when Janette found out she was expecting, the choreographer told Prima her family thought the couple were going to take them to Disneyland when they gave them a Christmas card. However, when they realised it was addressed to "Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie and Uncle" and included a photo of a baby scan, the penny dropped.
Opening up about the special memory, Janette said: "Mum was crying, Dad was crying, we were all crying. It's nice that we got to share the news in Miami and now have our first Christmas with Lyra in Slovenia. She's our Christmas miracle.”
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As they look forward to the festive season with their bundle of joy, the couple are now thinking about adding to their family. Jannette said she'd love Lyra to have a little brother or sister while Aljaž said they are 'hoping and praying' for another magical "miracle".
She's so adorable!It looks like little Lyra is already following in her parents' perfectly-timed footsteps as Aljaž said the tot is "already dancing" adding, "it's the perfect way for her to fall asleep". At the end of July, Janette announced she had welcomed the couple's longed-for baby in a sweet Instagram post. Sharing a candid black and white photo of herself lying in a hospital bed with her daughter resting on her chest alongside a beaming Aljaž, she wrote: "Lyra Rose Skorjanec. July 28, 2023."
* The December 2023 issue of Prima is on sale now