Tessa Anderson wasn’t sure she wanted to become a mom.
“I had always been one of those people who dug her heels in and said, ‘Nope. I’m not having kids,’ especially when I was younger,” said the 30-year-old, of Dubuque. “People would say to me, ‘You’ll probably feel differently about it when you’re older. But I was unsure and stubborn about it for many reasons.”
But when she met her husband, Preston, through a mutual friend in 2018 and began dating shortly thereafter, everything changed.
The couple wed in 2023 and became pregnant a little more than a year ago, when Tessa suffered a miscarriage.
“It was very emotional,” she said. “It still is very emotional and hard for me to talk about. We were that couple who said, ‘If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t, it doesn’t.’ But when it did and then didn’t turn out how we were expecting it to, I think it solidified for both of us how much we wanted to have a family.”
Today, Tessa is embracing that
expectant-mother-glow, seven months pregnant with a baby girl.
“My first trimester was horrible,” she said, with a laugh. “(Pregnancy) is not for the weak. I was so sick and so tired. But I welcomed it. After having a miscarriage, I learned to see it as a positive and something I was thankful for. ‘But it means I’m still pregnant.’”
The vice president of Rainbo Oil Co. — owned by her father, Paul Fahey — Tessa said she always knew she wanted to go into the family business.
Pursuing a degree in entrepreneurship at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, she went on to serve as the marketing and finance intern at Rainbo Oil, working her way up as the company’s accounts payable specialist, general manager of restaurant operations and wholesale operations development, before taking on her current role.
“My goal is to take over the family business eventually,” she said. “I like working. For a long time, I thought having a family would mean I might never be able to do that. But never say never.”
Throughout her pregnancy and even during her challenging first trimester, Tessa has continued working toward that goal, in addition to remaining active, walking, practicing yoga and even doing some weight-lifting.
“I have a very supportive community surrounding me, including my parents, siblings and my husband,” Tessa said. “That’s important to have, and they’ve all been great.”
She and Preston also take part in a birthing class with one another.
“I think every pregnancy and every person is different,” Tessa said. “You will get a lot of different advice and opinions from a lot of different people, and it can become overwhelming, especially with everything online. You have to learn to filter and listen to yourself and what you know is going to be best and work for you. Just keep an open mind.”
Megan Gloss writes for the Telegraph Herald.
