W
ith just a few
weeks left
before she
meets her
baby boy,
Newshub presenter Sam
is feeling as ready as she’ll
ever be for motherhood.
The nursery is all set
up, antenatal classes are
underway and excitement
is high. But Sam’s adventure-
loving partner Jeroen “Jay”
Blaauw has one last thing to
tick off before their baby boy
can make his appearance.
“He’s got one last
mountain to climb,” laughs
Sam, who discovered she
was pregnant soon after
their epic adventure in the
Andes earlier this year.
“We got permission from
the obstetrician first, who
said there was only a one
in 80 chance the baby might
come early. So it’s highly
unlikely I’ll go into labour,
but I’ll have a friend on
standby just in case!”
After a difficult first
trimester, Sam, 35, is over
the worst of her migraines
and morning sickness and
is feeling great as she heads
towards her spring due date.
She plans to stay on air for
as long as possible and is
open to returning just a few
months later to help cover
the shortage of newsreaders.
“I said to the bosses that
if they desperately need
someone after I’ve had the
baby, they should give me
a call and I’ll pop in for
the day,” she says. “And
someone came up to me
in the street recently and
suggested I should take the
baby on air with me, so
there’s an idea too!”
While she knows a lot
will depend on how those
first few weeks of motherhood
go, Sam says it’s been hugely
encouraging seeing how
many MediaWorks mums
are juggling work and family.
“I’ve talked to lots of
women in the office who are
making it work. I’ve asked
what they thought about
the idea of coming back to
work when you have a baby
at home and everyone has
said, ‘Of course you can!’
That’s so encouraging, just
knowing it’s doable.”stSAM HAYES
TEXT: SOPHIE NEVILLE. PICTURES: ROBERT TRATHEN. HAIR & MAKE-UP: BRITTANIE SOWMAN, TANIA HOUGHTON. STYLING: SARAH STUART. JANIKA WEARS AVA & AIDEN, CALVIN KLEIN, TED BARKER. MELISSAIKA
W
henPrimeNews
presenterJanika
and her sports
reporter beau
Ross Karl first
began thinking about starting
a family, they knew they’d
needto make sure their baby
wasdue either side of the
Rugby World Cup.
Newshub journalist Ross
hasspent the past four years
building up to the event,
kicking off next month in
Japan, and there was no way
hewanted to miss it. But
somewhere along the way, the
couple – who shared their
wedding with Woman’s Day
backin 2016 – got a little
muddled with their timing and
arenow expecting the pitter-
patter of tiny feet smack bang
inthe middle of, you guessed
it,the Rugby World Cup!
“We just had to laugh,” says
Janika, with a smile. “We’d
barely even begun trying when
wedecided to hold off because
ofthe rugby. But by then it
wastoo late – this little guy
obviously had other ideas!”
While the timing isn’t ideal,d
y.J b a n w R h b k J h s c w b m a p i i J b w o w o
smumtothree-
year-oldArlo,
Susie is seen as
something of a
font of knowledge
to the first-timers around
her. But other than tips
on pregnancy pillows and
bassinets, she says the best
approach with a newborn
is simply to take each day
one at a time.
“I’ve definitely learnt along
the way that there are a lot
of unknowns when it comes
to babies,” says the Newshub
Live at 4.30pm presenter. “If
you could tell me in advance
the temperament of this little
one, it would be much easier
to plan!”
But Canterbury-raised
Susie, 36, who lives in Auckland
with husband Graham Wright,^
39, is delighted to be expecting
a girl this time. “It was a
huge surprise to us because
I always thought I’d end up
with a house full of boys,”
she says. “Every pregnancy is
a blessing, but it does feel
very special to get one of each.”
And little Arlo can’t wait
to meet his sister, Susie says.
“He’s over the moon. Hetalks to the bump everyday
and seems to be shapingup
to be a model big brother.”
While Susie and Graham
have always wanted another
brother or sister for Arlo and
were delighted to discover
baby number two was on
the way, the day of their
12-week scan wasn’t quite
as joyful as they’d imagined.
As they sat in the waiting
room on March 15, news
alerts of the Christchurch
mosque attacks began
popping up on Susie’s phone.
“It felt very bittersweet.
We should’ve been celebrating
a healthy baby, but all I could
think about were those poor
people who lost their lives.”
All going to plan, Susie
hopes to return to work
sometime next year. With
Arlo, she freelanced during
her year of maternity leave,
before returning full-time
after a year. She hopes to
do the same, but is realistic
that she’ll have to see how
different life is with two kids.
“It’s a little daunting,
but I think I’ll probably trust
my instincts a bit more this
time around.”Seeingsecond-time
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egnancyatthesametime.
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t it’salsobeensonice
tohavetheothergirls
a littleknowledgepool,
wherewecantalk ut
ourexperiencesand
comparenotes.I feellucky
we’vehadea h other.”sie18 Woman’s Day