Celebrity Interview - Lauren Newton
Lauren and family in their bertini nursery Jane - Was pregnancy kind to you? Lauren - I had no cravings or morning sickness at all. I just loved every part of being pregnant. Eva was a really easy pregnancy but we had a rocky start when she was born. She was 3 weeks premature. I am really lucky with Eva because she is an easy baby. However, Sam had pneumonia and then Eva got it. So she was frail and lost weight. Recently however, she has gained weight and she is thriving now. We didn’t know her sex until she was born, but I wanted a little girl so I was delighted. She and Sam were dream babies, so placid and Sam would sleep anywhere anytime! Jane - What would you say to our pregnant mums who are fearful about giving birth? Lauren - You get this exciting present at the end of it which makes it all worthwhile. I just can’t express how wonderful it is. My gorgeous children are lovely. Mum had huge babies and I was induced. Matt is 6ft2” so I thought I’d have huge babies, but both my bubs were little! Let loose and enjoy it! Don’t take advice from everybody, do what you think is right. Everybody has an opinion on caesareans, for example, but it can be unavoidable sometimes. For me, I had no choice. I developed a condition called RUG, which means that the placenta starts to shut down at 30 weeks. Both my babies were born at 37 weeks. I had to go to hospital every few days to be monitored and on the last visit, I was told that I was to be booked in for caesarean that afternoon! I feel so guilty that I missed those last few weeks. Friends joke and say you’ve loved being pregnant because you didn’t have to experience the worst part. Those comments just enhance my guilt. I also couldn’t breast feed my daughter, which was devastating to me but I had to let go of that because the hospital could feed her with formula via a drip, which was in her best interest because she was so frail. I would like mums to know that they should not feel guilty about any of these things, as it is only important that they choose what they feel is the right thing for their baby. If I could have breast- fed I would have, and at the time I felt so awful about my inability to do so. Jane - Being in the media spotlight did you feel pressured to get your body back? Lauren - After Sam was born I didn’t even have to worry about that, my body just naturally went back to my pre-pregnancy size in 12 weeks. I thought it would be the same case with Eva, however I indulged during pregnancy and it didn’t happen!!! I was stressed when Eva had the health issues and so I was feeling a bit ordinary. But I really do feel that it’s more important that you have a healthy child, so when my daughter was sick, she was top priority, not my weight. Jane - How did you get back into shape so quickly? Did Patti give you any tips? She’s in amazing shape. Lauren - I don’t go to the gym these days, but I do put Eva in the pram and go for a 40-minute walk, often with my mum (Patti Newton, wife of Bert Newton). I do watch what I eat, but I don’t put pressure on myself in terms of drastic diets because I’ve got two beautiful kids and they’re my priority. Jane - You are very busy with your career and the demands of Sam and Eva - how do you manage? Do Matt (husband Matt is a former Olympian swimmer), Bert and Patti help out? Lauren - I’m doing advertorials on the Kerry-Anne Show, which we shoot once a week or so, but when I had Ava I was fortunate that we had a quiet patch for a month. Two weeks after giving birth I was back in the studios recording! Sam was 6 months old when I fell pregnant with Eva, so I’m kind of paying for it now! There is never an easy time to have kids, so the fact that they are so close in age is great. Sam adores Eva; there are no jealousy issues. He is always giving her kisses! He’s so sweet with her. Jane - What do you wish Matt’s mum had taught him about being a dad? Lauren - Matt is a totally hands on dad. Especially with Sam, he takes him to the park; they play footy and watch movies together. He does the whole nappies and bottles thing. He is a great support for me. Although he could have spoiled his wife a bit more!!! Mum is always eager to baby sit which is great. Dad just adores the kids, and although he is currently in Sydney with Wicked, he makes time to spend a day and a half with us every week, which is lovely. Jane - What do you think about mums who select a caesarean and tummy tuck at the same time? Lauren - Each to their own! After all I’ve been through, I don’t want to judge any woman. If something makes it easier for you, that’s okay. The only thing that matters is that you have a healthy baby. Jane - How do you keep your relationship in good shape? Do you schedule time together or go with the flow? Lauren - We do make the effort to spend time together. We are really lucky that we can leave the kids with mum and grab a bite to eat or catch a movie. Our marriage was already very strong before we had the children, so although we adore the kids, we still recognise that we need time as a couple. We are not party animals or drinkers so we are quite happy to relax at home and have cosy nights in with the children. When we do go to the movies it’s good because we don’t talk about the kids, we can discuss the movie. Although sometimes it’s cool to talk about the kids when we’re alone! Jane - Is Matt teaching Sam to swim yet? Lauren - Sam’s had a few swims but it’s been cold so we’ll have loads of swimming when we go on our holiday at the end of the year. There’ll be days in the pool which Sam will love. He just loves the water. Eva has asthma so she really needs to swim. Who knows, she might be the next swimmer in the family!!! They grow so quickly. I can’t believe Sam is two years old! Jane - Blink and he’ll be fourteen. My fourteen- year- old son has just started at McDonald’s! Lauren - I actually started at McDonalds when I was 14 and 9 months. It was fantastic because I was so shy and it really brought me out of my shell. It is very good training and I learned to appreciate the value of hard work and earning money. I can still remember buying a leather jacket with my first pay packet! Jane - What is the best advice you were given when you were expecting and who gave it to you? Lauren - Mum was so right when she told me to just enjoy it. It goes so quickly and you need to cherish every moment. There was every chance we would not have another child, so I didn’t waste time worrying about weight and food.
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Wednesday, 07 October 2009
thanks!
Thursday, 08 October 2009