With an unusually tender smile stretched across his face, Owen Franks gently scoops up his newborn son Thomas, who’s in a tiny but still-too-big All Black jersey. Just a few moments ago, Tom was completely content, but now he is wailing, his little fists balled as Owen tries to settle him.
Father and son are already quite similar. The word “hungry” is an understatement for them both, laments weary new mum Emma, and superstitious Owen (27) says he doesn’t like wearing his All Black kit either, unless he’s about to play in it. “That’s the problem,” he laughs, patting a still screaming Tom on the back and whipping the jumper off in an effort to quieten his son – too fast for the Weekly’s photographer to take a snap. “He’s just like his dad.”
As to who wee Tom looks like, “We can’t decide,” says Emma. “He’s changing all the time. And Owen just thinks that all babies look the same…”
“Well, they do!” retorts the front rower, finally managing to calm Tom as he places him carefully in his Moses basket. Though they’re exhausted and a little overwhelmed at the demands parenthood presents, this devoted couple can’t contain their joy as they introduce Thomas Louis Franks to the world. It’s still so new to them, they admit they’re struggling to get used to being called “Mum” and “Dad”.
Thomas seems to share his dad’s superstition about putting on his All Blacks kit if he’s not about to play in it!
“My own mum came over the other day and as she was handing Tom back to me, she said, “Go to Mum!” For a second, I was completely confused about who she was talking about,” Emma laughs. “It’s a very weird feeling.”
Owen and Emma welcomed Tom into the world at 8.29pm on March 9. It had been a trouble-free pregnancy but Tom, who weighed 4.12kg at birth, arrived slightly earlier than expected. Emma (23) was hoping for a natural birth, but due to Tom’s size and his head position – as well as the fact Owen was due to head to Africa with the Crusaders – a Caesarean section was the only option. But when the delivery was brought forward two days and she couldn’t get hold of her husband, Emma admits she felt a wee bit of panic.
“He was training, so I texted one of the team managers to tell him what was going on – that I was having the baby that night instead of in two days,” Emma recalls. “It worked out well in the end – I was very, very ready to not be pregnant any more, but it still took me by surprise. All of a sudden, the moment when I was to become a mum was just about to happen.”
Adds Owen, “It was quite weird being in the car on the way to the hospital, just the two of us, thinking that when we drove home again, there’d be a baby coming back with us!”
Trying to contain her growing nerves, Emma, followed by Owen, was wheeled into the delivery room, where just moments later, the couple was joined by Tom. “I wasn’t sure if I was going to be right there during the C-section,” Owen says. “I thought I’d be pretty uncomfortable with it, if I’m honest.”
“But halfway through, he stood up and watched,” chips in Emma.
“It was amazing, actually,” Owen continues.”Seeing him for the first time was like nothing I’ve ever felt. I couldn’t believe what we’d made!”
Emma felt more than a hint of panic when she was told she’d need to have a Caesarean section two days before her due date.
Emma, too, was filled with wonder at their newborn, but only managed a quick hand hold before he was rushed away and placed on a ventilator, as he was having trouble breathing. “He had wet lung,” she explains. “It’s pretty common in large babies born by Caesarean. They gave him time on the ventilator and he didn’t really improve, so they took him up to the neonatal ward, to be on the safe side. It was a little nerve-racking, but I wasn’t too worried. I knew he was in the best care possible, and all the doctors and nurses were doing their absolute best with him.”
It wasn’t until the next day that Emma had her first proper cuddle – until then she’d had to make do with pictures Owen had taken as well as a few brief visits to the neonatal ward. Owen describes the moment when he finally got to hold Tom as “incredible”. “I just felt so proud,” he says. “I really felt like a dad then.”
But Emma admits to being worried that the bond between she and Tom wouldn’t be as strong, as she had spent 16 hours away from him. “When I finally got to hug him, it felt bizarre… but amazing! It felt like he was really ours. I’d been worried he might not take to breastfeeding because we’d been separated, but it was fine.”
The couple knew exactly what to name their first-born – Thomas, after Owen’s grandfather, and Louis, after Emma’s father. “We’d had those names picked out for ages,” Emma tells. “We did have a look at a few other names, just to keep our options open, but we didn’t even discuss it after he was born – we immediately started calling him Thomas. It just fitted.”
Owen and Emma found it weird driving to the hospital knowing that they’d have a baby with them on their drive home!
When the Weekly visits, the happy trio has only been home a few days, which feels like both an age and no time at all, Emma reveals. There’s an impressive amount of baby paraphernalia scattered around the couple’s brand-new Christchurch home, as well as dozens of bunches of flowers at varying stages of wilt. In a very short space of time, life has changed completely for the pair, with the sleeping schedule – for all three of them – the top priority.
“Tom only wakes up twice a night,” Emma says with more than a hint of maternal pride. “He’s been pretty chilled-out. Owen’s still training and I have to feed, of course, so I’m doing the nightshift.”
Owen admits he “can’t really do much to help” at this stage. “It does make you feel a bit helpless, but when they’re this age, they need their mum. So I’m just trying to be there for Emma as much as possible during the day.”
That means dinner duty – something Owen admits is well outside his comfort zone. Luckily, he has a solution. “The slow cooker,” he says proudly. “You just chuck stuff in and hope for the best. It’s been going all right, mostly!” he adds, while Emma rolls her eyes and laughs.
As all parents will remember, the first few days have their challenges. Emma says she’s experienced a fair bit of “new mum anxiety” but is grateful she can call her own mother when she has questions. “At the moment, it’s just a lot of figuring out what works best,” she says. “We’ve had our moments when things have gone wrong – like the other day, I tried cluster feeding to see what would happen. It turns out that he’s a bit too greedy and got too full. Most of his dinner ended up thrown up, all over him – he was swimming in it. Oops!”
Owen will find it hard leaving Thomas when he goes to England with the All Blacks to defend the Rugby World Cup.
With Tom now sound asleep in his basket, the new parents are enjoying a few moments of peace, but can’t help staring at their son as they chat. It’s a poignant time for Owen, who was preparing to fly out for a two-week tour of Africa with the Crusaders a few days after our interview. He says now that Tom is here, he’s determined to spend as much time with his new family as possible in between his rugby duties. “I had a moment about him leaving the other day – I’ll miss the companionship and the reassurance, I think,” Emma says, “but it’ll be okay.”
“The timing’s not great, but it’s just what has to happen,” Owen explains. “But it’ll be really exciting to come back and see how much he’s changed. And I’m sure I’ll be getting constant pictures and daily updates!”
Unfortunately, Owen being away for weeks at a time will be a reality for a few more years yet, especially as the All Blacks gear up to defend their Rugby World Cup title in England this October. But there could be another generation of Franks props on the horizon – the usually stoic Owen can’t help but grin as he sees his baby’s tiny All Black jersey laid out next to his own.
“That is cute,” he says with a laugh. “Tom’s just awesome. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”
