Silver Fern Anna Harrison’s multi-tasking on the netball court has earned her a long and illustrious career as one of the greatest in the game. But her talent for keeping a few balls in the air at once has taken on a new meaning after welcoming her second baby, the gorgeous Georgia, in January.
“We’re pretty busy,” Anna laughs as she and husband Craig attempt to keep their wee girl and her older brother, 22-month-old Isaac, entertained at our exclusive Woman’s Day photo shoot.
“Everyone says it all changes when you have your second and they’re probably right. Suddenly there’s so much more happening. We’re pretty tired! The first week after my mum left and Craig went back to his job, I was like, ‘How is this going to work?’”
While the young family are the picture of slightly chaotic happiness today, it hasn’t been an easy ride to get there. Six-month-old Georgia’s life got off to a bumpy start when Auckland-based Anna (née Scarlett) went for her 30-week scan in December and was told the baby was so small, it required close monitoring.
“That was obviously pretty horrible to hear,” recalls Anna, 32. “They reassured us it wasn’t critical, but to know things aren’t progressing the way they should be is not good. I had to get the doctor to call Craig because I knew as soon as I heard his voice that I’d start crying.”
“It was a rollercoaster of emotions,” tells sports scientist Craig, 33. “They couldn’t really tell us why she had stopped growing. Sometimes it can just happen, so the not knowing was a bit scary.”
Two days before Christmas, Anna was admitted to hospital for a night, then went in every second day for monitoring, while Craig took care of 18-month-old Isaac at home. She remembers, “It was quite a stressful few weeks, especially because it was over the holidays. We should’ve been at home enjoying ourselves, but instead we were holed up at the hospital on both Christmas and New Year’s Day.”
On January 7, Anna was induced and a five-weeks- premature Georgia Scarlett Harrison came into the world, weighing a miniscule 1.69kg.
“She cried when she came out, which was such a relief to hear,” Anna tells. “It was like music to our ears. We’d been warned that her lungs might not be developed enough to cry, so to hear that noise was pretty awesome.”
Image: Hollow Creative
Stressful start
But after just a few short cuddles, Georgia was bundled off to the Special Care Baby Unit, where she spent the first three weeks of her life under strict monitoring.
“It was amazing to hold her when she first came out, but she was taken away pretty quickly, which was hard,” says Anna. “It wasn’t fun seeing her in the unit. She was fed via a gastro-tube to start off with, so she wasn’t feeding off me and that was quite difficult.”
With only parents allowed to visit, Anna and Craig took turns going back and forth between the hospital and home, trying to fit in a bit of sleep between the two.
“The three weeks were challenging,” the netball champ sighs. “It was horrible to see Georgia like that. It’s not how you want to see your beautiful little baby. But the doctors were always confident she would be OK, so we knew it was just a matter of waiting until she was strong enough to fend for herself.”
After three stressful weeks, Georgia was able to return to their home in Auckland’s North Shore and finally meet her very excited big brother. Anna tells, “She was so tiny in her car seat, but it was the biggest weight off our shoulders and she’s settled in really well. Isaac is absolutely loving having a little sister. He’s gorgeous with her and now that she’s smiling, it’s so nice to see them interact. It’s really cute. I love being at home with them.”
With her shaky start behind her, Georgia is still small, but she’s reaching her developmental milestones. Her proud mum smiles, “It’s taken a while for her to catch up with the world, but it’s almost like she decided this life thing is actually alright and she’s just thrived.”
While she’s enjoying each day as a stay-at-home mum, Anna plans on returning to play the game she loves, but she isn’t ruling out expanding her family further either.
“I wouldn’t say no,” she says. “After this, though, we’ll probably just see how we go for a couple of years. We’re feeling very blessed with our perfect pair at the moment.”
Image: Hollow Creative
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