The Warriors might not have been able to add the NRL trophy to the cabinet this year, but halfback James Maloney has a souvenir of the season that is far more precious. James, his fiancée Jessica Anderson and their two-year-old son Kade have welcomed a gorgeous new baby, Layla, to the family.
After an extremely difficult pregnancy, Jess gave birth to Layla Jade Maloney in March at Auckland City Hospital. “She’s our little Kiwi baby – or as I prefer to say, our little Australian who was born in New Zealand,” grins Australian import James.
For Jess, having a happy and healthy Layla gurgling away is a huge relief after going into premature labour twice, once at 28 weeks and again at 32 weeks. “They had to give her steroids for her lungs, and I had to have drugs to hold the labour off,” says Jess, bouncing Layla on her lap.
“I’ve never been more scared, just being in hospital was bad enough. I was there for four days because my heart rate and blood pressure had dropped pretty badly. By the end of it I just burst into tears, I couldn’t deal with it any more.”
James and Jess say their kids are very different but Kade loves his new sister, Layla.
Between Jess being in hospital, James training almost daily with the Warriors and Kade running around with the enthusiasm of an Energizer Bunny, life was tough – especially as their family was back in Sydney. “That’s what made it the hardest, I think, we just didn’t have anyone over here to help,” recalls James. “We were palming Kade off to [Warrior] Micheal Luck and his wife.
“I wasn’t overly worried, I knew if something happened, Jess was in hospital and they’d sort it out. Plus, I got to be Daddy for a couple of days and it was good fun to have Kade a bit more.”
At 38 weeks, Jess was finally induced, and gave birth to a healthy 3.6kg (7lb 15oz) Layla. “There was no point trying to hold it off any more – she was coming,” Jess says. “The actual labour was amazing. If they’re all like that, I could have 1000 more kids,” she laughs with a sideways look at James.
Now six months old, Layla is her mum in miniature, just as Kade is a tiny version of James. “They’re very different. Layla’s high maintenance, a typical girlie girl, and she’s stubborn, like me,” smiles Jess. “Kade has heaps of energy, but he’s more relaxed.”
While the brother and sister are getting along famously, Jess and James have to look out for the slightly over-enthusiastic Kade. “He kisses and cuddles her, but he’s just got to learn to be gentle,” says James. “He picks her up and tries to give her a hug, but her head’s flopping everywhere and we’ve got to rush over.”
“She’s our little Kiwi baby – or as I prefer to say, our little Australian who was born in New Zealand,” says James.
“He’s always trying to feed her too, it’s always: ‘Layla some?’” Jess adds. “I turned around the other day and she was covered in meringue from the beater Kade had been playing with while I was baking,”
Having Layla in New Zealand was the perfect way to say goodbye after three years of living in Auckland. James and Jess, who plan to marry at the end of the year, will relocate to Sydney next month to be closer to both of their families, and James is signed to the Sydney Roosters from 2013. And while they’re looking forward to having Grandma and Grandpa just down the road, saying goodbye to their life in New Zealand is proving a lot harder than they expected.
“We’ve just loved it here,” says James. “We didn’t know much about New Zealand when we moved here three years ago, we were a bit apprehensive. Now, it’s another home. “But family had to come first. I’m away every two weeks for three or four days, and Jess is left by herself with two kids – it’s hard. Now at least she’ll have a bit more support around her.”
James will be back to New Zealand every so often when the Roosters play the Warriors at home, but he says he and Jess will be crossing the Tasman as often as they can. “New Zealand’s a special place for us now. We got engaged here, we had Layla here – we’ll always have fond memories,” says James. “It’s been an amazing three years.”
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