As a presenter on long-running sports show The Crowd Goes Wild, Makere Bradnam is more than used to a little chaos. In fact, working with the likes of Mark Richardson and Andrew Mulligan has prepared the stunning sports reporter for almost anything – which might explain why she’s a picture of calm as she tries to settle her newborn son Tommy while hushing her two excited pug dogs Milo and Tyga.
“I remember when we first got the dogs, I wondered what I used to do with all of my spare time,” she remarks as she bustles around the lounge of the Auckland home she shares with fiancé Kurt Gibbons, shooing her precious fur babies away and settling down with her wee boy.
“Now, it’s like the next level. What did I do before I had a baby?!”
Chatting exclusively to Woman’s Day, Makere, 29, is thrilled to introduce her son, Thomas “Tommy” Te Paerahi Gibbons, and the new mum couldn’t be prouder.
Meet Thomas Te Paerahi Gibbons! The adorable bub was born August 13, 2016.
“He’s such a good boy,” she gushes, looking down at Tommy, who has fallen asleep in her arms. “He’s really cruisy, actually. It’s been a really chilled-out few weeks!”
The arrival of Tommy – named after Kurt’s grandfather and the beach in Makere’s hometown of Porangahau – has capped off a year to remember for the star, which included a marriage proposal as well as a baby!
While Makere’s wedding is just around the corner, her focus right now is very much on motherhood.
Makere says even she can’t quite believe how well she’s already taken to being a mum. “I just love it, but it’s gone so fast,” she tells.
“We’re in the swing of things now, I think. He sleeps through the night, so it actually hasn’t been too rough at all. Of course, there are bad days, but you just get through them.”
Makere admits that by the end of her pregnancy, she was very, very ready to welcome Tommy into the world. And four days after her due date, she finally felt the first stages of her labour that would go on to last 24 hours.
“I tried to stay at home with Kurt and my mum for as long as I could,” she recalls. “I didn’t have a birth planor anything – I didn’t want one. I think people put too much expectation on it, or they want things to go a certain way, and it never happens! I just wanted to be really relaxed about it all.”
Following hours of irregular contractions, Makere was given an epidural and induced, and after 23 minutes of pushing, with her mother and Kurt, 31, by her side, Makere gave birth to little Tommy.
“That moment, when I saw him for the first time … Oh, my God, it was so, so special,” she says with a smile, then adding, “but the first thought when I saw him was, ‘Oh, my God, there was a baby inside me. Holy crap! He’s here,” she laughs.
“It’s all a bit of a blur, really, but it does sink in really fast. Hearing him cry for the first time, that makes you cry … and when I saw Kurt hold Tommy for the first time. He was looking right into Kurt’s eyes – that definitely brought a tear to my eye. I was really proud of myself too, actually. I remember saying to my mum, ‘I nailed that!’”
It’s been three months since that special day and although there have been a few rocky moments for the first-time parents, Makere can’t imagine life without her laid-back, happy boy.
“He just comes along with me wherever I go,” she says.
“I could see how easy it could be to get into a rut, but I made myself go out with him. We were going to cafés when he was four days old. Getting out is great and he’s a really easy bub.
“But we did have a moment the first night when Kurt went away – he has to go to Wellington once a week for his job – and I just couldn’t settle Tommy. He just kept crying. He’d never done that before and I started to panic – I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. I just told myself to shut up, calm down and relax and breathe. I settled him eventually, and it was all OK. But there’s no book that tells you what’s wrong with your baby!”
Makere has also made getting back her fitness a priority and not just because her summer wedding is mere weeks away. For the former athlete, staying active is a massive part of her life.
“I was itching to get back into it when he was four weeks old,” she tells. “So I’m doing Pilates twice a week and I have a personal trainer twice a week too. Honestly, to exercise again is amazing. It’s the best feeling.”
And, of course, there’s the small matter of her impending nuptials, which she’s thrilled Tommy will be a part of.
“I know it’s not the traditional way, but I wouldn’t want to get married without him now! Him being there will make the day that much more special.”
