Becoming a first-time mum at the age of 36 has been life-changing for Kaylee Bell. Baby James is an adorable, smiley little boy and having been told by doctors that she probably couldn’t have kids. He’s the most amazing surprise the Kiwi country music superstar could have wished for.
“James is a dream baby,” smiles Kaylee as her son snuggles into her arms after their adorable Woman’s Day photoshoot.
“He sleeps really well and is such a good little trouper that he makes everything easy.”
Kaylee’s journey to motherhood hasn’t been so simple, however. The chat-topping singer has battled painful health problems ever since she was a teen. She first faced peritonitis at 16, then dealt with symptoms blamed on irritable bowel syndrome, battled autoimmune problems, and now endures endometriosis. A condition that creates scar tissue and inflammation in the pelvic area, often causing severely painful periods.
“It’s really debilitating,” explains Kaylee.
“I’ve been going to doctors for years looking for answers and just finding ways of coping, so I can push through every month and live my life. But although I’d always wanted to be a mum, I was also reaching an age where I didn’t think it was going to be possible.”
Back in June last year, she and her partner, musician Nick Campbell, were in Nashville for a music festival.
“I’d been touring a lot at that point. I was tired and run-down, so when I missed a period, I assumed that was why,” recalls Kaylee.
“But while I was out shopping with a friend, she suggested I buy a pregnancy test kit, so I grabbed one and took the test that night. It was midnight when we found out that I was pregnant and I went into total shock.”
Back in New Zealand, she went for an ultrasound to make sure everything was OK.
“I was only six weeks pregnant at that point and we got to see him, which was really cool, so we knew he was real.”
Kaylee beamed with joy, but the shock of the pregnancy hit her hard. Particularly as her international career was really starting to take off after years of hard work.
“I saw my life flash before my eyes,” she admits.
“It sounds selfish to say it now that I’m holding him, but at the time, I’d just signed with a US management company and my next 12 months were nutted out in my mind, so it was a lot to take in. “Fortunately, me and my partner are very focused, so we sat down and jotted out a plan of what life could look like. That helped a lot, just having the support from him and the reassurance that we could make this work.”
While battling morning sickness, Kaylee carried on travelling and performing. By the time she toured Australia and New Zealand with US star Kane Brown. She was 34 weeks along and the bump was starting to show.
“It’s such a personal thing being pregnant, so we’d been slowly telling people as it felt right,” she says.
“But when we were doing the Kane Brown tour, I just kind of popped out! Also, I was getting quite puffed on stage. Then he kind of accidentally announced it in Sydney in front of 50,000 people, which was hilarious.”
By December, Kaylee couldn’t fly internationally any more. So she stayed home in Auckland and worked on her upcoming album Cowboy Up. At that point, her pregnancy was going well and when she experienced some pain in her leg. The singer assumed she had pulled a muscle and booked in for physio. It was after heading down to her Canterbury hometown of Waimate for a family Christmas that things took a more serious turn.
“On Boxing Day, I woke up with one thigh that was twice the size of the other,” explains Kaylee.
“We went to hospital, where we found out that I had a blood clot – a really aggressive deep vein thrombosis in my thigh and pelvis. That’s when it started to get a bit scary because the pregnancy became high-risk real fast.”
Doctors put Kaylee on blood thinners to treat the clot, but that was going to make James’ birth more difficult. So the couple decided to take the safest option and their baby boy came into the world via C-section on 22 January, weighing in at 2.9kg.
Very quickly his weight started to fall because James was finding it difficult to feed having been born with a tongue tie. Acondition where a piece of tissue tethers the tongue to the floor of the mouth. At only six days old, the tiny baby needed surgery at Starship Hospital.
“His surgeon said it was one of the worst tongue ties he’s ever seen,” says Kaylee.
“So I’m glad we did it early because it would have affected his speech and it totally affected his feeding. He went down to 2.5kg, which is pretty little.”
At seven months old, James is making up for lost time and feeding enthusiastically. He’s a lively baby who not surprisingly loves music – his favourite artist is Tina Arena. And is developing
his own little personality.
‘I didn’t think I could have a baby, but I also wasn’t sure how to make it work in a music career’
“He’s so happy,” says Kaylee.
“He wakes up smiling at me and it’s a pretty cool way to start the day. You can tell already that he’s a really sweet little boy. We’ve tried to keep things pretty relaxed and chill, so that’s how he is.”
Kaylee and Nick want him to have a classic Kiwi upbringing, with time outdoors and playing football in the yard. He also seems destined to have an interesting childhood with lots of travel since his parents plan to take him along when they’re roaming the world to perform and record music.
“He’s already been to America, Australia, the South Island, Wellington,” she reveals.
“He’s been to a lot of places and that’s just how we’re going to roll. He’ll come with us, which is exciting. If it makes more sense, then he’ll stay with family – like, in August, we’ve got some shows in the UK and we’ll be spending more time on the plane than on the ground, so why would we do that to him?”
Both Kaylee and Nick have supportive families who have been pitching in to help with the juggle of family and career.
“I was back on stage in Australia after about six weeks, so we haven’t really had any time off,” explains Kaylee.
“We took James to Australia to play [the country music festival] CMC Rocks and my sister came to look after him, so he just sat side-stage with his headphones on and fell asleep. “That was one of my favourite gigs I’ve ever played in my whole life. We had an amazing time slot. It was sunset for the first half, then complete darkness and the lighting stepped up. It felt like everything we’ve been working for was for that moment.”
James is already inspiring his mum creatively. Kaylee has written a song for him that will be coming out on a deluxe album later this year.
“I think it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever written,” she says.
“Thanks to him, I’m also getting way more efficient with my time. My motto is, ‘If it’s not a hell yes, it’s a hell no,’ because any time away from him has to be worthwhile. And we’re very organised now. I thought I was before, but this has put it on a whole new level!”
In November, Kaylee will be taking her Cowboy Up tour around New Zealand. She accomplished a lot in recent years, playing her biggest local venues yet in Auckland, Wellington, Dunedin, Christchurch, and Invercargill. Becoming the most-streamed female country artist in Australasia and opening for Ed Sheeran on his Kiwi tour. But there are big dreams to fulfil.
“I want to play in the new Christchurch stadium and to play in Eden Park one day, headlining,” she smiles.
“That’s definitely something I think is doable if I work hard and keep pursuing it.”
But her biggest dream is making it in the US and next year Kaylee is planning to be based part of the time in Nashville, the home of country music. And of course she’ll be packing a suitcase for James too.
“You learn so much from travel, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures, and that’s something we can give him early on,” she says, adding that, in hindsight, she’s glad James came as a surprise, rather than being planned.
“I didn’t think I could have a baby, but I also wasn’t sure how to make it work in a career like music. It never seemed like the right time, so I feel like it’s such a blessing that it happened the way it did – that it was unexpected – and we’re just making it work the best we can. If anything, it makes everything a bit sweeter. I get to go and work, then come home to him, which is pretty cool.”
Kaylee’s Cowboy Up Tour kicks off in Wellington on 4 November, before taking in Auckland, Invercargill, Dunedin and Christchurch. For tickets, visit kayleebellmusic.com.
