Oh, baby! Martin Guptill and Laura McGoldrick’s exciting news

It isn’t often Laura McGoldrick is left lost for words. Between her and husband, Blackcaps star batsman Martin Guptill, the vivacious TV presenter is usually the one who does most of the talking, but as Woman’s Day sits down with the power couple, Laura’s finding it hard to get her words out.

“I’m very excited, but I’m a bit speechless, I’m sorry,” she says, her hands waving as she lets out a nervous laugh. “And I’m never speechless!”

“Well, that’s very true,” her grinning husband quips.

But Laura, 28, has the best possible reason for her unbridled joy – she and 30-year-old Martin are expecting their first baby!

As the pair pose for our exclusive photos, Martin’s hands placed protectively over Laura’s little bump, the couple can’t contain their delight at the fact they’re about to become parents.

“I think more than anything, we’re a little overwhelmed!” tells Laura.

“We haven’t told a great deal of people yet, so this is the first time we’re really talking about it. Well, we’re about to tell a whole lot more, aren’t we?!”

The news of their impending bundle of joy has come at the best possible time for the young couple, who wed in a fairytale ceremony in September 2014.

Bring it on!

Martin, or “Guppy” as Laura affectionately calls him, is still on a high after his incredible innings against South Africa earlier this year. He smashed 180 runs during a one-day international match, landing him a place in Kiwi cricketing history as the holder of the first, second and third highest scores in the format’s history.

Laura, meanwhile, has been happily juggling a long list of roles – as a host of NZ Herald Focus, a television presenter for Sky Sport, a radio announcer and an event MC.

With Martin in the best form of his life (although nursing a hamstring injury when Woman’s Day catches up with the couple) and Laura’s star continuing to rise, some might be surprised at the timing of the pregnancy, but the ace athlete says babies have always been on the cards.

“We’ve always definitely thought we’d be parents one day,” Martin smiles.

“And we’ve been realistic about the stages in our lives we were at,” adds Laura. “We didn’t put a timeline on it – we just let things be. But the timing couldn’t have worked out any better, actually. It’s already the perfect baby!”

It was a gut feeling that led Laura to take a pregnancy test while she was away working in Christchurch and Martin was at home in Auckland.

“I don’t actually remember how early on it was, but I just had a feeling that something was different,” she explains. “I rang Guppy and asked him if I should wait until I was home …”

“But we were too excited!” admits Martin.

An agonising few minutes followed as Laura hung up to take the test. “And then I rang him back on FaceTime and we just waited for the test to come up. It was very quiet!”

“Yeah, until you started giggling,” laughs Martin, shaking his head. “That was all I needed to know!”

The couple kept their happy news hush-hush.

“I didn’t want to jinx it,” explains Laura. “We’re so lucky that we’ve managed to fall pregnant in the first place and it was still sinking in. Then we had our 12-week scan.”

“That’s when it became very real,” a chuffed Martin nods. “You can see it – it’s got little arms and legs.”

“And I’m just thinking, ‘Oh, my goodness, it’s actually in there! I have to take care of it!’” Laura laughs, pointing at her tummy.

“Raising a child is exciting, but it’s terrifying at the same time. So what is that, 21 years of housing it and feeding it?! It’s a lot to think about! But we really couldn’t be happier.”

It hasn’t been the easiest 14 weeks for Laura, whose constant state was “green” for much of her first trimester.

However, Martin has proven to be the ideal, supportive husband.

“I did ring Guppy a couple of times going, ‘I think I’m going to die,’” tells Laura a bit bashfully. “Which is very unlike me, you know – so melodramatic.”

“Nah, you’re not a drama queen at all,” Martin replies wryly before throwing his wife an affectionate grin.

Laura continues, “There’s just a lot of things people don’t tell you about pregnancy, which gave me a fright! A friend of mine warned me that this, that and the other would happen, and I just thought, ‘No, surely not.’ But yup!

“The thing is, I’m not the first person to do this and I won’t be the last, so I know I’m not alone.”

While the dad-to-be has made himself useful by delivering dry toast to a nauseated Laura over the past few weeks, the presenter is getting ready to go it alone for much of the rest of her pregnancy as Martin prepares to head to India to play in the lucrative Indian Premier League. The fact her husband will be away for so long doesn’t faze Laura – the pair are used to it.

“And realistically, there’s not a lot more he can do here while I’m growing the baby!” Laura says with a cheeky grin.

Martin will be taking over a few parenting books to ponder: Up the Duff by Kaz Cooke is one on his reading list. “There’s a chapter for dads at the back that’s all in bullet points, so it’s easier to take in!”

The couple have also decided to find out their baby’s sex, partly so Laura can bond with her bub, but also so the excited parents-to-be can splurge on their newborn.

“All that shopping will be happening when I’m away, so who knows what I’ll be coming back to,” says Martin nervously.

“I’ll just not check the credit card.”

“Don’t ask – it doesn’t matter. It’s for your child!” laughs Laura. “I haven’t bought anything yet, but I will definitely be buying a little Blackcaps shirt!”

Bowled over!

All going to plan, Martin will be home for the birth of his first child in September before summer cricket commitments once again kick off. He shakes his head in awe as he thinks about welcoming a son or daughter into the world.

“The fact I’m going to be someone’s dad … It’s an exciting thing to think about and I’m really looking forward to it.”

Laura’s always known Martin will make an amazing father. In fact, it’s one of the reasons she loves him so much.

“Watching him with our friends’ kids, they all love him and he’s amazing with them. I’m so excited to think we’re going to be having a baby together. But,” Laura adds, turning to her husband and smiling, “knowing that you’re going to be a dad makes me love you even more.”

It’s a tender moment for the affectionate pair, but as they point out, they haven’t had much chance to discuss how they’re feeling about the start of their own little family. They think they’d like one or two more – although both Martin and Laura are quick to add they’re keen to see how baby number one goes first!

One thing’s for sure, Laura reckons she will definitely be the disciplinarian.

“I’ll 100% be the bad cop!” she says, rolling her eyes. “Guppy will just be Disneyland dad. He’ll spoil them!”

A delighted Martin beams, “We can make that work!”