As co-host of Studio 10, Sarah Harris is no stranger to the camera. The journalist and TV presenter has been a panellist on the Network Ten morning program since it started in 2013.
But at today’s exclusive photo shoot with TV WEEK, three-month-old Harry is the star of the show. And just minutes into our shoot, it’s obvious this isn’t the little man’s first rodeo.
From smiles to frowns, head tilts and the occasional dribble, Harry knows how to work the camera.
“Oh, no – he has a VNL [visible nappy line],” Sarah laughs as she blows raspberries on Harry’s tummy. “You’re just so cute. Big, with smelly, sweaty feet – but still cute.”
Yep, it’s clear to see: Harry has his mum wrapped around his little finger.
Just look at those big blue eyes!
Already mum to two-year-old son Paul, Sarah had heard labour the second time around is not only quicker, but easier. But Harry’s arrival last December wasn’t without complications.
“It wasn’t a traumatic birth,” Sarah explains. “But Harry was born tongue-tied, so they had to snip his tongue. Unlike Paul, I also had trouble breastfeeding Harry at the start.”
Understandably, the pressure to be able to breastfeed her baby weighed heavily on the new mum.
“Everyone says breastfeeding is easy and that it’s the most natural thing in the world,” Sarah says. “But it’s not – it’s hard and takes time. But I was lucky to find a brilliant lactation consultant, who saw me on the second day and helped.”
Sarah has since been able to breastfeed her “hungry little monster”, but says she resorts to baby formula when necessary.
“I don’t think there should be so much judgement about it,” she says.
“As women, let’s just support each other, because we’re all doing the best we can as mums to hold it all together and to keep our children happy and healthy.
“If it takes a few shortcuts to get there, so be it. I don’t think we should be beating each other up about it.”
Cheeky Harry has inherited his mum’s grin.
There’s little doubt motherhood is a difficult job. And during our interview, Sarah opened up about the ups and downs of adjusting from one child to two. As most mothers can attest, it can be a struggle.
“When you have your first child, you’re almost in a bubble of bliss,” Sarah explains. “You sit around and gaze into your baby’s eyes and smell their heads.
“But when the second one comes along, and you’re balancing the demands of a toddler and a newborn, you become completely frazzled. I really struggled with it for the first few weeks.”
Sarah recalls “sobbing for days” when she returned from hospital with Harry.
“I’m very aware of postnatal depression and keeping an eye out for that,” she says. “I don’t think it got that bad for me, but I definitely had a whack of the baby blues.”
Sarah is soaking up the cuddles before returning to work.
Sarah says the combination of “extreme sleep deprivation, hormones and guilt” saw her a blubbering mess.
“I’m not much of a crier, but I was overwhelmed,” she continues. “I just kept thinking, ‘How the heck am I ever going to balance this?’ I was up and down all the time and was an absolute wreck.
“One minute I was crying because I felt I wasn’t spending enough time with Paul, the next I thought I was being a bad mum to Harry. I felt like a fraud.”
Eventually, though, Sarah found her groove.
“Some days, the wheels fall off,” she confesses. “But I adore my boys. They’re my everything and have made my life so much better.”
Pick up the latest issue of TV WEEK for the full interview. On sale now!
