It’s been eight months since Sylvia Jeffreys and husband Peter Stefanovic welcomed baby Oscar Hamilton Stefanovic into the world on February 6.
And every day since, they’ve fallen just a little bit more in love with their tiny bundle of cuteness.
“It’s the simple things that can take your breath away – his little hand resting on my hand when I pick him up out of bed; things like that. They really light up your day,” says Sylvia, 34, says.
Pete and Sylvia are head over heels for Oscar.
(Instagram)The journalist is chatting to TV WEEK after wrapping Today Extra, the Nine Network morning news show she’s returned to co-host after five months of maternity leave.
“No one can describe to you the overwhelming feeling of joy, and this new kind of love, that takes over after having a baby,” she adds.
And with joy in short supply this year thanks to the global pandemic, we’ve taken our little moments of happiness where we can. Thankfully in the Stefanovic-Jeffreys household, these have been in happy abundance, courtesy of little Oscar.
The journalist recently revealed on-air the emotional struggle she faced going through IVF. But, in exciting news, the couple has announced that Sylvia is expecting baby number two in 2021.
“We’re so thrilled after not the easiest path first time around; we’re grateful for this gift, another boy,” Sylvia told Today Extra viewers.
“Two boys under two is going to be wild. If you have any advice how to handle the chaos, let me know!”
Sylvia announced her second pregnancy with this adorable snap of Oscar.
(Instagram)In May 2019 it was announced that Peter would be co-hosting the Sky News First Edition morning news show, a role he commenced after reaching a “mutual decision” with the Nine Network to leave in late 2018.
He’s home by mid-morning after starting work at 3.45am, and on hand to help out when he can.
Their teamwork was tested, though, when Oscar was around six months old – the same time Australia was plunged into its first COVID-19 lockdown.
“Life was normal for the first six weeks of Oscar’s life. We were able to have family flood in and meet [him], and enjoy that for the first few weeks,” Sylvia explains. “But from week six it locked down, and for us, that was when his reflux upticked as well.
“It got harder to get in to see doctors and other medical professionals. So that was probably the most challenging aspect of it for us.”
It wasn’t an easy transition into lockdown for the family.
(Instagram)To compound their concerns, Oscar began to lose lots of weight.
“When you are on your own without easy access to doctors and without any family around, your anxieties are heightened, so it was a bit hard to navigate at the time,” Sylvia says.
“Thankfully we were able to link up with a really wonderful pediatrician who put us on the right path and we haven’t looked back. Oscar is happy and healthy and thriving now.”
Thriving, and enjoying spending time with his baby cousins. As they’re based in Sydney, Oscar has been able to catch up with the other little family members born at a similar time – including brother-in-law Karl Stefanovic and wife Jasmine’s little one, Harper, who was born on May 1.
“Harper and Oscar see each other pretty often. Oscar absolutely dominates her – she’s so quiet! And Oscar is quite the opposite,’ Sylvia laughs.
“Pete and I both grew up very close to our cousins, so it’s been very important to us that we can recreate that for our children.”
The happy time is a far cry from the tumult of two years ago, when both Pete and brother Karl were mired in controversy after the now-notorious “Ubergate” scandal – which saw both brothers recorded speaking disparagingly of colleagues in the back of an Uber.
Karl was subsequently let go from Today amid falling ratings, and Peter left the network around the same time.
Collateral damage in all that, Sylvia was also shifted to other duties within the Network, including a stint on A Current Affair.
Thankfully, things have been on the up and up since. Karl has returned to host Today, Pete has landed his job with Sky, and Sylvia, is now hosting Today Extra alongside David Campbell, a job she adores.
“It can be frustrating when things aren’t going to plan. But that’s life. You take the good with the bad,” says Sylvia philosophically.
“David] puts up with me showing him baby videos every morning, and he does so with great enthusiasm. I couldn’t ask for a more generous co-host.”
Sylvia loves her job on Today Extra.
(Instagram)So does she miss her mornings on Today?
“I actually don’t have to miss it that much, because so much news is still unfolding and breaking during our program because of the nature of the world we live in,” she explains. “I still get to be involved in a lot of that.
“We covered Trump leaving the hospital while that was unfolding – we still have a big role to play in delivering news through our program, so I’m still getting to scratch that itch.”
Everything appears to be exactly as it should be.
“I am so happy and comfortable and just delighted to be on Today Extra – it’s the perfect role for a new mum,” she says.
“And I know that so much of our audience is exactly where I am at in my life right now.”
