Newstalk ZB's Heather du Plessis-Allan announces she is expecting. Video / Newstalk ZB
Newstalk ZB's Heather du-Plessis Allan and Barry Soper have become parents to a baby boy.
The 3.58kg baby arrived shortly after 8am today and both he and Mum are happy and healthy.
"Barry has made sure he's warmly dressed and he's been given cuddles galore already," du-Plessis Allan said.
The couple, who married in 2009, have named the baby Finbar Ignatius Pieter du Plessis-Soper.
"But we call him Iggy and everyone else is welcome to as well," du-Plessis Allan said."Before my granny died of Covid last year she told us to give our son the du Plessis family names. In honour of her, those are his middle names."
Newstalk ZB shared the news on Twitter this morning along with a sweet photo of Soper, who is the station's political editor, holding his newborn son.
"Congratulations to our NewstalkZB Drive host Heather du Plessis-Allan and her husband, political editor Barry Soper, on the arrival of their wee baby boy this morning. We hear mum and baby are both doing well!" they wrote.
Soper told the Herald he and du Plessis-Allan were "exhausted" after being up all night, but were thrilled to welcome their baby boy into the world.
The baby boy is their first child together, while Soper is dad to five other children from previous marriages.
Du Plessis-Allan first announced the news of her pregnancy in October last year.
He’s here!
Congratulations to our NewstalkZB Drive host Heather du Plessis-Allan and her husband, political editor Barry Soper, on the arrival of their wee baby boy this morning. We hear mum and baby are both doing well! pic.twitter.com/GMB8a4QsYY
In an on-air announcement, the Newstalk ZB host said she and Soper were welcoming their first child together in 2022. Du Plessis-Allan married the Newstalk ZB political editor in 2009.
"I have something to tell you ... don't worry it's not bad news," she said. "The news is that I am pregnant."
Although Du Plessis-Allan said it was scary, she and her husband were excited to meet "the wee mate".
In November 2021, it was announced that Andrew Dickens would step in to host the Newstalk ZB Drive Show while du Plessis-Allan went on maternity leave in the early months of 2022.
The broadcasting couple have now become parents together. Photo / Greg Bowker
In September last year, du Plessis-Allan opened up about the struggles of balancing her demanding role with her personal life - which now includes that of being a parent.
"I'm just going out and doing my job, then I'm going home and I am somebody's wife, I'm the sister to a couple of awesome boys, I'm the aunty to a bunch of young kids, I'm somebody's daughter, I'm somebody's grandchild and I'm someone's friend," she told NZ Woman's Weekly.
"As long as I keep within the parameters of my real life, it's kind of easy to just continue to be a decent, normal human being."
