Since having her son Bowie, Kirstie Stanway-Thorne says "I really do smell the roses and just appreciate all the little moments I have with him". Photo / Maree Wilkinson
Since having her son Bowie, Kirstie Stanway-Thorne says "I really do smell the roses and just appreciate all the little moments I have with him". Photo / Maree Wilkinson
Sky Sport presenter Kirstie Stanway-Thorne introduces her sweet son Bowie, who has changed her life.
Holding her gorgeous six-month-old son Bowie high in the air, his giggles mingling with the crashing Mt Maunganui surf, Sky Sport presenter Kirstie Stanway-Thorne is the picture of a content new mum.
“Honestly, life is so great right now,” she says with a wide smile.
“I can’t believe how much love and happiness I have around me. Before Bowie, I didn’t think life could get better. I didn’t realise what was missing. Now I look at this little boy and think, ‘Oh, my God, it’s overwhelming how much I love him!’.”
While life in the Bay of Plenty with husband Gareth Thorne and their adorable boy is mostly blissful, Kirstie, 32, is chatting to us amid the bedlam of a seemingly never-ending DIY home reno, while also preparing for her regular commute to Auckland for work.
Kirstie says moving down from Auckland was the greatest thing the family has ever done. Photo / Maree Wilkinson
“Yeah, that sums it up perfectly,” she laughs as a concrete cutter whirls in the background.
“We thought all the reno would be done before Bowie was even born – we’re so stupid and dumb! But hey, we’re almost there and it’ll be worth it when it’s done, right?
“But moving down from Auckland was the greatest thing we’ve ever done – the amount of people who have told us they want to do the same is crazy. I mean, I can highly recommend it. It’s a scary decision, sure, and a huge change. But it’s been the best thing for our little family.”
And they’re a gorgeously happy family since Bowie Māhutonga Stanway-Thorne’s arrival on 12 April, when Kirstie became a first-time mum and Gareth a two-time boy dad, who has son Noah from a previous relationship.
“His name represents his ancestors who have followed the stars and will be a guiding light on his journey,” says Kirstie, who is of Ngāti Porou descent.
“In Māori, Te Pae Māhutonga represents the constellation of stars known as the Southern Cross. His great-grandfather was named Māhutonga and his grandfather used the Southern Cross to navigate his way across the South Pacific.”
And as for Bowie?
“Well, Gareth really likes David Bowie and I thought it sounded awesome,” says Kirstie with a laugh.
Little Bowie is already living up to his adventurous name, much to the amusement – and slight consternation – of his adoring parents.
Bowie is already living up to his adventurous name. Photo / Maree Wilkinson
“I think he has the best parts of both of us and probably the worst too!” smiles Kirstie.
“Teenage Bowie is definitely going to come and bite us on the bum because he’s so active already. He came out kicking and he hasn’t stopped.
“He was really active inside too – maybe it’s because he visited 30 countries when I was pregnant with him, and we were constantly swimming and hiking. He’s been full-on from the beginning, and so energetic and excited. He’s just the best boy.
“I feel so lucky and I know every parent says this, but man, he melts me. He’s got so much power already – he’s six months old and he’s got me wrapped around his little finger. He’s got so much personality already.”
While Kirstie instantly bonded with Bowie after a long labour, an emergency Caesarean section and a tough post-partum period – she had to be admitted to hospital with post-birth complications twice in the aftermath – she admits her journey to motherhood wasn’t easy.
“I’ll be really open about this – I was scared about becoming a mum. I had so many fears going into this. Am I going to be good enough? What type of mum am I going to be? Will I be too harsh?
“I was so scared, but then when that baby is given to you, it just instantly changes everything. It makes me emotional even thinking about it because it’s a love you’ve never, ever felt before. It’s the greatest feeling I’ve ever felt.”
Life for the couple has changed a lot since Bowie’s arrival. Photo / Maree Wilkinson
And although she and Gareth didn’t have the easiest run in the immediate aftermath of Bowie’s birth due to Kirstie’s complications with pain, having to return to the hospital didn’t really faze her too much – she had decided long ago that having no plan was the best plan.
“You just get through it, you know?” she explains. “I read so much stuff that freaked me out when I was pregnant and I just think first-time mums shouldn’t have to worry about so much stuff.
“I knew that I couldn’t control what happened at the hospital, so we didn’t have a birth plan or anything – I just figured that you do what you have to do. And that’s exactly how it panned out!”
Life has changed a lot since cheeky Bowie’s arrival– not only in all the obvious new-baby ways, but Kirstie says she’s felt a huge shift in herself too.
“I didn’t realise what having a kid would do to me as a person,” she shares. “Like, sure, I’m someone’s mum now.
“But having Bowie slowed me down instantly, which is a real feat because if you know me, you know that I don’t do anything slowly – even walking to the shops with me is a speed hike! But now I really do smell the roses and just appreciate all the little moments I have with him.
“I could never have just sat and done nothing before, but these days, I’ll happily plonk myself down and do nothing but watch him for the whole day. I really do appreciate the small things in life now.”
Kirstie is back at work as a rugby presenter while Gareth is currently balancing stay-at-home dad duties with being renovator-in-chief. Photo / Maree Wilkinson
Kirstie is already back at work as a rugby presenter on Sky Sport and juggles her sporting commitments with mum life back home, while Gareth is currently balancing stay-at-home dad duties with being renovator-in-chief. But the TV star admits she’d rather be at home with Bowie than behind the presenting desk right now.
“It’s so hard,” she says. “But financially, that’s not how the world works any more. It’s really tricky when you have a house, a mortgage and everything… It’s so hard leaving him, even though Gareth is the most phenomenal dad. Bowie and I hit the jackpot, honestly.
“But there’s a lot of driving up to Auckland on not a lot of sleep and, on those drives, I have so much emotional guilt. On the other hand, I want him to see I’m working to provide him an amazing future and also that I’m chasing my dreams too. I do really love what I do.”
Coming back to work three months after having Bowie was confronting in so many ways, Kirstie says – but she wasn’t at all prepared for people’s reactions.
She tells, “So many people asked me, ‘Where’s your baby?’ I already felt so crap and guilty I wasn’t with him, and then I got that… But society needs to change.
“It really annoyed me that people were surprised that Bowie was with his dad and not with me. Why do we expect the mum to do it all? It was so frustrating.”
But at the end of the day, Kirstie says that coming home to Bowie’s smiling face makes everything worthwhile.
