Are you coping with work and pregnancy? Kirsty McCabe, 35, is a weather presenter on ITV’s Daybreak, Here’s how she deals with her working day…
Posted: 13 September 2011
by Roisin Johnson
“My day starts when I get up at 3.45am, to be at the studio for 4.30am, so the biggest worry I had when I found out I was pregnant was morning sickness. Every morning I would wake up in a panic that it would start – after all, who wants to throw up on live TV in front of thousands of viewers?
“What if my bump covers up Wales?”
At first I was able to hide my pregnancy as it didn’t show, but I was still worried people would think I’d put on weight. They say TV puts extra pounds on, and I didn’t want people thinking that was happening to me.
Once I get to the studio, I go into hair and make-up, and then I spend time researching the weather and plan a script. Then we go live at 6am. Some days I’d just want to put on tracksuit bottoms and stay in bed, but every morning it was about being presentable and glamorous for the cameras.
The main reason I’m there is to research and read the weather, so I try and focus on the task in hand and hope everyone can forget my bump. That’s not easy though. As it’s got bigger it’s become more and more of a distraction. “What if it starts covering up Wales?” I said to my husband Renato one evening.
As the weeks passed I did get more used to it, and once I’d told my boss at 14 weeks, things got easier. Then I could be pregnant and proud, and one of the best perks was talking to my stylist about a new pregnancy wardrobe for my screen time. I wear mostly maternity clothes, and anything from Mamas & Papas and Isabella Oliver, to George at Asda’s maternity range.
I definitely have no desire to squeeze back into my skinny jeans after the birth as my maternity leggings are just too comfortable. I throw them on as soon as I get home at around lunchtime.
“I have to think about safety now”
Since being pregnant I’ve found the tiredness has hit me hard. I normally get home after lunch so in my first trimester I did lots of afternoon/early evening napping to keep me going.
As well as presenting the weather, I’m also the environment correspondent, so often I’ll report from the field. That used to mean doing things like reporting wearing ice skates during winter, and even recently I found myself bobbing up and down on a lake for an assignment. I still try and do as many things as I can with my bump, but now we have to think about safety too.”
