MEET MY BABY BOY
THE POPULAR CHILDREN’S ENTERTAINERS HAVE MOVED ON
Former Hi-5 star Nathan Foley’s baby son just couldn’t wait to make an entrance – arriving almost three weeks early as the singer raced home from overseas, desperately hoping he would make it in time.
Sadly, despite a nail-biting journey, Nathan was still mid-air over the Tasman when his gorgeous wife Nicolette gave birth to tiny Joel Jackson Foley, just after 4pm on December 19, on the NSW Central Coast.
“I missed the whole thing,” wails Nathan, a doting first-time dad at the age of 40. “I was trying to get myself back home, but Nicolette was only in labour for three hours. My flights kept getting delayed or cancelled, so it all just happened too fast.
“I was four hours too late!”
Luckily, former model Nicolette, 37, is a laid-back Jamaican and very forgiving. With mother-in-law Julie Walker at Gosford Hospital to lend support – and cut the cord – she was ‘chilled’ about his absence.
Yet the entertainer is still kicking himself at missing out.
“I was really upset about it,” he confides. “I was due back from New Zealand, where I was recording a new album, on December 20, which should have worked out fine because he wasn’t due until January 7. But I guess Joel had other ideas! He was kicking up a storm in there and wanting to come out ASAP.
“In the end, my mum pretty much took over while I was away, and my beautiful wife is an absolute natural. It’s just so unfortunate I had those flight delays.”
Since Joel’s slightly premature arrival – weighing 3.33kg and measuring 47cm – Nathan has been making up for lost time, learning how to change nappies and soothe a crying infant.
Nathan was part of the original Hi-5 line-up from 1999 to 2008.
“It was a beautiful, beautiful job,” Nathan told New Idea last year of his days with the popular group.
In 2019, he won a legion of new fans on The Voice.
And while he won multiple awards as a children’s entertainer, Nathan’s very much a rookie when it comes to caring for his baby.
But it turns out he may well a baby whisperer.
“If he’s a little bit sookie I start humming and he just stares and stops crying.” Nathan grins. “Hopefully, one day he will join my band and that will be one less musician to pay!”
Having forged an applauded international career as a cruise entertainer – which is how he met his bride on a Jamaican beach – Nathan’s happy to settle down now and stop wandering.
In fact, he’s already trying to persuade Nicolette to have another child!
“I’ve travelled the world several times and done everything I can to fulfil myself as a person, so I’m happy to be a more mature father,” he reflects.
“And I want to be there. I don’t believe in bringing any child into this world unless you can play a big part in their lives. Support and love are the most important things you can give them.”