‘I’M A MUM NOW TOO!’
Dayna Vawdrey’s coming of age
Every night when little Luca Galloway gets tucked into his cot, his parents tiptoe back to the lounge and set about making a big tower for him to knock down in the morning.
Nothing is off limits as they gather cushions, boxes and soft toys to stack high on top of his rocking horse or in the middle of a brightly-coloured ball pit.
It’s a tradition his mum, former children’s TV presenter Dayna Vawdrey, and dad
Callum began unintentionally, but have kept up to make
Luca’s childhood that wee bit more magical.
“We saw his face light up the first time we built a block tower together and he got to push it over,” explains Dayna. “So we did it a few nights in a row and just kept going.
“Each morning he just loves it and we love giving him something to look forward to when he wakes up.”
It’s clear the couple are besotted with their gorgeous boy – who will celebrate his second birthday in four months – and on the morning the Weekly visits their sunny
South Auckland home, Luca is keeping everyone entertained with his dance moves (“Drake is his favourite artist”) and banging his beloved kitchen spatula.
Ever since Luca’s arrival in 2017, Dayna has been open about sharing the
“wins” and not-so-fun parts of being a mum.
“It’s been a rollercoaster,” reflects the 37-year-old.
“Usually, people think of rollercoasters negatively.
But I see it as, ‘Wow!
We’re going up, look at the view, this is amazing!’
Then you’re down for a bit and go back up again.
“Breastfeeding was really hard at the start, before we found out Luca had a tonguetie. He also slept through the night quite early on and Callum and I were high-fiving each other, and then it all changed. And now we’ve just bought a super-king bed,” she laughs.
While Dayna worked behind the scenes in radio for most of her pregnancy – including on a national road trip to record a series with Pio Terei – she was admitted to hospital at 32 weeks when Luca looked to be making an early arrival.
“That was scary, but thankfully he held off and I was put on bed rest for the last weeks of my pregnancy before being induced due to gestational diabetes.”
Several days after Luca was born, his parents set him up with an email address so they can send him notes or email him observations as he grows up.
“Even though he has no idea now, one day later on he’ll be able to read them.”
The sweet gesture is inspired by Dayna’s own mum Lorraine, who raised Dayna and her three sisters on her own, and would leave notes in her daughters’ lunchboxes and arrange scavenger hunts after school.
“Mum was amazing. She taught me to be my child’s biggest cheerleader.”
Callum (33) agrees, adding, “Dayna loves harder than anyone. Her capacity to think about others, including myself and Luca, without sleep and with life’s drama, is amazing.
It’s made me so proud of her as we parent together.”
Dayna’s TV career kicked off when she secured a presenting role on music channel Juice TV in 2003. A year later, she was poached by TVNZ to co-host TV2’s children’s show Studio 2.
The job took her around the country and saw her interview teen stars of the time, such as Justin Bieber and Zac Efron.
Dayna recalls getting her make-up done in the afternoons, often with broadcasting legends
Sir Paul Holmes on one side of her and the much-adored newsreader Judy Bailey on the other. “They were both lovely and would always chat to me... this 21-year-old just hanging out with them,” she laughs.
“I loved those seven years. It was so much fun and such a privilege. Every day we got to interview cool celebrities while making them do silly things. Or we’d get invited to school assemblies or hospitals to meet sick children.
“Nowadays, I tend to get a lot of guys with beards coming up to me saying, ‘I grew up watching you after school!’”
When Studio 2 ended in
2010, Dayna presented another kids show, Operation Hero, and began working in radio.
Last year, she was part of a team that won Best Children’s Programme at the New Zealand Radio Awards for her role in hosting a Christmas morning children’s programme on Newstalk ZB. And while she’s loving every moment of being a mum, Dayna admits that recently there’s been something brewing inside of her to get back into TV again.
“Being the best mum I can be also means being an example to my son of following your dreams. So watch this space. And I want more kids, so it’s going to be a juggle!”