For the past few months, our favourite newsreader from Allen’s Nek, Daniëlla van Heerden, has been reading the news for two. We chat to her about the joys of becoming a first-time mom!
We all know the stylish Daniëlla from eNuus on kykNET as a career woman with a nose for news, but since she became a mother, we realised that there is more to her than meets the eye. She gave birth amidst the Covid-19 chaos, but she didn’t let that put a damper on her excitement. She embraced the unforeseen circumstance and made the best of her time at home with her husband and newborn, Simoné.
‘It’s hard to describe what it is like being a mother … There’s no switch that you can turn on and suddenly you are a mother. Motherhood grows as your baby grows. When you are pregnant you feel the sensation of the baby’s movement and a strong bond forms between you and your unborn child. The moment you lay eyes on your newborn seems almost unreal. At first, you are fascinated by this tiny person you don’t even know yet. Once you get home and spend more time with her, your love for her keeps growing.’
During the month of celebrating mothers, Daniëlla is grateful to have a mother who taught her that being a mother means having a relationship with your child, and to get to know and love each other more and more each day.
Motherhood means to teach a child how to love and make the world a better place.
‘Motherhood is a privilege because you get to teach someone the difference between right and wrong, and to become someone who can add value to society. It also means to teach them how to love and how to make the world a better place. In turn, you also learn a lot from them. They teach you how to be less selfish. If you are in a relationship, it’s also wonderful to see how your partner takes on a new role. In our case, that brought our marriage to a whole new level.’
Covid-19 didn’t have a huge impact on her pregnancy as she was already about 30 weeks pregnant when she became aware of the virus, but having a newborn during the lockdown was challenging.
‘I remember sitting in the eNuus newsroom when I read about this new virus, but back then I didn’t know that it was going to have such a large impact on our lives later on. In the last two weeks of my pregnancy, the virus became a reality in South Africa, and I tried to stay home to avoid getting sick. Just before Simoné’s birth, we went into lockdown. That changed all our plans because we couldn’t get any visitors, and even our parents couldn’t come to the hospital to meet their new grandchild. After her birth, we went home and we didn’t have any support network – it was just the three of us and our dogs … All the baby books we have read say that new parents shouldn’t isolate themselves. They should go out, and ask friends and family to help where they can, but because of the virus, most of that advice for new parents was not applicable anymore. We had to change our mindset.’
Having her husband, Cornél around helps a lot. Since the start of their relationship, she knew that Cornél would be a very good father because he is good with kids. He is a photographer and did a beautiful and emotional nine-part photo story on Instagram of the day Simoné was born as a gift to share this special time with her when she is older …
‘It’s very special to see Cornél take on this new role, especially in this unforeseen circumstance due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He does a lot for me and even joked by saying that he can’t breastfeed but he can help by making tea, cleaning the house and playing with Simoné when I need a break. It brings a smile to my face to see how he enjoys talking to her.’ The 34-year-old Daniëlla is the type of person who always sees the silver lining, and that’s what carried her through two miscarriages before they were blessed with Simoné …
‘I never heard a heartbeat, and I think that made it easier for me to process. It can be very traumatising for people to have a miscarriage this early on, but many of my friends had miscarriages before me and that helped me to understand that it happens quite often. Most of the people I know who miscarried had a successful pregnancy shortly after the miscarriage, and I focused on that … My advice to other women who had a miscarriage is to not see it as the end of the road, but rather the beginning. Consult with your doctor to find the cause, and take it from there. Don’t lose hope.’
Daniëlla’s positivity reflects in the way she sees the world, as well as the stories she reports on. No matter what is happening in the world, she always tries to find at least one good-news story to share with viewers. Being a newsreader is not the average eight-to-five job, and will bring some new challenges now that she is a mother.
‘We work strange hours and only go to the office at around lunchtime. Even though we are newsreaders, we are also journalists so we work on our own stories by sourcing material and information, writing the story and communicating with field reporters. Late afternoon we get dressed and get our make-up done before we rehearse. At 7pm we are live on your television screens at home. I only get home around 8pm, but at least I get to lie in the next day.’
She has a very unique personal style that can only be described as whimsical and unexpected. Most of the time, you will find her wearing dresses or an outfit with a feminine touch. She always plays around with colour combinations, and adds quirky items like her Zoo cookie brooch, or fun and interesting shoes. Although she studied to become a journalist, she also has a creative side that includes being a DIY queen, and the trendsetting fashionista we see on Miss Bargainista, her Facebook fashion page where she gives advice on how to style affordable outfits and looks.
‘I like to take something and make it new again. I’m a sucker for before and after, and I love makeover shows. I have a lot of ideas, but I can’t really work with my hands so I’m lucky enough to have a very handy husband. My sister-in-law also helps out with these projects. I have an eye for putting together an outfit that looks like it’s from some boutique, but it’s actually from chain stores like Mr Price, Jet and Ackermans. I started taking photos of my outfits and sharing them online to show that you can look fabulous in inexpensive clothes. That’s how Miss Bargainista started.’
We are excited to see her friendly face back on television soon, and to get to follow her adventures with Simoné on social media.
Three things Daniëlla learned about parenthood from her parents:
• Be involved and go the extra mile to show your children how much you love them
• Support their interests and do not force your own ideas onto them
• Do small things that show how much you care
Text: JACO-MARI HAASBROEK. Images: CORNÉL VAN HEERDEN.
