Sharyn Ghidella: Office baby boom reminds us how contagious newborns can be

It is highly contagious and it is sweeping 10 News’ Queensland office - but thankfully we’re not talking Covid or the flu, writes Sharyn Ghidella.

There’s nothing quite like a baby to bring joy and light into a room. Picture: iStock

We’ve got a bit of a baby boom in the office at the moment. Three of my lovely colleagues – yes three – either have given birth – or are about to give birth.

Someone spike the water cooler with folic acid!

Yes, there’s been a lot of prenatal vitamins being consumed at 10 News Queensland recently, and a lot of pre-pregnancy glow that’s been lighting up the office. Honestly, there’s so much radiance going on, who needs electricity. We don’t even need to turn the lights on.

Because, let’s face it, there’s nothing quite like a baby to bring joy and light into a room – whether they’ve made it into the world yet, or not.

Suddenly, the extra-curricular chats aren’t so much about deadlines, how much coffee we’ve downed or who’s having what for lunch in the mouth-watering canteen.

Our conversations are consumed with: “When are you due?”, “Do you know what you’re having?”, and “Have you picked a name yet?”

Thankfully, most avoid the obvious question, like: “When are you ever planning on sleeping again?” I guess the answer to that is a given anyway – when that baby becomes a teenage boy.

Yes, babies just seem to have a way of making their presence known. They are contagious – thankfully, not in a covid/flu kind of way – but they do have a way of inviting everyone in.

And you don’t even need to be a parent – or a prospective one – to enjoy having them around.

Sharyn Ghidella. Picture: Annette Dew

There’s just a universal fascination that comes with the creation of a new human being. A baby represents hope and possibility – a tiny reminder there’s so much good yet to come.

And, for those who’ve already had children, there’s also that wave of nostalgia that just seems to wash right over you. Suddenly, you’re transported back to the birth of your own little ones. You can almost smell the baby lotion which, thankfully, seems to drown out any lingering odour of the contents of the nappy!

Before you know it, everyone is swapping baby war stories. “Mine didn’t sleep for the first year.”

“Mine refused to be swaddled.”

“Mine was so far off the percentile chart they needed to change the measurements.”

“Mine knew his times tables, before his first bath.”

“Mine smiled constantly from the day they were born.” (It was probably just gas, but let’s not burst her bubble just yet!)

Yes, babies really do have a way of taking you back. Remember the slow drive home from the hospital with your precious cargo on board; how you conquered child car seat wrestling with the athleticism of an Olympic champion … and the profanities of Gordon Ramsay in the kitchen.

The midnight feeds, the nappy explosions, the toddler years – when every trip to the toilet was met with applause. Five years later, you reserved those celebrations … for when they just remembered to flush the toilet at all.

Yes, you fondly recall all the smiles, the cuddles, the first words, all those nights you prayed to the Sleep Gods … for just one hour … at least!

A little baby news is the best kind of scoop.

And who could ever forget the day you FINALLY realised that even if you qualified for Mensa, you were NEVER ever going to open the stroller with a one-handed flick of the wrist, as demonstrated in the ad. Not that it ever mattered in the slightest.

Because most of all, when it comes to babies, what we remember most is simply the love; the all-consuming love for that tiny human. There is simply nothing quite like it.

Even Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce can’t conjure up a love story quite like that.

It is a love that is boundless, unbreakable, fierce and pure.

And thankfully, it’s also unconditional because, let’s face it, sometimes we wouldn’t go back for more if it wasn’t.

Yes, having a baby is such a beautiful time. It’s the noisiest, messiest, most exhausting chapter of your life – yet somehow it’s also one of the happiest.

So, you can see why it’s totally understandable we are all revelling in the joy of my colleagues, Veronica, Georgi and Pip. Babies are a powerful commodity and it’s so very easy to get dragged into the slipstream of any baby fever sweeping an office.

It’s the kind of story we in the newsroom are always happy to deliver.

A little baby news is the best kind of scoop.