‘Speechless’: Liz Cantor reveals she is pregnant with her third child

After enduring a traumatic birth in 2018, Liz Cantor was content with her family of four. But when the pandemic shifted her perspective, she received the life-changing news the family all hoped for – a baby girl was on the way.

Liz Cantor waited with her husband and son Fin at their Gold Coast home for her eldest son Kit to read out the single word written on a card they had handed him: “girl,” he said.

Cantor, who is now 13 weeks pregnant with her third child, went straight to bed that Friday night on April 8, trying to let it sink in that a daughter would complete their family in late September.

“I couldn’t speak. My reaction surprised me. I was speechless. I couldn’t answer my phone. I wanted to go to bed, wake up the next day and check it was still real,” she told the Sunday Mail.

Liz Cantor has revealed she’s expecting a baby girl. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

“It is a bit of a life changing moment …. I always really valued my relationship with my mother and I’m really excited to have that mother-daughter relationship.”

After enduring a traumatic birth with Fin, the Channel 7 presenter and husband Ryan Lysaught, both avid travellers, had been content that they wouldn’t have another child.

But as the global pandemic changed their lifestyles and they spent more time at home with their sons – Kit, five, and Fin, three – they began to feel that there was more room in their Miami home for another child.

“There was just that life shift where those things like travel weren’t an option anymore and what was important was the people you surround yourself with – which was family and friends,” said Cantor, a host on Creek to Coast and Weekender and weather presenter for Channel 7 Gold Coast.

“I am fiercely independent but I underestimated how much joy I get from my kids.

“I always wanted to be a mum … but this time now it’s more of a choice. This is what I want, this experience again, and to really soak it in and value it.”

Liz Cantor with her two sons, Kit, 5 and Fin, 3. Picture: NIGEL HALLETT

It was difficult at first for Cantor to confront another pregnancy. Her uterus ruptured while giving birth to Fin in 2018 and she began to bleed profusely as doctors struggled to get her baby out, a traumatic ordeal that later led to her suffering panic attacks.

She sought therapy at the time and feels prepared now for what’s to come, making a plan with her obstetrician to give birth by 37 weeks to protect her from the same complications.

“I’d given myself enough time to heal and to go into this pregnancy in the best shape possible,” she said.

She was overwhelmed and excited when a pregnancy test in early February turned positive.

After her 12-week scan in April, Lysaught had the sex of the child written on a card, which he handed to Kit, who revealed to his family that a baby girl would be joining their family.

“It was actually a beautiful moment,” Cantor said. “Both the boys were surprises, but this time around, knowing it will definitely be our last child, we just wanted to know.”

“The boys were really excited. They were hoping for a sister.”

“This will definitely be our family full stop and it’s nice to soak in the moments.”

She is sharing her pregnancy with Channel 7 Gold Coast colleagues Amanda Abate and Sally Pearson, who are both expecting their second children.