Stephanie O’Brien’s Year of Bliss

Ahead of her return to OZFM Rush, Stephanie O’Brien reflects on her amazing year.

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Co-host of the OZFM Rush and host of the All Request Lunch on OZFM, Stephanie O’Brien, has been on a year long hiatus from the media scene. As a lot of you may already know, the radio star recently got hitched and gave birth to their very first child.

Charlotte (Charlie) Nevaeh Dyke was born on December 29, a surprising six weeks early, and is as adorable as beautiful blue-eyed babies get. The Newfoundland Herald caught up with O’Brien to talk about baby Charlie, her husband Drew, and life on maternity leave.

“She was supposed to come February 4, and we had a surprise visit six weeks early because I guess she liked Christmas too,” O’Brien shared with a laugh.

“We actually spent a couple of weeks in NICU, and this Christmas passed we spent Christmas in the hospital because she had some respiratory things going on from where she was born premature. Santa actually came to our room. Not everybody gets to meet Santa. You should’ve seen her, she was mesmerized by him. I bawled watching it, I was like ‘oh my god it’s Santa,’ it was the sweetest.”

Parenthood 

So, how are the newlyweds dealing with plunging into parenthood with their first born? O’Brien says it’s a challenge and definitely a learning experience, but she wouldn’t change a thing.

“Drew is so good at being a dad, he was naturally good. He wanted to learn right away, he wasn’t the guy that sat back, he was in there before I was in there going okay, let’s do this, and rolling up his sleeves,” O’Brien explained. 

“Let’s be real. As moms we all think we’re supposed to know everything, but the reality is no matter how old you are, you don’t know anything unless you have a baby. I pretended I knew everything because I felt like I should, but I watched him learning, and that’s how I learned. I didn’t want him to think that I didn’t know. He’d come in and be like it’s bath night! I’d be like, you know what, you probably need more practice, you go ahead. He’d bathe her and I’d be like okay… so that’s how you do that.”

Milestones are always very exciting when it comes to children, especially your own. It’s amazing to see them grow, learn, and develop their own little personalities. Charlie isn’t quite up on her feet yet, but she sure is advanced in other areas.

“Her grandmother is teaching her sign language. She’s signing ‘dad’, she knows when she wants something ‘more’. It’s really cool, and she knows ‘water’, but honestly I’m not sure if it’s water or wine. Either one works. I’m like oh you want wine? Mom’s girl,” she shared laughing.

“She’s being taught sign language because we have people in our family who need to sign. Drew’s aunt is full signing, so that’s part of it, and that’s why most of his family do know how to sign, because of hearing issues. There’s a lot of programs that say that babies can communicate earlier by using sign language. It is really awesome, and it’s a bonding thing between her and her grandmother.”

Back to the Grind 

With all this baby talk, and watching her little girl grow into a toddler, O’Brien is feeling a little emotional about heading back into work.

“With a baby at home, it’ll be really challenging and I’ll miss her. But, I think if there was ever a time for me to find balance in my life, this is it. I miss my job. I think I miss it more than I even realize. I miss talking to the listeners, I miss the guys. I’m really looking forward to going back, but I’ve cried a lot.

“She’s at the age now where she’s cute and fun to be around. Up until this point she’s just been a blob, and the job was to make sure she doesn’t die, and we did that. Now I’m like man, the hard stuff is over, we’re getting to the good stuff and I gotta leave her. It’s just been overall a really, really exciting and challenging year. I’d never change a thing about it. We ended it on a high note. It was amazing.”

Wedding Photos by Aamie Gillam Photography

One thought on “Stephanie O’Brien’s Year of Bliss

  1. Donna Scurrey
    February 14, 2018
    Reply

    Beautiful story. Stephanie I have met you & seen you at many functions especially the ones for Nevaeh Denine. Based on those times I believe you will be an awesome Mom. Your bubbly & pleasant personality says a lot & my wish for you is that your little Charley will grow to be just like you!

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