Footy presenter Abbey Holmes has hit back at online trolls after her return to work.
The 34-year-old and her husband, retired AFL player Keegan Brooksby, welcomed a baby boy named Brax on June 6.
The Channel 7 presenter returned to work on July 25, just in time for the round 20 clash between Essendon and the Western Bulldogs.
Abbey is working two days a week and told 7News she was able to return so quickly because of how well she and Brax have adjusted to their new life.
“I think that if he didn’t take a bottle or was really unsettled and only slept on me, or whatever it might have been, then I certainly would have been hamstrung and certainly not come back seven weeks after having him,” she said.
However, in the comments trolls criticised her decision to return to work so quickly.
“Seven weeks. How about look after the tiny bundle of joy and watch them grow,” one person commented.
“In child care at our expense no doubt,” another added.
The retired AFLW player hit back at the commenters, explaining it was her decision and she has the right to do whatever works for her and her baby.
“I think my work for me, it’s so important. I genuinely love what I do. It doesn’t feel like work in any way, shape or form,” she said.
“There’s certainly a small minority of people out there that feel that they have the right to tell you what you should be doing and how things are to be done, which is never the case.”
She also hit back at the comments that her husband was “babysitting” the baby while she’s at work.
“[Someone said:] “Oh dad’s on babysitting duty”. I’m sorry, but dads don’t babysit their own children, they’re 50 per cent of the parenting duo,” she said. “That’s one thing that really gets to me.”
Fellow TV presenter Edwina Bartholomew shared her support for Abbey in an article she wrote for 7News this week.
“When I saw Abbey Holmes back on our screens, I cheered. It wasn’t for the footy she was commentating, it was for the statement she was making about how working mums just make it work,” she wrote.
Edwina said she still remembers her first day back at work after she had her baby.
“I was hosting a function and it gave me such a wonderful feeling of freedom,” she wrote. “I adore my kids and I love being a mother but it felt so good. It gave me a break from the endless nappy changes and exhaustion, gave my husband a chance to bond with our baby and gave me back a bit of myself.”
“I got dressed in proper clothes, put a bit of lippy on and felt human again. I took this photo when I got home because it felt like a momentous milestone I wanted to remember. It was 9.19pm on a school night and I was over the moon to have nailed my first night out as a working mum.”
Abbey and Keegan announced the arrival of little Brax in a Instagram post in June.
“Hi Everybody!! My name is Braxton John Brooksby but my friends can call me Brax,” the post read.
“Mummy labored all day on Friday, only for me to be born via c section at 5:49pm on 6/6 weighing 3.585kg’s. My head was faaaar too large so we had to change our plans late in the piece!
“I’m suuuuuuuuuper cute & Mum and Dad are obsessed with me!”
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