TV meteorologist Rebecca Schuld is a well-known presence in Milwaukee because of her reliable forecasts and winning personality. However, Schuld recently shared the spotlight with a young meteorologist-in-training who stole the broadcasting pro’s thunder.
Schuld, who currently works from home to deliver the weather reports to her WDJT viewers, recently returned to work following her planned maternity leave. As she prepared for her appearance on Jan. 25, Schuld’s 13-week-old daughter, Fiona, woke up from her nap.
The new mom picked the baby up during her microphone check. That’s when Schuld’s producer made an offhand comment that inspired the hard-working mama to include a special guest in her next forecast.
“I was just minutes away from having my next weather broadcast, and my baby had just woken up,” Schuld told Yahoo! Life. “I go over to my green wall. I’m holding her and our producer is like, ‘Oh, your baby, is she gonna make an appearance?’ I was very confident she was going to behave because she just took a long nap so I knew she’d be happy. I said, ‘Sure!’”
Minutes later, Fiona made her live TV debut side-by-side with her biggest fan and she looked like a pro. Baby Fiona even had the perfect wardrobe for a winter weather forecast.
“She’s prepared. She’s got one of her good thick blankies here for that cold weather that’s coming up tonight,” Schuld said to viewers during the segment. “I thought she could help me with tonight’s first weather that’s going to be plenty unpleasant, right?”
Perhaps best of all, the little meteorologist was a hit! Viewers found Fiona and her mom to be a welcome sight on their screens. Meanwhile, colleagues at the local CBS station applauded Schuld’s willingness to share a very personal part of her life with the audience. Jessie Garcia, WDJT’s news director, tweeted that she “loved seeing” the moment and that the duo was “so sweet together.”
Loved seeing @RebeccaSchuld on the air with her daughter, Fiona. Rebecca is working from home right now and Fiona had just woken up. They are so sweet together! #moms #reallife #cbs58 pic.twitter.com/oQDBdF0OsO
— Jessie Garcia (@CBS58ND) January 25, 2022
The new mom confessed she felt a little awkward that she might cross a professional line by including her daughter in her segment. But, she quickly realized how she also had a chance to shine a light on the delicate balance many parents face who have shifted to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re supposed to put on this certain face,” Schuld explained to Yahoo! Life. “For a split second, I felt guilty about it and I don’t know why. When I sat and thought about it, it’s like, why am I guilty? This is real life. This is what everyone else is also doing. They work, their kids are sick, or their kids are crying in the background. It’s always a challenge when you have kids in the mix, but that’s what so many of us are doing every day. So why are we hiding them?”
Schuld said she hopes her actions inspire more people to talk about paid family leave and the challenges that come with working at home.
As for Fiona, viewers can continue to follow her journey on her mom’s Twitter feed. Who knows when she might make another live appearance on TV? Seems like a new star is on the rise!
This story originally appeared on Simplemost. Checkout Simplemost for additional stories.
