Napier MP Katie Nimon returns to Parliament with baby boy

Napier MP Katie Nimon and her baby, Lochie, on the plane to Wellington on Monday. Photo / Katie Nimon

Napier MP Katie Nimon has returned to Parliament for the first time since having her first child.

The National MP’s six-month-old, Lochie, received plenty of cheek squeezes and peek-a-boos from the country’s top decision makers around Parliament’s offices on Tuesday.

“Lots of people have come over for cuddles, he’s a bit of an attraction,” Nimon said.

“I’m a bit sensitive to that. Everyone loves a baby, but it is still a workplace.”

Nimon, 35, said it felt like a milestone to return to Parliament for the first time since early May, beginning with a caucus meeting on Tuesday morning followed by a house sitting in the afternoon.

“Funnily enough, it feels like nothing has changed at all.

“It feels very normal to be back and incredibly cool to see all my colleagues.

“I am certainly not the first mum to have gone back to work after having a baby, and I’m not even the first MP to have gone back to work after having a baby.

“So, there is awesome support around me.”

Dame Jacinda Ardern famously had her first child while serving as Prime Minister, and Nimon said while Parliament had come a long way over the years, she wanted to help make it a more supportive place for mums serving as MPs.

Lochie was born on Budget Day (in May) and will return home to Napier with his mum on Thursday.

“I’m very grateful to be able to come back before Christmas and dip my toe in, so that when I come back fully in January, I will feel like I am capable of doing both,” she said, of juggling motherhood and travelling for work.

Nimon, who is being supported by her mum in Wellington, said this week also marked her first time flying with Lochie.

“This is the first time he has been on a plane and he slept the whole way.”

Nimon said she was open to bringing Lochie into the House of Representatives during a sitting, if Speaker Gerry Brownlee invited him.

Nimon has planned feeding and Lochie’s sleeps around Parliament sittings on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.