Ally Langdon: 'The struggle of being a working mum'

I was asked recently if I would be interested in travelling to the Great Barrier Reef to cover a story on the little known Dwarf Minke Whale for 60 Minutes. A normally solitary animal, the Dwarf Minke spends much of its time in the deep blue ocean except for two months of the year when they gather off the far north coast of Queensland and unbelievably seek out human interaction. There is no other animal on the planet known to do that.

Such a terrible assignment! Escape the winter chill of Sydney for a week of sun and swimming on the Great Barrier Reef. But there¡¯s a catch these days and his name is Mack, my 7-month old-son.

Since returning to my role as a reporter for 60 Minutes it is a dilemma I face regularly. I travel for my job, but I hate leaving my son. It¡¯s a juggle and one I don¡¯t always get right. So these days when I can, I take the little man with me.

That¡¯s right, Mack is 60 Minutes¡¯ newest crew member! Admittedly he can¡¯t carry a camera yet, or work the sound equipment however he does provide countless hours of entertainment. He was my official Minke spotter on this trip.

It all sounds very romantic and modern. The reality though is that while worth it, it¡¯s bloody hard. When everyone else is kicking back with a hard earned beer at the end of a long shooting day, I¡¯m dealing with witching hour (if only it was just an hour!) and sleepless nights.

It¡¯s the well-known struggle and juggle of being a working mum. I feel I now owe many of my female friends an apology. My husband and I were late to the baby game and I wish now that I had been more understanding of my pals as they struggled to find the right work life balance. Childcare either wasn¡¯t available or simply too expensive, so many chose to step away from amazing careers.

I know I am very lucky to be in a position where my son can travel with me. Right now it works but who knows for how long? I¡¯m just muddling my way through this. What I am grateful for are the many amazing memories I¡¯m making with Mack, the photos and stories I¡¯ll be able to share with him when he¡¯s older. How after a day of whale spotting he would sit on the lap of the esteemed marine biologist Dr Alistair Birtles ¨C known widely as Professor Minke ¨C cackle and tug on his beard.

Most importantly I am so very grateful that I work with such wonderful people who don¡¯t just tolerate having a baby on the road but seem to enjoy it, although not one of them has volunteered to change a dirty nappy yet!

For more on 60 MINUTES, head to: www.9now.com.au/60-minutes/2017/extras