Fast confession - Iveta Vítová: A second child? My husband’s opinion is clear on that issue!

Our magazine is called Luxury Prague Life. Have you ever lived a luxury Prague life?

I am not living a Prague life now because we have moved out of Prague and are living in a village, but when I look back on things, then I suppose I did. My husband and I lived not far from Pařížská in Prague 1 for about a year. Everything was right on our doorstep. In the morning, it was only a short walk to the café if we wanted a coffee and we were not far from home in the evening if we were returning from dinner or a club. We certainly enjoyed that time of our lives.

What in fact do you regard as luxury?

In the past, when I heard the word “luxury”, I imagined myself in Prague on Pařížská and the shops there. That seems really luxurious to me. Now I regard luxury as something completely different. For example when I have a day off.

How often did you shop on Pařížská?

Quite often because they have Nespresso capsules there and I once bought a handbag there for a ball ☺.  Other than that, I don’t shop there, I tend rather to just pass through and “feast my eyes” on the things there.

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Which handbag?

I really don’t known anymore! But I must say that if for example it is my birthday, my husband sometimes goes there to buy me a nice surprise …

Which presents do you like best from him?

In view of the fact that I would be loath to pay an arm and a leg for such an expensive handbag, it of course makes me all the happier when I am given one as a present, because I know how much it costs and I would feel it a shame to spend that much. I would rather buy five normal handbags than one expensive one. But when I am given a luxury, high quality one, it makes me all the happier. Basically, I am a woman ☺.

But you said you went there to buy coffee. Are you a “caffeine addict”?

Yes, I am. I really am.

How many coffees do you drink a day?

I really like drinking latte, although some people tell me that it isn’t really coffee, but I think it is coffee. I sometimes drink four a day. But I have the feeling that it is more just because I like the taste.

You have returned from maternity leave to the serious position of presenting the news on Nova. How easy was it to get back into the swing of those serious old ways?

It will be half a year now since I have been back at work. And only now have I finally got rid of my nerves and am starting to go in to work not stressed. After being on maternity leave, I had the feeling that I couldn’t kick-start my brain and that I was unable to “get into the swing of speaking”, to get into the swing of breathing and so on. Everything stressed me out and I was really nervous before every broadcast. When the camera lights went on, my heart immediately started to beat faster and I felt that sort of adrenaline which is part and parcel of it all. Now although that nervousness is still there, it is a pleasant sort of nervousness which keeps me only slightly stressed so I don’t ease up during the broadcast. I am enjoying it now.

How long were you in fact home with Anetka?

Three years. At first I wanted to be home for two, but then I asked at work whether it would be possible to prolong my maternity leave. They were quite accommodating and things worked out fine. I don’t at all have the feeling that I owe Anetka anything. I really did devote those three years to her, I gave her what she wanted, what she needed and now she is already in nursery. She is a sociable sort of person, so when she doesn’t go to nursery she is sad that she is not together with the children.

And when the nursery is closed and somebody has to look after her, who usually does that?

We have a lady how sometimes picks her up because sometimes I work until six and nursery closes at half past four. So that lady picks her up and looks after her for two or three hours, they are at our house and I then just come home and pick up the baton.

Do you trust nannies? Is it someone you don’t know who is looking after your child or was she recommended to you?

We have a lady we call “Auntie Dana” and she is not exactly a nanny we found somewhere on the internet who looks after ten children, but a lady who is at home now, who looks after her grandchildren and when she has some free time she helps out, we always agree a few days in advance according to my schedule. She was recommended to me by Kristinka Kloubková, so I absolutely trust her in every respect.

Seeing as you mentioned Kristinka Kloubková, your girls are similar in age. Do you have girls-only parties together?

We do see each other from time to time and we are planning a holiday together.  

Just the girls?

A girls-only trip with the four of us. We want to go to the seaside somewhere. But I don’t yet know how that will work out. They are just plans.

What in fact does Anetka like doing best?

She likes being with other children best. She is at her happiest wherever she is when there are other children there. And she really likes visiting people or when people come to visit us. This is to say that she knows that when we have visitors, there are various crisps and other treats on the table which she is not usually allowed. Whenever I put some crisps on the table, she asks: “Mummy, when are the visitors getting here? I want some crisps already …”

Let me return to that child-minding. How often in fact does your husband look after your daughter and how well does he manage it?

He sometimes picks Anetka up from nursery and his child-minding usually ends up with them going to buy something together in Hornbach or something like that. They buy a hotdog, a lolly-pop and then go into the garden or to a playground. She is older now, they get on well together, but he isn’t that sort of active dad to think up things to do, so if we go anywhere, all three of us have to go. He doesn’t for example take her away somewhere for the weekend alone.

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And what about a brother or sister for Anetka? Are you thinking about a second child?

When people ask me about a brother or a sister for Anetka, my answer is that I just recently finally returned to work and have got back into the swing of things. If I were to have a second child, I would like to enjoy my time with them again. I don’t want to be home for half a year and then go back to work full time. And I don’t really want to be home again now for two or three years. But I would like two children at some point in the future. But since having found out what it means to have a child, the interval I would like between the first and the second is getting longer somehow. (laughs)

So you are putting it off?

I wanted to keep going and have children straight after each other, but then I discovered that it is quite nice when your child starts sleeping all through the night and you don’t have to get up every three hours. But the feeling is still with me and I do look at prams with that in mind when I see them. In addition to that, my brother has a four-month-old little girl, so I give him hand-me-downs from Anetka, but I do tell him: “You will be giving that back to me later!!” I am still counting on having a second. I do want another child.

Would you like a boy or a girl?

I would like a boy so that we have one of each, but I am discovering that a girl would be more practical because everything we have is pink. (laughs)

And what about your husband? Is he not pressuring you into having another child?

When Anetka was little, we didn’t think about it, because he knew that I was tired and that I wanted to devote my energy above all to her. If I had had a one-year-old child and got pregnant again, that would have be demanding. The truth is that my husband would like to have another and I understand why. This is to say that the care is more or less down to me. (laughs) He would like to cuddle that baby, hold it, nuzzle it and then hand it back, but not to sterilise bottles and make up some formula at four in the morning, not that.

So tell me the timeframe over which you would like the second child.

I probably couldn’t say. I am always changing my mind. I rejected the idea of a second child only for a short time during my post-natal period. But then I kept changing my mind about the interval for having the next one. Now I think maybe in a year’s time, but half a year later, things might be completely different and I might say that I don’t want the next one for another three years. Or in the end, she may remain an only child. We will see.