Fox Reporter Hillary Vaughn Covers Election Night While Pregnant: 'What Unites Us Is Love'
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A Fox family's election night is different than all the rest this year.
Fox Business reporter Hillary Vaughn — wife of Fox News White House Correspondent Peter Doocy — announced on air in September that they're expecting their first baby, a girl due in January. Now, Vaughn will spend election night covering some of the country's most consequential races live from New Hampshire as part of the network's coverage.
"Covering an election is the most exhilarating and exhausting adventure you get to experience as a reporter — if you're lucky! I'm blessed to say this is my fourth election cycle with FOX but for the first time I'm reporting — for two!" Vaughn tells PEOPLE about the unique opportunity to cover the historic event while expecting.
Noting that the experience "comes with its own unique challenges," Vaughn is excited that "my daughter has a front-row seat to history."
"I feel like she's already experiencing so much. I know she won't remember anything about this time but I can't wait to tell her about everything when she's old enough to understand and show her pictures and point out my fall coats that are quickly bursting at the seams," the mom-to-be shares.
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Covering the campaign trail so far has come with some adjustments as Vaughn prioritizes her prenatal care while still tackling tough issues on-air.
"My twice-a-day Nespresso coffee habit changed to one decaf coffee in the morning — a tough transition at first but you get used to it," she jokes. "But a big perk of being pregnant is that it forces you to drink water and seek healthy options when normally I'd just hit the gas station for a Diet Coke and a Cliff bar and wait to eat until back at the hotel after an 18-hour day."
Vaughn has taken advantage of days-long stops in states to "load up healthy snacks and water to keep in my rental car so I can stay fueled up on the go."
"I call it my strategic pregnancy reserves," she tells PEOPLE, adding that she's not too hard on herself when she leans on less healthy options.
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"There have been days where the only food options are McDonald's and Taco Bell and you just have to roll with it and give yourself grace," she shares.
"I have so much to learn about motherhood, but the one lesson which rang true early on is this: There is no 'picture perfect' pregnancy. All that matters is putting your child first and that can look different every single day."
Though politics can be a polarizing subject, Vaughn says she feels "at peace bringing a child into this world."
"Regardless of politics, what unites us is the love we have for our families," she notes. "I know that at the end of the day everyone wants a world where their child can thrive and what that world looks like is different for everyone but we all want the same thing."
"When you stop thinking in terms of left and right and think about what we all have in common it is easy to see the world has a lot of good in it … and bringing a baby into that just makes the good stuff - great!"
