Madeleine Ngaio Gibson

Just over a week ago, we welcomed little Madeleine Ngaio Gibson into the world. My labour started at 3am last Friday night and by 10am we were at the hospital and I was already 8-9cm dilated. She was born at 14:10 on Saturday, May 7th, weighing 3.66kg (8lb 1oz), with a bit of help from the vacuum because she was so high up in the pelvic canal. It was an amazing experience for us, and I am so thankful it went as well as it did. We picked the name Madeleine because we both love it. For her middle name we chose Ngaio (pronounced with a silent 'g' as in nye-oh), which is a Maori name here in NZ. I love the sound of it, and I've had a couple elderly patients named Ngaio, who made impressions on me. I think down here, it is a bit of an old lady name (and not one of the 'cool' ones yet), and it is also the name of a tree native to NZ.

Daddy holding his little girl for the first time.
Madeleine wearing the toque knit by her Grammie, my Mom.
Saturday night, at the hospital, the three of us spending some quality family time together.
Sunday morning, Madeleine got to wear her blue sweater outfit that Grandma Georgia mailed over - the same one that Steve wore in the hospital when he was born.
Madeleine telling Grandpa Mark all her stories. My parents were cycling north of Auckland when my labour started. I called them and they started their journey back, taking an overnight bus from Auckland and arriving here on Sunday morning. It was wonderful to be able to share those early moments with family!
We came home from hospital Sunday afternoon, and have enjoyed being home with her. I am having to force myself to rest more than I would like - I feel exhausted after the smallest amount of walking!
Our little Canadian in her patriotic colours.
Her first bath (prompted by her first really big dirty nappy!), with the towel sent by Great Gramma Hoffmann. She didn't exactly love the bath, but once she was out, she was happy again.
Cozy cuddles with Grammie, before bedtime. My parents have been such a huge help to us this first week. They have cooked delicious meals, done countless loads of laundry (we are using cloth nappies, so I do mean countless!), and Dad is even in the middle of building us bedside tables. Needless to say, Madeleine is loving all the cuddles and attention from them as well.
I know it has only been a week, but so far, Madeleine has been such a good baby. She has learned to latch and feed well, and is sleeping 2-3 hour chunks during the night. She often cries when her nappy is being changed, but as soon as she has clothes on again, she stops. Her cry has only been piercing once - after I had eaten some coleslaw for lunch and she got really bad gas. I will be avoiding coleslaw from now on! Our midwife comes to our home for check ups every few days, and Madeleine was 3.625kg on Friday's visit.

Here is a family shot, taken on our deck on Thursday.