Sunbathing

Audrey showing off her newborn body and soaking up some warm October rays...

...and shedding of the excess bilirubin...

...so her skin won't be yellow, just her diaper cover.

Visitors

Grandma Kathleen, our first,



and most eager visitor



Chancie

Tracey

Mary

Suzanne, our midwife, made lots of visits during the first week
to make sure Audrey was adjusting well to the outside world

Audrey is looking forward to more grandparents coming at the end of the week and hopefully some aunties the following week.  There are lots of people out there that she is sending her love to, you know who you are.

The Naming of the Babe

Chris and I had decided to wait until the birth to name our baby, mainly because we were waiting until then to find out if it was a boy or girl, so we had many months of tossing name suggestions around.  Although the name suggestions were all boy names because we decided on Audrey as a girl name from month 3 or so.  Our baby Audrey is named after her great-grandmother, Audrey Joyce Kelly nee Higgins (and after her mama, Ellen Audrey McGuinness). 

Her middle name took a bit more work and we didn't start that work until after she was born.  I had suggested to Chris the name Kay after baby Audrey's grandmothers, Karen and Kathleen, he liked the idea of the name but the ring of it didn't work for papa, so he did some thinking and researching while I laid in bed recovering.  Chris came up with the suggestion of Kai, telling me that it is used in many cultures and has many different meanings, including "ocean" in Hawaiian, and "strong" in another language.  I was easily able to imagine our little girl playing in the ocean and I know she is already strong in spirit and will grow to develop many strengths.  Kai it is, rhymes with "tie".

And as for the last name, with two last names already in the family we had some choice here too.  McGrundallness is a contraction we use just for fun and never really considered it for our babe.  As for McGuinness, I had heard the comment many years ago that people never mix up who a child's mother is, therefore matching last names are not so important.  I was convinced of this idea then as now, so that left Rundall as the last name for our little girl.

So, what will this name mean for the future path of our babe?  will she be a Northwestern alum like her great-grandma? will she be a world traveler in search of other Kais? will she work in the screen printing business like other Rundalls have?  Time will tell and I'm looking forward to being along for the ride.

Audrey Kai Rundall

On October 16th Ellen awoke at 6:45 and told me that she thought her water had broke.  I shook off the fuzzy sleepy fog and realized just what this meant - we will be meeting our baby soon, possibly today.  It felt a little surreal that just 12 hours before we had spent the afternoon and evening enjoying our friends wedding ceremony and reception.  Ellen was doing her best at inducing labor the night before by cutting a rug out on the dance floor. 



Ellen looking beautifully pregnant at Steamboat Lake

 After we got out of bed Ellen got right to making a chocolate cake, a birthday cake for our little baby boy or girl. At around 7:30 she started having contractions 12 to 15 minutes apart. We decided to wait to call our midwife Suzanne until 8:30 to give her an update.  At that time the midwife told us to call her back in an hour with another update.  When we called with the second update the contractions were at 3 minutes apart and getting more intense.  The midwife was at the house shortly thereafter, around 10:30.  Ellen's contractions were at full intensity by that point.  She spent some time on the birth stool, then on the bed, and then in the shower.  My perception was that Ellen was fighting and pushing away from the pain and sensations of the contractions during this time.  Her breath had been very short and shallow. Suzanne checked Ellen and reported that she was 3cm dilated and 100% effaced.  Ellen was a little discouraged by only being 3 cm. Suzanne told her that she needed to surrender over to the sensations.  She spent the next hour on the bed and was getting much more into the contractions with deep breathing and moaning.  At one point I tried to ask Ellen what she was visualizing during the contractions.  Her response was an emphatic "what?" and a dismissing wave of the hand.  She was in her primal zone.  After the fact Ellen told me that she was imagining her cervix opening during each contraction.



Ellen working through a contraction and making cake

 Every once in awhile Suzanne and her apprentice Katherine popped their head in to the bedroom to check on the progress.  Otherwise they were busily prepping everything for the delivery.  At 12:45 Suzanne told Ellen that she need to get out of the bed and start letting gravity do its job. It was time to start getting more aggressive and get into vertical positions.  There was work to do!  At this point we seemed to be in a time warp so the timing of events is a little fuzzy.  I remember Suzanne and Katherine saying that they were going to set up the birthing tub in the living room and that this may be a good change for Ellen to get that last couple centimeters of dilation.  I was starving at this point.  Thinking that labour might go on for another few hours I snuck away to get some food in my belly.  3 bites into my peanut butter and jelly sandwich Suzanne shouted out for me to get back in the bedroom.  It was time to push! 

After checking Ellen's progress Suzanne asked her if she had been having urges to push. Ellen replied that she hadn't and Suzanne said that it was time.  It seemed like around an hour of pushing during contractions changing positions from the birth stool to the bed and back to the stool.  This part seemed so hard.  Ellen at one point jokingly said that she was going to postpone finishing this part up until next weekend.  But she perservered and little baby Audrey was born at 2:57pm on October 16th.  Audrey let out some cries almost immediately.  And as all parents know it was love at first sight.