Welcome Nevlin Clifton Hartnell

We now know why Nevlin (AKA MacGurkie) waited so long to arrive - he wanted to arrive on the exinox. Good thinking Nevvie!

True to form, Nevlin chose the (late) evenings to make a move.Our midwife was not available that evening so midwife Caroline stepped in. Our student midwife, Sarah, also came to help. They played good-cop / bad-cop. Sarah was very encouraging while Caroline cut through all that to tell Liz straight up - No, you have to try harder than that! Sounds harsh but the routine was very effective. 

Liz had a hard time and a labour that lasted a long time. I'll mention two moments. First, Liz got an IV to recharge her liquids - the total change in her complexion and whole person took just minutes, with the mood of the room changing with it. Second, I'll never forget the change from just before the end to after Nevvie's birth - wow, what a difference a birth makes.

The final score showed Nevlin at 7.5 lbs, 52cm/21". Apparently, he is the exact average weight for Australian babies but is long. In fact, Nevlin likes to be as long as he can by stretching himself out as much as he can.

Now at home, Nevlin gets to wear, sleep in, and play with all the gifts people have sent. He's happy as a bug in a rug, as you can see. Check out those Aussie style blankets Liz's Aunt's family made for him.

Boosha (Liz's mom Mary) is also very happy. She's been a big help with everything and made the start a lot easier. We're also having a lot of fun together - a nice bonus!

If you are wondering about the name - Liz came up with Nevlin herself while trying to avoid a similar name her husband came up with. Clifton is the name of the ship that brought part of Cameron's family to Oz. We rather like it.

We're very happy here at Chez Hartnell. Nev is a good boy who does pretty good sleeping through the night - with the necessary feed stops, of course. We're counting our lucky stars and looking forward to what's ahead. Thanks for everyone's well-wishes, we appreciate all the love and support.

Still no MacGurkey - Sorry to disappoint everyone

Hey there everyone

Still no little one and not even an inkling of its imminent arrival. I've heard that other friends (Josh & Lindsay) have welcomed a new little girl into their world. CONGRATULATIONS to the whole family. Very exciting and everyone is doing well.

I've had a mishap with our photograph hard drive, so I don't have any images to post here. In fact, I'm off to try to fix that very costly mistake of dropping it. Its been a jagged little pill to swallow, but I can't change it now.

That is all from us...till later.

All Around Adelaide

 Life these days around Adelaide have been full of one constant: laundry. In prep for the little one to come (about a week's time now) I've been doing many different loads and love the cute presents we've gotten from many family & friends both here in Australia & the US. Here will be one outfit that McGurk will be using this month: St Patty's day celebration onezie from cousins Sonya & Jim in the states. THANKS TO ALL!!!

One thing that C & I have done (although reluctantly, because we love the Ant) is buy a "new" car. So far, its nickname is "the Lug" but we have only had it for a week, so we will see if it works. Lots of space in the back and the key: 4 doors.

The belly has continued to expand like usual. Here is a recent shot.

 Thanks to Lachlan (Cam's friend in Sydney) who gave us a tour of Adelaide's Central Market. It was a fantastic food tour including a little behind the scenes. I would recommend it to anyone visiting Adelaide on a Sunday AM. No need to do the breakfast, you get to try lots of foods during the tour.

Its crazy time in March with festivals, the Clipsal motor car race, and music concerts almost on each weekend. We went to see a guy from Crowded House for the opening of Adelaide Festival, a free concert. It was wicked fun, although I didn't really know most of the music. Here's a shot of me & Shaun, a friend from Flinders University.

 We sat right next to the gazebo. It was absolutely beautiful & really well worth the price. I think the funniest part was watching me try to get up and dance quickly. Next post will probably be about McGurk, but we will see...till then.