Why we haven’t seen a photo of Neve’s face
When Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and partner Clarke Gayford loaded their newborn Neve Te Aroha into the car for the first time, Gayford was conscious the world was watching.
In an interview with comedian and author Michele A’Court on a new podcast Double Strength Mama Power hosted by veteran broadcaster Suzy Cato and blogger Tui Fleming, Gayford admitted he had practised installing Neve’s carseat in the couple’s car in the weeks before the baby’s birth in June.
‘‘I was almost disappointed they didn’t film that moment, because, man, I was like a slick professional,’’ Gayford said. ‘‘I was like an official baby loader – ‘watch me load this child’.’’
Gayford also revealed he was a member of a New Zealand Facebook group dedicated to critiquing carseat installation.
‘‘That is the level that you can really pull back the curtains, and deep dive on some of this stuff as far as you want to go,’’ he said.
‘‘Opinions are coming at you left, right and centre. You’re quite vulnerable as a new parent: you’re a bit of a sponge – you want to take it all in and you want the best for your child – and suddenly it’s a very confusing puzzle in front of you.’’
Gayford told A’Court he and Ardern had decided on boundaries over sharing Neve’s life and development on social media, before their first child was born.
‘‘You’ve all been through it on Facebook – where you have that friend who posts too many photos. I’m kind of lucky that I have this, sort of, restriction in place.
‘‘We just decided that if we put some boundaries around it then it’s easier to have those boundaries respected by others, if you like. So I don’t go posting pictures of her [Neve’s] face, necessarily, but I’ll put the odd sneaky one out of a cute outfit.’’
Double Strength Mama Power is a Stuff podcast series, presented by Suzy Cato and Tui Fleming. A new episode is released every Monday on iTunes, Stitcher and Spotify.