Ardern introduces baby Neve to NZ
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has introduced her newborn daughter to the world, and revealed her name: Neve Te Aroha Ardern Gayford. Ardern, partner Clarke Gayford and baby Neve appeared at Auckland City Hospital for a press conference at 11am yesterday. They then headed home to Sandringham. Ardern said, like most new parents, she and Gayford ‘‘went through the struggle’’ of choosing a name for their baby. ‘‘We chose Neve because we just liked it, and when we met her she just looked like she suited the name,’’ she said. Neve means ‘‘bright’’ and ‘‘radiant’’, as well as ‘‘snow’’, which Ardern said seemed like a ‘‘good combination’’ for Matariki and the winter solstice, which was when the baby was born. Te Aroha was chosen to reflect the ‘‘love and generosity’’ shown to the baby, especially by iwi who gifted names to the family. ‘‘It’s also the place where all my family are from and I grew up under that mountain,’’ Ardern said. She joked she and Gayford had ‘‘gone for simplicity’’ with the spelling of ‘‘Neve’’, ‘‘because Clarke with an ‘e’ has caused all sorts of problems, and Jacinda with a ‘d’.’’ Ardern said the family was doing well – ‘‘sleep-deprived, but super well’’. She thanked staff at the hospital for their care, as well as all the New Zealanders who had sent messages of support and handmade gifts. ‘‘Those moments have mattered as much to us as any of those lovely messages of support from around the world.’’ Gayford said he would never forget the look on Ardern’s face when she held their daughter for the first time. ‘‘It was all a bit of a blur for the both of us ... she looked absolutely just stunned and very, very happy.’’ Ardern is taking six weeks of maternity leave before returning to Parliament, when Gayford will care for the baby fulltime. And he’s got the cardigan to prove he is ready for life as a stayat-home dad. At the end of a video Ardern posted yesterday, she calls her partner over. ‘‘Clarke’s got his dad cardie on, which means he’s ready to go,’’ she said. ‘‘Finally it’s come of age,’’ Gayford said. He revealed he bought the grey cardigan with a black pattern at an op shop in Gisborne. The couple announced their baby’s arrival on Instagram on Thursday evening. ‘‘Welcome to our village wee one,’’ Ardern wrote. After a sleepless first night at the hospital, her press secretary announced she would stay on the maternity ward for another night. On Saturday, it was announced she would remain there for a third night due to the security requirements involved in transferring to nearby Birthcare. Ardern’s mother, Laurell Ardern, reported on Saturday evening the baby girl had dark hair and dark eyes. Neve looked more like her father than her mother, the proud grandmother said. ‘‘I think there might be a bit of Clarke . . . she doesn’t look like Jacinda as a baby, because she’s more tiny. [Jacinda] didn’t look tired at all. She looked good.’’
‘‘She doesn’t look like Jacinda as a baby, because she’s more tiny.’’ Grandmother Laurell Ardern