The parents of Homer’s first baby of the year didn’t plan on her earning that annual honor, but they did plan on one thing: Mary and Jamie Rault moved to Homer to have their baby, Skyler Louise Rault.
The Raults met in Bethel and when Mary became pregnant with their first child, decided they wanted better medical facilities.
Skyler was born at 1:15 a.m. Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, at South Peninsula Hospital. She weighed 7 pounds, 10.2 ounces. Her grandparents are Ronna and Jean-Claude Rault of Waterboro, Maine, Hugh Dyment of Bethel, and the late Nancy Billy.
Jamie Rault was a pilot in Bethel. A Homer friend told him of an opening at Homer Air and he got a job there. They found a house on East Fairview Avenue.
“It fell into place,” Jamie Rault said. “We’re right next to the hospital.”
Rault went into labor about 3 p.m. Jan. 8. She and Jamie Rault had a brief scare when Skyler started to deliver with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. A nurse quickly cut the cord and untangled it.
“It was a lot different than I expected,” Mary Rault said.
Skyler will grow up in a multicultural, multilingual family. Part Yupik, Mary Rault grew up in Tununak in southwestern Alaska; her first language is Yupik. Jamie Rault grew up in Maine, and has family in Normandy, France, where he lived as a small boy and learned to speak French.
As part of the honor of being the first baby of the year, Skyler and her family received a car load of gifts from individual, businesses and organizations.
Donated gifts include:
Sydney Webb, one-hour massage; The Grog Shop, bottle of champagne; Cosmic Kitchen, $50 gift certificate; the Homer Bookstore, $20 gaift certificate; Timeless Toys, $50 gift certificate; Best Western Bidarka, one-night stay in hot tub room; The Bay Club, 1-year couple membership; Pregnancy Care Center, gift basket; Mary Wallis, flannel blankets and hat; Homer’s Jeans, sunscreen, diaper ointment, kid canteen, leggings; South Peninsula Hospital Auxiliary, baby basket and diapers; SPROUT, gift basket; Helen Jackson, hand crocheted blanket; The Other BookClub, books; South Peninsula Hospital, baby spoon.
