Christmas market

Since I know everyone just wants to see pictures of Sofia I'll keep this brief. This past weekend the three of us went to visit our friends Ben and Charlotte, who live just outside Zurich in a little town called Bremgarten. Interestingly enough Bremgarten recently made the American news for banning asylum seekers from using the municipal pool...

Whatever the political situation may be they certainly host a pleasant Christmas market. We arrived around noon and found Ben and Charlotte working at their friends booth, selling handmade winter apparel. After making plans to head over to their apartment later in the afternoon we wandered around Bremgarten's old town, basking in holiday revelry. For lunch we were able to find the community bingo hall and sat down to a hearty- and inexpensive- meal of pasta.

After getting our fill we again found our friends and walked back to their apartment, where they provided coffee and tiramusu. After a great afternoon and evening of sitting around discussing the upcoming world cup we decided to head home and caught the train back to Zurich.

Santy wears yellow in the Alps

Elves or Sauron's wringwraiths? I'm still not sure.

Turkey Day

Well yesterday Gina, Sofia and I were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends and coworkers. It wasn't quite the same without having family around but it was nice nonetheless. Our friends Charlotte and Ben organized the entire shindig and rented a cabin (waldhutte) in the woods near their town. Gina offered to help with the cooking so we got up pretty early yesterday and boarded a train to Bremgarten with two friends from work.

After arriving at Charlotte's apartment we all packed into her van and took a short drive into the forest above her village. The conditions were awful- deep fog, relentless drizzle, and sodden cold. After a relatively short drive we finally burst out of dense forest into a small clearing and saw the hut. After unloading the car we went in and immediately built a huge fire. What a difference.... All of a sudden the weather ceased to be quite so malevolent and everyone began to enjoy preparing for the party. Before long everyone else began to trickle in, a mix of ETH coworkers and neighborhood friends.

I spent last Saturday searching for that irreplaceable Thanksgiving item: the American football. And after countless phone calls and hours spent explaining that what I was looking for wasn't round and white, I finally found one tucked away in the basement of a sporting goods store in Zurich, Switzerland. Right before pulling out the sacred object in front of our party I envisioned the reaction I would get once everyone realized what I had brought to the party. Applause of course, admiration and excitement clearly, youthful enthusiasm perhaps; I got none of those. A few confused stares and what even felt like a little scorn was really all I got for bringing the most important necessity of Thanksgiving. Don't worry though, there was another American with me and together we took our beer and our pigskin out into the gloomy damp and proceeded to maintain our sacred tradition. And then something special happened. Two of the kids who had come along for turkey came out and wanted to play. Before long there were eight of us and except for one kid getting hit in the nose with the ball everyone had a fantastic time.

After that we ate. I don't speak German and I don't speak Czech, both of which were prevalent at the dinner table yesterday. To tell the truth I have a hard time even telling them apart, something that is apparently quite offensive. But I did recognize the way the new Czech dads looked at their babies, I did understand when thanks was being said when a big pile of turkey was put on someone's plate, and I did realize that everyone was having fun. Laughter and happiness sound the same everywhere. 

It was a great day. After dinner came dessert. Gina's apple pie was the biggest hit of the night. And then we cleaned. Except for one big bag of trash that spilled  that went smoothly and we headed back home to Zurich with full bellies and new friends. 

der waldhutte

Betsy entertaining Sofia

Stop it with the flash already

World class dirt experts

Juhwan knows what he's doing

Gina realizing Sofia just crapped her pants again

Sofia

Well my folks have gone home. Although it was hard to see them leave getting to visit these past few weeks was a lot of fun.

The highlight of their trip was undoubtedly our visit to Rigi mountain, a peak located about an hour south of Zurich which serves as a gateway of sorts up into the Alps. To get there we left Zurich early on a Saturday- I think two weeks ago- and began the trip to Arth-Goldau, a little village that lies at the base of the mountain. Because we arrived late to the station and boarded a car not designed for things like strollers my Dad and I were forced to pick Sofia and her stroller up and carry it past a train car full of annoyed Swiss. I think we only hit two or three in the head with Sofia's wheels so all in all it could've been a lot worse. Once we got the stroller to the bike storage area all the seats were taken so Gina and I ended up sitting in the cargo bay with Sofia which actually was kind of cool except for the fact that I couldn't see out the windows.

Upon arriving to Arth-Goldau we killed a little time waiting for our mountain cog train to take us up the mountain by wandering through the village. After an hour of sightseeing our train, one of the first of its kind in Switzerland choo chooed up to the station and we began the trip up to the top of Rigi. As we reached the summit the entire range opened up before us, disappearing into the distance both east and west of us. It's impossible to adequately describe how impressive this range really is. Standing up at the top of Rigi you can't help but stand in awe as you try your best to etch as much of this unbelievable vista into your memory as you can. We didn't stay too long but we enjoyed a some food and a beer at the top, simply enjoying each others company and the place we had come to visit.

Since my folks left we haven't done too much.We did find childcare, which in Zurich can almost be considered miraculous. Not only did we find a safe place to take Sofia when Gina goes back to work but it's primarily Spanish speaking, which is awesome. Plus everyone working there is from the Americas- Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Venezuela, Cuba etc. so she won't end up speaking with that weird lispy thing that happens on the Iberian peninsula. We also have almost got Sofia registered with our canton and sent in the papers to get her American citizenship so we are catching up with required paperwork.

That's all I have for now.

waiting for the cog train

At the top of Rigi

 

Dried apricots

Los abuelos han llegado

Today my Mom and Dad flew in from Texas. It's great to see them. Watching them walk out of customs and into Switzerland served as a reminder of how far we are from family and how much I miss being closer to home.

The folks flew in around noon today and the first thing I was told was to take them home so that they could visit Sofia. And so we did. We got home and everyone got acquainted. It was awesome. After that basically worked to keep everyone awake until bedtime, which we succeeded in doing. First we went for a walk to the lake and the views of the Alps were the best I've seen since living here. We just had a lot of rain followed by some cold dry air and the mountains looked amazing. They are already covered in snow and the urge to get a closer look is becoming unbearable.

From the lake we meandered into the park and from there came back and decided to play a game of scrabble, which I lost. After that we enjoyed a delicious dinner that Gina cooked. That's pretty much everything about today.

Home Sweet Home

Well, everyone is back home from the hospital and doing well. Sofia is doing great. She is growing by the day- PJs are already becoming too small- and she is growing more and more aware of the big new world she is now living in. This isn't to say life isn't without it's challenges anymore. Gina and I don't sleep a whole lot because Sofia prefers to nap during the day and contemplate whatever it is babies think about at night. This is my first extended experience operating on limited rest and it really sucks. Then of course there are issues surrounding waste management; Sofia poops a lot. Most of the time this is easily managed but sometimes she decides to make a successful diaper change difficult. The first few times both semi digested milk and stool were flowing freely I froze up, feeling completely overwhelmed with the quantity of fluids that had to be dealt with. But as with all things practice results in improvement, and due to Gina's well thought out baby changing preparations we are well equipped.

Really the most challenging aspect of having Sofia home is the attention she demands. Even when not feverishly changing soiled clothing, walking back and forth through the apartment at 3 am in a vain attempt to convince her to sleep, or feeding her, she still wants our time. Holding her, singing to her, talking to her, reading to her, rocking her, walking her... it all takes time. And the days fly by. Gina and I are attempting to complete a grant proposal to engage in a collaborative research project in Malawi by November. Needless to say Sofia has added to the challenge of meeting this deadline.

As tiring and demanding as Sofia is proving to be, she is also miraculous. Seeing her content, happy, full, observant- it all makes me happy. Seeing Gina holding our child, feeding her, talking to her, playing with her, are all wonderful to behold. So what else have we been up to since leaving Triemlispital??

A couple weeks ago Marisa came through town on her way to Africa and we decided to take a paddle steamer to the end of Lake Zurich. So we loaded up our stroller, wrapped Sofia up, and boarded the Stadt Zurich, in service since 1909. Off we went, heading south to Rapperswil, an old Catholic enclave famed for its rose gardens and bad ass castle. After two hours or so we began exploring this amazing little town. We began by eating lunch in one of Rapperswil's rose gardens, enjoying a quiet lunch in the sun. From there we hiked up the hill to the castle, an enormous structure built at the top of the city. This was my first castle experience and it was pretty sweet. What a shame firearms rendered them obsolete... All in all we had a fun, relaxed outing. Sofia did really well; she seems to fuss a lot less when in motion.

For the the past two weeks Diane and Steve have been visiting and they proved to be a huge help. The little sleep Gina and I have been able to get since bringing Sofia home was mostly due to their help. Although we didn't do much traveling we did enjoy lots of relaxed evenings just enjoying each others company. Gina surprised us with a scrabble set and we spent a few nights doing what all scrabble players spend most of their time doing do- arguing about the legitimacy of two, three and four letter words. All in all it was great to see family, and we already miss them.

All aboard: Gina and Marisa and Sofia departing to Rapperswil

Lunch in the rose garden

rebar's pretty effective at stripping velvet

makes reading game of thrones so much better

marisa seems to know what she's doing here

view between merlons

I'm learning who this is...

a walk in the woods

Sunday afternoon

It looks like I will get to go home Tuesday afternoon, but unfortunately Sofie's numbers dipped again slightly last night, so we have to reset the clock to another three days. That would mean she can go home Wednesday morning at the earliest. She's healthy, happy, and wonderful, though, so we're thankful for beyond belief for that. We spend all day every day with her in the neo natal clinic, just hanging out and taking it easy. Now all we can do is keep our fingers crossed that she can join us at home as soon as possible. Think good thoughts for us!

I am Sofie, hear me roar!

Changing baby clothes. Ben looks like he's performing surgery every time it's his turn, making sure not to miss a single button!

Sofie's reaction to Dad's clothing choice for the day. I don't think she's digging the outfit.

Check out my beautiful blue eyes! 

Sofie update and Gina's version of the birth

First of all, before I start in on the gory details of August 14, I just want to say that Sofie is absolutely perfect in every way. We just spend the morning with her and she's the cutest, cuddliest, squirmiest blob in the whole world. She's eating well, pooping well, and all in all is wonderful. Unfortunately, she has to stay in the ICU for at least another three days. Occasionally (we're talking only once per day, and just for an instant, so barely detectable) her blood oxygen levels drop below 85%, which is the no-no zone. When this happens, they start the countdown to three days of perfect numbers over again. Every time they drop they come back up again soon, and on her own. So basically, they are just being suuuuuuuper careful. I want to snatch her and take her with me now, but I don't think they would respond to that very well here.

So I guess before I go on and on about her every squirm, I'll tell you about what REALLY happened on the 14th. Now, if you don't have kids but are planning to, maybe you want to skim over this. Or if you are very squirmish, just skip down to the pictures. What you are about to read is frightening but true. Ok, it's not that bad, but it still doesn't hurt to be safe.

So let's start the evening of the 13th. The night before the planned C-section, we went to the hospital and met with the whole team that would be doing the next day's surgery. The midwives were there, going over the procedure, checking me and the baby out to make sure all systems were go. We met with the actual doctors who would do the C-section, going over how Sofie was positioned and how they would make the perfect cut, etc. The anethisiolgist came in and went over the spinal tap procedure in great detail, assuring us that nothing would go wrong, Ben could be there the whole time, and the baby would not be affected at all. At the last second the anethesiologist asked me: "Do you have all your teeth?"

"Why yes, I replied, I do. Why?"

"Can I look at them briefly?"

"Sure, Why?"

"Oh, that's nothing. That's just in case we have to do general anesthesia. That will never happen. That is only in real cases of emergency. I just have to ask that by law. Just forget about it."

He told me the whole teeth reason, but I didn't really listen since it didn't concern me. I did what he said and just forgot about it.

In any case, the whole thing went without a hitch. We signed forms, asked questions, shook hands, and planned to return to the delivery wing at 10am the next morning. That would give us time to sleep in, take a nice refreshing shower, answer some morning emails, and make our way slowly to the big day.

Or so we thought.

As Ben so eloquently described, I was not too happy when I discovered I had wet the bed. I assumed that's what it was since it was clear and there really wasn't that much of it. I sat on the toilet for a while, since that was the cleanest place for a leaking lady to be, while Ben called the hotline. He said we should go to the hospital to be safe. I, on the other hand, a) wanted to go back to bed, I mean, what's the big deal about a little leaking? b) didn't want to pay for a taxi (the morning tram ride would be free, so let's just wait for that!), and c) I HATE having my plans changed at the last minute. I mean, we were already going over in a few hours, what was the worst that could happen if we waited?

After debating for a while, I decided to call the hotline myself and get a second opinion. The midwife on the other end (that's what they call nurses here, they do pretty much everything and more that a doctor can do as far as I'm concerned), finally convinced me to come in, so I reluctantly grabbed my bag, and within three minutes we were in a taxi heading to the hospital. All I kept thinking what that this was a big waste of time and I wish I was still in bed. I was still 50% sure I just peed the bed, I really wasn't sure about the whole water breaking thing.

So once we arrived, things started off pretty slow. A nice girl about my age introduced herself as the on-call midwife (she is the hero of the story and I can't even remember her name) and went on to check my stats, then checked the pH of my leaking liquid to find out for sure if it was amniotic fluid or pee. As it turns out, my water did indeed break. So then it was time for a little chat. Apparently we had options. Even though my water broke, I wasn't having contractions, so there was still time to wait until the scheduled C-section, that was the best option and we went for that. She went to get the medicine which they give women to stop the contractions from starting so they can safely wait a few hours for a C-section. While she went to get the medicine, the contractions started. Hard and fast with very little time in between.

I was officially in labor.

The midwife, upon seeing me panting like a dog and Ben pleading with me to wait a little bit, had to politely ask if she could see how dialated I was. This requires the nice lady to basically stick her whole hand up there to check the opening of the cervix. It's usually a very fast procedure, 10 seconds maximum. In this case, however, she placed her plastic-gloved hand up there, cheerfully telling me everything was still quite standard and fine, and then instantaneously her tone changed. With her free hand she grabbed her cell phone and started yelling at someone in German. 3 or 4 people ran into the room immediately, two people put compression stalkings on me while one pulled off my clothes. The midwife, and the midwife's hand, remained in place.

So the waiting for the C-section deal was clearly no longer an option, but we still weren't sure what was going on. Once the action was in gear, the widwife explained hurriedly that I wasn't dilated, but that when she went to check on the cervix situation, she noticed that Sofie was sitting on the umbilical cord. If I happened to become dilated, which I hear is what women do in labor, Sofie could push down on it on the way out and cut off her oxygen supply, basically killing herself in a short period of time. The midwife's hand was up there, holding Sofie's butt off of her own umbilical cord, and there it stayed for the ENTIRE TIME.

In the shuffle to the operating table, they throw Ben a pair of scrubs and tell him to suit up. At this point there was still time to do the spinal tap (about a three minute procedure) and get a crew in for the C-section. At this point I'm laying on my back, midwife still firmly attached to me and Sofie, and people are rushing back and forth and yelling in German across my line of vision. The operating room is big, empty, and there's a bright light coming from the ceiling. The only thing I can clearly see is the baby heart rate monitor, so I focus on that. 133 beats per minute, good, strong heart rate. Things are fine, I tell myself.

Next, I hear a voice telling me they are the anesthesiologist and that he would like me to move from the bed to the operating table. This means that both me and Ms. Midwife, who I can't see but can definitely feel, have to make a crab-walk together from the bed to the table as in-sync as possible. As best we can, we shimmy to the operating table, all ready to go.

That's when shit hit the fan.

The midwife screamed something in German, the heart rate monitor went from 133 to ??????. Yep, no flat line, just flashing question marks. So that's when we went into the emergency, emergency C-section. The anesthesiologist yelled, "we're putting you under, sorry," and a giant mask went over my face. Next, another lady yelled, "I'm sorry, normally we do this when you're unconscious, but I have to put your catheter in." Poke. Next, someone was rubbing my entire body with iodone to sterilize the cut. This all happened in a matter of seconds. I yelled, "Wait, I'm not asleep yet!" at the top of my lungs, and someone said, "Yes, we know. . ." and then I was out.

My next memory is coming to in another room, with a lady looking at me and asking how I was doing. Then Ben showed up, and someone brought Sofie to me briefly. I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, but then they took her away and told me to go back to sleep. Ben went with her to make sure she was alright, and I dozed off and on again for a while.

Apparently during the crabwalk from the bed to the operating table I had gone from non-dilated to 8cm dilated, meaning labor was in full swing and Sofie was trying to get out. Now, if Sofie was facing the right way and this was a normal labor, it would have been the world's fastest and easiest labor. However, the fast labor in this case meant Sofie pushed down hard on the umbilical cord, cutting off the oxygen supply despite Ms. Midwife's hand holding her up. At that point they had to act instantaneously for it to be a good outcome.They said they were able to cut Sofie out of there in 45 seconds.

So yeah, it was a pretty crazy day. But in the end, the best day of our lives. Sofie joined us at 5:17 am on August 14, 2013, weighing in at 7.06 lbs and stretching 18.5 in (3.21 kg and 47 cm as it will say on her birth certificate). She just couldn't wait for that 10 am scheduled appointment I guess. But I like to think Sofie goes by her own schedule, not confirming to some know-it-all doctor's plans. Yep, maybe she's my daughter after all.

A few things I learned from that night: 1) we owe Ms. Midwife a fruit basket or something. Not only did she save Sofie's life, I bet she had the world's worst finger cramps from holding up a 7lb bowling ball from inside a birth canal for an extensive time period without so much as blinking. She's the real hero of this story. As soon as I can walk I'm going to track her down. 2) if you're water breaks, or even if you just wet the bed, go to the hospital immediately. It's worth the cab fare. And finally, 3) it is indeed possible for one person to have a scheduled C-section, natural birth, and emergency C-section all within a 12 hr. period. Why choose just one when you can do all three?

So that about wraps up the birth experience. Sorry about all the gory details, but again, I warned you!! Now here are some pictures from earlier today. We'll try to add more tomorrow, as we forgot the camera for most of the day. But all in all, she's doing great. Her days consist of breast feeding until she passes out, pooping on Daddy during her first Daddy-diaper change, and being the cutest thing ever. Ah, life is tough!

Sofia's Arrival

Ben's version:

Oh fuck.

Those were the words that woke me up at 2:55 am on August the 14, 2013. Most of you are aware that Gina is a peculiarly poor sleeper and under normal circumstances she has to work pretty hard to bring me to a fully conscious state. These were not normal circumstances. Within seconds of hearing the phrase I was out of bed, trying to determine the exact cause of the early morning profanity. Although the trail of fluid I happened to step in as I left the bedroom was an excellent clue, playing detective proved unnecessary when Gina yelled from our bathroom that her water had broken. Strangely, surprisingly, things immediately calmed down immediately after that. 

Nothing else happened. Gina was leaking; that's it. The fluid was clear and unadorned, no accompanying contractions, pain, screaming, or other panic inducing elements immediately followed my wake up. Frankly we were puzzled. Hollywood embellishes for the sake of entertainment. We discussed this in earnest, almost feeling cheated, lied to, led on. After several minutes Gina suggested we might as well call our hospital, which I did. They told us to come to the hospital immediately. Would that really be necessary Frau Nurse, we wondered. A midnight drive through the streets of Zurich seemed like such a hassle when all we were dealing with was a little leakage. Politely but firmly the calm voice on the other end of the line told us no, that we should come as soon as possible. Thankfully we listened. We ordered a taxi and within minutes one appeared, the driver clearly worried about preserving the cleanliness of his seats as we boarded. "Triemlispital bitte." The words said, we were off.

After arriving at the hospital, everything was still calm, everyone totally unaware of what was to come. Initial examinations were done, discussion revolved around whether to hold off contractions or to have the operation earlier than scheduled. And then our midwife checked to see if Gina was dilating. Immediately the language switched from English to German, voices were raised, people began to move very quickly, and lots of people in various colors made their appearances. We were told the baby was pushing down on the umbilical cord, reducing her supply of oxygen and endangering her life. We were told an immediate, emergency C-section had to be done, but that there was still time to insert a spinal so that Gina and I, both alert and in a relatively sane state of mind could be present for the birth of our daughter. Within minutes Gina was rolled out of the examination room and I was thrown a pair of scrubs and told to wait a few minutes until a nurse came to get me. Several minutes later- although it felt like hours- a clearly agitated junior doctor ran into the room and in broken English stated that "we had to intubate her."And left.

The next ten minutes or so were frightening, truly and horribly frightening. Helplessness is an awful feeling and sitting in that room with only my own horrible fear for company, that is what I was. If I wanted to I could probably do a fair job sharing the experience but I don't feel like it; it's not important. The outcome is however.

As I write this my wife is sitting next to me reading Sippy Cups Are not for Chardonnay. My infant, who only yesterday was unable to breath without assistance now has the most powerful lungs in the neonatal ward. Things worked out for us in the early morning of August 14, 2013. For that I am, and will always be, thankful.

Gina's version:

To be continued. Gone for a late-night Sofie-visit, will add my version here. In the meantime, here are some pictures! Yay!

So no other babies in the neo-natal center take her spot!

Sofie with Daddy!

Sofie's first day blues!

Mommy checking out the goods.

This is one happy Dad!

Check out what I made!

That's right, she's with me.

Why does Mom keep getting so close to me? Some people have no sense of personal space!