The First Months’ Blur

Author: Pete
Location:  Zug, Switzerland

It’s been a busy one.  At the same time that Miranda and I were trying to find our own traction in space, the newborn’s gravity pulled a tide of friends and family our way from the other side of the earth.  The subsequent month or two went by as a emotionally charged, sleep-deprived blur as we hosted favorite folks from all over, wrapped up the school year, and honed our baby systems in a trial by fire.  I can barely get out of the house with the same color socks on these days let alone enunciate my thoughts, so this one is going to be all pictures!

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And that’s the seven minutes of down time and single-task concentration I have allocated for this month!  Stay tuned for the next installment!

Our New Crew Member

Location:  Zug, Switzerland
Author:  Pete

 

Leonora Jean Gorkiewicz

Born April 21, 2017 

12:48pm – 47cm – 2.645kg

We have a new crew member!  Leonora Jean Gorkiewicz has been added to the manifest!  We knew she was breech, so we tried to make the best of it and play up the benefits of scheduling your own child’s birthday.  We went out to dinner the night before, took a nice walk by the lake the morning of, and then headed to Kantonsspital in Zug and had a baby by one o’clock.  It’s Switzerland!  Would you expect any different?

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The hospital facilities and staff were fantastic.  Miranda’s c-section went very smoothly.  I got to be in the operating theater with Miranda, cut the umbilical cord, and announce the gender.  The latter being surprisingly difficult with all the chaos of the OR and wild emotion going on!

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We were set up on the top floor with a corner room overlooking the snow-capped Alps.  Too bad they took a backseat to Leonie!  My girls are doing great.  Eating, sleeping, and expelling waste, which is as important for post-surgery mothers as it is for babies!  Leonie is pretty little, 5.8 pounds, but started gaining weight the second day and quickly exceeded her birth weight.

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All are well and happy!  The hospital keeps Miranda and Leonora for one week.  I’ll take some paternity leave once they’re sent home.  The real question is, “what then?”

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Calm Before the Swiss Baby Storm

Author:  Pete
Location:  Zug, Switzerland

Spring has rolled in over the Zugerberg.  Crumbling under our family’s prodding for baby-bump pictures, we took a photo shoot day in the hills.

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Miranda has been working hard to get the nursery finished.  We’ve been painting cribs, assembling furniture, and decorating the walls.  On my excursions biking and hiking, Miranda has me looking for pinecones, twigs, bits of string, feathers…  My transformation into a nesting critter is almost complete.

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Our school just broke for spring vacation.  Miranda and I aren’t traveling because she could go into labor at any point now.  Even though the weather improves I still feel like I’m standing on deck watching stormy skies roll towards us across the water.  The barometer indicates squalls and sleepless nights ahead.  So for now we’re battening down the hatches and enjoying the calm before the storm.

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