birth announcement

hello all,
finally after almost 2 months, here it is. I am officially announcing the birth of our baby.
About labor & birth: Labor started on the 23, and i went in the hospital around 1 pm. I got a big birthing room with an extra bed (which came in handy, since we stayed there overnight), and a jacuzzi (which i used but wasnt too thrilled about). I managed to go up to 6 or 7 cms before the epidural. After the epidural, the labor and contractions almost stopped, and had to be put on inducing drugs. Finally i was fully dialated after midnight, but the baby hadn't come down enough to start pushing. So we waited more than 3 hours after the doctors decided to used the vacuum to get her out. My sister (the doctor) was there and was keeping tabs on the procedures. Eventually Sofia was born right before 5 am, but i lost a lot of blood and had an "episode" (fainting, etc). A few hours later, we were all ok, only very tired. I stayed in the hospital for 3 days, I was really ready to come home.

We are now home, and since the weather hasnt been very nice, we dont go out much, except to the doctor and to the "baby check" appointments every week, where they weigh the baby and offer advice for new moms.

Sofia is very big, and has already outgrown a lot of her baby clothes. She is now wearing size 6 months! (for one-pc suits, since she is so long).

Things are getting easier, but we're still learning, so the blog will happen when it happens , hehe.
I've also set up a blog just for her, so this blog can be about something other than the baby (because there are other things besides the baby, right??!!)

nice to see you all again,
hopefully it wont be too long before the next post.

guess the birthday

here's something fun to try!

try to guess when will the baby be born (date and time), weight, and lenght.

the winner will be mentioned on the blog, and will receive... at least a postcard or something
:)
enjoy

having a baby in switzerland

before having a baby in Switzerland, there are several things you need to know:
-INSURANCE for mom : Medical insurance in Switzerland is MANDATORY (and you pay for it yourself). There are different types or levels of coverage, but the BASIC level is the same for all insurance companies, so shopping around is a good idea if you are just getting the Basic coverage.The good news is that the Basic insurance covers ALL of the pregnancy-related expenses (8 visits to the doctor, 3 ultrasounds, birth, etc...). If you enter the country with a previous condition (pregnancy included) you can only be covered by the BASIC insurance (for the pregnancy part at least). If you're already in Switzerland and planning on getting pregnant it is a good idea to upgrade your insurance level if you wish to have a few extras (more dr's visits, more scans, private room, your doctor attend the birth, etc). For some companies, you need to do this a whole year in advance! My coverage is Basic, and I've been very happy with it so far. I will not get my doctor to attend the birth, but she's out on maternity leave anyways, so that was not an issue. Also, if i wanted to i could upgrade the hospital room to a private room (instead of a double) for 240 CHF per night, but i think i will just stick to what i have and hope there aren't too many births that week (there's usually 2 per room at the hospital i am going to).

-INSURANCE for Baby: Arranging for insurance coverage for your baby BEFORE she's born is not mandatory, but a very good idea. That way the baby will be covered from birth, and any medical issues that may surface will not be considered "pre-existing". You can insure your baby with a company different that yours. Usually children's insurance has a 0 CHF deductible, so you never really pay anything besides the monthly premium. In the spirit of preparedness, we have already arranged for the baby's insurance (like 3 months ago).

-BIRTH: Even though i haven't had a baby in the US or MX (or any other country for that matter), i am pretty sure the birthing experience here is very different. First, the entire birth is handled by midwives, and a doctor only shows up at the end (maybe) or if there are complications (this might be similar to the US). You give birth in a birthing room, and there are all kinds of "toys" in there you can use to make labor less painful (and more enjoyable? don't think so). The bed can change into all these different positions, there's a ball, a maya stool, chairs, ropes hanging from the ceiling, and in most hospitals at least a couple of rooms have a birthing pool. They're VERY open to all kinds of different birthing positions (they actually discourage the "usual" laying on your back with legs on stirrups). They also have a stereo and you can bring your favorite music. The midwives highly encourage a Natural birth, they try to sell it, push it, and convince you it is the best thing ever! They will offer you accupunture, aromatherapy, massage, and all different kinds of "natural" remedies before using what they call "school medicine" (does this mean there's no school for accupunture?). Of course, in the end it is supposed to be YOUR birthing experience, so if you want an epidural you can get it (fingers crossed!).

-HOSPITAL: With the basic insurance I could only choose a hospital in my Canton (canton=state). Fortunately, there were several choices within the canton of Zurich. After asking my doctor we narrowed it down to the University hospital and the city hospital. I should mention here that the insurance also covers "Birthing Centers" and home births but we did not even consider those (I guess coming form a family of doctors and nurses we feel more comfortable with a hospital birth). Hospitals usually have a tour/information session once a month where they talk about the birthing process and how things are handled in their hospital. We went to a couple of those, even though they were in german. In the end we went with the TriemliSpital (the City Hospital), which is VERY near our house (like 3 bus stops away=4-5 minutes), they're smaller than the Unispital, and i've heard good things about them.

-EXTRAS: There's a lot of support available for mommies and babies around here. It all starts in the hospital, where you can stay up to 5 days for a vaginal birth and up to 7 days for a c-section. During that time, a lactation consultant teaches you about breast feeding, and also they teach you how to care for the baby (bathing, diapers, etc) among other things. Once you go home you get to have a midwife come visit you a few times. She will answer any questions, check stitches, weigh the baby, check on the breast feeding process, etc. The Basic insurance covers 10 of these visits, but the days you stay at the hospital are subtracted from that (so if you stay 3 days at the hospital, you get 7 midwife visits). It is up to you to choose and arrange for the home midwife. Then there's a "Mother Center" in your area that will contact you after the birth (the hospital sends them your info). There you can go once a week also for questions, check ups and just advice in general.

-COURSES: There are a bunch of courses available for new parents. They include the typical "birthing" course, but also some interesting ones, like baby massage, baby wearing, infant care, breastfeeding, and water birthing among others. Unfortunately only a few of the courses are offered in English. We already attended a birthing course at the University hospital. It was a looong weekend course (from 9-4 on Sat, and from 9-3 on sunday, with a 1 hr lunch break). It was very informative and useful. Mostly it helped with making us more relaxed, positive, and confident about the whole process. The courses are not cheap! but the basic insurance covers about 1/4 of the bill.

-PAPERWORK/NATIONALITY: A baby born in switzerland does not a Swiss citizen make. For a baby to be swiss, one (or both) of the parents needs to be swiss. In our case, the baby will be Mexican. There are several documents you need to bring to the hospital in order to get the Birth Certificate, and there are several requirements to those documents. The "silliest" one is that all the papers you bring should not be older that 6 months. That means that you need to get a whole "new" set of birth certificates for the parents and also a current marriage certificate from your home country less than 6 months before you give birth. Why do they have this requirement? beats me!. In our case, we will also need to have such documents translated, since they are not in English, German, French or Italian. The translation can only be done by a "certified" person and they also need to be notarized. This will cost a bundle (I estimate about 1000 CHF!). We already have the "current" not-more-than-six-months-old documents. Next on my to-do list is to get them translated. After the birth we will get the gift certificate and the hospital will forward the baby's info the the "immigration police". They will then contact us to get the baby's residence permit in order. ALSO, once we have the birth certificate, we will need to register the baby in the Mexican consulate. That is a whole other story! It involves more paperwork and traveling to Bern with two witnesses. Only AFTER we have registered the baby as Mexican can we get the baby a Passport. That involves (you guesses it) more paperwork. In all, we estimate that if we do everything right, one thing after the other, the baby will be "legal" and free to travel by 3-4 months. (i guess if we want to travel to the US, we will also need to apply for a US visa... can you say "more paperwork"?).

ok.
that was long.
i hope you found it interesting.
until next time.

accupunture

Last sunday during the birthing course i got my first accupunture session ever!

The instructor of the course was a midwife, lactation consultant and accupunture specialist. I still have to tell you about how birthing works here in Switzerland, but for now I'll just say they are very "natural" and very open to "alternative" medicine.

I mentioned to her that the baby hasn't turned and maybe I looked a bit desperate because she asked if I would like to volunteer to do an accupunture demo. I immediately said yes! I wasn't afraid of the needles or the pain (which did not hurt AT ALL!); I was actually more embarrassed to show my un-pedicured feet and non-moisturized legs to the class... :) but for a free accupunture session, hey! no problem! (besides, i am pretty sure all the other preggos in there dont take so much care of their feet... "if you cant see it, its not there!" hehe)

She looked at my tongue and took my pulse and diagnosed something about water retention. Then she inserted needles in my ankles and near my knees, about four on each leg. Then a few more on my lower back. I was expecting to feel the baby suddenly moving a lot or some other sign that it was working, but no. The baby did move  a bit, but i don't think she turned... The midwife said that a procedure called moxibustion is more effective (they put heat on your little toes, right on the edge of the nail). I have my next dr's appointment on the 20th, and i'll know by then if we need to do more accupunture or moxi or what. For now, i am more aware of my posture and spend a few minutes a day on all fours while watching TV (it is supposed to give the baby more room to turn).

I have pics of the accupunture, but not on my computer yet. I'll post them later.

several updates!

at a Mexican Independence party.

Sorry I haven’t blogged in so long, I have been busy… making a baby!
So here’s a list of random stuff that have been happening on our side of the world:

Baby:
I just had another appointment with my doctor and everything looks good. The baby is kicking now with full force and you can see my belly jumping, moving and contorting, kinda like in the movie “Alien”. The belly is oh so huge, and still growing. It started a perpetual growth spur between week 24 and 25 and there’s no end in sight… well, there is: December 24th, remember? Anyways, we now the sex of the baby. Actually, we’ve known the sex since week 13 (I am now week 27… almost 7 months to those of you doing the math). Do you want to know? Leave a comment and I will make sure I send you a personalized email (what a clever way to get people commenting, no?).

We’ve also decided on a hospital to have the baby, and my dr. is sending all my files there so they have my records. For next time, I’ll give you a quick rundown of how things work when having a baby in Switzerland. There’s some interesting stuff to share.



2-year anniversary
I probably wont have time to post this on the actual anniversary, because I will be busy with my dad, who will be visiting for a couple of weeks (more on that below) so here it is now: On October 5th is the second year anniversary of my arrival in Switzerland (I say “my” because gera arrived a month before me). So much has happened since then… The plan was to stay here for a couple of years and then move on to somewhere else… now with the baby on the way we’ll just have to adjust our timeline a bit and stay a bit longer. But be certain that we will be moving next year. Where? Well, I’ll just say the planets are aligning and plans are being made. More on that when we know more.

As for the progress/changes during the last year… there hasn’t been many milestones. Since we stopped going to german classes last year the language hasn’t improved a great deal, BUT I do feel I understand a lot more, and I have been known to order and ask questions at the store in german, so it really cant be all that bad, can it? We’re thinking we should start lessons again somewhere, maybe even just with a CD course.

I have made many more Spanish-speaking friends too! (at this rate, I will forget even my English). There’s now a group of seven of us that get together regularly for lunch or dinner. I love having people that understand where you come from and that are going to the same expat experience as you. I also made friends with a girl from Venezuela, who is also pregnant (1 week behind me). We have so much in common it is scary. She is also a graphic designer, and she used to live in the US (St. Louis), we’re the same age, and got married the same year (among other things). It is also super great to have a pregnant friend, I am so lucky! ( I am sure you will read more about her).


gera and shopping:
Gera is on his way to the US as I type this… (right now!). He’s going to a conference in Nevada, then to Dallas to visit family, and finally to Indiana for other work-related visit. He will be gone for a bit more than a couple of weeks, and I was pretty sad to see him go this morning. BUT I keep trying to look at the bright side and think that my dad arrives tomorrow (see below, again). Anyways, we have been online shopping like crazy and while in Dallas, Gera is going to pick up a few* things we ordered. (*few meaning a stroller, stroller bag, video camera, some books, some clothes, and some other stuff). We also ordered a bunch of other stuff to be delivered to El Paso and my dad will be bringing that. He even had to pack a extra suitcase and get some “space saver” bags just to get stuff to fit (thank you dad!). Getting all this stuff will make it feel like christmas in October!

Dad’s visit:
Perfectly timed for gera’s absence, my dad will be coming to visit for a few weeks. I am soo very happy yo see him, and very excited for him, since this is his first time coming to Europe! He’ll be here for about a week straight, and I have some plans to propose for his stay during that time, which include day trips to Laussane, Bern, Basel, Luzern, Milan; and just walking around Zurich. I hope I am not a big party pooper and can make it through the sightseeing without getting too tired. He’s also got plans for some short visits to London, Paris and Bayeux. Gera took our camera with him, so I will have to make sure I get lots of photos with my dad’s camera (and don’t forget to download them to my computer before he leaves…)

Celphones:
We have finally gotten ourselves cel phones! We’d never had one, and had survived without a mobile phone pretty well for all these years. Now with the preggo belly it was super important to be able to reach each other in case of emergencies, so we just got a pre-paid basic plan, and actually don’t plan to use them much at all: only for emergencies. Yeah, right! I can see myself calling him from the store to ask “what kind of bread do you want?” … not really an emergency. But we’ll try to be good and keep the calls to a minimum.

I will probably be MIA for a few weeks, but be patient because I am sure I will have a ton to share when I get blogging again.

Meet the baby (sonogram)

As promised, here it is!
I hope you like it.

Click on the picture for a closer look

(Sorry for the poor quality... it has something to do with the file size and youtube... i think... i hope i can make it better and repost)

And finally, here's the belly @ 22 weeks (the same day as the sonogram). It looks much bigger in person (and when fully exposed!). i am taking pictures every week, so a "progression" movie is on the works.

Updates on the baby

So finally on july 28 I declared that the baby was “officially” moving! I mean, it has been moving for a while, in one of the sonograms you could even see the baby jumping with hiccups! But I hadn’t felt anything... until now. It was amazing! It still is! And I can feel it more and more everyday! I am so excited!
The belly keeps growing, of course. Like I said, next post will be sonograms for sure! And I’ll even throw in a belly profile pic in there for your viewing pleasure.

I have been asked about names, so here’s the scoop on that. There’s a well-guarded list (think Harry potter and the Sorcerer’s stone) that we’ve been updating (adding and crossing names for the last 4 months) and it is now down to 14 names (but we’re still modifying…). The name will remain “secret” until … well, I don’t know until when, but it is for now (so shhhhh!). I will tell you the following story, though. One day a couple of years ago my sister Abril and I discovered that we both had the same name in mind if we ever had a baby girl. There are no grandkids on my side of the family, and two boys on Gera’s side, so a baby girl would be the queen of the grandkids! We agreed that whoever had a baby girl first could keep the name. Some of you already know what the name is, but for those of you who don’t, care to take a guess? (Leave a comment). Don’t worry, I will eventually tell you, you might even get to vote!

The progress so far

I am getting bigger by the hour! Or at least that’s how it feels :)
I love my new belly, and I cant wait to start feeling the baby move inside (I am at 18 weeks, and the books say between 17 and 20, so any time now).

I’ve had 4 sonograms so far (2 here at 8 and 16 weeks, and 2 in Juarez at 12 and 14 weeks), and everything looks good and healthy. I was actually pretty impressed with the last sonogram at my doctor’s office. I was twisting my neck trying to see the monitor in front of her, and then she said “move up a bit, so you can see” and she points across the room to the wall in front of me. The whole screen was projected on the wall!! Nice, huh? I got to see my baby as big as a wall, I hope the kid doesn’t come out as big, hehe. She also makes lots of printouts, which is nice.

I have been feeling surprisingly good! My first trimester wasn’t so bad either. I had a bit of morning sickness in the evenings (around 5 or 6pm), and I did feel very tired most of the time, but that was it! No puking or anything, so I consider myself lucky. I did fall asleep countless times watching TV, I just couldn’t help it! Now I feel great! I eat very little but VERY often and I have gained a couple of kilos, which is within range. Also, I think I am starting to walk funny, hehe.

I did some major maternity clothes shopping while I was in Minneapolis, and I think I am all set on that area, although a girl can always use more clothes. I even bought a winter coat that will (hopefully) fit my big winter belly!

I haven’t had weird cravings… I don’t Think… I did eat A LOT of sushi while I was in Juarez (no raw fish though). We went to the buffet every Sunday, and I would eat between 30 and 35 pcs (of rolls). But I have always craved sushi, and I have always eaten that much, so I cant really blame that on the baby. I ate a lot of Taco Bell in Minneapolis, and also craved burgers from Hardee’s.

I will put together some sonogram pics and vids for next post, so check back!

1st Baby Shower

FIND MORE BABY SHOWER PHOTOS HERE
After breaking the news to the family, it was decided (by moms and sisters) that a baby shower was in order. “Isn’t it too early?” was my initial response (I was barely past my 12th week). “well, maybe, but better early than never!” was the consensus. And so the wheels started moving and the planning started. Gera’s mom had already decided on a place and time: breakfast on the Saturday before I was to leave, so that would give them 2 weeks to plan and invite people. Then Abril and I started working our magic and created a bird theme baby shower (inspired by Martha, of course!).

It all started with the cupcake idea and then went on from there: bird houses for the center pieces, bird invitations (which I designed and printed, of course), nests with eggs (Jordan almonds) as party favors, and a whole bunch of other little bird-theme details. We had a long guest list, since it included my friends and my sister’s friends, as well as my mom’s and mom-in-law’s friends. I think we handed out about 50 invites total, and we had about 40 guests… not too bad I’d say.

I must admit I was pretty excited about having a shower… the cake, the presents… hehe. We all worked really hard to put it all together, and I enjoyed the planning as well as the execution. I did the center pieces because I couldn’t wait for my mom (the florist) to get off work… it was just a big temptation to have all the flowers and materials there and not do it. I love how they turned out! Abril did the cupcakes, of course (she’s the pastry chef to-be). Although she (we) encountered “mild” problems with the frosting and the heat, after a second batch of not-so-melty frosting they were done at about 2am. We also did the cake stand for the cupcakes, and even though we ended up putting it together after a few guests had arrived, it looked terrific and made the cupcakes stand out! We got a lot of compliments on the décor, invites, cakes, etc… I was really happy!

The invites requested “lluvia de dolares” (dollar shower/rain), which is a common theme for bridal and baby showers. That way you get to buy whatever you want (since registering is not that common in mexico yet). But I also registered at Target and Babys’R’us at El Paso. I got 2 gifts from the registry, and the rest were half money envelopes and half baby stuff (mostly clothes). There was no time to open the presents at the shower, so I took them home unopened and then waited like 7 hours for Gera’s mom to come to dinner so she could be there when I opened them. Oh… my fingers were itching…. I did peek at one…. don’t tell her, hehe. It was also nice to do it like that because the dads (grandpas-to-be) were there and could be included in the baby festivities. Gera had already returned to Zurich by then so he wasn’t there for the shower, but he was there for most of the preparation, and he contributed ideas and we went together to register. It was great to see him buying baby stuff!

Back in Zurich!

OMG!
Where to begin?
I have been on an extended vacation since may 21, and so much has happened….
I will start with the biggest news of all: (since the cat has now left the bag and the beans are all over the floor…)

WE ARE HAVING A BABY!!!

Yes, you read correctly. This is not a drill. (or a joke like last time).
It is the real deal!
After almost 8 years of marriage, we finally decided it was time, and although it was a bit sooner than expected, we are pregnant and glowing with happiness!
The baby is now 15 weeks old (so if you’re counting, I am almost 4 months pregnant), and it is due on … get this… December 24th!!! Talk about a Christmas present!

The timing worked out great with the trip, since we were able to tell our families in person (we had bought the tickets way before we were even pregnant!). It was a big secret, and only Abril and Roberto knew (we told them on week 8, after the first sonogram). We HAD to tell someone, and they were bound to figure it out as soon as I got to Minneapolis and turned down a beer… (or as soon as they saw my big fat belly, which I’ve been proudly displaying since week 9!)

We told the family in Mexico a day after our arrival, during a nice father’s day family dinner and needless to say, they are all CRAZY about the news, but most of all my mom (this is the first grandchild on my side of the family!). Gera’s mom was super excited also and she had started planning a baby shower within 24 hours after breaking the news. Then it was decided (by moms and sisters) that it was uncertain when and if they’d see me again before the birth (more on that later), so they all got together and organized a big baby shower for June 28th.

I have tons more to tell you: about the trip, the baby, the baby shower, the future… but this is such big news that I will leave you wanting more. So check the blog often, I have plenty of material to keep you entertained for a while.

Don’t forget to write or leave a message. I’d love to have a collection of messages to add to the baby book (yes, I already have one!)

ps... i found my ring the same day a posted last time... it was under the couch. :)