Dear friends,
What a wonderful year this has been. Viola’s arrival on November 8th was truly a miraculous event. Our little daughter has graced us with her presence, and we remain completely changed by her. In this short time she has grown a lot, has changed a lot, and has really brought life into focus for us. We are truly a family now…
Through the reading, research and classes we took during the course of the pregnancy, it became clear to Bandi and I that the type of birth we wanted was a completely natural one. While we started out with what has become the “traditional” way in North America, by seeing an obstetrician, we opted for a more historically “traditional” route. The care we received from our Midwife team was absolutely unbelievable. We decided to have a home birth, and as there were no complications, we successfully had a drug-free water birth right in our living room. The care offered both before and after Viola’s birth was informative, supportive, and absolutely thorough. The frequency of the appointments was the same as we would have had at the hospital with our OB, but instead of ten-minute appointments, the midwives gave us 30 to 60 minute appointments. During these we learned how to do simple tests, how to feel the position of the baby, to hear her heart beat using a special wooden horn-shaped instrument, and we discussed many different things about pregnancy and birth. These meetings also served as time for us to get to know our health care providers and for them to get to know us, our wants, our needs and our beliefs. While this is not what all women want, I am happy that I had the choice to receive this type of complete care. We are extremely happy with our choice and with our experience. As it happens, we will be having our last appointment with them at Viola’s 6th week of life, and I am feeling quite sad that we will no longer be under their care. I guess we will just have to have more babies!
We are about to embark on a week long adventure with Lili’s brother’s family. Peter, Tina, and Matthew arrive this evening, and we can hardly wait to meet each other’s children. While the new cousins will surely be key factors in determining our activities, we hope to be able to really show them around Calgary and most importantly, get out to the Rocky Mountains. If you are looking for a beautiful place to vacation, Calgary, and its surroundings is a great choice! We would love for you to come and visit us!
This has been a year of firsts, and we are looking forward to this new adventure of family. Thank you for all your good wishes and for all of your prayers. The power of prayer is truly amazing…life altering…life guiding.
God bless you and your family through this Christmas and many blessings for the New Year!
With our love,
Lili, Bandi and Viola
