Dear friends and family,

Thank you all so much for the wishes and congratulations to Milo‘s birth. It is so nice to se how many hearts he is touching and how much you all care about us. We would love to thank each of you individually and I am sure, eventually we will. But right now there is sooo little time and so much baby in our life that everything else is on hold.

It’s been a week and three days since little Milo was born and life hasn’t stood still for a second. Or at least not that we know of. Time and space have become some distant concepts that no longer mean anything to us. What time or day it is does not matter any more. Life is completely in the moment and determined only by what baby needs. Our brains are completely outsourced to very useful iPhone apps that keep track of Milo’s feedings, diaper changes, and bath times.

As far as that record shows, we are currently living a busy 2 hour rhythm. Every two hours the little guy is getting hungry and longing for boobie. There he stays for about 15-30 minutes, gets a diaper change and then decides whether he wants to be awake or asleep for the following 1.5 hours. That is when our timer starts to get as much done as possible before the next feeding. It’s like a kitchen timer ticking away and the end of the free time is very definite. Most of those breaks are currently being used to take care of baby stuff: Express breast milk, clean his supplies, do laundry, stock up on diapers, etc.

Then we have about half an hour left to do anything else: take a shower, take a nap, eat, maybe clean the house a little bit – very basic things to keep our own sanity and level of hygiene to a minimum standard. Me, usually a pretty productive overachiever, I had to learn to limit my daily goals to two small items: Maybe a trip to the store and cutting my nails. That’s it for the day on top of the regular routine.

Although parenthood and caring for a newborn is as demanding as we expected it to be, Milo is making it very easy for us. He is the most chill baby and rarely ever cries. At least not without a good reason and only after we missed his cues. Usually he is very good in showing us whether he needs food, a diaper change, or to be burped without crying. Everything else comes naturally. He sleeps without fussing when he’s sleepy. He looks around with big eyes when he is awake and is perfectly content. He makes the funniest faces in between sleep and awake periods. And he is just the cutest guy on earth. Sometimes he smiles unintentionally, which is so heart warming, encouraging, and makes us look forward to all days to come.

If you would like to visit little Milo, feel free to give us a call and we can arrange a meet and greet with him. If we don’t answer the phone, one of the many reasons above apply, but we will get back to you as soon as our beloved son allows.

More or less 3 weeks. That’s all that’s left of this amazing experience called pregnancy. A part of me is looking forward to the end. Birth is gonna be exciting, I will finally get to meet this little boy, and will have a little bit more freedom to do with my body what I want to do: Sleeping on the belly, eat junk food, run and sweat, … not to mention having fewer bathroom breaks. (more…)

Dear friends, thank you all for coming to Baby Tran’s first party. He had a great time inside Nicola’s belly and enjoyed all your wishes, love, and hugs. Everything is super prepared for him now and he might turn out a gear head like his dad.

The food and entertainment provided by the three aunties was especially enjoyed by the little guy. Thanks so much for organizing all of this, Fati, Emily, and Debbie!

Auch das zweite Trimester der Schwangerschaft ist nun erfolgreich überstanden. Langsam werde ich echt gut darin, schwanger zu sein. Das fleissige Studieren zahlt sich aus. All die Veränderungen im Körper und in der Babyentwicklung sind so spannend, dass ich kaum aufhören kann darüber zu lesen. Ich will immer ganz genau wissen, was gerade da drinnen abgeht und hab sogar eine Application auf meinem Iphone dafür. Die vergleicht die aktuelle Größe meines Babies jede Woche mit einem Gemüse und erzählt mir davon, wie er mich jetzt hören kann, immer neue Gehirnwindungen formt und warum ich trotz Noch-Minibaby 10 Kilo zugenommen habe. (more…)

My friend Magdalena regularly sends me a good magazine from Germany. It is called Neon and reports about topics that are of interest for people between 20 and 30. While there is one shallower section about fashion and lifestyle, it is more geared toward the educated crowd with a university degree and has sections on society, world, practical tips for every day life, love, work, friends, culture, etc. – overall a nice mix of interesting topics and I always enjoy reading it.

In the last issue there was an article about “Do you have the right job?”. It asked whether you are satisfied with what you are doing, if you should change your employer, and which are the factors that determine happiness with a job. (more…)

So, das erste Trimester ist gut ueberstanden und im vierten Monat geht es deutlich gesitteter zu. Die naechtlichen Klobesuche bleiben, aber sonst hat sich alles ausreguliert. Mein Verdauuungstrakt verhaelt sich so unauffaellig, dass man kaum merkt, dass er noch vorhanden ist. Gelegentliche Kopfschmerzen sind fuer mich ja auch nichts besonderes und die Muedigkeit ist auch endlich wieder auf Normalniveau angelangt.

Mir ging es in den letzten drei Wochen so gut, dass ich kaum merkte, dass ueberhaupt irgendwas in mir passiert. Alle Symptome waren weg, der Bauch wuchs aber auch noch nicht und zu spueren war gleich gar nix. (more…)