Wow – your parents really impressed me.
Early in the pregnancy, your mum got in touch from Vienna. We had a Zoom call, as your parents both wanted to begin their shared professional future at ETH Zurich – and you had joined them as well. So we planned your birth together and tried to arrange appointments in person around the middle and towards the end of the pregnancy.
When your mum got in touch, she had been having contractions since 3:00 AM, about 10 minutes apart. For a long time I did not hear from her again, and later on we spoke on the phone once more. The next morning I checked in, and she said it was still continuing the same way. But she did not complain even once. I had said they should get in touch when the contractions were coming every five minutes.
After a night that was almost entirely sleepless, I thought: now you really could start making your way a little faster – and the recommended enema did indeed help a bit afterwards.
So we met at Triemli after your waters broke spontaneously. At first I was still sure it would probably still be 12 March – everything was going so well. But when you were almost all the way down, you seemed to do one last lap, and everything was delayed a little. Even at the appointment we had thought that your “little firecracker” head would probably need a bit of room.
Thanks to one or two medical aids and your mum’s incredible strength, your birth picked up speed again. In the end, it only took a little support – and you were here.
But you clearly really wanted March 13 as your birthday. After all, Fridays that fall on the 13th are the best days there are.
It was so wonderful to see how happy your parents were about you, how they cuddled you, and how they showed their affection for you. I was allowed to be part of this journey.
Warmest congratulations to all three of you, and welcome, little man.