We have eagerly been awaiting the arrival of the new baby. Elke had a more strenuous pregnancy than with Samuel and we were also concerned the due date would fall into the period when our apartment was being renovated. And it did.

The exact due date was 25.9.00. Around that time I got very sick with the flu. Then we had to move out of our apartment. We moved into our friends Fernand & Francoise place as they went on holidays to spain. Elke took all sorts of home remedies to start the contraction, with no reaction. The days came and went. Luckily I had the week off and the weather was nice so I could go to the park with Sam alot.

Then on the 4 th. of October after Elke had taken something Homeopathic and spent the afternoon in town the contraction started at 8 o’clock in the evening. They set in very strongly. We called our midwife Franziska and arranged with our neighbor Turi to look after Sam. Elke took a bath. It confirmed the regular contractions every 5 minutes. At 22:00 PM we drove to the birthing center in Muttenz. Soon after Dagmar and Regula arrived to help support Elke during the birth.

Franziska did all sorts of examinations reassuring us that all was well. The contractions at this stage were really powerful. Much heavier then with Sam. I supported Elke as much as I could but felt really helpless most of the time. Elke asked for a bath. She always wanted a water birth maybe this time it would work. It took some time for the spa to fill up. The warm water then helped her a bit with the pain. Soon after midnight we all knew that the big moment was not far away anymore. The last few pushes where a real relief for Elke. One more big cry and the head was out. The whole body followed quickly and slowly the midwife moved the new human through the water into the air. It started to cry and we had a look what gender it was. Hurray an other boy.

He opened his eyes and started to make suckle movements with his mouth. Still attached to the umbilical cord he took a rest on Mama’s belly. I then cut the umbilical cord with a scissors. It’s tough stuff. Michael was so clean I did not need to bath him. He has lots of hair and looks just perfect. The afterbirth is the next step and then we have a few minutes to rest and to get to grips with the fact that we have two son’s now. Dagmar and Regula go home. We are glad they came and shared that special moment with us. I’m battling with the clothes for Michael. With 4.1 kg and 52cm he is much bigger then Sam but still his feet and arms are so tiny it’s hard to put them into a body and jumper.

At 3 AM we drive home where Turi is still up and welcomes us warmly. In the morning Samuel meets his brother for the first time. He has a big grin on his face and is very curious about this little bundle. He touches him gently and brings along his toys. That same day in the afternoon our Pediatrician comes and checks Mike. Everything is fine and he is healthy. I’m so happy. After the birth Elke has problems seeing and we go to the eye hospital. It is nothing major. Then she gets bad tooth pain and we have to deal with that.

A week later we move to some other friends. Martina, Rico and their two girls. Samuel gets ill the next day and I have to move to my parents so he doesn’t contaminate the baby and the other kids. One more week and we are in the swiss alps for a much earned holiday. Now we are back in our apartment with a brand new kitchen and bathroom.

It has been a hectic and interesting time and I want to say thank you for all the beautiful and warm hearted people who have given us support and their help.

I have two healthy and wonderful boys and I hope I can help them to grow up and become responsible and caring humans beings. At least they had a good start.

Papa Thomas