Skip to main content

Welcome home, Kailyn

It is expected in Austria that mother and baby stay in the hospital for 4-5 days before going home...definitely different from the 1 night/24 hour turnaround and checkout when Justin was born.

Today was our 4th day of Kaitlyn's life and we were able to return to our apartment after a 3 night, 4 day stay in the hospital. After the first night, when Rebecca got zero sleep due to her roommate's baby, we decided that a private room was necessary for her sanity...the second and third nights were much better in the sleep dept and I was able to stay with Rebecca and Kailyn. Justin stayed at the Klein's house on Thur night and then after school on Fri went home with the Schra family.

Our experience with the hospital in Klosterneuburg was amazing...the midwives, nurses, and doctors were very attentive without being overbearing. Kailyn was only out of our presence once (while Rebecca was seeing the doctor for a checkup and I was getting Kailyn's Austrian birth certificate). The lunches were delicious, we had a shelf full of diapers and onesies, and there was a "cafe" buffet that we could visit throughout the day. Truly a wonderful experience. Staying the 4 days was actually quite relaxing in a way. 

Below are some pics from our last couple of days in the hospital and our trip home!


taking a nap
happy to be in her bassinet
Just around the corner from the hospital...really good pizza place on the right and delicious ice cream at the top of the lane...one day we'll come back here so Kailyn, Justin and Rebecca can also enjoy it!

first bath!

Getting ready to go home.
so pretty in her outfit 
Our chauffeur for the ride back to the apartment (thank you Jeffrey!) 
Big brother Justin in the back with his friend Willem
first car ride!
on the doorstep of our apartment building
Our friends the Gardners decorated our door...thanks guys!
ready to go in!
safely tucked in her own bed...
Kailyn is loving her big brother, that's for sure!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

and baby makes four...

that's right...our little family will soon become a foursome. We have found out that Rebecca is 6 weeks pregnant! There is definitely "something in the water" as all the families that live within our block have recently had a baby or are currently pregnant. Our baby will be the 6th baby born to ICSV staff in a span of less than a year (first one was born in early November and we will be welcoming our new addition in September). So, kind of unexpected, but a pleasant surprise nonetheless!

Fly on the wall and shipping possibilities

We left Gjakova yesterd to go to Pristina for the night before our flight back to Vienna today (Thursday)...but before we left, Berat invited us to join him at the Bethany Christian Services Community Center for an event as part of the USAid celebration of 15 year anniversary of providing development assistance in Kosovo. We helped Berat do some last minute set up stuff, but mostly, we just sat around waiting for the show to start. Maples and Faisal spent a lot of time with some of the young men and women who were waiting to present their vision to the USAid Executive Director. Soon, the delegation from USAid arrived and took a short tour of the center, in the middle of the tour, Berat took some time to introduce the Baseball camp to them...and then graciously introduced me. The delegation was surprised and excited to hear that there were some baseball opportunities. We spoke for a short while and it turns out that the Executive Director used to oversee the Denton Prog...

Who are these kids at ICSV...

Hi everyone... The first week and a half of school has been absolutely amazing! We have had some great opportunities to begin building lasting relationships with the students that God has brought to Vienna to be educated at the International Christian School of Vienna. Rebecca has been adjusting well to her role as secondary secretary. She is learning quickly the many demands of her new role and is doing quite well in supporting us teachers and the rest of the staff. Rebecca hard at work I have been really enjoying my classes. I have a total of 43 students spread out over 4 periods. The students I have represent 14 different home nations, with many of the students who are "Austrian" are first generation, so they are of other nationalities as well.  I have also had the opportunity to begin working with the soccer team...again, many nationalities are represented on the field, truly an international squad. Here are some pictures of the team training at the local club...