Liv Madita

Our princess, our angel, our beloved granddaughter, Liv Madita, was born on November 8, 2007 in Berlin.  The birth was long, complicated and climaxed in an emergency Cesarean at 1:00 am when there were indications that Livi was under too much stress.  And no wonder, as she had managed with all her somersaults and gyrations to wrap her umbilical cord around her neck!  Luckily for me I was blissfully asleep, unaware of the situation, although I knew that Jenny was in labor.  Ulf called me at around 3 in the morning with the news, which by then was all good.  A big girl already at birth, she weighed 4005 grams, which translates to 8 lbs. 8 oz., and she was 52 cm or 20 1/2".

This is the official hospital picture of Livi, shamelessly stolen from the hospital's website, but how could I resist?

As Livi's Omi I was of course obligated to travel tout de suite to Berlin to welcome her into our world.  Livi was understandably more interested in sleeping than in listening to her Omi explaining the workings of the universe.

I realize I am biased to the nth degree, but doesn't she look like a little angel in this picture?

Jenny had a wonderful double room so that Ulf could stay overnight if he wanted, although he had such a terrible cold that he didn't.  Livi had her own little bed of course.  However, it wasn't her favorite place.

Livi's first outing was to the hospital café downstairs.  She didn't know quite what to make of all the bustle and new smells.

Her first real adventure was a walk outside when she was a few days old.  Her super snazzy, turbo baby carriage was our gift to her for her birth.

It was cold and rainy, but Jenny was getting cabin fever and had to get out, if only for a little while.  Livi didn't mind.  She slept all snug and cozy and to this day she almost always sleeps well on long walks.

This was the hospital, the Virchow-Klinikum, which is part of the Charité and is a huge place.  It reminded me very much of a college in the States, with all the buildings arranged around a square and in fact they refer to it as a campus.

This is the proof that this was Berlin, one of the hundreds of decorated Berlin bears that can be found all over the city.

Notice the bottle holder on the carriage!   The weather wasn't really very nice as you can see in the picture, so we didn't stay out very long.  At least it wasn't snowing.  I foresee a lot of indoor birthday parties in Livi's future!  Lucky Jenny!

I mentioned that Livi didn't like sleeping in the bed that the hospital provided.  Her very favorite place to sleep was on Ulf and since Ulf wasn't feeling well they were both happy to snuggle up together.

And in a pinch, if Ulf was not available, Omi would do quite well too.