The New Panda in Town
If you have been following along with our adventures here, then you are sure to know that the last couple of months have been busy with the preparations for a new member of our family. It is a true joy to announce that 10 days ago on the 16th of March, our son was born at the Ulster Hospital. After being induced, and 39 hours of labor, and several days of care by the maternity team, he and mom are back home and doing well.
I can hardly express in words how thankful we are for the amazing care we have received, and continue to receive, from the health service here in Northern Ireland. Within a matter of days from our first doctors appointment upon arriving we were looked after through regular appointments, home visits, and phone calls. We were provided with numerous classes and learning opportunities. In hospital there was a host of well trained and compassionate midwives and doctors caring for both mom and baby. Since we have come home we have had a daily home visit from our community midwife, and will continue to have followups from the health visitor for the entire duration of our time here. And to top it all off, we haven't paid a single pound for any of this since we applied for our visa! (I will leave my longer comments on how wonderful the National Health Service is for another time)
In addition to amazing care from the health service, we have also been surrounded in love and care by those in our congregation here in Groomsport and by our friends and family back home. Since coming home a day hasn't gone by without a handful of cards and a stack of gifts being shoved through the mail slot. The number of kind and loving messages coming our way across social media, email, and phone has been incredibly encouraging. It is a true joy to know that our son is loved and supported by so many people all around the world, most of whom he has never met.
So, for everyone who has taken the time to send a kind word, or has said a prayer in the past weeks and months, for every card and gift and Facebook "like": THANK YOU! We can't wait for each and every one of you to meet our son, and I pray that someday he may come to know each and every one of you as a member of his huge, loving family.
Love & Peace.