It's a girl - Anaïs Maria Tabah Maksalon

Big sister Isabel Chloe, along with her parents, are overjoyed to announce the arrival of Anaïs Maria Tabah Maksalon. Of course, Isabel is also happy to point out that she always knew it would be a little girl!!! Anaïs means grace; and this little one has lived up to her name from the moment the labour began to her calm arrival in our home just minutes after papa walked in the door to her soft, gentle presence.

Date of birth:
Tuesday, February 10th, 2009
Time of birth: 9:00am
**though depending on the watch, it may have been 8:58am
Length: 51cm/ 20.1in
Weight: 2.99kg/ 6lbs 9oz



Anaïs’s Magical Entrance:
Anaïs (pronounced ana-ees) began to announce her entrance around 12 midnight as she started knocking on the door with more regular and intense surges (contractions). To prepare myself, I made some tea and began to fill up the bathtub; lit some candles, and put on soothing music: Narayan. The night was beautiful and the full moon lit up the sky in all its splendour. Joshua was in Medellin and not scheduled to return until the next day. By 3:30am, the surges were getting more regular and intense – I sent a quick email to Joshua and to two friends to let them know they might be hearing from me in the morning. By 4:45am thought it was time to call Joshua to let him know the baby might be arriving a few (9) days earlier than expected. He convinced me to call our doctor and said he would begin to make plans to come home as quickly as possible. I called Dr. Maurizio Espinosa; apologizing for waking him up so early, but with Joshua out of town I thought it was better to be safe and get another opinion.

Mama & Isabel enjoying a moment together about one hour before Anaïs arrived.

At 6:30am Isabel woke up after a wonderful sleep (she managed to stay asleep since 11:30pm, allowing me a calm space to labour). I spent most of the night walking around, pausing to enjoy some tea, and also moving into the tub for periods of time to allow my body to stay calm and present throughout the ebb and flow of the process. In retrospect, the fact that I was in labour is so clear and present. Yet at the time I was continually in doubt; thinking it was just more ‘practice pains’ that I had been experiencing for well over a month now. Isabel and I snuggled and had some breakfast together – yoghurt with honey and heritage O’s.

By 7am, Dr. Espinosa was at our home and let me know I was 7cm dilated… this baby was coming soon!! I called Joshua to let him know – he was getting on the next flight home and expected to arrive by 9:15am. Joshua’s colleague (and my friend) Noëlla arrived by 7:15am to help with Isabel. Everything was coming together… we just had to stay calm and think slow thoughts to wait for papa to get home. I made some coffee for the doctor and cappuccino for Noëlla; then I headed for the tub.

Isabel joined me in the tub for a few minutes – she rubbed my lower back and told me to keep my head on the towel to relax. I just kept focusing on keeping things slow and relaxed. Isabel was ready to go play with Noëlla again. Shortly after this the urges to allow Anaïs to enter the world become extremely intense. I had to stay very focused and very relaxed; and began to sing (off-key to be certain) to distract my mind and keep faith that Joshua would arrive in time.
At 8:52am, Joshua ran in the door, gave Isabel a big hug, and ran to the bathroom. He jumped in the tub. Time seemed to take on a whole new meaning… I felt as if hours were passing, and yet with just two intense contractions and 6-8 minutes later, Anaïs had arrived. My water broke only as her head emerged and she calmly entered from the warm bath inside my body, to the warm bath in our home. I brought her up to my chest and she rested peacefully… my arms around Anaïs and Joshua’s arms around both of us. The ecstasy and stillness of this moment was sheer magic. Time stood still.

Dr. Espinosa, Mama, Anaïs, Constanza & Nancy ( a few hours after the birth)

Dr. Espinosa and his team (nurse: Nancy and doula: Constanza, who both arrived closer to 8:30am due to Bogotá traffic) were amazing. They offered us incredible care and support – ensuring the baby, mom and dad were all doing well and adjusting to each stage post-delivery exactly as need be. Dr. Espinosa was critical in keeping me grounded and focused for those intense 45minutes from the moment Anaïs was ready to emerge to the moment it was time for her to actually greet her father. I could not have imaged a better team to support me in this process… and I am so grateful to them, and to the stars aligning to allow Joshua to make it just in time. And after the birth, the post-natal care was beyond anything we could have asked for… Dr. Espinosa even typed out a beautiful story about the birth that I can keep for Anaïs. Having now experienced both a homebirth and a hospital birth… while both were amazing in bring each of our daughters into this world, I cannot even imagine choosing to birth away from home again.

Noëlla & Isabel playing at the building park on a beautiful sunny day as Mama, Papa & Anaïs take a quiet moment together upstairs.

We are also deeply indebted to Noëlla who spent the entire day with us from early morning to late evening… taking care of Isabel, running to the pharmacy for last minute necessities, and even bringing flowers and keeping track of the time of birth. Not to mention going to the airport to pick up Patrycja’s mother who was arriving that evening from Toronto. She was an angel at our doorstep, allowing all of us to focus on the things that needed to be done. I am certain that I will only learn in time the many other things she did to help that day… with a calm, strong presence that never interfered and continually offered support.

On Joshua’s end, he was able to get a flight home (though he had to drive to the airport out of town to catch an early enough flight); he managed to get the last seat on the airplane; he had the fortune of a thoughtful stewardess who got him settled in the back seat and opened the rear door of the plane to let him out first; and he had an excellent driver (who apologetic that he could not arrange a police escort) managed to manoeuvre through rush hour traffic in Bogotá to get him home just at the right moment.

Amidst the whirlwind of activity – in and out of the home – Anaïs announced her presence with complete calm and grace. She began nursing at 9:30am, ate for over 30 minutes, and then looked around with curious eyes to meet all the faces around her – she even had a smile to offer her big sister upon hearing her voice the first time (out of the womb).


Isabel and Anaïs are beginning a bond as sisters that will last a lifetime… the connection they share is something that we as parents can only glance upon from the outside. The intensity is unbelievable. And now, the love story begins again… only this time it is even greater, even stronger, and even more powerful as it is shared by all four of us.

There is so much more to say… and yet no words can fully express all that had taken place in the last hours, days, moments in time.

As usual, there are more photos at http://picasaweb.google.com/jpstories