Sunday, July 19, 2009

team siena

last saturday, july 11th, our daughter siena malia was born. both the baby and the mama are healthy and beautiful.

now, so much is happening - so much to learn, so much to do, so much to take in - and all my instincts point forward. but for a moment i want to look backwards, briefly and humbly, and thank team siena, a collection of people, nearly all women, who helped us get to where we are now.

before siena's birth, sarah and i gained both knowledge and confidence by workshops sponsored by UCSF's women's health resource center and UCSF's osher center for integrative medicine. we learned a lot about labor - and life - from nancy bardacke's mindful birthing program and a lot about breastfeeding from sabrina rascon's breastfeeding workshop.

siena was born at UCSF's children hospital, where she - and we - received constant care and attention from nurses, midwives, and lactation consultants like aislinn bishop, karen "fabulous" cullen, sabrina miller, therese moran, sarah norse, dawn reidy, and melanie vose.


jini washburn, sarah's mom and my mother-in-law, was a huge part of team siena. jini was there throughout the delivery, offering encouragement, massages, support, and love. thanks jini.


kathy woo was our doula. kathy is a force of nature. at every twist and turn, kathy offered superhuman support. a week after the delivery, i'm still trying to figure out how kathy did the things she did. thank you kathy.

sharon wiener was our midwife. sharon was there during the first trimester, the second trimester, and the third trimester, and, miraculously, was at the hospital during the delivery. when sharon spoke, sarah listened. when sharon said push, sarah pushed. and when sharon said "let's have your baby," we had our baby. thank you sharon, again and again.

thank you team siena.

10 comments:

Unknown said...

congrats prof silver!! you will have fun as a daddy!! Susanna

Teresa and Grant said...

Congratulations to you both! She's so cute!

The Sheck said...

MAZEL TOV!!! Congratulations to you all and WELCOME SIENA!

Cassandra Van Buren & Keith Cormier, Univ. of Utah SLC said...

We're very happy for you all! When you have a moment to breathe you'll have to change your blog bio to include Siena with Sarah and Nene :-)

david silver said...

Susanna - thank you! and i agree. =)

Teresa - thank you! and, um, i agree! =) she looks forward to meeting you.

Sheck - thank you!!!

Cassandra and Keith - thank you! and thanks for the reminder - just changed the profile. =)

....J.Michael Robertson said...

lovely. Congratulations.

david silver said...

thanks Michael.

Unknown said...

Honestly, this post brought tears to my eyes. What a moving tribute to some wonderful-sounding people! I am so happy for all of you!

Penny, USF

Anonymous said...

What a fortunate, fortunate little girl is Miss Siena to be born into your household. The Silver legacy continues! -Marian G.

Bryan Alexander said...

Hurrah! Oh, all best wishes for you, you growing and splendid family.