Alone with the boys

My partner has been having paternity leave since we got the baby. He got also little bit unplanned ekstra free because the baby came some weeks before the due date. It has been really nice to have him at home. But this weekend he left us first time alone and got to work in Svea. When you're working in Svea, then you're totally away over the working period as people are living there over the work weeks. Our son is now about one month old and everything is going fine with him, so it has been totally ok to stay home with him. My partner is also having now a shorter working period so he was supposed to be away only for four days. But because of the weather flights got cancelled and then he got an ekstra day in Svea. That's how the life is in Svalbard, you're always dependent on the weather.

Until now my partner has been having walks with our dog and I have been doing that if I have had an opportunity. Then I just went out mostly alone with the dog and my partner was staying in with the baby. I haven't taken our son out every day when it was temperatures around -20 centigrades. But it was good for me to have some walks anyhow. Now since my partner was away, it wasn't asking about an opportunity, now I needed to have some walks every day. Luckily our son have started to like to sleep in the baby carriage, so it has been fine to go out. And it's not only the dog who likes some walks - it's also mummy who likes to get fresh air.

A puny Christmas tree

Christmas time starts traditionally with a celebration around a Christmas tree at the market place. Celebration is specially important to children, but the Christmas tree is also delighting us grown ups. This year the Chrismas tree gave a talking point: Isn't it slightly puny? Yes, for sure it was, it was something pretty sad thing to look at, but at least we were having a real tree on our treeless island. But it wasn't only us who was wondering about the tree, it came to the national news in Norway as well. As a result of that we got a new tree. This time they really selected an impressive tree at the mainland. The new tree is the biggest Christmas tree I have seen here in Svalbard.

First outing in -22 centigrades

If we don't count travelling and a visit to them who took care of our dog while we were in Tromsø, we had our first outing together with our son couple of days ago in -22 centigrades. He got packed well in with couple of layers wool and a huge dress. First we walked to the health care center, where he got weighted and checked that everything was fine. He was grown a half a kilo in two weeks, so I guess he has got enough milk.

Then we had a tour to the local grocery and bought some food for us who can't be living just with milk. In afternoon we dressed him once more and drove to the airport. There we met our friend who was coming from the mainland and continiuing then with a local flight to Ny-Ålesund (a research settlement in north).

It was nice to see, that he was doing just fine with his clothing even though it was pretty cold. That's just good when he's living in a island of snow and ice. I think he's a tough guy to be just couple of weeks old.

1000 km to home

After the delivery of our son we were staying a good week in Tromsø. We were lucky and were able to stay with our good friend. It's kind of brave to take a family with a newborn baby to stay at your place!

But, home sweet home - even though it was really nice to stay in Tromsø I was waiting forward to go home. That mean our baby under two weeks old should be flying 1000 km for to end up that icy island where we were having our home. To have a such a travel isn't for sure the best thing to do with a newborn, but that's the way when you're living up in the north. Everything went just fine. Boy got a scathing amount of mother's milk before the flight and pactically he was sleeping until Longyearbyen. Finally we were home again!

Where hospitals aren't always that close by

We're having a small hospital in Longyearbyen and I were able to get all the maternity controls there. But they don't want to get any planned deliveries in Longyearbyen. If everything goes fine, giving a birth isn't a problem, but if there is some complications which need special expertise, mainland is far away. That is why all the pregnant ladies need to leave the island latest two weeks before due date. Of course, it's safest to leave little bit earlier, because you never know when baby is ready to be born.

I wanted to give a birth in Tromsø, not in my small home village where there is long way to a hospital. We're having a health center in my home municipality, but they don't either have a maternity clinic there. Distances in Northern Scandinavia can be long and it's not that unusual that it can take some hours to get to the closest hospital. We were lucky to have a good friend in Tromsø where we were planning to stay and wait the delivery. Actually Tromsø is a nice town anyhow to stay. But just few days before we should fly to Tromsø our child decided otherwise - he wanted out now. For to avoid to get a delivery in Longyearbyen an ambulance flight from the mainland was called and we got transported to Tromsø. It gave me a real perspective for how far away from help from outside we are in Longyearbyen. It took about eight hours from the point the flight was called to we entered the hospital in Tromsø. That was in good weather - if weather is bad, it's not quaranteed an ambulance flight can be send up straight after an accident.

Everything went just fine in our case even though I wouldn't think to travel to Tromsø on that way. But just asking from the proud mother: I think we got the most beautiful baby in the world!

Child of the Northern Lights

I have had unforgettable last nine months. Everything started already last February and since I have been following amazed the new growing life. I have felt changes in my body, seen growing tummy, felt first the small slights movements, later the strenght of turning and twisting and huge hick-ups. For a while it really felt like I was carrying a child of a real miner - it felt like he was trying to dick his way out of my tummy just straight through the skin. I haven't been having morning sickness, not hearth burning or any enourmously disturbing other symptoms. Instead I have really enjoyed my pregnancy. I didn't get tired to my tummy at all - I just could't stop thinking how amazing it was!

Our child was made under the Northern Lights, just after a polar night was over. He grew up in my tummy during the midnight sun, while we were enjoying a half a year day-around light. He was following us on our scooter tours, in the small tours on the mountains, travelling with us in the Nordic countries where we spend our holidays. It was an easy pregnancy and it was perfectly fine with my work in Svea.

We were planning to have couple of nice weeks after my work was over before we got our new family member. Our Mørketidsbarn didn't want to wait that long, he was ready to breath his own lungs. We got an ambulance flight to Tromsø one night, at a night with Northern Lights. Suddenly he was here - without that we got unpatient with waiting for it.

Now, next months, we'll be enjoying the quietness of a dark time we're having in Longyearbyen. Life will be much around that new small creature. And that just fine - a polar night is quite a perfect time to get a child. When the sun is getting back, our son has also got bigger and then we can go together out and greet the sun back.

Good bye, Svea

My last week in Svea is over. Store Norske has been having big economical challenges and because of that they needed to reduce about 20-25 % of employee. I was one of them who lost the work. I'm sorry for that, because I think work in Svea has been the best I have had. Svea is a great place to work with good working shifts and work itself is really fine. And best of all, the working climate on our work place is really good with great work mates. But when the company can't afford to have all of us there, so then we just need to find some other place to work. Many have also left voluntarily for to find more secure work. Since spring I lost half of my work mates - and now it was my turn to leave.

But in my case situation isn't actually that sad. Now I'm having couple of weeks free and then I'm starting with new challenges. Actually I'm waiting forward for it and timing was just perfect. Soon we're ready for new adventures in Svalbard.

Farewell Sun

We have said farewell to the sun. The sun went down last time at 26th of October and we'll see it again at 16th of February. We're still having some twilight at the daytime couple of more weeks, but after that we're in the real polar night, were there isn't difference between day and night. Latest now it's time to find the candles on the table and enjoy a warm cup of cocoa in a sofa and let peace and quiet take over.