Saimi Aina

4. Saimi the Nurse (February 2020: Barcelona & Helsinki)

We were thinking about when and how we would return to Finland. After talking with the doctors, we decided to stay in Barcelona until Saimi weighed over two kilos, as travelling would be safer by then. In practice, this would likely mean heading home in April or May. The first milestone towards that goal was reached on 22 February, when Saimi’s morning weigh-in showed 1030 grams.

3. In the Dim Room (February 2020: Sant Pau, Barcelona)

Besides a quiet, undisturbed environment, being held close to her parents was important for Saimi’s development, often called skin-to-skin care. In practice, this meant we took a comfortable position in the armchair and held Saimi against our bare chest, sheltered by our hands. At first, she was so small that she could fit beneath my two palms. While resting on our chest, she wore nothing but a nappy and a small beanie, and was also covered with warm blankets. From the very beginning, the nurses encouraged us to focus entirely on Saimi and forget everything else, such as using our phones, which I thought was excellent advice.

2. The Birth (January–February 2020: Sant Pau, Barcelona)

After putting on the hospital clothes, I was quickly taken to the operating room. I was given a chair and allowed to sit next to Elli, by her head. A curtain had been set up above her chest to block my view of the operation. It hung so low that I had to lean down close to Elli’s head and avoid looking toward her feet so I wouldn’t accidentally see the procedure.

1. The Beginning (January 2020: Barcelona)

Saimi’s story likely began while we were on a bikepacking trip from Lieksa to Kuusamo with Elli, her mother, in August 2019. At the time, we had no idea, and the pregnancy came as a complete surprise when it was already in its third month. Through the autumn and winter, everything went smoothly, with no signs of anything unusual or any complications. All the medical check-ups and ultrasound scans looked normal. Based on the ultrasound, the due date was set for May 10, 2020.