Mir’s Tiny But Mighty Debut

Dear friends,

As you know, baby Mir arrived in April… 3 months early and half a world away from when and where we were expecting him!

26 weeks into her pregnancy, Vidya’s water broke unexpectedly and she had to have an emergency C-section. We’re incredibly thankful that she has made a full recovery from the whole ordeal and is now doing well. At 26 weeks, a newborn is considered extremely premature and requires the expertise of a level IV NICU for post-delivery care; we’re so lucky that Vidya was closest to Juniper Hospital in Mumbai, a leading institution for neonatal care, when this happened.

Born at a mere 840 grams (under 2 pounds), baby Mir spent the first several weeks of his life under the constantly-watchful eye of skilled pediatricians in Mumbai. He showed remarkable resilience from the start - Milan already brags that he takes after him - he was able to breathe and feed on his own, against the odds. In June, Mir was discharged and is now reunited with Milan and Vidya, with an encouraging health checkup and appetite for life. He is rapidly catching up to his chronological age (4 months) as compared to his adjusted age (4 weeks, calculated from his original due date of July 22nd), putting on close to 400g of adorable munchkin weight on some weeks lately!

As lucky as it was for Vidya to have immediate access to the expertise required to handle this medical emergency, that was a serious departure from Milan and her original birth plan, which had them in Niš, Serbia, where Milan had just signed a lease on the apartment that was to become the nest that would welcome Mir (who was, at the time, still referred to as Thor… !). In April however, Vidya was with her family in India after her father’s recent passing. While Mumbai is equipped with level IV NICU facilities which Niš lacks (!), Vidya is now a resident of Serbia, and does not have maternity health coverage in India. So far, Mir’s care totals close to 20,000 USD in unplanned expenses for Milan and Vidya.

Many of you have expressed a desire to help and be involved in some way in our favorite Indo-Serbian family’s debut, despite the distance. Consider this a place to participate in toys, activities, a travel budget, and the myriad of other fun ways to spend money that comes with having a baby. Financial support might not be an option, and that's okay: a message or call to them is also a tremendous way to send love.

With much gratitude,

Lolo on behalf of Srividya, Milan, and baby Mir

Mir,

"peace" in Slavic,

"leader" in Urdu,

"limitless" in Sanskrit,

but mostly, short for "miracle".

Edit: We’ve noticed that GoFundMe suggests some very high donation amounts. Please know that even $10 or $20 makes a meaningful difference: it can buy a toy for Mir, a meal for Milan and Vidya, or go toward transportation costs in Mumbai. Most importantly, it’s a generous and lovely gesture to celebrate Mir’s arrival from his aunties and uncles across the world.