Once he slowed down a bit, we got him into some clothes:

The (exhausted) new mother and son! (June 15)

We're all resting and recovering. The "Kraamverzorgsters" (visiting maternity nurses) and midwives have been a wonderful calming influence.

See how calm we are?

June 16:

Pictures from day 2. Amazingly, we haven't managed to diaper Thijs' head or anything like that. Much of the credit for that goes to the Kraamversorgsters who, in addition to monitoring the health of both Mother and Baby, teach us the basics of baby care.

17 June 2001

More Pictures

18 June 2001: Thijs got his second bath today. His first bath (on Saturday) freaked him out, so it only lasted a minute or so. Today, he was much more relaxed.

You can't really tell because this picture is blurry, but he actually fell asleep! The tub he's in is called a "Tummy Tub" and it's quite popular here. It's intended for children a bit older (who can sit up on their own), but the plug for the normal tub has gone missing :-).

He also got his first visitors today (apart from Midwives and Kraamversorgsters). Andy and Ali (friends and colleagues of Erik's) brought us dinner and visited with Thijs. This is Ali (we didn't get a good photo of Andy this visit).

We also made them try Beschuit met Muisjes ("biscuit with little mice," in the foreground of this picture). Muisjes are sugar coated anise seeds and are traditionally served on Beschuit (sort of like toast) to celebrate a birth. The Muisjes come in either blue and white (for boys) or pink and white (for girls).

When Erik bought the Beschuit and Muisjes at the little market downstairs, the cashier took one look at his basket, broke into a huge grin, and offered his congratulations.

No story for these next two pictures. We just thought he was really cute asleep in his Moses basket...

... and that there were too few pictures of Thea up here.

22 June

Today was our last visit from the Kraam nurse. Healthwise everyone is fine, and we're able to handle the basics on our own.

No, this isn't a breastfeeding blooper. Sometimes he just needs to suck on something (we think it helps his stomach) and he's usually not too crazy about pacifiers.

Here's the breastfeeding picture! You can't really tell from the picture (which is why it made it onto the web:-), but Thea is giving Thijs one of his (estimated) 178 daily feedings. He may have started a bit small, but he's determined to catch up!

Here he's asleep on his changing pad on our bed. The city "Thuiszorg" (Home Care) department loans bed risers for home delivery, so our bed is a nice, convenient height right now. The risers go back on Monday, though, so we'll have to start using the changing table...

You can't really see it in this picture, but he's sleeping in his buggy in his "Baby Bugs" jumper, which is _so_ cute...

23 June 2001: Thijs left the apartment for the first time today but he slept through most of it. We walked into the center for lunch and a bit of shopping.

He didn't wake up until we were almost home, and he was okay just being carried. Just after the first picture below was taken, two Dutch girls on the street came to ooh and ah over him. They said he has "fairy ears.

Ahhhhhh... Home at last! Just in time for a meal and a nap.

30 June 2001: Just a few new pictures this time. Thea's friend Alison came to visit Thijs, and here she is holding him.

And here he is resting on his Mom, bushed at the end of a long day...

Here he's working on his beefcake pose...

...and his dazzling smile.