Holiday disasters and miracles do happen!

Small update

Noah has grown to 84cm / 33 inches and weights 12.5 kilo / 2stone (28lbs)


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Hi everyone,

We're back! It's that old saying, "man! I need a holiday to get over THAT holiday!"

Let's just say we had a few lovely moments, so the holiday wasn't completely wasted but it wasn't the rest that we were so looking forward to. Luckily we now have our budget so we will just have to go on holiday and try again! No one can call us Drostens quitters! :)

Noah has grown an awful lot, plus he'd had a lot of examinations over a relatively short period of time, so we didn't worry too much that he was a bit tired. It turned out that he had caught a cold, so before we left and the first few days of holiday Noah was tired easily and not his happy little self. The second day we were there a nurse had blocked up his feeding tube so he had to have a new one inserted, that did not make him any happier. He was even less happy when his plaster was also messed up and pappa & mamma had to replace it with a new one. These nose tubes are very uncomfortable, we can't wait till he doesn't need it any more.

Noah had a lovely big bed, which he loved. We would put him in bed and tuck him in securely but he would still manage to turn himself around somehow. Due to Noah's cold, his canule became quite blocked with slime so we arranged a change. The canule change went flawlessly and it was great practice for the nurse. However later that evening Noah had turned around so much in bed he'd trapped his breathing machine hose which in turn pulled the canule out of his throat.
The nurses reacted amazingly quickly but it was very frightening because Noah had already turned blue (because he can't breath) and 'went away'. Thijs was amazing. He just took over and popped the old canule back in, by which time I'd managed to get his balloon connected to his oxygen and Thijs pumped the oxygen back into Noah and brought him back. It seemed to happen and be over in seconds but it affected us all for a long time. Thank goodness for professional nurses because this is pretty much our worst nightmare, what can happen if you don't get there in time.
In typical 'bengel' or 'rascal' style, not content with doing it once, he did it twice. This time the nurses were ready for him so he didn't get a chance to 'go away'. Noah does like to check peoples reaction speed and we're happy to report that a GretaBonteKoe nurse goes from 0 to 60 in 0.5 seconds. ;)

Like I said, we did have some lovely times too. Our first evening we went out for dinner with Oma, Opa and Tanty Anneke to celebrate Tanty Anneke's humpety humpth birthday, (I am of course sworn to secrecy as you can never divulge a lady's age!).
Lex told some of his 'big fish' stories, and we all had a good time.




We went packed to the gills prepared for anything the Achterhoek could throw at us! The last time we were at the GBK, Noah came back looking like a herd of mosquitos had eaten him for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a week, which they had! So this time we weren't taking any chances.
We had a klamboe / mosquito net,
Noah had a Klamboe / mosquito net,
so we expected a great night sleep followed by a long lie in bed in the morning. However we were not prepared for ...
Attila the Haan!


Yes, they had a cockerel. No, I am not joking! I wish I was. After appealing to the managers good nature, they agreed to keep the cockerel in the hutch until a reasonable time in the morning. Phew!

We took the bakfiets with us again, so Noah enjoyed a great ride around Aalten and Thijs blamed the wind for reducing his cycling speed!


Thijs needed a few glasses of wine to recover, luckily the GretaBonteKoe fridge is well stocked as I couldn't let him drink on his own. :)


Noah's daily activities involved cow watching, making music to entertain the other guests ...


and chilling out on the big bed with mamma or pappa watching Makka Pakka from 'In the night garden'. Don't worry if you haven't heard of the programme, it will be taking over the world soon, at least if Noah has his way!!

Today we were at the Sophia hospital in Rotterdam for Noah's follow up appointment with the ear, nose and throat (KNO) doctor. Noah has grown so much that he needs a biger canule again. We're just waiting until one of Noah's regular nurses is back from holiday to set up the appointment. The doctor will also set up an appointment to take a look at his throat and lungs. It takes some coordination as a surgeon wishes to piggy back on the operation to see if he can operate to descend one of Noah's testicles. This piggy backing is in order to spare Noah from two separate operations under general anesthetic, which has extra risks for Noah because of his lungs. This will give us a better idea on how his lungs and airway is developing, which is very important for his future operation.

Today has turned into an extraordinary day, so mark your calenders! Today Noah ate his first food, his first ever since leaving the hospital! I learned today exactly what makes Dutch kids grow so strong. It's the attitude of "go away with your baby food, bring on the 'uitsmijter'!" or ham and eggs with melted cheese on top to us non-Dutch! I couldn't believe my eyes. Our little boy had a bit of dipping egg yolk on a bread crust and he just ate it. Bit it off, chewed and swallowed. All with a huge grin, like this was a normal every day occurence. I had tears in my eyes but still had the time to pass Thijs the camera to film this monumentous event. So this explains why the film is in black and white! ;)



Lots of love,
The Drostens xxx