High in Leuven

It's now 4 days after the birth of our wonderful little man, and I still haven't stopped smiling. At first I thought it was the drugs, but I'm unhooked now for 2 days, so it can only be the euphoria! For that natural high, I can recommend giving birth instead of weed anyday! ;)

Luckily recovering from the operation hasn't been as traumatic as I expected. The staff here at Leuven are really wonderful. They help if you need it but give you as much independance as you need. I would describe recovery as more uncomfortable than painful and for that I am very greatful. I might have been a roughty toughty member of the armed forces in my previous life, but I'm still a wimp when it comes to pain! When I look at what my son is putting up with, he is a great inspiration for me to get strong as quickly as possible.
Noah is in the neo-natal unit on the floor below me. He's in an open incubator, which looks like a table top with removable plastic sides, which is under a heating element to keep his body temparature stable. It's a bit daunting to see all the drips, wires and monitors attached to his little arms and legs. The nurses spend some time to explain what everything is there for, I find it difficult to absorb all the information but it's reassuring to know he's having the best of care. The main thing I'm so proud of him because every day his condition improves and he's on less and less medical support. He's such a little fighter. He's still on a drip because they found a slight blockage in his bowels. Luckily it was nothing to worry about, but they are always behaving on the cautious side, so they are waiting a few days to ensure the opening remains open and that he can evacuate without assistance before giving him his mummy's milk. Hopefully they will start him on his milk tomorrow.

I previously only managed to spend short amounts of time with Noah, but yesterday I felt strong enough to spend a good hour with him. It was great. I told him about all the family that's eagerly awaiting him and passed on all the good wishes from everyone. I was able to read him a story from his Woezel and Pip book, and quizzed him about any future aspirations he might have. I offered up Rugby, Swimming, Cricket, Rugby, Ice skating, cycling, Rugby, Hockey, Rugby - sadly only Hockey got a response. I'm afraid my son is more Dutch than Welsh! However, this could all change when grampy Bazzard presents him with his first welsh rugby outfit - I'll keep you informed! ;)
I've inspected Noah from head to toe for family resemblance. Luckily he doesn't have his opa Drosten ears, he does does have his dad's little nose and the Widdershoven big toe. Strangely though, he has my friend Lol's elongated middle toe - I'm not sure how that got in the genetic mix! He has beautiful blond hair, and the cutest little mouth ever. This is where I have the potential to go on and on about how perfect he is in every way, so I'll spare you all and stop now.

Yesterday our friends Willie and Sandra came to visit. Noah recieved his first of his "Toys that makes Noise". Since it was Winnie the pooh, I'm not sure who will have more fun, me or Noah! It was Thijs' birthday yesterday, and so they also brought along a fantastic apple tart which we all enjoyed a taste of. Visiting regulations for Noah are quite strict, so we didn't go and visit Noah but we showed them the photo's that Anneke had taken of him. Amongst the photo's was a shot of me prior to giving birth. Willie laughed and said how much I resembled Fat Bastard (a villain charachter from the Austin Powers movies - not complimentary). The weekly squash sessions makes Willie surprisingly agile and swift. I blame my stitches for slowing me down. On reviewing the hospital security tapes later, it was discovered that Willie managed to escape the hospital confines by disguising himself in a Burqua and blending in with a crowd of Nomadic moslims heading towards the car park. I will find you Willie!!! ;)

Well, I'm gearing up for my overdue first shower this morning. After that Thijs and I are heading off to visit Noah and have a little chat and read him his story. I'll see if he's had a change of heart vis a vis his Rugby aspirations - I'm nothing if not persistant!
That's all from Leuven, love and best wishes to you all, and please keep the comments coming, they are great to read.

xxx Louise, Thijs and Noah

Some photo's!

Hi everyone,

Below are a few pictures that Anneke took of Noah. As you can see he is closely monitored.
He and Louise are doing very well. Noah’s ventilation is slowly being reduced, which is a very good sign.
Louise is already able to get out of bed for a few minutes, which is also a very good this quickly after major surgery. She doesn’t want to get out of bed, as she is enjoying the princess treatment she is getting right now. She doesn’t even have to get out of bed for a bath.
We expect Louise to be here till Wednesday, but I will be going to The Hague tomorrow or Sunday to check if the house is still there. Back to Leuven quickly off course to be with Noah.

For visitors: Noah can be visited only with the parents, between 15.30 and 16.30, or between 19.00 and 20.00. Visits have to be short and you are not allowed to touch anything (including Noah). Only two visitors are allowed at a time.
So please call us if you wish to visit, and we can make sure all is arranged.

Thank you for all your calls, visits, mail and comments.

News, and move

Hi everyone,

Noah is doing well and so is Louise. I'll tell you more tomorrow, but we will celebrate first now.
Thanks for all your calls, messages, phonecalls, prayers. It has really helped us, and since Noah is doing well, it has helped him as well.

Louise is recovering in a new room, and has a new phone number. Please keep your phone calls short, as she still needs to sleep a lot, but it will be difficult to stop Louise from talking all about Noah. Phoning hours end at 8 in the evening, so Louise can go to sleep early.

Her new adress is:

Department E430
Floor 3, room 3002/1
00 32 16 333948

Thijs

B-Day

Hi everyone,

9:15
We just arrived in the hospital from our hotel, Louise is already in surgery.
She got taken to the preparation room at 6.30 this morning, and the planned procedures will take quite a while. They will first drain some fluid from both Louises belly, and later on our sons belly before even starting the operation. This will be done very gently, so could take a lot of time.
This means sitting and waiting, but the nurses have given us coffee and we have a little room to sit, so we don't bother too many people pacing back and forth. Also, they know where we are and will tell us any news as soon as possible.

11:00
Still no news, so I'm slowly going mad. Oh well, it could be that I am just impatient.

11.02
News! We are now officially parents of Noah Alexander Glyndwr Drosten.
Mother and son are both doing well, allthough I haven't seen them yet. I will be able to visit around 12, but this is probably it for today.

Thijs

It's the final countdown....

(cue 80's hairrock)

Louise just told me that they have given her an injection to help mature the babies lungs. Just before that pr. Deprest came to see her and told her that they have a preference to operate on wednesday (7th of July), but not everything is arranged yet.
The doctors are meeting this afternoon to decide when the operation is going to take place, but from the looks of it, wednesday is the best bet.
I'll update this post when i hear more.

Confirmed! Louise will go into surgery wednesday morning, around 7.30 to be prepared, and I expect to see our son arrive before lunch. (Louise will probably still be out, so I get to be the first to greet him.)
Don't call us we'll call you! Mobile phones are forbidden in the baby department anyway, as well as near the operating theather. So do not worry when you don't hear anything for a while, we'll be way too busy admiring our son :-).

Thijs

Update from Stalag Leuven!

Writing smuggled out from cell 3006, wing E403, women’s unit.

My incarceration began on Sunday evening when the administrator attached an identity tag to my wrist; I am reduced to a number. I share my cell with a quiet Ghanaian lady with a very loud whirling dervish of a son, called Dennis, who comes to visit. This always livens up the place. I’m situated next to the window, and so have a pleasant view of a 1970’s concrete building with a strip of grass in front of it, occasionally rabbits like to visit to eat the new shoots. The exercise yard is in front of the complex, a three tiered pond filled with goldfish, other sorts of fish and ducks. Inmates from all over the complex congregate there, the saddest of which are the pitiful addicts puffing away on their cigarettes whilst strapped to all sorts of strange and perhaps torturous contraptions.

My cell guards are very pleasant and the food is also good and plentiful – I suspect this is all to keep the inmates compliant for when they run their experiments. Like vampires they descend regularly for blood, and I’m attached daily to monitor machines that record the baby’s heartbeat. However, the baby is on to their Orwellian ways and refuses to lie still long enough for “big brother” to track him!

What?! You don’t believe me? Come see for yourself!!

In all honesty, Leuven is not all that bad and I’m in the best of hands for looking after me and the baby. We’re getting the best of care and even the slightest change in either of our condition is investigated – and found to be normal. The baby is driving the staff nuts by not staying still for the monitor, so it’s likely that we’ll be heading off for another ultrasound (echo). This baby is destined for a career on TV with the amount of time he has spent on the small screen already!

The professor has been to visit and is happy with both my and the baby’s condition. I’m not sure if it’s a threat or a good thing but he mentioned that perhaps we can delay the procedure until 37 weeks! J He did mention that it’s difficult to measure how the baby is progressing, they don’t have anything to compare it too, but he’s moving about so much and so strongly that they believe this to be a healthy indication. Of course if anything changes, my waters break or our condition deteriorates then they will reconsider. The main reason for me to be here is as they can respond quickly to the slightest change, and we both find that very reassuring.

Thijs is here to visit and if that wasn’t fabulous enough, he came bearing packages! I have a beautiful flower arrangement as a gift from him to brighten and perfume the room, which is wonderful as the room is very dull.

My dad had posted even more clothes for the baby – I think my dad is determined that this will be the most fashionable of grandchildren!

The biggest box was from our friend Lol, who’s living out in America at the moment. When we opened it, it was fantastic. We felt like we were having one of those parties that they throw for parents to be in the USA, a baby shower. Package after package of the most gorgeous Winnie the Pooh baby room items were opened and admired. Even the staff commented on the lovely and sometimes unique items. A huge thank you from us Lol, we’re overwhelmed. Plus the timing was fantastic and cheered us up no end!

Thijs loves the canteen; he can enjoy a Duvel or a Blonde with his meal plus they are cheaper than in the Netherlands. I love that they have Stella Artois non-alcoholic beer, so at least I don’t feel too left out!

It’s great that people have phoned, keeping me in touch with the outside world! I’ve also have a few visitors coming to see me which I’m looking forward too and Bart is fixing me up with some viewing material. Daytime TV is awful whether in Belgium or the Netherlands!

Well that’s all the news from Stalag Leuven, I just hope Thijs can smuggle this out undetected. I shall leave his hiding place a secret as some things are best left unsaid!

Love to you all,

Louise – Prisoner 62075924