June 23, 2006:

Just one more day and Alyssa will be 2 weeks old again. Amazing how time flies at this moment. Mommy is already home for a week as well, and together we go to the hospital 2 times a day. This procedure takes quickly 3 hours per time; besides this mother needs to "milk" every 3 hours for our little one. Not surprisingly we need our afternoon sleep once in a while.

Fortunately just seeing Alyssa gives us the necessary energy - amazing how heartbreaking she can be when she looks at me with these "glassy" eyes. Like "can't you let me sleep for once?". - looks like her father I say then ;)

This week was in focus of birth cards. If you don't have kids yet, or have them on the way: arrange everything beforehand!. We had to select the cards, determine the text, and get the addresses for those whom we want to send to. This with a little "extra" to make it slightly different as good releatives know us. All this costed a lot of time, but finally we were able to post the cards today.

Talking about cards: I've never been supporter of birth cards and all this "bullsh*t". A few weeks ago, I thought exactly the same to be honest. However, after seeing such a load of congratulation cards we received, and the fact we can't show Alyssa yet, we decided to make some nice cards (besides this website). We hope you will like them just as much!

OK, back to Alyssa. This week feeding went with up & downs. She needs to drink on average 55 ml per time. Getting the breast is not a problem, but she's not having the energy to get what she needs. A few times we couldn't even wake her up. She gets feeding therefore partially by tube into her stomach (sonde), via "finger-feeding", and bottle. This still seems to be a matter of time - there are other premature kids on her room having exactly the same issuee.

Finally! - after a rather hectic week there's some time now to write a story about Alyssa. As fresh-new-father I needed some time to get used to the idea that a daughter came into our lives.  That's because we weren't completely ready yet; she was supposed to get born around 17th July. We just should have known that a real "van munster" always knows what she/he wants ;)

Past weekend around 2 o'clock at night the delivery announced itself. About 3 hours later, we had our daughter in our hands. The delivery was in the hospital and went very smooth. Also thanks to adequate response of the nurses and doctors in the hospital.

As Alyssa is born 5 weeks too early, she was placed in the "aquarium" where she's kept on temperature, gets food through a tube and is under strict monitoring. Mother also had to remain in the hospital to get her strength back.

During the past week, Alyssa is relocated to the child department of the hospital and now sleeping in a normal baby bed. She still needs to eat through a tube that allows feeding straight into her stomach. Drinking from mothers' breast is still too exhausting and not really working for our small daughter. This is -taking advise of the nurses- a matter of time. When she drinks well, she is allowed to go home.

Anna remained in the hospital till Thursday afternoon. Chris has tried to spend as much as possible time with mother and child. Through a monitor in the room they could watch Alyssa and enjoy this great miracle. This however meant they had to go to the hospital 3 - 4 times a day, which was -together with other business for Chris- pretty busy.

Fortunately mother Anna returned last Thursday afternoon and gets a bit on strength again. Producing milk every 3 hours for Alyssa and visiting 2-3 times a day to take care of child and feed her was a bit exhausting, but we know where we're doing it for. As father I don't want to complain of course; I get a whole lot more rest then mother  ;)

The service in the hospital (twenteborg almelo) has been simply excellent from the beginning till this very moment. Anna is supported very well and service and friendliness is on a very high level! We definitely have the feeling to be welcome and - more important- that Alyssa is in good hands. Through this way we'd like to give our thanks to the staff in the hospital.

We learn a bit more every time we go to the hospital: changing Alyssa, checking temperature, bathing, or "simply" handling her, which seems to be the most difficult. Well, as our best friend says: "she's not wedge wood... remember?" There where I never really held baby's in my hands, I must say it was going rather easy. Father-daughter contact is fantastic; even if we have to go to the hospital for that. Feeding her with my finger, getting Alyssa to fall asleep at my chest... impossible to explain ;)

That I would be experiencing the "fathers-day feeling" this year is something I wouldn't have dared to remember. It was therefore a surprise that I got  a little present from Alyssa for her daddy, which was placed next to her bed by the nurses.

We - proud mother and father of Alyssa are very glad with her, and all cliché's  of mother -and father instinct , "our daughter is the most beautiful", etc. I will leave aside for a moment; this seems to be fixed in our genes by mother nature..