Praise God for: Our first peaceful night! We're so thankful, that after two rather hectic nights, we had one that was quiet. This has given us bounds of courage, and was proof of concept. Peaceful nights are not impossible! His eating really well, making at least three dishes per day of Indian panir in a curry sauce (with a slightly different aroma, of course).
Woa! We've made it through 3 nights. We feel like the conductors to a giant orchestra, working towards bringing forth a harmonic circadian rythm. If you were in the audience though, you'd hear that each musician is playing his own tune, a arythmic cacophony of wake, sleep, rock, feed, cry. Far from where we'd like to be :). Heidi accurately diagnosed Duvan's condition as a serious bout of jetlag. He definitely has his days and nights mixed up, lying wide-eyed in the middle of the night and sleeping contendly during the day. We're thinking that he's true to his parents' South African roots since he seems to be 6 hours ahead of us.
Night one was bliss for Marésa, who was able to get a total 6 hours of sleep. That's at least 3 times as much as she could muster in the hospital. For Jan however, this was not nearly as much as he had the two nights prior, so it was a long haul for him. Night two proved that night one was a blessing. We were up from midnight 'till 7am, trying all kinds of different things (except for the right things of course). Duvan was wide awake, and we couldn't convince him to go to bed. We'd sing, talk, walk with him for hours, but as soon as we put him down, he'd start crying for mom & dad. In hindsight, we provided way too much stimulation :). Needless to say, we were a little cautious going into last night! Praise God though for experienced friends, who all chipped in with great ideas. We went into the night with a plan, and with tons of prayer. We'd rock and walk him, but did not talk to him, and wouldn't make eye contact, so he would know it's sleepy time. We placed the window fan in his room, and sacrificed a couple of degrees of warmth for an extremely soothing white noise. And then we PRAYED. And he slept and slept and slept. He'd be awake for nursing, and sometimes would require a little soothing before falling asleep, but did not have to get up after putting him in his crib. What a difference it made! Marésa's spirit is lifted for knowing that "Yes, it can be done, it's not impossible". A benchmark has been set! Please share with us any bits of wisdom you may on how to establish a healthy night routine!
We've now realized that Duvan has his mother's cheeklines. Also, his chin reminds Marésa of her 'pop van Tonder's. This look is classic, especially if he is sleepy. He always opens his left eye first, scoping out the world before the other eye follows. :)
The shape of his ears seem to be the same as his daddy's. Right when he was born, in that first splitsecond when we scanned his whole body, and took everything in at the same time, Jan remembers thinking that he has really big ears! They turn out not to be so big at all. :)
Marésa and Duvan hanging out in bed this morning.
We put heads together this morning as to how to approach the day.
Duvan took a nap on dad's lap while he updated the website. These moments are incredible.
Remember to post any wisdom you may have regarding night-time routine. What we're looking for is what worked for you, so we can try it out!
Liefste Jan & Marésa
Uiteindelik kan ons ook julle pragtige seuntjie sien!!!!! Baie, baie geluk julle. Mag julle God's rykste seën in jul ouerskap ontvang. Ons is so, so bly vir julle - dis ongelooflik.
Beste Duvan
Baie welkom jong. Ons hoop jy geniet jou eerste lewensjaar!!! Daar is baie goeters om te sien, maar pappa en mamma sal jou alles wys. En laat ons nou vir jou 'n geheim vertel - Sę vir mamma sy moet jou groot en sterk maak. Suid-Afrika het rugbyspelers nodig!!!
Beste wense en baie liefde
Cornél en Susan
Posted by: Cornél & Susan | October 1, 2003 06:15 AM
Beste Jan & Marésa
Baie geluk met julle pragtige seun, die Here se seen is werklik op julle. Ons is werklik bly vir julle en glo dat julle nog baie genot sal pit uit sy lewe. Sterkte met die orkes se ritme.
Baie Groete
Theo en Ronél
Posted by: Theo en Ronél | October 3, 2003 09:10 AM
Hi Jan and Maresa
Congratulations on the birth of your SON.May you
all have great times together as a FAMILY.
He is beautiful (but of course you know that).
Love
Frans and Elaine Jacobs
Posted by: Frans and Elaine | October 6, 2003 04:46 AM
