Gideon day 111

Gideon is still doing very well and he is also slowly starting to grow better and better. He now weighs about 4770g. Still too little with his height of over 60cm, but he is growing. He is also starting to develop more and more. He has discovered his little hands and is starting to figure out that you can do things with them. Like putting your hands in your mouth or bringing other things to your mouth with them. Nice to see that development.

We had 2 broken probes leaking last week. As a result, we had to unnecessarily tease Gideon 2 times by having to insert a new probe. What a no fun job this is... The only positive thing is that we do get better and better at it.

The independent drinking is still not much better, but he now drinks about 10ml at a time, which takes him about 45 minutes. A good start and we'll just keep trying. He is getting to enjoy it more and more, which is also a good sign.

Gideon still sleeps a lot. We notice that doing things (like going for a walk, for instance) already takes up a lot of his energy. He experiences everything so intensely and seems to take everything in with big eyes. Sometimes it's a bit boring that he sleeps so much, but in itself it's nice that he can get his rest so well. The moments he is awake, he is cheerful and happy. He also spits up less and less, but that also depends on what we do with him during the day. The other day we had (in retrospect) really had too busy a day, after which he spit up a lot all night and the day after. Therefore, for the time being, we remain careful with his energy. 

Last week we went to David's grave for the first time in a long time and for the first time with Gideon. It was nice but also very strange to get there again. Especially because it is 2 stories that are so similar with such a different course that then suddenly come so close together. For the first time (sort of) complete 'as a family'...

Sunday 7 April we will dedicate Gideon in church. In dedicating Gideon, we want to show that we believe we have received him from God and are grateful that we can take care of him. As parents, we give Gideon back to God, as it were, to say that he is not ours but His, and that we want to raise Gideon the way He wants us to. We do this in our (church) community Rafael Amersfoort because this is our spiritual family and we need them in this as well.

At the hospital (and still do), we very consciously gave Gideon back to God every night before we left, because we are not in control of life (Gideon's life) and do not know what the future will be like. We can only give it back to the One who does have Gideon in His hand and a hopeful future for him. 

We really wanted to organise something of a maternity party around the dedication to give everyone who wanted to come for a maternity visit the opportunity to stop by and see Gideon. For the past three weeks, we've only had the grandparents, grandma and our siblings come for a maternity visit and at this rate, if we get everyone who wants to come by to visit, we won't be ready until Gideon is two 🙂 ...

Ideally, we would like to show him to everyone and give everyone the opportunity to meet him because we are so incredibly proud of him. But if we are realistic, this is probably not going to work out. Right now, because of his health, Gideon is better off not being in a place where there are a lot of people/children in a small space. This is what the paediatrician really urged us to do. But he also can't pull that off at the moment in terms of energy with so many impressions at once.

We are very sorry to say, but we do think this is the wisest thing to do. Should you happen to be able to attend the dedication on Sunday 7 April, you will at least be able to see Gideon for a while (from a distance or otherwise). We don't know if we will also be able to speak to you in person then, but in any case, know that we would really like it if you come.

As always, the service on 7 April starts at 10.00am and you can find the address at this site find.