Merry Christmas to All

From Mark, Claudia and Riley, we hope you all had a really special Christmas. We most certainly did with our new little bundle. It is also great having all the family around, and sharing this time with them.

As you can see, Emma and Riley went all out to pose for the camera. The stress just got to Riley a bit, so she decided to have a nap...

The Life of Riley

It is Christmas Eve, and Riley will be two weeks old tomorrow. Hard to believe...

Our little girl is adorable, and very content (most of the time). This is a picture just after she has fed. We are a little early as we are going to go to the St Martins Carol service tonight. This will be a short service, so probably a bit easier (we hope).

Rattling Riley

Stacie sent Riley an ethnic rattle from her wedding last week-end, so we thought we would do an amateur photo shoot with Riley and the rattle. Nowhere nearly as good as Stacie, but sweet none the less.

Meet the GrandParents

Well, Riley has now met her three GrandParents, who seem to be quite taken with her. She was quite content while being held, and talked to, by Domenica (Nona), Anne (GrannieAnnie) and Michael (GrandPa).

She is feeding now and we will be off the the clinic for a quick weigh in as she has lost a bit more weight. We are going to check if all the waking to feed etc has helped... We do hope so.

Catching Rays...

Riley has had a very mild dose of jaundice, since she left hospital. We were advised to let her lie in the light for a while. Yesterday was the first day with some sun, so she spent a while catching rays in the lounge.

Her umbilical cord stump also came off shortly after this. This makes it so much easier to look after her. As much as we are told that cleaning the cord does not hurt... It looks like it should.

Then it was off to the clinic for the first week check up.

Riley is doing well. She has lost a bit more weight, so we are now on a strict feeding routine and are waking her to feed during the day. The next weight in is tomorrow (Wednesday), so she will hopefully have gained a bit of weight by then. :-)

Getting comfy

On Saturday morning (16th December at about 03h15) Riley had just fed, and decided to get comfy on her dads chest while we all tried to get back to sleep. She managed to squirm into this position. Arm under head etc. This seems to be the most comfortable sleeping arrangement she has.

After she went back in her crib, she slept through till we woke her for a feed.

Sorry, Say that again...

Our little Riley still does the movements that we saw in her 4d scans. She loves to hold her ear, suck her hand etc. All very cute.

Pic of the Day - 13 December 2006

This is the cutest picture from today. Claudia and Riley both had a good day. Riley most certainly has an appetite. We are expecting to come home tomorrow all things being equal. Can't wait...

Wanna go Home ...

This was too cute to miss out on. Riley snuggled right up to Claudia's tummy, looks like she wanted to burrow back in.

Pick of the Day - 12 December 2006

This is the pic of the day. Riley seems to have changed overnight too...

Claudia and Riley share a moment (or two)

Claudia was feeling much better today. She had a good nights rest and spent the day encouraging Riley to feed.

This is one of the moments they shared.

Living the life of Riley

Claudia and Riley are both doing great. Riley seems very content for now. Claudia is a bit tired, but I am sure will be feeling much better after a good nights rest tonight.

Here are to slightly better pictures of Riley, after her bath and a bit of a feed.

Thank you all for you good wishes and prayers. We really appreciate the good vibes.

Can't wait to get my family back home though.

Riley - First Pics

Just rushed home to post the first pics while Claudia and Riley sleep before visiting hours at 15h00. Will try do some better ones a bit later.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, its off to birth we go!!!

Well, the day has finally arrived. It is early Monday morning and we are just leaving to go the Umhlanga Hospital for the "planned ceasar. We are expected to be there at 06h00, and the opertation will most likely be done at around 09h00, and lasts about 60 minutes or so in total. Riley will most likely be born by about 9h15.

A lot depneds on what happens before our turn as Claudia is scheduled as the second operation of the day. Dr Hartmann even spoke about starting early (i.e 07h30) which could move the whole day up by half an hour.

Strangely, it is actually quite chilly this morning. I suppose after the last few days of rain this is to be excpected. The sun does look like it will be shining, which is a good thing.

What this means, is that in a very short while, Dominique Riley Fredanus van Gelder will be born, slightly earlier than anticipated - well, maybe not (I thought around the 10th).

As soon as we have any news and pictures I will post them for all to see.

Wish us luck...

B-Day - Monday 11th December 2006

Well, Monday it is... We have just been for the final scan, and Baby Riley has not given up on her growth pattern. She now weighs in at 3.716kg, about 300g more that 6 days ago.

We are happy with our decision to go the ceasar route on Monday. And as you can see below, waiting would probably not be in the best inetrests of Riley or Claudia.


During the scan today, Dr Hartmann managed to get a bit of inteligible footage of Riley's face and hand. As she has gotten bigger, it has been very difficult to actually see anything other than limbs etc.

This is a picture we managed to get of Riley, with her hand, once again firmly in her face - do we have a thumb sucker on our hands?

Hail Ceasar!!!

It seems that Riley has not slowed down her growth spurt at all... We have just been for a checkup and her conservative weight is now 3.467kg.

Dr Hartmann was very nice, but has suggested for Claudia and Riley's safety that we go the ceasarian route. So we have made a tentative booking for Monday 11th December 2006. We go for a "last" checkup next Thursday (7th December) after which we will know more.

It is quite amazing how everything can change so quickly. All along Claudia has said that she would prefer to go natural if possible, but we are not happy to take chances, hence the changes.

The following screen shots tell the story:

Baby Shower - Thank You So Much!

Today, we had a baby shower, very kindly arranged by Tracy M. We were very spoiled, and received just about everything that we still needed.

As you can see in the above pic, there is tons of stuff, from toys through to toiletries and clothes etc.

Claudia and I are very gratefull for all the gists and the moral support from our friends and family. We are looking forward to the arrival of our "little" Riley.

Riley Grew-Some!

Well, today has certainly been an interesting one! We have just been for our 34 week scan with Dr. Hartman, and Riley has grown considerably. At the last scan she weighed in at 1.592kg. Today she weighs in at a wopping 2.876kg. This is at the upper edge of a big baby!

Dr Hartman said something along the lines of "So, what do you feed your baby [silence] cause she has grown so much".

He actually went back and re-did all his measurements to make sure. The second set came in at about 2.738kg.

So, when we go for the next scan in two weeks, we will know more, but for now... We have a big Baby on our hands!

Preggie Pics - By Stacie

During Chris and Stacie's fleeting visit today, Stacie very kindly took some "Preggie Pics" for us. This is a speciality of Stacie's.

The pics came out great. Much nicer that any of my attempts to date - Thanks Stacie!

Life is funny though. Today is Lara's birthday. This time last year (to the day) Brett and Lara asked Stacie if she could go the London to do their pics. Quite a coincidence, considering that Leo and Riley's estimated due dates are both 26th December one year apart.

Chris and Stacie - Kitchen Tea

Chris and Stacie dropped in today, on the way back to Johannesburg from a wedding. Melanie had managed to arrange a surprise kitchen tea. Chris knew tht the girls were coming, but Stacie had no idea.

The Parnell girl's were thrilled to see them.

Stacie was certainly surprised, but I think that everyone had a good time. It was also great to catch up with Dave, Cathy and Merv again.

Riley's Friends Move In

Well, today, slightly ahead of schedule, Riley's friends have moved in. A collections of butterfies, dragon flies and a sea horse have taken up residence above her changing table.

Hopefully these friendly creatures will help keep Riley entertained during the upcoming changing sessions. They are right above where her head will be, and just out of reach.

Their mobility and colour are the main attraction.

Riley's room is comming along nicely. We have gone for a very simple look, but added in lots of family bits. The Mickey Mouse Lamp, the old cot. Michael's horse Toby, etc.

I made up the mobile out of some spring decorations we got at the shop. Turned out quite well.

There is not much else to report until the next scan, which is on Friday 17th November. We do however enter the 34th week today. So not long to go.

Week 32 - Not long to go...

Well, today is the start of the 32nd week. We have been pregnant for 31 weeks and have 9 weeks left to go - if Riley decides to arrive on time (26th December 2006). Maybe she will take after her cousin Leo and arrive on the 10th...

Amazing how time flies.

We have kept a few photos of progress, this is what Claudia looks like today.

As you can imagine the heat etc are making her uncomfortable. Where before I was hot and Claudia cold, the roles have been reversed. Claudia now insist on turning the aircon lower (thank goodness for aircon).

Friday 13th - Lucky for some

We had our 4D scan today. After hearing the dissapointing stories from friends etc, Claudia and I went with very low expectations. The radiologist started off by warning us NOT to expect too much. There is a 1 in 6 chance of actually being able to see the baby' face.

As the scan started it became clear that Riley had her face squashed up against the placenta. This makes it very difficult to get a "nice" picture.

After a bit of prodding and pushing, trying to persuade her to move, Riley finally obliged, and we managed to get the following pics, which are amazing...

Just to show her displeasure at being prodded, Riley actually stuck her tongue out too. In the videos it is possible to see her opening her eyes and yawning etc.

With eyes wide open

Well, we have finally done it. After a bit of nagging we have finally set up our own blog to share with the rest of the family. This is a picture, captured from our last baby scan. As you can see (I hope). Dominique Riley has her "eyes wide open". It may be a bit difficult to picture, but is very clear in the DVD. I guess the movement makes it that much easier to make out the details.

We will be going for our next scan on Friday (13th). This will be the 4D as well as a regular scan. So hopefully we will be really lucky and be avle to see something of the future. If our little one decies to play the game.