A momentous change

During the second week of November a momentous change in our lives occurred in the shape of the birth of our first grandchild – a beautiful little girl.

This huge event has certainly been overwhelming, extremely happy and of course immensely exciting for our family but at the request of the new parents, I won’t be sharing many details or photographs on social media. 

If we know you personally, we might have shared a photo or two and of course if we have neglected to do so, you are welcome to private message us and we will of course be absolutely delighted to send a few carefully selected photos to you. 

So the past few weeks have been a whirl of blissful baby cuddles, celebrations and the arrival of a wonderful array of flowers, gifts and cards.

While on the subject of babies, I want to share with you the amazing service provided “free” to every newborn baby and the family in the Netherlands.  

On the day the baby arrives in the home, a Kraamzorg, (post partum nurse) arrives. From that day on, for the next week, the Kraamzorg comes to their home every day from 7.30 am – 3.30 pm. It is like having a home help, a child care nurse and a lactation advisor all rolled into one. A real life Mary Poppins!

In the morning the Kraamzorg would wake the new parents up with a delicious breakfast in bed.

While they enjoyed a leisurely meal she vacuumed and dusted the house, cleaned the bathrooms and mopped the floors.

She watched over the baby while the parents showered and dressed and then she whipped off the bedsheets and put them and anything else that was needed in the washing machine. 

During the day the Kraamzorg checked both mother and baby for their health and physical recovery from the birth and weighed the baby to monitor her progress. She also gently encouraged and supported the parents on every aspect of baby care. She made snacks and lunch for the parents and sent them to bed to rest after they’d eaten. While they rested she would fold washing and catch up on any other chores that needed doing. Later she would bring them a beautiful fruit salad in a wine glass to eat in bed. 

What a wonderful gift to have this start to your new life as a family – I’m sure it must pay for itself many times over.