Ilias had his first bath on Thursday. Newborns have a uniquely lovely smell, a scent that supposedly aids bonding, so we like to let it sit for a week or so after birth. He was looking a bit flaky, though, so we decided it was time for a bath to spruce him up a bit.

He wasn’t terribly impressed with the baby bath, but a couple of days later, Sarah put him in the shower sling and took him under the shower with her. He seemed to really like that and didn’t mind the water spraying all over him.

Today, we took the children in the car and went to the Amsterdamse Bos, more specifically the goat farm there. This was an important confirmation of the new car’s ability to seat the three children in a row with with plenty of room to spare. Lucas and Ilias were in ISOFIX child seats, with Eloïse seated on one of the collapsible booster seats that we had built into the outer seats of the second row.

The real test, however, was for Ilias. How would he cope with being driven in the car? Neither Eloïse or Lucas had enjoyed their first journey, that’s for sure. Even now, it’s always touch and go whether Lucas will manage to keep the contents of his stomach on the inside.

Well, I’m pleased to say that Ilias currently leads the board in the easy car baby stakes. He didn’t wince, either on the way there or on the way back. Perhaps he was too distracted by his big brother and sister staring at him (at this young age, he faces backwards in his car seat).

Before we went out, I managed to catch some nice shots of Ilias sleeping.

If I were writing this blog solely for other people, now would be a good, if somewhat belated moment to discontinue it. I don’t think anyone reads it any more.

If you think I should abandon this blog, just let me know. Or rather, don’t, because you’re not reading it, anyway. Just fail to comment and I’ll figure out on my own that I should be spending my time more usefully.

Anyway, to the business at hand…

Ilias is now just over a week old. He’s made his inaugural trip to Bagels & Beans, twice in fact, but slept through the experience both times. For Sarah, too, it was the first time outside the door in a week. I’m sure that felt good.

Ilias lost his umbilical cord after just three or four days. It dried up and dropped off as expected. I’m always glad to see that shrivelled black thing snap off.

Sarah’s mum is struggling somewhat with Ilias’s name(s). It’s a grandparent’s prerogative, I suppose. Apparently, Sarah’s brother is planning to call his next child Hawk, Hawkin or something like that. I think that’s the greater challenge, personally. Ours names are much better, but then I would say that, wouldn’t I?

Laura, our midwife, came here yesterday for a final visit. She brought with her a dried placental membrane, which she has framed for us with a handwritten account of the birth. It’s an instant heirloom and something already very special to me.

It was also Grietje’s last day today. Woe is us, now our maternity nurse has gone. It has been a pleasure to have Grietje around and the children were, by now, very accustomed to her presence. She will be missed. It’s all down to us now, as our routine reverts to something resembling the pre-Ilias era.

Ilias underwent his hearing test yesterday, which he passed without difficulty. He also had blood extracted from his heel to be tested for various diseases.

His weight has almost returned to that of his birth. Some loss in the first week is completely normal and he should grow beyond his birth weight in the next couple of days.

Ilias now has his own vanity domain, iliasm.net, to match Eloïse’s, eloisem.net and Lucas’s, lucasm.net. Overkill, perhaps, but they may prove useful one day. In fact, I’m certain they will.

Our difficulties with choosing names for our children are well documented. If reading that gives you a sense of déjà vu, that’s hardly surprising, because they’re actually really well documented.

This was almost the hardest decision we’ve ever had to make, to my mind surpassed only by the deliberations that surrounded deciding whether or not to buy our current home a few years ago.

We’ve had a good idea what the baby’s first name would be for several months, regardless of a male or female outcome, but the cerebration regarding the other names continued through the weekend, the result of which was that one final change was instituted late yesterday afternoon. For us, girls are easier to name than boys. We don’t really understand why that is so, but it’s definitely true for both Sarah and myself. As such, we had quite a firm idea of the additional names we would bestow on a girl, whereas our options for a boy were much more provisional.

When Sarah and I awoke this morning, we had no further doubts and thus knew that we had finally arrived at our new son’s name.

The Dutch sun must have been waiting for August, because the transition from July has seen the weather here dramatically improve. Today is a beautiful, sunny day.

Once I’d seen to the morning’s immediate chores, I biked over to the stadsdeelkantoor on the President Kennedylaan and registered the birth of our latest offspring. Today is the our final day to do so without risking the wrath of the Dutch bureaucratic hydra, so I wanted to be there well before closing time. It was very busy, probably because a lot of their staff are now away on their holidays.

Whereas Lucas was given a hooded bath towel for the achievement of being born, Ilias’s gift was a cuddly toy in the same I Amsterdam theme. The gift was accompanied by a card emblazoned with the message Welkom nieuwe Amsterdammer! (Welcome, new Amsterdammer!). The text on the other side, loosely translated, reads:

Dear parent,

The city has gained a new Amsterdammer! Congratulations on the birth of your child. And with this birth gift, I would like to welcome your child to our city.

Amsterdam is a vivacious, idiosyncratic and colourful city. We feel it’s important that your child grows up healthy and makes use of the facilities that the city has to offer, playing with friends, actively participating at school, taking part in sports, dancing or making music. Together with you, we’ll work to make this happen.

I wish you and your child a bright future,

The mayor of Amsterdam
Eberhard van de Laan

It’s the little things in life that count, don’t you think? I think it’s a nice touch that new babies (and their parents) are welcomed to the city in this way. It promotes a sense of belonging.

The outside of the house is decorated with blue streamers and a couple of large plastic storks, so no-one in the neighbourhood can be in any doubt that our family has gained a new member. Most people are probably on holiday, anyway.

I took care of Ilias’s health insurance this afternoon, adding him to our family’s policy. Hopefully he won’t be causing me to make any claims on it for the foreseeable future, but it’s good to take care of such details as soon as possible.

Time, now, to turn my attention to more photos. Yesterday’s photos are already on-line.

What I haven’t written here over the last couple of days speaks volumes; to me, anyway.

We didn’t even manage to take any photos on Thursday or Friday, but are rectifying that today with a selection of shots of the three children together. You can’t imagine how proud I am of my little bunch; not to mention their mother. It’s twee in the extreme, but she’s given me the most amazing, precious gift I could ever imagine.

OK, I promise I won’t descend into that level of tweeness again.

The last few days have been hard work. Thank the civilised Dutch state for kraamzorg, that’s all I can say. When you have a new baby, an immobile wife and two healthy, energetic children to take care of, you’re grateful for absolutely any chore that can be taken off your hands. Even something as simple as emptying the dishwasher is a relief not to have to do, when there are so many other similar tasks competing for one’s attention. No single task takes a long time, but combined, they somehow take from dawn till dusk (and beyond).

I got almost six hours of sleep last night, so I’m feeling on top of the world compared to how I felt yesterday.

Grietje, the kraamverzorgster, has taken Eloïse and Lucas to the park, which has freed me up for an hour. A whole hour, just for me! Sarah is sleeping upstairs with the baby. Yes, he’s still the baby. His first name has been decided and is set in stone. The others, well, let’s just say they’re currently set in wet cement. They may still change over the course of the weekend, but, one way or another, we’ll be ready to announce his full name on Monday.

Eloïse and Lucas have a play date this afternoon, so I’m hoping to spend a little more time with my new son today. Although it’s his arrival that gave rise to the whirlwind of activity of the last few days, he, himself, is actually tranquil and undemanding, blissfully unaware of the somewhat coordinated chaos reeling around him.

We’ve had the meconium nappies and his poop has traversed several hues to arrive at its current brownish orange. He’s peeing like a trooper, maintaining a good body temperature and suckling well on the boob. In other words, all is as it should be with him.

I took Eloïse and Lucas to the zoo yesterday afternoon. We got there late in the day, so I bought a year membership for the whole family, so that we can return as many times as we wish over the next twelve months.

My main challenge this summer is going to be keeping the elder two sufficient entertained and physically exercised. The good thing about a summer birth is that the family’s diary is almost empty, so there are few external obligations and appointments to keep.

The bad thing about a summer birth is… that the family’s diary is almost empty, so there are few moments that Eloïse and Lucas are away from both of their parents, which makes it hard to keep them busy without resorting to the television. At this stage of the proceedings, time spent with Eloïse and Lucas is mostly time not spent with the baby, so it’s a real juggling act to ensure that everyone’s emotional, mental and physical needs are met.

And with that, it’s time to move on to other duties.