Daniel @ 10 months!

He's a big boy now, 10 months old and weighs just over 10kg's (birth weight was 1.69 kg's ).
He's only starting to crawl now and he's 2nd tooth is making it's appearance.. and obviously I'm there, armed with my camera to capture anything and everything that's new in his life.
Daniel truly is an inspiring child; although he has been through so much at birth he greets each new day with a smile - I nicknamed him "smiley" .. he never has a sad face nor do he cry for no reason and he makes everyone smile around him - i sure do hope that one day when he is a bit older, that he can uplift someone with this beautiful gift. Daniel indeed is a gift to us.
He has another name as well - "Sparkles" it seems like his eyes are made of glass and it constantly has a sparkle in it - and it sparkles even more when he has this beautiful smile!!
What else do I say as a proud Dad?? "I love you my son and I know you will make us proud in years to come."



A few images of Daniel taken this month.



"Smiley"





Francois Willemburg
Photographer
francois@photofuzion.co.za
www.photofuzion.co.za
0736005135

Daniel at 2months

Daniel has been growing very well and he is a healthy young man.. i mean baby boy.. (can't wait for when he's all grown up)

He is 2 months old now and his delivery day was today! (04-04-09).. this would have been very close to my birthday :-)
I don't think that Chantal would have been able to handle all the pain that she had until now!! We are so glad that things happened the way it did and we are very grateful for having our cute precious little angel with us. I love this boy so much and only want what would be best for him... I guess that's how all parents think but I have big expectations for our son and I will surely be there every step of the way to make sure that he achieve his goals... (or will that be my goals???) I guess not, but I will definitely guide our boy in the right direction. My biggest aim will probably be to make sure that he get exposed to the latest high-tech gadgets and technology from an early age... these are things that really interest me and I think it will be very advantageous in the future.. who knows where technology will lead us to in the next 15 years...??? ask Daniel a bit later on, i'm sure he will look up from his touch screen notebook and give an answer that will amaze you... :-))

I wonder if he will ever be as passionate about photography like I am??? I guess I will just have to influence him in his early years.. :-))
Can you imagine a 7 year old at a wedding being the second shooter, armed with the latest Canon camera, shooting away and charming the ladies at the same time...?? now this will be history in the making I tell you... there's always a first for everything.. :-))



Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135

Daniel's last day in NICU...

It's been a while since I last posted some pics of Daniel... have been very busy lately (work and Daniel)... going to bed at 04:30am and getting up for work at 07:30am ain't the easiest thing to do... :-(

Here is some pics of Daniel just before he was released from hospital, 4 weeks ago...
Since then he has gone for an eye test, with good results, he has been to his first paediatrician visit, everything there went ok and he has been picking up weight at a good pace. His last recorded weight was 2.84kg at 6 weeks.. he should be close to 3kg's now... he will go for his next weigh-in next week.

Everything has been running smoothly thus far.. both me and Chantal are very happy about this. Daniel is the sweetest baby boy ever!! of coz he has a few up and downs, but nothing to complain about. We love our boy to bits and enjoy seeing him grow day by day... he sure is going to be one fine handsome teenager... but for now we are just happy with him still being our little baby.

Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135

Daniel update

Hi guys

I'm happy to report that Daniel is doing very well and he should be home with us any day now....
He now weighs a healthy 2.1kg (this may not sound like much but it is a huge improvement!) and he is breastfeeding very well.
Chantal and I are very proud of him and now anxiously awaits his home coming.
I can't wait for the last of the tubes to be removed so that I can take some proper pics of our little angel!!

Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135

Daniel Day 9

Did a big photoshoot yesterday, was exciting and fun and we are more than happy with the results. Immediately after the shoot I went to hospital to see how my baby is doing. I'm very happy with his health and he is doing just fine. The drip has been removed from his naval and now he is only being fed mommy's milk.. he's big boy already!
He has now been given a daily multi vitamin, Vi Daylin.
I got to hold him for the first time last night and it felt so good!! Daniel was also ecstatic about that 'coz he was smiling at me all the time!! We have thus far made a very good connection.

I recieved a beautiful poem from Janine (sister-in-law) and would like to share it with you...
it brought tears to my eyes just writing it...!


My Daddy's Hand

Daddy, take my hand in yours and you will plainly see,
How very much I need you now to love and to care for me.
As my little hand grows, I will need you even more,
Everything I do in life, I have never done before.
Teach me to be kind and loving, sharing and forgiving,
Show me through your acts of life the pure joy of giving.
The years will pass by so quickly, and one day I wiil be grown,
I will pass what you have taught me on to children of my own.
Hold me always in your thoughts and remember when we are apart,
The Special love between a child and a daddy's heart...

Love Daniel



Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135

Daniel Day 8

Valentines Day

:-(
I didnt get to see my baby on this special day... had to shoot a wedding in Hermanus, was a stunning wedding but was longing to be with my baby... by the time I got home from the wedding he was in dreamland...
Chantal however, spent the day with him, bought him his first Valentines teddy and took a few pics of him, he's just so precious...

Daniel was doing very well and Chantal got to hold him for about an hour!! i was jealous but proud...

Happy Valentines Day my baby.

Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135

Daniel Day 7

Hi Guys
So sorry that I am so late with Daniel's update today...it's extremely hectic on my side.. I'm preparing for a big wedding tomorrow in beautiful Hermanus (will be a long day...) and I was soooo busy preparing for our big production shoot on Sunday. Everything is going as scheduled and the outcome should be nothing less then expected...

A big thank you to everyone who reads my blog and for sending all the emails and txt messages, Chantal, Daniel and I appreciate your concerns in this time that we are going through...

Daniel had me worried for a while as his heartbeat raised to almost 200 beats p/min.... on average it should be 155 .. the doctors took blood samples to check for infections but found none...(relieved). The feeding pipe that was connected to his umbilical cord was removed and a new line has been placed onto his left arm. This was a bit painful for him and he cried quite a bit... then his heartbeat stopped for a while... and they had to help his breathing with some extra oxygen. He has recovered well since then. He was sleeping very peacefully when we left, but he did managed to give us a little cute smile before he dosed off again. His milk levels has increased to 14mils p/2hrs..
They also measured him now and from head to toe he is 45.6cm, that is very tiny. I will get his new weight from the nurse tomorrow.

Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135

Daniel day 6

Daniel is smiling!!!!













Last night after work I spent some time with our baby and took a few more pics... the best one is where looks like he is smiling!!! The one where he is sleeping with my wedding ring in his hand is way to cute!! love that pic also...

The MRI scan was done and everything appears to be normal.. so happy about that.
His feed dosage has increased to 6.6 mils p/2hr and was set to increase to 9 mils p/2hr this morning. This shows that he is doing very well. As all newborn babies, Daniel has lost 100gram from his birth weight. He now weighs 1.59kg. This will change soon and he will increase his weight at a steady pace...






All these pictures of Daniel was taken in low light conditions and no flash was used.. to much flash cant be to good for his small sensitive eyes...
typical camera settings was:
manual mode
ISO 1600 - 3200
f/2.0 - f/2.8
shutter 1/60
file format: RAW

Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135last

Daniel Day 5

Teeny, tiny little toes

Small and round little nose

A precious gift from heaven above

My sweet baby that I love

We’ve longed to see you face to face

And we’ve prepared a special place

Just for you, our baby

I have always been fascinated with macro photography, see some of my stuff here... I have a lens for this, Canon 100mm f/2.8USM Macro which is now mounted on the new Canon 5DMkii (thanks to Klaus Tiedge)and I absolutely enjoy using it. Now I have a son with the tiniest hands and feet that I've ever seen and I'm in so much awe of it.. I want to capture all these small precious details and one day show him where he started in life to the the big boy he will be then...

keep watching this space for more of these images...

I'm happy to report that Mom and Daniel are doing fine. Chantal are having some pains but she is coping well... she was very emotional yesterday and I had to comfort her letting her know that I am there for both her and Daniel.. at all times.
The doctors has also increased Daniel's feed because he is doing very well. We have been told that after 10 days things will become a bit more hectic... he will get sick, infections and all sorts of stuff will happen... apparently this happens to all preemie babies... We will just pray that everything will work out for the best. Daniel is in very good care where he is now.

Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135

Daniel Day 3

Hi All

Firstly, Daniel is doing fine, we are still waiting on doctor to do the brain scan though, so will update on that a bit later.
Chantal and I would like to use this opportunity to thank everyone who prayed for us, all the emails, txt messages and phone calls. We really do appreciated all your well wishes, a big thank you to all the visitors at the hospital and for all the gifts, and Investec for sending the beautiful big bunch of flowers.
Daniel sends his love to all... :-)


Francois Willemburg
Freelance photographer
francois4photos@gmail.com
0736005135