STUDENT, WIFE, SUPERMOM!

Former Miss World Rolene Strauss says her baby boy has shown her what love is really about

Rolene Strauss: life with her baby boy & being back in class

SHE cradles the tiny tot in her arms with as much ease as she does everything else in her life – and anyone who knows her will tell you that “everything else” in her case is a lot. Rolene Strauss, former Miss World and final-year medical student, is now a mom – and today she’s showing off her little boy for the first time.

“If I didn’t know what it felt like to be willing to lay down my life for another person before, I do now,” the brunette beauty says. “Now I understand more than ever what love is.”

Rolene (24) and husband D’Niel (34) welcomed their 4,18-kg son at the Mediclinic in George in the Western Cape on 6 January. The couple have chosen not to reveal their little boy’s name yet to protect his privacy but Rolene let slip he’s been named after his granddad on D’Niel’s side.

The whole family is smitten with the baby, she adds. “D’Neil’s mom, Amelia, bought him an outfit that says, ‘Just because two people fell in love.’ It’s amazing to think this is a piece of you and the one you love the most in the world,” she says.

Less than a month after the birth Rolene is looking radiant, despite what must be an alarming lack of sleep. Not only does she have a brand-new baby, she’s already back at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein for her last year of medical studies.

“I’ve come this far with my studies so I have to finish them,” she says. But she adds it’s difficult to say goodbye to her baby every morning.

“It’s awful for me to leave my little one at home then go the hospital to work with sick children,” says Rolene, who’s doing her rotation in paediatrics. “But I also know I’m leaving him with people who shower him with love.”

The baby’s main caregiver is Maria Mashinini, who’s worked for Rolene’s family for 24 years. D’Niel is a businessman and lives in Stellenbosch in the Western Cape but he and Rolene call each other all the time so their son can get used to his voice. They commute and she’ll move to the Western Cape once her studies are complete.

Her wish for her son is to pursue his dreams. “No matter what he’s passionate about we’ll be there to support him.”

FAR LEFT: Rolene Strauss reads Bible stories to her son every night before bed then studies for about three hours while he’s sleeping. At midnight he wakes up and she feeds him, then grabs about four hours of sleep before he needs to drink again. LEFT:...

ABOVE: Rolene says her mom, Theresa, a former nurse, is amazing with her son. She spent three weeks with them after the birth before going home to Volksrust, Mpumalanga, and already misses him terribly. RIGHT: Rolene pops home at lunchtime to be with...