*Baby Corner*

[faryan 4]

Delivering your kids in Germany is great Eveline.. Most of my German friends dont have babies yet (or dont want to), but I stayed with a friend's brother's family when i was in Frankfurt a couple of years ago. He and his wife are doctors. And the wife told me that she had 6 months maternity leave or something, and then took another 6 months unpaid leave to be with their little kids. that's awesome..

I'm sorry to hear that you are not pregnant after all. Good luck with the babymaking in the future.

I had both my babies in the US. I wish I could have delivered in Germany but oh well, that's ok. I don't know how it works in Germany but I know that you get paid time off to raise your babies.

Back from the checkup, even the doc was relieved that im not pregnant yet, done all the necessary stuff and doc said im healthy. Now just the dreaded interview next week..

Me and hubby really thought that i might be pregnant. Hubby was more convinced than I was tho. We've been trying to prepare ourselves re the possibility this whole week. Better this way I guess...

Good luck to all the expecting parents!

[MzMo1102 0]

Baby gear: there is so much stuff on that list which I do not have, and yet stuff that I have that's not on there. You really should know what you want: more a sling-type of person, more a stroller? Do you want to cloth diaper or disposables? Don't get too many clothes!!!! And I personally love one-piece-footsies, they cover baby all over, yet put no pressure on little fat-bellies like baby pants do.

We have no mattress pad and in fact never needed one???

With the baby wash - buy organic - I wouldn't advise anything that contains harsh soaps, fragrances etc - like Johnson & Johnson. Many babys don't react well to that stuff. And foremost: babies aren't really that dirty - soap isn't necessary. We wash our son with water and that's just fine. BTW we got this $40 baby tub - we used it like twice. It's bulky and not really worth it...

Also, as for butt ointment: if you have sensitive skin, chances are baby will too. Weleda is an excellent choice, also the Burt's Bees ointment. Desitin did not work at all for us, it made the rash worse. Once I checked the ingredients and went like duh! Powder isn't recommended anymore as it is dangerous to breathe it in, I forget the exact issue. But you wouldn't want it on baby's butt, really. It's best to clean it, dry it, put some ointment on & pack the little tushie back in its diaper.

We don't really use the baby monitor. Baby sleeps with us in his crib right next to our bed. And we live in a 2-bedroom - I hear him if he wakes up from his nap!!

Breastfeeding: you really want to get a nursing top. You can nurse in all sorts of clothes, but for convenience at home, one nursing top makes it so much easier!!! Motherhood maternity sells cheap ones.... I personally prefer Lansinoh storage bags over the Medela bags - they hold more and are cheaper, yet both are BPA free.

@ MzMo: I hope they wave the xray and the vaccines. You should totally avoid both. Especially the xray and live vaccines (which are both contraindicated during pregnancy). I hope it works out!!!

Likewise, I really hope they wave both as I am not willing to take any chances - thanks.

Delivering your kids in Germany is great Eveline.. Most of my German friends dont have babies yet (or dont want to), but I stayed with a friend's brother's family when i was in Frankfurt a couple of years ago. He and his wife are doctors. And the wife told me that she had 6 months maternity leave or something, and then took another 6 months unpaid leave to be with their little kids. that's awesome..

I'm sorry to hear that you are not pregnant after all. Good luck with the babymaking in the future.

I had both my babies in the US. I wish I could have delivered in Germany but oh well, that's ok. I don't know how it works in Germany but I know that you get paid time off to raise your babies.

Back from the checkup, even the doc was relieved that im not pregnant yet, done all the necessary stuff and doc said im healthy. Now just the dreaded interview next week..

Me and hubby really thought that i might be pregnant. Hubby was more convinced than I was tho. We've been trying to prepare ourselves re the possibility this whole week. Better this way I guess...

Good luck to all the expecting parents!

At least it's one less thing you have to worry about for now. Good to hear your medical went well and good luck on your interview next week!

[faryan 4]

At least it's one less thing you have to worry about for now. Good to hear your medical went well and good luck on your interview next week!

Definitely... Thank you MzMo, and congrats on your pregnancy

[chnst 6]

Does anyone have a link to the old thread? I can't find it.

@Eveline: omG LOL your kids are sooooo adorable in their sink baths. Hahaha, soooo funny!

@Kavi: awwww I want to steal him! I love those pictures!! I can't believe how he can possibly be 1 already!

@Zaid: aww he is such a handsome little guy! I can't believe how good he was for his first haircut!

@Babygear: I think we have pretty much everything now. We bought a lot along the way and we still keep getting "shower" gifts for our 9month old. We even have a walker now for the kitchen, but he keeps looking over to his exersaucer when he's in it, like he feels bad for "cheating" on his exersaucer. I wish I could get rid of it, since it takes up so much space but it's still his favorite thing.

as for babysoap and lotions: we hardly use anything. I use a little bit of weleda soap for washing him, and Aveeno lotion after a bath. I hardly don't ever use diaper creams, unless it's needed. I love Burts Bees Baby Bee diaper cream. That stuff smells so good. I stopped using the major baby product brands after looking them up on cosmetic database. It's shocking that the government just doesn't intervene and passes stricter laws about ingredients especially for baby products. Like most parents, I was totally unaware of this until someone gave me the cosmeticsdatabase.com link.

[Carolyn 1]

About buying stuff:

You probably don't need half of the stuff on the lists, but one woman's essential is another's waste of money!

Honestly, I think those lists are so long because baby stores WANT you to buy it all (consumerist American culture at its finest). My suggestion: don't buy any clothes yet (unless you have no friends, family or co-workers around). People LOVE to buy you baby clothes, bath stuff (towels, wash clothes, toys), blankets, toys and books. In fact, you probably don't even need to register for them. People you hardly even know will give you those smaller gifts--it's crazy how much stuff you'll end up with. I had no place to put it all!

[tnh9479 1]

I agree about the clothes. OMG...we have gotten so many new clothes and hand-me-downs that my two could wear a different outfit every day for the whole year! I gotten soooooooooo many blankets as well. We now have 3 sets of hand-made blankets. I love them but we live in South Florida! Our main issue has been that my two were in-between sizes. They weren't preemie and weren't newborn size. Luckily, Gerber makes some clothes for babies that are 5-8 pounds. That has helped us to the point now where they can start wearing some of their wardrobe!

[Berber Mama 5]

About buying stuff:

You probably don't need half of the stuff on the lists, but one woman's essential is another's waste of money!

Honestly, I think those lists are so long because baby stores WANT you to buy it all (consumerist American culture at its finest). My suggestion: don't buy any clothes yet (unless you have no friends, family or co-workers around). People LOVE to buy you baby clothes, bath stuff (towels, wash clothes, toys), blankets, toys and books. In fact, you probably don't even need to register for them. People you hardly even know will give you those smaller gifts--it's crazy how much stuff you'll end up with. I had no place to put it all!

I agree about waiting to buy clothes. We started buying early and I ended up being given two baby showers and addition to people buying us things after he was born. I went through his things a few days ago and had to bag up a whole bag of stuff that he had outgrown before he had a chance to wear because there was just too much. It's best to wait during the last month to make a list of things that you did not recieve to shop for them. It's easier said than done though. It's just too tempting to pick up cute stuff when you're out.

[Eveline 9]

I would also check if there's a 'once upon a child' store somewhere around. they sell very well kept second hand babyclothes and equipment. http://www.ouac.com/

Edited January 31, 2009 by Eveline

[Nessa 23]

we bought the furniture, the travel system, the swing and a whole bunch of other stuff yay!!

[Nessa 23]

here's the travel system we chose:

here's the swing we chose:

and here's the furniture 4 piece collection we chose:

[JVKn'CVO 11]

aaww those are all really nice Nessa

Saludos,

Caro

[Eveline 9]

Nessa, we have the same swing in pink. Allie likes it, Adam LOVES it

Cute stuff you bought. Have fun decorating and putting everything up.

[Autumnchik 6]

Cute stuff Nessa Is that a Graco travel system?

[new orleans bound 0]

Hi y'all... Was lurking in the old thread before, and just thought that I'd say hello here your babies are adorable!

Anyhoo, tomorrow is my medical, part 2... Part 2 coz i am told to wait for my period to come or else do urine test (the doc even gave me a take home bottle for tomorrow morning to bring in!) to see if im preggers or not... Me and hubby hoping that Im not yet, as we're not sure how this will affect our plan of me going there soon... And my interview is on Tuesday to boot. I know that they have these protective gear to cover the tummy area during Xray, not sure how i feel about that tho... And I dunno if they will allow me to get the visa without completing my vaccinations... I'm excited as this (if it is to be) is our first baby, but we've been married 9 months and we're almost there.. After all these months of waiting, I dont want to have to go through pregnancy away from my hubby... Do you think they can waive the vaccines for CR1s cases too?

I was pregnant when I had to redo my medical and the vaccination requirements had changed. The doctor ticked off that they were refused due to pregnancy and all was well during interview.

[MzMo1102 0]

At least it's one less thing you have to worry about for now. Good to hear your medical went well and good luck on your interview next week!

Definitely... Thank you MzMo, and congrats on your pregnancy

Thanks faryan!! Keep us posted with the interview..