Greetings from the Sick Room

I wouldn't want to bore you with all our sicknesses, but beside the apartment hunting, that is what has been going on here lately.

Fräulein was crying the whole Saturday night because her ear was hurting. We got her some antibiotics and she is now back to her old self.

After having a sore throat for a few days, I also got pretty high fever and went to see a doctor* yesterday: angina and antibiotics.

And baby has been crying a lot lately (very untypical of her) and this morning her temperature was almost 39°C. We went to see her doctor, but she doesn't have any infection. We just need to try to cope with some paracetamol.

These eyes tell you how she is feeling at that moment.

After several rainy and cold days we finally have some sun and warmth here. So despite the lousy feeling caused by fever and sleepless nights, I guess I have to drag myself to the playground this afternoon.

*) As a Finn, I find it funny that there aren't any 'general doctors' here Germany (I have heard there are some 'family doctors', but I haven't found any). Instead, when you've got a sore throat, you need to see a ear, nose and throat specialist... 


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Täällä ollaan sairasteltu viime päivät. Fräuleinilla oli korvatulehdus, itselläni angiina ja nyt Babyllä on kuumetta. Mutta aurinko sentään paistaa pitkästä aikaa!

What a Week! (Or One Third Of It...)

Last night, when I first started writing this post, I typed "What a week!". Then I realized it was only Tuesday evening...

Fräulein has been a bit ill since we got back from Finland. The sneezing and coughing started as soon as she was back in the Krippe. And last weekend she had some fever.

But early on Monday morning she started vomiting.

I was a bit worried. First of all, we had eaten brunch with friends on Sunday. One of them is 9 months pregnant and I really did not want her to have caught a stomach bug from Fräulein (I have first hand knowledge how it feels to be vomiting just a couple of weeks before the baby is due).

Secondly, Herr Welle was just leaving for a four day business trip, so I really didn't want Baby or myself to get sick.

I was certain it was a stomach bug, but luckily Herr Welle insisted on taking Fräulein to see a doctor, as it turned out to be an ear infection. That is not a nice diagnosis, but at least she could take antibiotics for it and she wasn't contagious.

The Monday evening alone with the girls was a bit demanding. Fräulein was whining about everything and it didn't help that I had to make her drink her antibiotics, wash her hair (because of the smell of vomit) and give her a suppository for sickness...

On Tuesday, the antibiotics were clearly working and Fräulein was full of energy. But because she hadn't really eaten anything since Saturday morning she was a bit cranky. Poor Baby, who had to tolerate Fräulein's whims...

Today we had another check-up with Fräulein's doctor. Her ear seems to be fine, although the virus causing the sneezing and coughing is still present. But we got the doctor's permission to go to the Krippe tomorrow.

These photos were taken at the doctor's office.
Today, I might add... :)

But now Baby is coughing... I hope we can still make it to her first play date tomorrow, because I would really appreciate some adult company!

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Fräulein on ollut Saksaan paluumme jälkeen nuhassa ja yskässä ja maanantaiaamuna hän alkoi oksentaa. Pahoinvoinnin syyksi paljastui korvatulehdus, johon saimme antibiootteja. Tulehdus alkaa nyt hellittää ja Fräulein on taas oma itsensä, tosin ehkä vähän kiukuttelevana versiona. Mutta nyt sitten on Babyn vuoro yskiä...

Baby with Strawberries

Baby had her U3* checkup with her doctor a couple of weeks ago. Everything was fine - she is one perfectly healthy baby.

When baby was a couple of weeks old, she got a couple of hemangiomas. Those are like big, red moles - in Finnish they are often called 'strawberry moles'. They usually appear soon after birth. During the first year of a baby's life they might grow, but after that they will get smaller and eventually disappear.

These strawberries appear most often in the face area, but Baby has one on her chest and another below her armpit.

Although hemangiomas are not dangerous, there is a small risk that they are formed inside the baby, too. And if those grew bigger, they could cause some problems.

Therefore Baby's doctor wanted to make an ultrasound scan for babies hearth and other inner organs. He could not find any other hemangiomas and at the same time we got to know that everything was perfectly normal with her hearts, kidneys and liver. Great!

One relaxed Baby

As I told you yesterday, Baby likes to sleep, so she didn't really mind being examined. Overall, I think it is nice to have all these non-invasive examinations done just to be on the safe side. There is no harm done to the baby, but in case something is wrong, it is good to be prepared.

Fräulein having a picnic while little sister is being examined.

*) Here in Germany, all children should have planned checkups (Untersuchung) with their doctors. These checkups are called U+number, so that U1 is done directly after birth and U10, when the child is 8 years old. 
You can read more about the healthcare of babies in Germany from my older post 'About Baby's Healthcare in Germany'

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Babyllä on pari mansikkaluomea ja U3-lääkärintarkastuksessa lääkäri halusi varmistaa, ettei niitä löydy sisäelimistä. Jos sisäiset hemangioomat kasvaisivat, ne voisivat aiheuttaa ongelmia. Ultraäänitutkimuksessa ei löytynyt mitään ja muutenkin varmistui, että sydän, munuaiset ja maksa ovat kunnossa. Hieno juttu!

Mielestäni on hyvä, että tällaiset asiat tutkitaan perusteellisesti. Itse tutkimus ei vahingoita lasta mitenkään (itse asiassa Baby nukkui koko tutkimuksen ajan...), mutta mikäli jotain on vialla, on hyvä, että siihen voidaan puuttua ajoissa.

Having a Baby In Germany: the Hospital Part

Now, don't get all excited - I'm not saying that we are having another baby! But I have been writing about all baby related things I have come across here in Germany, like the paper work required and how the healthcare of a newborn is arranged. So the two things missing are the pregnancy and the hospital parts.

We moved to Germany about a month before Fräulein was born, so I don't really have much experience about being pregnant in Germany. But she was born here, so I can tell you about choosing the hospital and what is to be expected there. I know that more and more women are giving birth at their own homes or these 'birth homes', which are not medical facilities. But when I was pregnant with Fräulein, I only considered different hospitals, so this post is really only about that choice.

Like all doctor's offices, also the hospitals are private here. In Finland, you must have your baby in the hospital, which happens to be 'your' hospital, based on the city you live in. But here in Germany, you are able to choose the hospital. Because of this, there is a bit of competition between the hospitals, as they want as many customers as possible. And I guess that is partly the cause why especially the smaller hospitals seem to be very cozy and friendly. That is something I'm not sure I could say about Finnish hospitals...

The hospitals have introduction events (Info-Abend) for future parents, usually 1-4 times per month. There you have a short lecture about the hospital and their services and afterwards you can have a look at the delivery rooms and the maternity ward. I think this is great, because then you can meet the staff and really feel the atmosphere of the hospital. Although some of the lectures might be a bit too praising...

When you have chosen your hospital, you should contact them to arrange a meeting, in which their collect your personal data and information about your pregnancy. Hospitals usually recommend to have this meeting about 8-6 before your due date.  You can also go to most of the hospitals without this pre-meeting, but when you have done this beforehand, you don't need to worry about the paper work when you are going to the hospital to have your baby.

When we moved to Wiesbaden, we were a bit in a hurry in choosing the hospital. There are three hospitals with maternity wards in Wiesbaden. One of the hospitals, HSK, is a big one and they also have a ward for sick children. The other two are smaller and cozier, but if there is something wrong with the baby, she/he will be moved to HSK for treatment.

We went to see all of the three hospitals. It was clear for me that, as there wasn't anything exceptional in my pregnancy, I would choose one of the smaller hospitals. A friend of mine had had her baby in Paulinen Klinik and had liked it a lot. So, I called them to make an appointment. Already on the phone I got a bit funny feeling, as the nurse did not speak any English and giggled a lot. I was able to make an appointment, but at the meeting the nurse, who was taking my notes (not the same one as on the phone), giggled in trying to find the right words. So much so that she had to leave the room at one point.

This experience made me think that I wouldn't like the nurses behaving like that while I was in labor. There is nothing wrong in trying to find the right words or being in a good mood, but I really didn't like to face that giggling in the delivery room!

There are a lot of Americans here in Wiesbaden, because the U.S. Army is based here. I thought that maybe these American families would prefer the other smaller hospital, catholic St. Josefs-Hospital. And I was proven right. I was able to make an appointment on a short notice and in the waiting room I talked with an American mother, who had given birth a couple of hours earlier (she was already leaving the hospital!). The nurse I talked with spoke perfect English and they even had many documents translated in English. So, my decision was made: Fräulein was to be born here!

And so she did. I won't go into details of her birth here, but I must say that I was very happy with St. Josephs Hospital. Everyone was nice and professional. On the maternity ward they even arranged so that we were taken care of by the nurse who was the most experienced in speaking English.

Three-days-old Fräulein in her hospital bed.

Before Fräulein was born, I had some questions about the German system. There were also things I didn't even come to think of. I'll list some of them here, in case someone else in wondering the same things. And yes, some of these things might sound completely normal for some of you, but I'm from Finland and used to the ways things are handled there.

• There are anesthetics available for you while in labor, if you choose to have some. At the pre-meeting I was given a document about all the possible drugs so that I could read it in advance and just sign the consent when needed. Everything went so quickly that I didn't have time to get any drugs, but I wondered afterwards, why they didn't offer me any laughing gas, which is quite popular in Finland. 

• In Germany, you usually stay in the hospital for three nights, because then your baby can have her U2 check done at the hospital. You can leave the hospital as soon as a couple of hours after birth, if you feel like it, but then the hospital wants to make sure that you have booked the U2 check with the baby's doctor before you leave.

• Many hospitals have family rooms, but you cannot book one in advance. In our case, there was only one other mother with her baby in the ward when we arrived, so Herr Welle was able to stay with us in the room which was normally equipped for two mothers.

The view from our 'family room'

• In Germany, the hospital doesn't provide the towels or the clothes for you to wear while you stay there, so you must pack those in your hospital back. They do provide clothing for the baby.

For some reason, all the baby clothes at the hospital
were very big for a newborn (56 or 62cm)

• If you are not German, you should take your own birth-certificate to the hospital with you. And if you are married, take also your marriage-certificate and the husband's birth-certificate. I can say from experience that it makes things a whole lot easier...

• In Germany, you must give a name to your baby soon after the birth (in Finland you have two months to do this). They asked for the name as soon as Fräulein was born. We only had one name decided at that point. The two other names we filled in the form, in which all birth details were documented. This had to be filled before we left the hospital.

• They do not teach how to wash the baby's bottom under running water. I have been told that, in Finland, you cannot leave the hospital before you know how to do that safely. But here you just wipe the bottom with baby-wipes or wet towels.

• Many German hospitals have a certificate called 'Baby-Friendly Hospital'. The main points of the certificate are that the breastfeeding is encouraged in every way possible and the hospital practices rooming in, so that the baby shares the room with the mother. I would have taken these things as granted, but apparently they are relatively new practices.

• And something I did wonder a lot, although it now sounds a bit silly: You can go to a catholic hospital even if you are not catholic yourself. The nurses were not dressed as nuns, actually the only 'catholic' thing there were the crucifixes above the doors.

Odd German Way No. 7 - Alternative Medicines

In several occasions, I have noticed that in Germany alternative medicines, like herbal and homeopathic products, are used as, well, 'normal' medicines.

First I thought it was just something our Hebamme (midwife) was into, as she recommended homeopathic medicines for Fräulein's colic and my breast infection. But when I bought some medicines for Fräulein's cold from the pharmacy, I noticed they included some homeopathic ingredients as well.

Before Christmas, I went to the pharmacy to buy some gel for Fräulein to numb the pain caused by teething. After giving me the gel, the pharmacist wanted to introduce all the herbal medicines they had available for teething. I was happy with the gel.

This week Fräulein has had a mild eye infection. According to the doctor, the infection is most likely viral, so he prescribed some eye-drops for her. If those would not help her in 3-4 days, we should go back for a prescription for antibiotics.

A pair of watery eyes

Herr Welle picked up the eye-drops from the pharmacy. After a closer look of the product data sheet, we noticed that it was actually herbal medicine, made of plant called Euphrasia. There isn't much improvement in Fräulein's eyes yet, but I'll need to wait until tomorrow to say for sure, if these drops have worked or not.

I have previously been quite pro-modern-western-medicine type of person, but especially with Fräulein, I am more than happy to accept any 'gentler' medications, if they actually work. Thus, I don't want to give any label of 'good' or 'bad' for this oddity. However, I do remain quite sceptic about alternative medical systems.

But putting aside my own scepticism, I am amazed that these herbal and homeopathic products are sold side-by-side at the pharmacy and doctors prescribe them equally. Yes, the homeopathic system is originally a German invention, but I would have thought that in this country, the lack of scientific evidence of their real efficacy would be valued more.

About Baby's Healthcare in Germany

Today is the day of my daughter's vaccination, so I thought it might be a good time to tell about the healthcare provided for small children in Germany.

The wellbeing of newborns is well monitored here. When you are pregnant, you choose a Hebamme (midwife), who will visit you and your baby when you get home from the hospital. Before the birth, you can meet with Hebamme and talk about anything you have in mind related to the delivery or the baby. And after the baby is born, the Krankenkasse (health insurance) will pay for up to almost 30 Hebamme visits  until the baby is eight weeks old.

Compared to the Finnish system, I found these Hebamme visits great! At the beginning (especially with your first child), you come up with new questions daily, so it is nice to have someone to come and visit you. Then you can discuss all things that may seem stupid and which you wouldn't like to call anyone about. And she comes to your home, so you don't need to travel anywhere yourself!

Our Hebamme visited us first daily, then every other day and finally weekly, about 12 times during those 8 weeks. She was such a great help! She examined and weighted the baby during all visits. She also told us things we didn't even realize to ask and had many practical tips about baby care. She did not try to sell us the German ways of doing things, but instead she was very interested in the Finnish ways, for example the recommended temperature limits when you can put your baby outside to sleep.

I know I was very lucky in getting such a good Hebamme. But how to find one that suits your needs? You can find long lists of Hebammes working in your area from Internet and your doctor´s office, but it might be difficult to know how they work and what they value. For me, the most problematic thing was that when it was time to book a Hebamme, I was still living in Finland. You can´t find email addresses for Hebammes and they are usually so busy, that they cannot answer the phone and will call you back later. But I found that they are not so eager to call back to a foreign phone number...

When we moved to Germany (only a few weeks before my due date), I went to visit a company with several Hebammes. The Hebamme I met there was not able to take me as a client, but she was very friendly and was able to find me one that spoke English and was free at such a short notice. At that point, I was relieved to have any Hebamme at all, but I was even happier, when she turned out to be such a great one! If you are looking for an English speaking Hebamme in Wiesbaden area, please contact me and I'll be happy to give you our Hebamme´s contact details!

But. After the eight weeks with Hebamme, you are pretty much left alone with your baby. The next doctor's appointment is when your baby is about four months old, then again when she is six months and one year old, after that once a year. In the Finnish healthcare system, you talk a lot with a nurse and the doctor's checkup is in secondary role. But during the German appointments, only the medical things are checked. So, there are no in-depth discussions about everyday issues that might be bothering your mind, like how to introduce solid food to your baby. I have noticed, that I should have a list of questions written down, because otherwise I'm not able to recall any questions when the doctor storms in and hastily examines the baby.

So, we will now stop by the doctor's office. Let's see, if I could remember to ask the questions which I forgot in the one-year-old checkup...

Art outside the doctor´s office