Finnish Babies Do Sleep In Cardboard Boxes

A couple of days ago, there was a news article on the BBC website titled 'Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes'.

If you are a Finn, you won't find anything weird in this. But if you are from somewhere else, you might be intrigued to read the article.

To put this shortly, every Finnish* mother gets a free package from the state before their baby is born. The package includes for example a snow suit, other clothes, a bath towel, nail scissors, a book, a teething toy and some muslin squares.

A quiz: find three products that were included in the maternity package in 2010

And yes, there is a mattress that fits the box!

Many parents find a full sized crib to be too large for a newborn to sleep in. The box is smaller and thus like a cozy nest for the small baby. Mothers often make some paddings for the edges of the box, but you can also buy some.

It is not a matter of not having afford to buy a small bed for the baby, but rather it is seen unnecessary to buy one that will be used only for a couple of months.

I took the maternity package when I was pregnant with Fräulein. It was not that we wouldn't be able to find all necessary things ourselves, but it was just nice to receive the package with such a long history. When I was pregnant with Baby, we already had most of the things saved from the first package, so I chose the 140 euros instead.

Neither of our girls have slept in the box, as we had my old baby bed for them to sleep in. Baby is still sleeping her nights in it, but in a month or so, we are going to change to the bigger crib, in which Herr Welle has slept when he was a baby!

Fräulein's first day at home and she is sleeping in my old baby bed

But yes, it is a true story, many Finnish babies do sleep in cardboard boxes!

*) you need to be entitled to the Finnish social security 


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Suomalaisille tässä äitiyspakkauslaatikossa nukkumisessa ei ole mitään ihmeellistä, mutta BBC:llä se ylitti uutiskynnyksen aiemmin tällä viikolla!

Too Good To Be True

***Warning! This post might exceed the too-much-knowledge limit of the most sensitive readers***

I should have known.

Everything went so well with the pregnancy. The only thing bothering me was the extreme exhaustion. The first three months I just wanted to sleep. And then again at the end of the pregnancy, I was very tired. I didn't even have the energy take my friend out for jumbo drinks, when she visited us in November! But otherwise everything was fine.

Then there was the child birth. Well, I didn't get the epidural this time either. But on the other hand, I had to spend less than twenty minutes at the maternity ward before Baby was born, so I guess I cannot complain.

But then there was my post-natal check up. The doctor found out that there was a piece of the placenta still attached. There was no specific reason for this, I just had 'extremely bad luck', as two different doctors put it.

So, on Thursday I had to go through an operation which included general anesthesia.

The setting for my Valentine's Day

I must admit that the eight days before the operation, when I had time to imagine it all in my head, were actually worse than the operation itself.

But now everything is fine. And most importantly, the baby is fine.

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Olisihan se pitänyt arvata, että jotain vastoinkäymisiä tulee. Raskausaika meni mukavasti, vaikka olinkin sekä alku- että loppuaikana todella väsynyt. Ja synnytys meni nopeasti, tosin en taaskaan ehtinyt saada toivomaani epiduraalipuudutusta. 

Mutta sitten jälkitarkastuksessa todettiin, että istukasta olikin jäänyt palanen jäljelle. Ja se piti poistaa nukutuksessa. Mukava ystävänpäivä! Mutta nyt kaikki on hyvin.

It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times...

The title of this expat blog seems to describe my last two weeks pretty well...

As you know, the best part of being an expat is having guests. And we have been very lucky on that front recently! First, my good friend was visiting us. We went shopping, ate breakfast (several times) at Cafe Extrablatt's buffet and just spent time together. Awesome!

And then last weekend, Herr Welle's parents came to visit us. It was nice for Fräulein to be able to spend time with her grandparents. And we visited the Christmas markets both here in Wiesbaden and in Rüdesheim.

But then to the not-so-nice part. First of all, I have had a cough for two weeks now. You know, that kind of dry cough, when it doesn't bother you much when you are awake, but you are not able to fall asleep, because just when you are about to, you start coughing again... And no chance taking any powerful medicine when you are pregnant.

But this Monday was the total low-point (I hope). Since morning, I wasn't feeling too great. Herr Welle was driving his parents to the Hahn airport, so I had to pick up Fräulein from her Krippe with her buggy. Naturally, it was just that afternoon, when it started to snow and it was a bit of a struggle to push the buggy through all that slush.

At home, I felt my temperature rising (and not just because I was unhappy with the situation...). Within an hour, I had +38.5°C fever. I was just laying in the bed under several blankets and asked Fräulein to be very quiet and watch the Moomins. And then I threw up. Twice. Feeling sick is not nice, when you are in your normal condition, but it doesn't make it any easier, when you are 37 weeks pregnant.

The following morning I went to see my doctor. I was told that I was the fourth patient there that morning with the same condition. Apparently, it wasn't a stomach bug as such, but some sort of virus, which caused cramps in the abdomen. Normally, that wouldn't feel too bad, but for pregnant women it was worse.

But the important part was that the baby was fine. And I am starting to feel better, although I'm still coughing.

And I have been able to take part in two of the exams I had scheduled for this autumn, so now I can finally start my maternity leave for real!

Let the Christmas season begin!

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Viimeiseen pariin viikkoon on mahtunut niin huippuhetkiä kuin aallonpohjia. Ensinnäkin olemme saaneet nauttia lukuisista (tai no kolmesta) Suomi-vieraasta. Mutta toisaalta myös virukset ovat vierailleet meillä - lähinnä minulla. Ei hauskaa, etenkään raskauden tässä vaiheessa. Mutta nyt alkaa helpottaa ja mammalomakin on alkanut. Joten Joulua odottelemaan! 

Apologies Again...

I'm so sorry for neglecting you again. Unfortunately, I don't have anything interesting to write about, But I thought it would be fair to give you at least an idea what has been going on in here.

First of all, Fräulein and myself caught a cold last weekend. Fräulein was fine by Monday but I am still sneezing and coughing. And just when I would have needed so time to relax, Fräulein's Tagesmutter let us know that her own daughter was ill and Fräulein couldn't go to daycare. Great. So I really have had neither the time nor the energy to blog.

But not everything is a misery. We have been meeting friends, some of whom we haven't met for months. And yesterday, I had the 3D/4D ultrasound.

When I was pregnant with Fräulein, we were still living in Finland, so I had only two regular ultrasounds during my pregnancy. As we wanted the opportunity to she her once more and get to know her gender, we went to private doctor's office for this 3D/4D ultrasound.

This time, here in Germany, I have ultrasound every four weeks! So, first I thought it would not be so interesting to have that 3D/4D ultrasound. But as Herr Welle pointed out, that we would get a DVD with some video footage of the baby, I thought it be fair for this baby to have that too, like her sister does.

Everything was well and we got some great photos of her face. And yes, she was still 'she' :)

Next Monday, Fräulein will be starting in the kindergarten. The first day will be total 30 minutes long (together with me...) So, I cannot promise I'll have more time to blog next week, either.

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Taas on vierehtänyt aikaa edellisestä postauksesta, sillä olen ollut kipeänä eikä Fräuleinkaan ole päässyt päivähoitoon. Mutta jotain mukavaakin sentään, sillä kävimme 3D/4D-ultrassa kurkkimassa masuasukin kasvonpiirteitä. Maanantaina alkaakin Fräuleinin sopeutumisjakso päiväkodissa, joten en voi luvata bloggaavani ensi viikollakaan kovin aktiivisesti...

Plans for New Year's Eve

Thank you all for your lovely comments you left here in the blog, on Facebook and via email! If you missed my previous post, you can check it here.

This new baby has been very active. I first felt the movements during the 13th week of the pregnancy (I've been told that you can usually feel them week 18 with your first child and week 16, if you have been pregnant before). As there has been much more kicking than when I was expecting Fräulein, I was sure that this one would be a boy. I was happy to hear that I was able to mislead some of you, too! :)

Yesterday, I went through some photos of Fräulein as newborn.
Here she is having her very first bath - quite relaxing!

I usually get a bit frustrated when planning on what to do on New Year's Eve. December is usually spent planning on Christmas and then on Boxing Day, I suddenly realize that the New Year is only a couple of days ahead and it would be nice to celebrate it somehow.

Well, this year I had the plans for New Year ready before the mid-summer: the due-date of our baby is on New Year's Eve!

Well, of course I won't be able to know what exactly we are going to do on that date, but at least I know we will be in Wiesbaden, either at hospital or home. And certainly there won't be any crazy partying...

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Kiitos kaikille onnitteluistanne! Ja oli hauska kuulla, että onnistuin hämäämään joitakin teistä edellisen postauksen otsikolla. Vauva on niin kova potkimaan, että olin itse ihan varma, että tulossa on poika.

Tänä vuonna meillä on kerrankin vuodenvaihteen suunnitelmat ajoissa valmiina: vauvan laskettuaika on uudenvuodenaattona!

Oh Boy!

So, finally to the great news I have...

I must say, that this has really started to feel like old news, as at least three other bloggers, who I follow, have recently shared similar news in their blogs...

Anyway, we are having another baby!

It is already the 22nd week of the pregnancy. I have been waiting to share this with you for so long, but we wanted to let our family and friends know about this face to face, when we spent the summer in Finland.

And I now I can finally confess that the reason it has been so quiet in my blog in the last couple of months, has been due to the fact that I have been sooooo tired. Especially in May, I was just laying on the sofa not being able to lift a finger.

But now I am feeling better and more energetic. I had the latest ultrasound on Friday and the baby is growing and otherwise OK, too!

And oh boy, we are having another girl! :D
(sorry, I did that on purpose...)

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Ja vihdoin niihin uutisiin: meille tulee toinen vauva! Raskaus on jo aika pitkällä, mutta halusimme kertoa asiasta kasvokkain kesän aikana mahdollisimman monelle. Mutta nyt teille muillekin tiedoksi, että Fräulein saa pikkusiskon! :)

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.