Silent Sunday

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!

What To Do Next?

This is a funny feeling: I have nothing to do!*

Since last September, I have been taking online courses in marketing and yesterday I had the last test. Yippee!

The first six months with the baby have been pretty peaceful and it has been easy to find the time to study.

I'm studying and Baby is taking her nap on my lap ♥ 

Unfortunately Herr Welle has been traveling on those days when I have had my tests (not a surprise, as he is traveling a lot...). But luckily I have a friend, who was able to take Fräulein into her home to play with her daughter. Thank you again! :)

So, it was just Baby and me. How can it be, that when you have something important to do, the baby makes three poos in four hours and two of those won't stay inside the diaper...

Talking about poo, this damn cat walked arrogantly onto the sandbox
at our favorite playground, made a poo, covered it, and left.

Anyway, now it is time for my 'summer vacation'. And I have no idea what to do.

I have been trying to remember, what did I do all day long when Fräulein was a baby. I only started this blog when she was one year old, so I didn't write. Perhaps I was reading a lot? Or was I shopping online?

Oh, that reminds me that I should order a couple of things for the girls...

So, I'll do some shopping now, but I'll also try to spend more time with this blog. See you soon! :)

*) apart from cleaning the apartment, but that doesn't count...


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Sain eilen syksyllä aloittamani markkinoinnin verkko-opinnot päätökseen. Eli nyt pitäisi keksiä, mitä teen "kesälomallani"! Ihan ensimmäiseksi taidan suunnata nettishoppailun pariin, mutta eiköhän nyt löydy paremmin aikaa bloggaamisellekin!

Silent Sunday