International Nesties
MouseInLux
member
Dear Community,
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Mums Bumps and BBTs
Hi all! How are you doing? Ups? Downs?
QOTW:What have you found to be the best part of being an international parent?
~BUMPS~Fififa21 (Mexico) ? Due January 16Brit's Luna154 (India) - Due January 16txlioncub() - Due Marchbail229 (Australia) ? Due April 14Johlise(US) - Due April 18Just Peachy (Qatar) - Due April 30MrsHooi (Indonesia) - Due June 1st.Dublin - Due August 3 gblake - Due September 3 ~BUMPS-TO-BE~LoopyNoodle (Ireland) ? TTC #1Treesapplaud (Sweden) ? TTC #1Blueberries8 (Israel) ? TTC #1Mavjen (UK) ? TTC #1sushisamba (UK) ? TTC #1 http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/308f00ondjima (Namibia) ? TTC #1 http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/26f699StumpyG (Japan) ? TTC #1oneslybookworm (Netherlands) ? TTC #1 in 2012Mrs. DRJ - TTC #1txlioncub - TTC #1 ~BIRTHDAYS~January5: Melaina25's (Scotland) DS, 20107: LizzieandGar's (Ireland) DS, James, 200920: titicole (UK) DD, Adaya Caroline, 201221: LAChurch's (USA) DS, 200921: rpic81 (UK) - DS, Thomas Mateo, 201223: lyvienna's (Vienna) DS, Owen, 200823: titicole's (UK) DS, Micah William, 2010February6: beannie's (UK) DS, TM, 20098: lyvienna's (Vienna) DS, Everett, 201010: andrea922's (US) DS, Finlay, 2008March1: Irishgal (Ireland) DD, Niamh (pronounced Neeve,) 20112: Nanner's (Singapore) DD, Hannah Jeanne, 20074: kellibelli04 (Guatemala) DD, 20116: bahamasbride.04.07's (Germany) DD, Luisa, 200911: katrina_pharmd (NZ) DS, Michael, 201112: cee-jay's DD, Lina, 2008April5: andrea922 (US) DD, Lila, 201116: kelly321 (Germany) DD, Rebecca Vivian, 201121: nestinginjapan's (CA) DS, Levi, 201022: twopeasinapod's (Netherlands) DS, Quint, 200828: stephanieVM's (ARG) DS, Lucien Andre, 2007May9: vivjek's (Australia) DD, Isobel, 200910: dubliner's (Ireland) DS, Henry, 201020: pandi02a (Germany) DS, Dominic, 201121: rocket2japan's (Poland) DS, Anders, 201024: Bananas0827's (Scotland) DS, Daniel Alexander, 201031: hamilton.ja's (US) DD, Evelyn Therese, 2010June12: KimiCas's (UK) DS, Sebastien, 200822: Linnya's (Germany) DS, Seamus, 200822: ExpatFamily06's (UK) DS, Leo, 200923: Nanner's (Singapore) DS, Samuel Ezra, 200525: MouseInLux's (Luxembourg) DD, Eleanor, 201127: welshgirl's (UK) DS, William, 200827: brainie's (UK) DD, Elizabeth Jane, 201029: cakenbake's (Italy) DS, Jonathan Wesley, 201029: xnickerx's (the Netherlands) DD, Sabrina Rachel, 1999July2: bigfatgreekwedd's (Netherlands) DD, Una, 20072: newporter's (Ireland & NYC) DD, 20093: plainjanie1's (Japan) DD, Aeris Noelle, 20105: expatjen's (India) DS, 20105: MoniqueJW's (Australia) DD, Genevieve Joni, 20105: newporter's (Ireland & NYC) DD, 200711: Smudges*Mom's DS (Soon to be Germany), 200915: stephanieVM's (ARG) DD, Rose Margo, 200921: azure_azure's (France) DS, Morgan, 200825: stever's (USA) DS, Mikey, 2009August1: sarahkelly's (Netherlands) DD, Sadie, 20087: ExpatFamily (UK) DS, Ajax, 20119: Tofumonkey's (UK) DDs, Kaitlynn and Lochlynn, 201012: Emily523 (UK) DS, William, 201013: FayeD's (Italy) DS, Baby D, 200916: alwyzbsy's (Germany) DD, Alexandra, 201017: globalwife (Colombia) DD, Velencia, 201121: Just Peachy's (Qatar) DS, EM, 200831: Linnya's (Germany) DS, Owen, 2010September10: bugabean's (Denmark) DD, Bean, 200814: LAChurch's (USA) DD, Zareen, 201015: northgal's (Qatar) DD, Vesper, 200921: mrshooi's (South Africa) DS, Otto, 200926: Amy726's (Australia) DS, Benjamin Ernest, 201027: cakenbake's (Italy) DS, Jeffery, 2008October13: bugabean's (Denmark) DD, Bug, 201015: xnickerx's (the Netherlands) DD, Florence Rebecca Maria, 201019: MrsBini10's (USA) DS, Noah, 201126: bigfatgreekwedd's (Netherlands) DS, Nestor Arthur, 201027: jillana's (UK) DS, Costa, 200831: LadyMadrid's (Spain) DD, Aurelia, 2011November?: hamilton.ja's (US) DS, 20072: traveling turtle's (Germany) DS, William, 20109: gblake's (Australia) DS Thomas Cole, 201010: EnidFalcor, DD, 201010: Choensa's (Korea) DS, 200912: MarlaDossett's (USA) DD, Irene Caitlin, 200812: lelia's (Germany) DD, Frances Caroline, 201023: beannie's (UK) DS, EG, 201125: Dublin's DS, Leo, 201028: amwallac's () DD, Georgia, 2010December2: Ctgirlingermany (Germany) DD - Ryan, 20116: welshgirl's (UK) DD, Matilda Jane, 20108: lorilane4's (US) DD, Stella Lane, 201016: northgal's (Qatar) DD, Neve, 200620: BlushingMama's (UK) DS, James Edward, 200720: ashleynicoles's (Netherlands) DD, Chlo? Isabella, 201022: Shekels831 (Israel) ?DS, 201123: chelbel7 (UK) - DD, 201123: sandradpage's (Australia) DS, Brayden Luca, 201026: kahleorourke's (US) DD, 2009
Re: Mums Bumps and BBTs
Downs: this pregnancy is definitely different. I've had some nausea and some food aversions. Last pregnancy I had no symptoms. So it's been a change for sure. I'm not craving the same things; less sweets and more fruit.
QOTW: I think the best part I have found is the attention Cole and I get. I've had wonderful experiences at the hospital and doctors offices. People know us because we're different.
Ups? V is talking more and more, which I find encouraging because it helps me understand what she wants. She still has a cough but seems to be finally back to 'normal' in terms of sleeping/eating after being sick.
Downs? However, as she becomes more verbal it seems like she gets MORE impatient when I dont' know what she wants. And she like whines/grunts in a panicked way until I figure it out. I HATE IT. It seriously raises my blood pressure. How long until I can condition her to say please!? I say it constantly and she never repeats it.
QOTW:What have you found to be the best part of being an international parent?
In Japan, V gets a lot of attention (like gblake mentioned) because of how she looks. Her white skin, blonde-ish hair, blue eyes especially. But mostly I've found there is a certain bliss even when I'm with other mothers, I don't find myself worrying about what they think or what they are saying about their kids because I literally can't understand. Instead I just enjoy their company.
My Blog
Ups: T is super cute. We're still adjusting to life with him, but we get so much joy out of having him around.
Downs: Breastfeeding has been very, very difficult. Within a week of him being born I had cracked and bleeding nipples, sore breasts from a thrush infection and he had a tongue tie (fixed it yesterday), which caused him to not latch well.
I'm all healed and now we're working on getting a good latch, but generally feeding time has been a huge source of stress. Meanwhile, he now wants to feed every hour and a half to two hours, and cries so much every time I detach him to fix his latch. Ugh, it breaks my heart. Emotions have been running high around this! I really hope feeding time gets easier.
QOTD: Good maternity leave!
I somewhat mentioned it in other posts, but I'm pregnant with #2. Due date: August 29.
Ups: W understands a lot more now. When I tell him it's time to get his diaper changed, he goes to the diaper table. When I ask him to get his boots so he can go outside, he gets them.
Pregnancy-wise, I'm lucky that my only real symptom is that I'm tired all the time. And I can't eat a normal amount in one sitting, I have to basically graze throughout the day.
Downs: He's not eating a lot during the day even though I feel like I'm trying to feed him all the time. This isn't too bad except that now he wakes up in the middle of the night, which he never really did before. He only does it once or twice a week, but that's a lot for him. And this stinks because as I mentioned, I'm already tired all the time.
QOTD: I agree with Lane on this one, I don't worry about things that I would worry about if I was around mothers who I understood better. Also, I don't have family telling me how to raise my kid all the time.
Traveling, I'll update the list so it'll show for next week.
rpic, I hope feeding starts getting easier, I'm sorry that you two are going through this. I applaud you for sticking with it so far and hope you continue!
Ups: DD is mostly happy and just got over a stuffy nose, she's eating great, she had fisherman's pie last night and ate it like a champ!
Downs: DD is getting her first tooth so she'll be super happy one mi and then a switch flips and she's the grippiest version of her I've seen
to top it of DH is away most of this week with "work" so it's just me and the two girls.
QOTD: I still have most of my family near me, while being international, so I have to say that the best is the care and opportunities that have been available to me. The health care here is great and the financial assistance for parents and SAHP is great, for the first two years of E's life I get paid (not full salary) to stay home with her.
rpic: sorry the bfing is so tough, but kudos to you for sticking it out! Hope things improve greatly in the next couple of weeks. It took me almost six weeks to get good at bfing and for it to stop hurting, but now over a year later we?re still at it!
Ups: DD is getting very independent, and learning so many new things. Last week she helped me put the clothes in the washer and then in the dryer, and she "vacuumed" the floor in the kitchen. She was so proud of herself.
Downs: She has a cold which makes it hard for her to breathe at night and get a good night?s sleep.
QOTD: the maternity pay I got from the govt. even though I?m self-employed, and the medical care. I felt like the doctors really kept on top of things and it didn?t cost a fortune and everything was covered by insurance. Even my really expensive lovenox shots.
Ups: N is getting more independent all the time! She's pulling herself up all the time and getting more steady on her feet while holding onto things. And has started to "walk" while we hold her - she wasn't moving her feet even 2 weeks ago. And she's saying dada and mama more and more. Though the independence also comes out as refusing to eat all her food... even food I know she likes... And she has her third tooth without any sleepless nights. Yay!!
Downs: Childcare settling in. Nuff said.
QOTD: I can't really answer as I'm not truly international... I'm in my hometown... But if I compare Ireland to the US, the benefits are 26wks maternity leave and much, much lower medical bills!!
I think I saw on a post a while ago that Fififa21 had her baby in December... 4 weeks early... She had it as a reply to another post - maybe even the last Mums & Bumps post? Maybe someone else will remember this...?
ETA:
Yes, I went back and found it... was indeed the last Mums & Bumps post (she posted a few days after the last previous reply...)
While you're updating, could you change my DD's name to just R? (privacy concerns) Thanks!
Ups: DD has learned how to pull herself up on furniture to standing. She's still not crawling, and I think she's probably going to skip it and come back after she's walking since she's showing 0 interest in crawling and focusing all her energy on standing up constantly.
Downs: Did I mention DD has learned how to pull herself up on furniture to standing? Yeah. So, she pulls herself up and then, if I'm not around, screams and screams and screams until I come. Not that she wants anything in particular, apparently just an audience because as soon as I'm within 3 feet of her or so, she quiets down and goes back to shoving things off the coffee table. Before she could stand on her own, I could lay her down and she would play by herself for 15-20 min at a time, but now she's up and standing within 2 min of me walking away and the screaming starts.
QOTD: I love the benefits for parents. DH is taking 7 months of paternity leave this year and will go back to his same position when the time is up - something that is pretty much unthinkable in the US. Otherwise it's also nice to see the positive reception we usually get when people hear we're raising her bilingually, although that's in large part because it's English/German. They usually aren't so enthusiastic about people raising their children Turkish/German or Vietnamese/German.
I'll try that and see how it goes. He has milk right before bedtime and slightly before that he usually has something, but that's usually an hour before he goes to sleep and maybe too much time has passed. Crossing my fingers!
Thanks. That's actually really helpful to know. I have to keep things in perspective. He's only two and a half weeks old, and this week is already better than last. I really hope I start enjoying this soon! I am hoping to breastfeed for as long as possible since I won't be working for at least 9 months.
Yes, this! With both, it too me a while, but definitely longer wtih W than wtih M, for it to stop hurting and feel like we were in a groove. I BF W for 18 months, and we're still feeding M at 14. It does get better, I promise - you're still in such an early, learning, stage for both of you, and having thrush and a tongue tie are big hurdles to overcome. You're doing great! But make sure you're in contact with a LC or peer support group, it makes such a difference if you get good support.
Ups: M has had a growth spurt of ability and it's fun. W asked me to marry him, which was equally fun.
Downs: We had our check up appointment wtih M's surgeon yesterday and she will definitely have surgery in about a year. I'm also ready for M to cut back on BFing but struggle as she's so determined and has tantrums now. I'm trying to cut back one 'feed' a week or two, but she's still pretty much on-demand andpretty much a boob-girl.
QOTW: As odd as it sounds, and as much as I miss my family (sooooo much), I actually like the independance from grandparents and family, the ability to do our own thing. Also, I love the system of care here for under 5s.
Ups: M has had a growth spurt of ability and it's fun. W asked me to marry him, which was equally fun.
Downs: We had our check up appointment wtih M's surgeon yesterday and she will definitely have surgery in about a year. I'm also ready for M to cut back on BFing but struggle as she's so determined and has tantrums now. I'm trying to cut back one 'feed' a week or two, but she's still pretty much on-demand andpretty much a boob-girl.
QOTW: As odd as it sounds, and as much as I miss my family (sooooo much), I actually like the independance from grandparents and family, the ability to do our own thing. Also, I love the system of care here for under 5s.
Ups: Baby girl slept for 7.5hours straight last night! It may be a one off thing, but I'm still excited about it. I went to a postnatal class today and met some other mums.
Downs: She spits up everywhere, all the time. I just want to cuddle her without worrying about getting spit up on.
QOTW: Maternity leave and no medical bills.
M sounds like my DD...let me know if you figure out a good solution to this.