Million Dollar Baby

I'd love to go nuts spending thousands and thousands on beautiful baby items. Here are a few of my most admired.

Clockwise from upper left:
Petit Bateau baby clothes, Dwell Studios Crib Bedding, Stokke Mini Crib,
Classic Baby Cup from Tiffany & Co., Stokke Care Changing Table, Baby China from Tiffany & Co.. 

I think it's wonderful to get a few special things, but thankfully the baby won't care that his or her crib came from IKEA! 

Life with a Pram

Although I love the Bugaboo Bee, it's a big investment to make on something we might end up disliking for one reason or another. So last week when I saw an older pram advertised for free, I decided to go pick it up and give it a whirl. I certainly learned a TON!

This is how you go up stairs when you have a pram with you and there is no elevator here in Switzerland. Now there's something I didn't know before yesterday. I always assumed these were for bicycles, but the two parallel tracks indicate the designers were thinking of mamas, too. Push hard and steady and keep it centered!

The newer trains are well-designed and it's easy to board and alight with a pram. In fact, it's a breeze!

The newer trains also have the ideal seating configuration for prams. An easy place to park it - and - you get to fold down the seat and sit with your baby! 

When boarding trams, it's important to watch out for older people with shopping trolleys. They're not afraid or embarrassed to push right past you and get a good seat near the tram parking area. Grrrr.

Thank God there was a pram parking space available. Otherwise I guess I would have had to wait for the next one!

I'm thinking it's going to be a good idea to measure this thing given it barely fit into the tram parking area. Don't forget the parking brake!

Being in the grocery store with a pram was no problem given its similarity to a shopping cart. The rack underneath is handy for a bag of groceries, but it wouldn't hold much more than that... On that note, I'm happy I purchased a messenger-bag-style diaper bag that I'll be able to hang over the push bar.

The older trains are not well-designed for prams. Here is the pram parked almost directly underneath the "NO PRAMS" sign. Oh no!

In addition, the older trains are poorly designed for boarding and alighting with a pram. Eeek!

Although Zurich is somewhat tricky to navigate with a pram I was happy to discover that every single time I got on or off a train, people either offered to help or just helped automatically. Thank you, folks! And, I discovered something else. It's perfectly okay to ram into ignorant teenagers who try to push past you to get in the gigantic revolving doors at the shopping center. Like I said, I certainly learned a lot!

Breastfeeding in Switzerland

The other day I got on the bus and noticed this poster. Surely it didn't say what my crude interpretation of the German thought it did? "Baby break forbidden. Don't breastfeed!"

No, it doesn't say that! It says, "Maternity leave is over, but not breastfeeding!" 

The poster is part of a campaign to promote awareness about the importance of breastfeeding for mother and child and to encourage women to continue with breastfeeding for at least six months, even if they return to work. 

I ran the website through Google translator so if you'd like to take a peek at what it says in English, you can do so here. Be forewarned, though. The translation still doesn't make much sense at times given the syntax is so different in German. For example, you'll always find the verb at the end of the sentence in German. As in "Ask for a room in which you undisturbed quiet, or - if this is not possible - pump out your milk can," which actually means, "Ask for a quiet room where you can nurse or pump undisturbed." No, that was not some weird reference to breasts as milk cans! 

I think it's really wonderful that breastfeeding is protected by law for working mothers in Switzerland.  It truly is the healthiest thing for everybody!

Stroller Lust

OMG. Who knew that a stroller could be so attractive? Typically, when I think of strollers, I think of clunky inconvenient and hideous contraptions designed to frustrate and humiliate mothers. Not anymore. Just look at the Bugaboo Bee. Isn't it beautiful? 

photo from bugaboo.com

When you don't have a car, the stroller is an extremely important purchase and I am so impressed with this stroller. It has everything we need for life in Zurich given that it's compact for getting on and off trams, buses, trains and boats; it's stylish (okay, that is a must for me wherever I'm living!); it's good from birth to three and it has a wide array of accessories for convenience and comfort during the different seasons.

Originally I thought we'd get all of the accessories in yellow. I think there is something about it being called a "Bee" that makes me lean toward having a yellow and black stroller. But then I purchased a very lovely Kate Spade Diaper Bag and decided that all black is much more my style. Let's face it, it matters to me what the stroller looks like, not the baby. So, we will be registering for the Sun Canopy, Baby Cocoon, Parasol and Foot Muff all in black. Then, in a few years when number two comes along and this little baby is big enough, we'll get the Wheeled Board and turn the Bee into a little family bus! In the meantime, what stroller would be complete without a cup holder for mom? They really did think of everything!

Remarks

It's insanely annoying when you're pregnant and everyone feels entitled to make obnoxious comments about your size. One week it's "Oh my God! You're so HUGE! When I was at that stage you could see nothing. NOTHING!" The next week someone says, "Are you sure you're pregnant? You're so tiny! Where is the baby?" Then of course there is the commonplace and entirely uninspired "Are you sure you're not having TWINS?!" Oldest pregnant lady jab in the book.

The fact is that I'm twenty weeks, so half way through this pregnancy, and I feel great. I'm getting lots of exercise and I've only gained 12 pounds. The huge comments are not only rude, they're incorrect. I love having dad-to-be to go home to each afternoon. His take on it? According to him they're just jealous because I look more wonderful everyday. Love that guy!

Was that a KICK?!

Being a very sensitive person by nature, I think I felt the first of my baby's flutters in week 16. This is definitely early for a first-time mom! At that time it felt like a goldfish. Like when you buy a goldfish and you're carrying it home in the plastic sac that's filled with water and the fish swims against the side of the bag. (bump) That's what it felt like. It would surely be easy to miss, but I happened to be lying in bed reading a book at the time and all was quiet and relaxed. Over the next few days I noticed it again during times when I was quiet and relaxed and in the same position for a while. Then it shifted and I felt more of a tug. Now this week, I finally feel what seems like kicking!

photo from johnchungtaekwondo.com

Okay, maybe not that extreme! But certainly more kick-like feelings than the twinges and bumps from before. Sometimes it's on one point, sometimes it pulls across my lower abdomen. Every time it's exciting! Next I'm looking forward to dad-to-be being able to feel it, too. From what I hear, the kicks get pretty feisty as the weeks go on. Will we have a little karate kid?

Zurich Bumps

I've been feeling really homesick and sorry for myself lately. So I decided to quit moping and do something about it. This Thursday I'm meeting at a little place called Cakefriends with 9 other pregnant ladies to gab about all things pregnancy - and eat cake!

photo from cakefriends.ch

Doesn't Cakefriends look adorable? I seriously cannot wait for this. Last weekend I was out with some girlfriends and I realized that pregnancy is the only thing on my mind these days. I'm completely absorbed in gestating!

You may be wondering how I came to find nine other English-speaking pregnant ladies right here in Zurich. That is the beauty of the internet. The English Forum Switzerland has been an invaluable resource for me since we decided to make the move to Zurich. It's filled with useful information such as what Sudafed is called in Switzerland, where to buy jalapeños, what Swiss Chard is called in Switzerland, and so on and so forth. I did a search for "pregnant meet-up" and an old thread from 2009 popped up in the results. Rather than wait around for someone else to do it, I bumped the thread and suggested a current meet-up for pregnant ladies. The response was fabulous. It turns out there are lots of other "bumps" in Zurich who want to meet other gals who are in the same boat. Now I'm feeling very proactive and happy. I can't wait to make some new friends and have other bumps in my life!