Bringing up Baby in Czech Republic (1)

We're still bringing up baby in CZ but going all over Europe, we're all about international and multicultural. Everyday I get to spot cultural differences in child rearing or parenting as they say.

Generally Czech parents are quite cool with their kids. All the time I see kids playing without supervision in supermarkets while parents are concentrated on something or other, two rows away.  But at the same time, parents here are very concerned with their kids. Mums stay at home for 3 years and they think this is a very short time, the child is not ready to separate from his mum and go to kindergarten. They should ask French mums, their babies go to creche at 3 months.

Because parents are so concerned, kids of all ages have lots of activities. And they find it natural, not the result of the parents frustrations over not having had the same opportunities (they probably did) or need to compete. Kids do a lot of sports, spend a lot of time outside, either with parents or teachers. In kindergarten they learn a lot of basics like drawing and cutting paper but also dancing and music.

One great thing about having a kid here is that you can go to the pub or restaurant with your rugrat and you don't have to worry about people smoking or the kid getting bored. Most places here have a kid's corner full of toys, crayons and distinct non smokers' area. We went to a pizzeria that had a huge playground, trampoline, castle, small bikes plus changing tables at the gents as well and the pizza place down on our street has only 6 tables but there is a small place for the wee ones and a high chair. I even heard about a cinema in Prague which has special sessions for parents with kids: they let the light on so you can keep an eye on the children running around  or breastfeed and change the smaller ones, while still enjoying the latest Hollywood comedy.

There are also parents support groups available in most big cities and special cafés where parents go to chat while kids go to play. There are a lot of these places and some clubs have activities like swimming or gymnastics. Some will even take care of your kids while you party the New Year away. Of course, if you trust to let your kid with others and if you don't have grand parents available.

Speaking of grand parents, they are usually the ones with the weekend house where the child can discover nature and breathe some fresh air. They also pick up the kids from different activities after the mother started working again. Pretty much average babicka and dedecek. We don't have the luxury of having our parents around as much as we'd like but we appreciate the help they give us and the days, sometimes weeks they spend here with their grandson. In the future, maybe, we will relocate a willing grandmother.

Next part will be mostly about medical care and I will publish it on Wednesday. Stay tuned.

Alsace in Spring

About 2 weeks ago we did something every new parent remembers fondly and longs for: we went on a trip and slept at a hotel. Just the 2 of us. No baby in the car. He stayed with grandma and grandpa who were ecstatic to have the little one for themselves. Having a baby is something grand parents everywhere remember fondly :)

It was a romantic weekend for us, had a great lunch by the river, saw some new places and took a walk/run in the forest. We had apéro and coffee on the terrace and soaked in the warm spring sun. A delight, although we kinda missed the kid a little bit.

One of those houses by the water is my dream gingerbread house. But if I had a house surrounded by fields, this one below would be it. Plus, I love the mountains in the background.

 

We took a walk to the forest, where we saw this interesting looking tree. It's like it is in bondage.

The view to the village: a typical panorama of Alsace where you can see the church tower. I really love this area of France in every season (they totally rock Christmas markets) but spring is the season where it all becomes a huge garden. We were there in March so it was still crisp but come May, when all the flowers will be blooming, it will be heavenly.

Life update

Spring is here and it's been gorgeous. We've spent a lot of time outside, enjoying the sun and the little one is discovering warm wind on his face and sun in his eyes. So funny when he holds his breathe, surprised by these new feelings.

He is 7 months old already, has a good daily pattern of waking up around 7.30, taking his breakfast, playing a bit with me and then going back to bed for 1 1/2, 2 hrs, playing a lot and eating well until he falls back asleep for a second nap and maybe a third one, outside, in the air. The evening are sometimes more difficult, when teeth are starting to nag him. There is already a white bud on the lower gum and a second will soon follow. Bath time is so much fun though, the little fat legs and sweet feet won't stop moving.

I'll soon share some pictures of Alsace in spring. We spent there our first full night away from our baby. He was happy to be with the grand parents and didn't seem to notice we weren't there but welcomed us with the sweetest, warmest smile.

This spring is sweet, the baby is growing more and more, the future looks bright. I have plans of working on the garden and going on trips.And most of all, taking in all of this little baby wonder.

Good Moms

I took this picture in the house of our friends. She is a great mother of two but her floors are never sticky and her kids are among the happiest I've seen.  So I guess it's possible.

Then why are my floors sticky? Ah well, at least my kid is laughing like crazy.

Sleep, baby, sleep

Oh please, do sleep! We've tried everything, really every thing. Singing him to sleep, this seems to work, he likes dirty French songs and counting elephants. But it only works half of the time. We've tried letting him cry it out. This almost never works at night times. We're trying nighttime rituals and soothing the baby with no tears. We've done swaddling and other S words as well, worked well at some point, not anymore.

At the moment, we are going through the "I don't wanna fall asleep" phase and the things we tried before seem useless. Just before, he had a "I go to sleep at 9 PM, wake up at 7 with you guys" phase. That was the dream, we had date nights with my husband in front of a movie. "Now you see me" is fun although we still haven't seen the end, after 3 tries, ah well, the joys of parenthood.

Last night we got him in bed with us. We are not co-dodo or co-sleep adepts but last night at midnight, we cracked, got him in bed with us and, after a few cries (he never cries unless he is really tired, he's belly hurts or he's hungry, I'll let you guess which one was this time) he eventually fell asleep next to me, with my hand on his tummy. I then scooped him up and placed him in his crib where he slept until the morning when our daytime routine started.

The idea is that he is supposed to sleep on his own and we don't seem to find a way to help him with falling asleep on his own, he always gets some help from us. Any tips on how to train a baby to sleep? Our's seems to want to talk and smile or worse, cry if left alone, rather than sleep.

When he does sleep, oh the blessign, he sleeps until morning, undisturbed and serene. And he is such a happy, healthy baby babling away and playing all day long, sometimes continuing at night.

Nursery under the roof

The time has come for our little boy to transition to his own space. It will be a slow thing, first off will be the building of his space. Our loft has a low, open space which will be the nursery once we add a door. And a wall, of course. I am looking for inspiration, as always, on pinterest.

And as always, one of my favorites comes from Ikea. I love the rug and the kid playing with the wood train set. and the shelves and the wall decal. I don't like the picture of the boy's head, guves me the creeps.

Again Ikea... the colors are wrong, of course, even if I am all for not labelling blue as the only color for boys. The nook bed will be a feature of the room due to the low ceilling.

I love this bed. I should also look for a low table. And of course, the Malm drawers, why didn't I think of that?

Storage! I need lots of storage space, I'll go crazy with all the clothes and toys. 5month olds have more clothes than me!

Built in shelves could be a solution for the storage problem. Oh and the cute rocking horse. Totally love the bench too.

My idea for the desk looks a lot like this:

I hope I am inspiring you to create a space under the roof for your baby. I definetly think kids like to play in such places, they must feel protected, like under a tent.

Getting back

Happy 2014 to you all! I know I come late to the game, but better late than never.

And as always, with the new year wishes come the resolutions. One of my resolutions, as every year is to keep writting here hoping I will not go totally gaga from staying at home with a baby.

If you want to encourage me to write, please just leave comments, feedback is greatly appreciated.

See you again, soon, in the mean time, check my pinterest page as well, here.

Parada Militara

La multi ani Romania! 95 de ani de la Marea Unire, merita sarbatoriti asa cum se cuvine.

Parada militara nu este doar despre tehnica militara dar si despre oamenii care adesea nu se vad, despre mandria de a fi roman. Hai sa facem astfel incat lucrurile chiar sa mearga in directia potrivita. De noi depinde, oriunde am fi, cat timp suntem romani! Hai sa fim cu adevarat frati si sa dam mana cu mana ca sa mergem inainte, uniti.

Life in the Countryside

I would just love to get away for a summer weekend to this guest house in the Polish countryside. It feels so out of this world, a place from a time long gone. I cannot decide if I prefer the interiors which are so much my style that it reminds me of my place, or the outside life. I'll let you decide for yourself and dream of your weekend.

All pictures are from Moniowka website. Did I tell you that Monika, the owner, gave up her 9 to 5 job in the city for a life in the countryside to run her guest house?The dream :)

My Bucharest through someone else's eyes

...is optimistic. At least if you look at it through the pictures posted here on Bucuresti Optimist. I am one of those people, who, like My Cup of Digital who showed me these pictures, loves Bucharest. This is were I grew up and spent most of my life so far and even if it's not the perfect place to live, it's still in my heart. I haven't lived there in 5 years but I still know the city quite well and even dream of it's streets sometimes.

Here are some of the pictures from the page.The depth, the colours, almost reminds me of the smells and sounds of the place. Yes, I love Bucharest, whatever people say, it's got its good points, you just have to open your eyes. And yes, the communist buildings are what remind me of Bucharest the most, but inside the buildings there are the people that make it my city.

So many things have changed in the 5 years I've been away, there are not so many cities that move at the fast pace that Bucharest has. Here is the National Arena. It wasn't there when I left.

And I also love the nostalgic Bucharest of the 20s and 30s with its Paris meets Istanbul air. The mix of styles is impressive, not always very pretty but quaint. The Lipscani area or Old City is a memory from a long lost commercial past but the new rendition of it as an area for partying is equally successful.

 Go check out Bucuresti Optimist, you will find a Bucharest you barely recognize. This is Herastrau park for instance. Everything looks so different if you look at it from another angle. Even the pessimists will start to love this city and maybe work on making it better.

Every time I go to Bucharest I feel I came back home, and that is despite the fact that sometimes I feel so far from all the issues that trouble Romanians. for me, Bucharest is Romania and these pictures bring back the memories.