leise rieselt der Schnee - for all those lovely people in Germany and Austria or whoever wants to join us!

[Canella]

a new wintery thread in honour of Hupa's first snow of the season!

Hi banana
I'm pregnant (having c-section on 2nd march) and have been in munich throughout the pregnancy. I signed up with an ob/gyn in my local town and have been to the same place for everything so far. The hebama goes there once a week and she seemed nice so I just went with her. Apparently she also works at the local hospital and will see me in there for the duration and will then come out to the house every day (not sure for how long - think it depends how I am getting on) when I come out. My health insurance - techniker krankenstrasse - apparently only covers you for 3 scans throughout the pregnancy but I have been scanned at least once a month which she hasn't charged any extra for. You will have to pay extra for all the standard blood tests etc but it's not too bad.
They're pretty thorough out here - much more so than in the UK and I've had a good experience with most of it so far. I had to go to the hospital myself to book the c-section in which I thought was a bit strange!
I haven't been to any baby classes or anything though and haven't really been provided with any info about mother and baby groups for after the birth so I will have to look into that.
Hope everything goes well for you xx

Hope everyone had a nice weekend. I've got really bad back ache, no idea how I got it but it's very painful. Have managed the shopping but it's all down in the garage and made lunch but that's about all I'll be doing today.

Hope you had a nice weekend Canella, it's so nice to have friends for the weekend isn't it? I love having visitors but since we moved from exciting worth visiting Berlin to boring Hannover not many people have been!

Wow, tallpoppies, not long to go now! I bet you're counting the days.

Bebe, do you know which age group Robert Muchamore books are for? On Amazon I saw his Top Secret books - are they good? I'd love to work in/own a book shop! How are you doing?

Sorry to hear about your backache admylin, I hope it's better soon.

tallpoppies I wasn't given much if any information about postnatal classes either; I think I've mentioned it on the thread before but my SIL told me at the time that in Austria, you're expected to find these things out for yourself. Having said that, there's now an excellent Eltern-Kind-Zentrum here which organises lots of different classes; just slightly too late for me...

Canella Hope you had a lovely time with your visitors.

We don't get many visitors here either; we're probably not quite close enough to Vienna! (We used to have lots of people coming to stay when we lived in London).

We had a lovely weekend; we braved Ikea on Saturday, but it wasn't as bad as I was expecting (although we did have to wait half an hour until there was enough room in the Kinderland for all four DC - our three and DS's friend), then went to the Technisches Museum in Vienna yesterday and ice skating in the afternoon. DD2 finally seems to be getting the hang of it, just as the ice rink is about to close for the season.

DH still hasn't given up on the idea of us going to Legoland (probably on one of the long weekends in June) so we were looking into prices and hotels last night. I quite liked the idea of going to the one in Denmark, but it would have been extortionate - the flight alone was around ?1000 - so we'll probably drive to the one in Germany and book a hotel nearby for a couple of nights.

Is it your first, tallpoppies? I also had a planned cs (dd was breech) and it was much less scary than I was expecting. My dr gave me an Überweisung/Einweisung for the hospital though (weird how much things can differ from state to state here).

I'd really recommend finding out about baby groups sooner rather than later. I don't know how your suppot network of family and friends is, but I was not at all prepared for how isolated I felt once my parents were back in the UK and I was alone all day with a baby. Having groups to go to makes a big psychological difference, even if you don't actually get there every time. It's also the best way to meet other mums, although I find Germans don't really go in for instant friendship. At least in Munich you won't have the problem of trying to break into small-town cliques whose conversation mostly consists of "you know x, the one from the butcher's" - "is that the one whose wife works at the hairdresser?" - "yes, well his brother's bit on the side is pregnant" - "no, really, my cousin used to go out with him..."

Try googling "Krabbelgruppe" for your area, or there may be something at the VHS. I went to PEKiP, which is very in at the moment. It's held in a very hot room and the babies are all naked, so they can move freely and naturally (and wee all over the floor). It's all based on a philosophy of encouraging the child to do things for itself, which appealed to me, but tbh I would have also signed up for "teach your baby to smoke from a bong" classes, I was that desperate for adult company

Sorry to hear about your backache, admylin. Hope it's gone soon.

Hope everyone else had a nice weekend.

Admylin sorry to hear about the sore back, hope you're resting!

Doing ok here. (Dh laughed the other night because he asked how I was doing and I said OK then ran out of the room to throw up and the next day when he came home he asked and I said the same and then promptly threw up at his feet! 'does ok always mean you're going to throw up now?' I had to shrug.) -I've not thrown up today so I suppose I might be better than ok
Had a little snow last night but dd is refusing to go out?! She may be feeling ill again...
Finally got my paperwork for the EHIC card :) But they neglected to send a booklet to go with it so I'm not exactly sure if I'm going to end up filling all the information out correctly...the only reason I have a vague idea is because I talked to a guy on the phone ages ago and he told me I'd need some things to send along with the application. Hopefully I do it right and it comes quickly.

My house is a tip! the living room looks like a neglected nursery room and the kitchen...let's just say that it's seen WAY better days. Can so tell I've been feeling under the weather. I must try to make an effort... maybe in a little bit

Hope the sickness stops soon bebe. Have you managed to meet anyone yet? I remember when I first moved to Berlin and didn't know anyone I found myself chatting to the check out girls in the shops - they must have thought I was crazy but I had to talk to someone!

It's freezing here, I thought we'd got through the worst of the winter but it's back again.

Poor dd has been practising like mad trying to write poems. The next German Klassenarbeit is about poetry so she's understood all the different words like Metaphern, Personifikation, Vergleiche, Strophe, Verse etc but half of the test will be to finish writing a poem of which I presume one verse will be already given. It's so difficult to get her to use a metapher or a personification though. Her poems are OK but all simple with very few Vergleiche even. Any tips? I've got a German girl coming round on Thursday to help too.

I've not got the option talking to shop assistants ...Though my word recognition is still improving, for some reason I cannot seem to make the words sound like the lady on the dvd unless I'm repeating it immediately after her. If I try to randomly say a word I see, it comes out all garbled and even dh can correct me.
No not met anyone; I honestly don't see many people during the days. Dh suggested we try to find some people on toytown; I'm feeling rather blaise about it all. I'm just wanting/waiting for the weather to turn nice and then hopefully dd and I can be back out for some walks and hopefully find her a park which is suitable. Dd and I are rather used to occupying our days together as the suburb we lived in is full of people that keep to themselves and/or professional types who aren't home during the day.

Today my goal is to vacuum. If I manage that and going to the store we will have had a good day.

Hope everyone's days go well...

(not sure how to help with German poetry but finding other examples of how metaphor and personification (even in English) might help her to see/understand more, and maybe make a game like talking about everyday things in that way: Oh the clock tower is looking very stern today! it's booming voice always chastises everyone for being late)

It's absolutely freezing here too (-8° this morning), although no snow as yet. We're supposed to be going ice skating with friends this afternoon, so I hope it warms up a bit by then.

LOL at the small-town conversation silkenladder; you haven't been eavesdropping on my ILs by any chance, have you? Although theirs is more of a hamlet conversation... I think I would go mad if we had to live there and DH can't imagine moving back either, one of the reasons we sold our Baugrund there.

We're going there this weekend for my FIL's 75th and are planning on fitting in a couple of visits to the cinema while we're there - Made in Dagenham (or We Want Sex as it's called here) and The King's Speech. I can't remember the last time I went to the cinema (Yogi Bär doesn't count) so am very excited!

bebe Sorry to hear about the sickness; it must be awful, especially if you already have a little one to look after. That's good news that the paperwork has arrived; I hope it all gets sorted out soon.

admylin I used to go out to the shops every day when we first moved to Mannheim just so that I'd see other people; I would have gone mad stuck at home all day otherwise with no one to talk to (not that I had much of a conversation with the shop assistants, I must admit!). It came as quite a shock to the system when we then moved to the USA and the assistants there would try to strike up conversations; I remember one asking me how our 4th July had been, a few days after we'd moved over, and me wondering if I knew her from somewhere!

I'm not much help on poetry writing I'm afraid, and must admit I'm not looking forward to having to help the DC with that kind of thing. I'm pretty sure it isn't one of DH's strengths either (he went to a technical school), so goodness knows what we'll do when we get to that stage - my SIL is a teacher but not really near enough to be of regular help.

Thanks that's a great tip bebe! Will start as soon as she gets home and get ds to join in. He's never had any trouble with German except for a touch of lazyness!

Bebe, is this your Harr? [[http://www.familienzentrum-haar.de/index.shtml Familienzentrum)) could be a nice place to start with, maybe join a group. Even if it's a German group I'm sure they will be either pleased to help you with German or to try out their English on you!

Just thought I'd add, I went to one of the integration groups like the one advertised on that website. I would also take German letters in and the 2 German women running the group would help me if I hadn't understood. I made friends with an American woman and a Polish woman and some other really nice people and the dc all played together - so funny to see them all getting on even though they didn't speak the same langauge. The course people knew what sort of games to do to get them all joining in. We (the mums) would get the chance to sit and have a tea or coffee together while the dc played and we were all in the same boat so all happy to have someone to chat to.

Otherwise you could try the English playgroup!

Admylin - how's your back? hope you've managed to get some rest although the best thing really is to keep on the move but not to be lifting! have you been to see anyone about it? sounds like your dd's got a lot of hard work on at school at the moment! i hated poems in English at school and imagine it'll be worse in German! good luck!

Linzer - sounds like you had a good weekend!! i love that i can put the children into the play place at Ikea! it makes it all so much easier! i'd also like to got to Legoland - think its not so far from us but def further than a daytrip! But its expensive to get in isnt it? Well expensive when you compare it to playmobil land!!! so so jealous of your cinema trips! and in english too!! like a heavenly night out!! enjoy! and enjoy the party too.

oh silkenladder - you hit the nail on the head with the small town/village conversation but think its prob the same in the UK!!!!

Bebe - hope our feeling better!

i had a fantastic weekend with my friend and her little girl and they had a great time too!! she's got twins who are only 2 (as well as the 5 yr old she brought with her)but she had left them at home with their dad so think she had forgotten how easy life is with 1 child! she's a great friend of mine so it was just an easy relaxed few days so feeling proper sad that she's gone back already! we were out the house at 6.45 this morning to drive her to the station!! But linzer - do i win the cold prize today - it was minus 11!!!! thankfully the sun is shining so it might warm up a bit! they were proper shocked by the cold - dont think its often that cold where they live in the UK!

But i'm knacked after my early rise so think i'm going to go back to be for a nap - dont tell anyone!!

Oh I was looking on that site and they also have German classes where you can bring the kids...doesn't start until April, but might be a good option for me and Moo (if my German doesn't improve by then. The only other classes I found you couldn't bring kids and they had already started) Doesn't say how you contact the leader of the class though hmmm.

We shall see how it goes. managed to vacuum all but the livingroon (which needs it the most) but feel now like I've been through the vacuum myself...living room will wait. Dd managed to put a dvd in without me and it's playing! So we've sat down and are having a juice break and watching UP bit mature for her I think, but she likes the dogs and balloons...

heaven help me

OK, I think you win on temperature Canella! Glad to hear you had such a good weekend, anyway - oh, and forgot to say on FB that I'm glad the hot cross buns turned out OK.

So would you (or anyone else) recommend Playmobil land over Legoland? I hadn't even realised there was a Playmobil land until a few days ago, when I was looking into Legoland on MN. The DC are very into both Playmobil and Lego, so I don't think they'd mind which one we went to and it would be slightly nearer to us than Legoland too.

bebe Someone on the fly thread has also had a sofa incident (hot chocolate in her case) and a couple of the others have recommended a bicarb solution (rub in a paste of bicarb and water, leave to dry and hoover off). I don't know how easy it is to get hold of bicarb/baking soda where you are, though (I always bring some over with me).

linzer - i cant compare the 2 since i've never been to Legoland but it depends how much excitement your dc are looking for! There are NO rides at playmobil land but my dc absolutely love it! even dd (9) would still be excited to go! there is just unlimited playmobil toys to play with and even when we went in the middle of August last year and it was beyond busy there was still enough playmobil for every child to play with. But there is also so much for them to do outside - there are more climbing possibilities than they know what to do with - there's a huge climbing place inside and loads of opportunites outside, there's a pirate ship which you have to walk the plank to get on and off, there are rafts to go on in the water, there is a huge sand/water play area where and loads more. (can you tell yet that i'm a big fan??!!)

I think there's a hotel right on site but i've never been. There is a big food hall where you can leave your jackets & snacks on a table at the beginning of your day then you can keep that table to come back to whenever you like throughout the day. The food is good and not expensive and there are possibilities for snacks as well.

On the down side - its sometimes dead busy and i find it a bit stressful then with the 3 dc esp ds2 who is so excited that he's sometimes hard to spot in the crowds! But all the children get these little bands to wear with your mobile number on and they are good at finding children/parents who have got lost. And there is no chance they'd escape the grounds since the only way out is through the shop and they'd soon stop there!

Its also not as expensive to get in - its maximum 10? per person in the high season but only 8? in June. It wont be quite as busy then since thats not holidays in many places - in the summer it was heaving with british people!

Hope that all helps - honestly i dont work for them!!

That's really helpful Canella, thank you! Playmobil land does sounds good and I don't think the lack of rides would matter too much (I've heard it can be a bit of a pain if you have children of different heights, anyway). I'll have to discuss it again with DH when he gets home.

Bicarb is called "Natron" or "Hausnatron" here. It's sold in paper sachets or in a little box and the main brand is green and white. They sometimes have it in the baking section, but sometimes with the cleaning products. I would guess they would stock it at Müller/Rossmann/dm as well as at the supermarket.

Bebe - you could also try something called Gallseife (no idea what it's called in English - bile soap??) - it's in the laundry section of the market or drugstore and comes in either a bar form or liquid. It seems to be good at removing all sorts of stains. I guess you would just wet the stain and then lather up the soap a bit and keep wiping it with a damp cloth.

Aha, it's called gall soap in English and looks like this in Germany - Gallseife

thanks ladies; going to the store when dd wakes up from a very long nap... I've been gently going at the stain with baby wipes and there's just one section now that you can see the yellow... going to try to get it clean before dh comes home and then ask him if he sees the stain because sometimes you don't know if you just see it because you know it's there... As least having dealt with linen and weaves before I know how much I can agitate it before it gets ruined...

My MIL swears by Gallseife but I haven't found it all that effective the few times I've tried it. Co-op household soap OTOH rarely fails, so I stock up whenever we're back in the UK (that's not much use for you in Germany, I know bebe).

How did you get on with the sofa bebe? Hope some of the tips on your other thread were helpful.

HAd a German girl round to help dd revise for her Gedichte test but by the sound of it dd is fine and knows all she should know. So, if the test doesn't come out good then it's down to exam nerves which will be another problem to get around!

Remember ds's friend who lost his mum last year? I've had the dad on the phone every night asking questions about this upcoming Klassenfahrt. I've told him where to go to get socks, long johns and boots. Then he needed help with packing - his case is too small but his other case is too big and his ds will never manage it (so he says) and then quick phone calls - by the way are you packing a hair dryer? Ten minutes later - should I pack his dressing gown? I've offered help but he sort of likes to muddle through alone but with 20 phone calls to me. He did a trial pack last night and panicked that it's too much and too heavy. I tried to praise him for being so organised (I haven't started sorting out what ds is taking yet) but I think he's very nervous and probably more excited about this trip than his ds!

Morning all...brrr freezing here too.

What was the verdict on the stain bebe? Hope you got it out. Hope the sickness eases off a bit. How many weeks are you now?

LOL at bong smoking course for babies silken. Do you think that would help them sleep through the night from day one?!?!

Sorry to hear about the backache admylin. Is it better now? Around this time last year I got dreadful backache, and was not sure what caused it. I went for long walks and did some yoga and suddenly it just went away. Hope yours does too. How was the poetry?

Linzer - sorry can´t help on Legoland over Playmobile land. I don´t think I would ever ever ever get DH to agree to something like that. Did you make a decision? Funnily enough, we nearly went to the Technisches Museum on Sunday morning. I wonder if I would have clicked it was Linzer and family if I had seen a German-English speaking family. Probably not. Your plans for the weekend sound fantastic - enjoy the cinema!

canella- are you a local celeb now then? so nice that you had a great time with your friend. It must have felt for a real treat for her too, only one child, and 5 years old. So much easier than three of them.

tallpoppies - hope all goes well next week. Is it your first? I was thinking what I would do if I were about to have my first baby next week. I think I would go to the cinema lots!

Could anyone recommend a German grammar book, please? I have got the em Übungsgrammatik but I need something more thorough at this stage, but also something clear. (Someone gave me Hammer´s German Grammar and Usage but I don´t find it very user friendly).

Have a good day all!