2013 ist schon da! A new Kaffeeklatsch thread for the New Year - living in Germany and Austria

[LinzerTorte]

All welcome - whether you're living in Germany or Austria, have questions about life in those countries or just want to chat.

Previous thread here.

outnumbered that's come around really quick! Have you got all the babysitting sorted for your ds1? How long will you be away? Bet you're really looking forward to the rest.

He's always been fine with me in the past, I think he's just becoming more unpleasant in his old age, if that makes sense. I was never particularly high up on his list of important people (until I was pregnant, then it was a different story) but he has always been pleasant and polite in the past. Being 6 years younger than DH makes me a child in his eyes and not being a lawyer or a doctor just makes me not worth bothering with I think.
I had a bit of a rant to my mum about it and she wondered if he is maybe going senile and if that would explain it. His hearing is definitely going so it's sometimes hard to tell if he hasn't heard me or if he is just ignoring me, but that's a really small part of the whole problem.
The making DS cry thing is really silly - he was blowing up a balloon to let the air out so it made a noise for DS, so I asked him not to as DS doesn't like it and it makes him cry (I think he's a bit scared of it), so of course he ignored me and did it anyway, then let the balloon go so it whizzed past DS' head really quickly and really loudly and made him really upset. That in itself was a bit irritating but not enough to fall out over, except he did it again - twice - over the next day or so, which really, really, really wound me up. I told him every single time not to do it, as did MIL, as did DH, but he just ignored us all and carried on. That plus the rudeness to me just means that DS and I won't be going to visit for the time being, petty as it sounds. I realise there are people with much worse problems with their PILs and I am grateful that things have generally been ok in the past but I refuse to put up with this childish, attention-seeking nonsense. He gets a kick out of being provocative, he's just becoming a bit more extreme with it.

Anyway, that's enough ranting for now! I've just had a lovely quiche for lunch, which I bought to share with DS but he ate his mini-croissant the lady in the bakery gave him and fell asleep on the way home so he's snoozing happily upstairs for now.

Nutella It's good to hear that your DS is a little happier now :)

platanos I had to laugh at your 'silly winter articles'

You got wine from the Krneval floats, Linzer?!? Why does this not happen here? Who can I complain to about this terrible oversight?

outnumbered Wow, not long to go! Fingers crossed the snow clears up enough in time for the drive. It'S good that you had it out with your FIL when he smacked (!) your DS2, that really is unacceptable behaviour.

admylin That trip sounds, erm, interesting! Do you think your DS will enjoy it? Hope it doesn't work out too expensive in the end. Could you borrow a few of the things he needs to save buying them?

outnumbered I'm sure you'll get everything sorted and you will be able to really enjoy your kur. I really hope you have a great time.

admylin we have some sleeping bags, mattresses and possibly even a rucksack you can borrow if you like. Send me a PM and let me know what you need and we'll have a rummage around.

antique that sounds very frustrating, but perhaps it is more than meets the eye? MIL has some odd moments and has greeted DP with the wrong name more than once. DP tries to brush it off but there is a worrying pattern

DS is having good nights, I'm happy when he goes back off to sleep easily. Our morning routine still needs some work... Hopefully we'll both be washed and dressed soon at a time that qualifies as "morning"

That's just it, Nutella, I don't want to overreact if there is more to it than I realise.
Your ds sounds adorable - who says you have to be up and ready to go before lunchtime anyway

Antique Hmm, it does sound like it could possibly be the onset of something if he's always been fine in the past. Not that that means you should have to put up with it, of course, and especially not if he's upsetting DS.

admylin That sounds like an expensive trip - and not ideal re the toilets either. FWIW though, I did a voluntary conservation week quite a few years back, clearing an overgrown patch of land. There was no toilet there but, despite having the odd tea break, I found I didn't actually need to use one during the day (we were working around 9-5) - maybe because I was on the go the whole time (I normally need to go about every five minutes).

outnumbered Fingers crossed for you that the snow melts by Wed; it sounds like it would be a rather stressful journey by train.

For those of you envious that we have wine handed out at Fasching here, the bottle was only a small plastic one holding less than a glass full (from a vineyard's float - I insisted that we move to a wine-growing area, Antique ). It leaked all over my mammogram referral when I was carrying it up from the car, which now has an embarrassing red stain on it - I shall have to pretend the DC spilled some juice if anyone asks.

Hallo again, short question- is there any Austrian "Calpol" equivalent?

DD is getting fevers on and off. DH went to the Apotheek and only managed to come back with some ridiculous paracetamol syrup that tastes so bad that I cannot get DD to drink it in juice/ milk or any other way. He says he made it clear it was for a toddler and that they still only offered him this and no other possibilities. Is that really correct??

Hi C4ro we always get Dolormin or Ibuprofen for children, and ours love the taste. It's the equivalent to Calprofen. hope your dd is better soon.

C4ro if that is the case I know what I'll be ordering when my little bro comes over for a visit although I know an Apothekerin so I could also ask her... Although I won't see her until tomorrow night so hopefully someone else can answer your question a little quicker.

Weissdorn can we swap for a weekend? DS is just over 6 weeks and still doesn't manage more than a four hour sleep... What are you doing to your DD that makes her sleep so long???!!! Although last night he woke after his four stint and fed briefly from one boob before falling back to sleep and I had to wait another 2ish hours for him to empty the other side so I was glad for the sleep but by crikey it's annoying and odd having hard boobs wonder if its like those over inflated implants you see still, nice to hear you are enjoying some pampering from the ILs. My mum is coming in a few weeks and I have booked the dentist and a haircut I can't wait!
It'll also be English Mothering Sunday. I want to give her a picture of DS and a print of his hands feet... Any tips on what to use/ how to do it?

Linzer I think I could enjoy fasching if there was free wine involved. I'd definitely consider a move to a wine region. Although my preference would probably be a wine region in Western Oz or the Marlborough region in NZ

Took DS & DP out for a nice walk. Stopped to let a V old lady coo over DS and of course she imparted some "wisdom" but it was ok because DP wanted to show off our very cute little man so we did the nod, smile, thank you bit and totally forgot the advice about 3 seconds later. It was actually very useful because we need to apply the exact same unemotional indifference to criticism advice from the PIL.

Hi C4ro, was it Nureflex that your DH brought back? That seems to be the most commonly prescribed pain relief for children here; the alternatives are Mexalen (paracetamol) and Parkemed, but I don't think the DC have ever had either of those so can't comment on the taste! I think you can get them both in syrup form, though.

Well done on the nodding and smiling, Nutella - it's something I find myself doing frequently with MIL, while seething inside! DH agrees it's not worth saying anything to her, however, as she's so set in her old wives' tales beliefs.

Have never come across Dolormin and ibuprofen for children is Nureflex here. I sometimes bring Calpol back from the UK, but am not sure why as the DC have never objected to the taste of Nureflex.

DS's friend and little sister have been here all afternoon and have just decided that they'd like to stay overnight, so I have five children to put to bed tonight... DH conveniently won't be back from Germany until around 10.30 pm, but I shall escape to the hairdresser's first thing tomorrow and leave him to get breakfast for all of them.

linzer the other one is called nurofen for children, and it even comes in 4% for older children, and 2% for little ones. I do remember having problems getting paracetamol for ds1 when we still lived in the UK and came to visit my parents (I mean paracetamol that didn't taste rank). But since actually living here I haven't had problems. I think one company that does para for children is called 1A Pharmaceuticals or something similar.

Didn't you say before that Austria is a good few years behind Germany? So maybe in another 4 years you'll be able to get 'yummy' para juice as well not that it is that helpful now...

Dh is in Paris today for a 30 minute meeting! I'm quite jealous as I have never been to Paris.
And I started with washing clothes for my trip next week...and now it's all locked in the washing machine and it won't drain! I hope dh can fix it!

linzer I had a lovely mental picture of you having your hands full with alcohol at the Fasching procession. Especially when you mentioned that you wish you had had your camera - as I was wondering how you would have taken a picture, what with both hands full

Does anyone have any nice plans for the weekend? I have just arranged a babysitter for tomorrow evening so that dh and I can get out before I'm off next week.

outnumbered I actually have both Austrian and UK versions in my medicine cabinet - Nurofen for children and Nureflex für Kinder (virtually the same packaging too), which begs the question why I bothered to import it from Britain when we can get it here. Btw I think a few years behind might be a slight underexaggeration; a decade would probably be more like it. It was my friend who suggested taking a photo; I should have got her to really, as I'm sure she has a camera on her phone.

I often wish I could go with DH on his business trips; Paris sounds good! (Apart from the fact I'd have to speak French, which would be all too depressing.) DH finds the one-day trips the most tiring as he has to get up at the crack of dawn and then isn't home till around midnight. Mind you, he had to get up at 4 am on Wed to fly to Germany and won't be back until late, so this trip isn't much of an improvement.

Weissdorn / Nutella Whether or not you have a good sleeper is 99% luck, I think. DD1 was awful, DD2 really easy, and DS somewhere in between. Not sure about the weight/feeding; DD1 always fed really well and put on the most weight out of all of them, but was by far the worst sleeper. I did wonder whether her hours of feeding meant she was so rested that she didn't need much sleep!

Good news on my new phone - it's just been dispatched, so I don't know what happened to the 5-6 weeks that Orange was talking about. I'm finding texting on a non-smartphone particularly mühsam, although a friend of mine was showing me how she texts by just moving her finger from letter to letter rather than tapping each letter individually, so I'll have to look into that as it looked even quicker.

Turns out I only have four DC to put to bed now, as DD1 is sleeping at the neighbours'. She's arranged to watch the Eurovision song selection with their oldest DD, but the younger two aren't allowed to find out so she has to wait until they're asleep before she goes over.

C4ro we've had paracetamol suppositories for dd in the past. I must say the fact that dh is a gastroenterologist and thinks nothing at all of sticking the things up dd's bottom is a huge help as I would be a bit squeamish about it, but getting dd to drink Calpol or any other syrup would be much worse - the one time I got her to take Calpol I had to spread it on a rice cake!

Nutella look for Fingermalfarbe in Müller or at the supermarket. It's easiest to apply the paint with a paintbrush, but the whole thing is less messy than you probably imagine it will be (at least I expected it to be).

Must go and put dd to bed...

cheas we've used suppositories, and it's very very common in Germany. But even ds3 refuses to have them now. with ds2 we could never use them as one little suppository would result in one huge poo straight afterwards!
I had to at the calpol on a cracker. ds3 wont take anything other than the ibuprofen. antobiotics are a particular nightmare. when he had para pertussis before Christmas, me and dh were literally forcing it into him. he'd scream and kick like mad, and as soon as he had swollowed it he'd grin and say 'lecker!'. but for the next dose he'd throw the whole tantrum again! followed by 'lecker'.

ooh I think dh is home already. for him it was a much more laid back day than usual! he didnt leave the house until 9.45 (usually it's 7.15am), as Paris is only 2.5 hrs away by train apparently!

We've also used suppositories in the past; the good thing about them is that they work extremely quickly. C4ro If you want to give them a go, ask at the Apotheke for Fieberzäpfchen.

We've used the paracetamol suppositries for DS and found they worked really well - he was quite a bit smaller then though, I'm not sure we'd get them anywhere near him now.
I bought a load of baby Calpol last time we were in the UK and we've barely used it. I should probably check the bottle to see how long you can keep it for.
When DS' molars were coming through (2 weeks of pure hell!) I found the only thing that worked was the baby Nurofen I got in the pharmacy here - it comes with a little syringe which made things a lot easier, especially as DS will put anything in his mouth he's even started eating the sock fluff from between his own toes

outnumbered Enjoy your night out with your DH! It sounds like a rare, but well-deserved treat :)

Linzer Hope putting all four to bed isn't as stressful as it sounds!

cheas I must remember the calpol-on-a-rice-cake trick!

weissdorn & Nutella I remember reading a thread on MN a while back where one poster thought her DC was a good sleeper as she had made sure they wore a little outfit during the day and a sleepsuit at night right from the very beginning! From what I remember, everyone else on the thread said it was just luck whether you had a sleeper or not....

Friday vino, whoop whoop! :)

*suppositories, even

Antique sock fluff is pretty gross! I know kids love to stick everything in their mouths but sock fluff must taste a lot like dust... Oder?

outnumbered after going through such a song and dance with the medication to then be told " lekker" must be a tad infuriating frustrating.

I gave DS his 1st suppository yesterday. I was very reluctant; but the probiotic drops we were using for DS tummy ran out last week and of course their effect has worn off (we weren't sure if they were making a difference... Turns out they were ) so last night DS was very uncomfortable and my friend who was babysitting me had heard good things about cumin suppositories... DS barely seemed to notice and he was much better quite quickly afterwards. I think I'd consider paracetamol ones too because then you know it's in and they've had a dose.

Antique sorry your FIL is an unpleasant nutcase :( Although maybe there is more to it and it is the onset of dementia or something equally nasty - but in that case I am still sorry to hear it and that he is taking it out on you!

Absolutely agree whether your baby sleeps or not is 99.99% luck, if not more I thought DD was a poor sleeper (my DC1) - and in all honesty she was my worst newborn, she used to feed for 45 mins, sleep for 45 mins, feed for 45 mins, sleep for 45 mins, all night, then just stay awake (but very happily and only feeding every 3 hours) all day for her first 3 months - but her sleep then improved once she was 3 months old, and although she still woke in the night every night til she was 2, in retrospect I am able to see she wasn't that bad from 3 months on. DS1 used to sleep for 4 hours then feed then go back to sleep, and I thought he was miracle sleeper sent from heaven, the best sleeping baby ever born, truly amazing :) He slept through from about 10 months old - as in he slept from going to bed at 7.30pm and got up for the day at 5am - I don't think I ever complained about 5am starts as he was such a brilliant sleeper compared to DD...

Then I had DS2 and I think a 4 hour stretch of sleep is absolutely bloody amazing, a rare and glorious luxury, he usually wakes every 2 hours, he has been worse, at least an adult gets a sleep cycle in 2 hours, for months on end he woke hourly - now that is hard - he is 21 months old now and 4 hour stretches are still the stuff of fantasy.

I have just had 3 nights sleep though as the in-laws had him for 3 night - they don't put him to bed though, just keep him downstairs til he flakes out then carry him up and MIL gets into their bed with him, so it took a long time to settle him tonight and I am anticipating many cross wakings when he finds nobody next to him...

Enjoy your kur outnumbered - wow 3 weeks is a really long time! I thought Kurs were a few days! Don't blame you for driving though, not a feasible train journey with 2 small children.

We have had paracetamol suppositories for infants but I tried to give one to DS2 a month or so ago when he had had Kinder Neurofen and a 40.1 degree fever hadn't come down so wanted to give him paracetamol as well and he was very unimpressed indeed - can't imagine giving them to an older child! Luckily my kids are happy to take Kinder Neurofen - I didn't think you could get paracetamol liquid here either though, I must say I've never seen it, may have to ask!

Antique sock fluff? yumm! . having a break from fil sounds like a good idea. I hope his behaviour does not continue, and does not get worse. does you mil say anything?

mrtumbles just reading your post exhausted me....

outnumbered good luck with getting everything ready to go. did you get the washing out of the machine? Going by car seems a much better idea. Is Paris so close to you? that is nearly a day trip...a long day, but that would be one to remember! Do it, do it, do it, just cos I can't! . enjoy your date tonight.

C4ro I guess your question has been answered already. We have a paracetamol syrup, Mexalen, but it tastes foul. I am very careful with Parkemed - you can only get it on prescription and my hausarzt used to give it to us all the time. But once it did not bring ds fever down and we ended up in A&E and another mum tells me it is not prescribed in Germany any more. Only once did I resort to suppositoires, as I didn't have anything else in the house, but I hated them as a child and try to avoid them for the dc. We have a Nureflex Junior with a strawberry flavour too...hope your dd feels better soon.

linzer good to hear your phone is on the way. Played with an iphone5 in mediamarkt - very nice. I guess it had better be for the price. I am sure you will grow to love it as much as your old one. how was getting them all to bed last night? and hope you got to read in peace at the hairdressers! I have just about finished Gone Girl (and read ahead so I know the ending)...I think there is a twist too many at the end, but will read it properly and digest it before forming an opinion.

admylin that trip sounds expensive and a bit strange...I have done no toilets on camping trips and that is different, but okay. And I much prefer no toilets to some other composting toilets I have had to deal with. yuck. But not sure of the "push them to the limit so that they can discover who they are" bit. I hope that, for full effect, they are going during a full moon . when is the trip? hope it will be warmer then.

we have had a daft morning trying to get a new printer. sigh. We came home with no printer and have decided to just get it from the online media markt shop as the ones we visited had nothing similar. what a waste of time. On the plus side I got to see the new shopping centre north of vienna and discovered it has a great play area where you can drop off the kids for 1 euro an hour while you shop...that's my easter hols sorted then . Shame I dislke both shopping centres and shopping, both the place and the activity stress me out.

And our next meet-up sorted too, platanos. MediaMarkt is my idea of hell; we were at the SCS (ditto) this afternoon, but it was just about bearable as we only went to the soft play place. I try to order as much as possible online to avoid proper shops (usually much cheaper too, of course). Would you believe I'm struggling to remember the ending of Gone Girl... can remember the affair twist, but not many of the others; I think I must have read it too quickly! (No time for reading at the hairdresser's today, as the hairdresser was too chatty - it was far less relaxing than usual! I miss my old quiet one.)

MrTumbles Hope the effect of three good nights' sleep keeps you going for a while and that you didn't have too many night wakings last night.

Nutella I've never heard of cumin suppositories before... was it a homemade one?

Antique DS also had a stage of putting absolutely everything into his mouth (the other two did as well, but not to the same extreme extent). Our first holiday in Italy, when he'd just turned one, was a nightmare as he kept trying to eat the sand on the beach. He still likes telling people that we didn't need a hoover when he was little as we had him!

Putting the four children to bed last night wasn't all that stressful (once we'd found spare PJs and toothbrushes for the visiting DC), but getting them to be quiet once they were in bed was another matter altogether. They were still chattering away when I went to bed at 10 pm. Definitely an early night for them all tonight (DH is putting them to bed as I write); DD1 was up quite late watching Eurovision too. Great excitement as the girl who won goes to the same school as our neighbour's oldest DD (who DD1 was watching with).

linzer at homemade cumin suppositories!! you can get them at all pharmacies. actually, our paed even suggested to try them on ds2 as he was such an unsettled baby. Also there is this 'WIndsalbe' that also has cumin in I think, and you are supposed to rub it on their tums. Did you try that too, nutella?

ds3 still puts everything in his mouth and he particularly enjoys eating sand. he just doesnt seem to learn...we have had several nappies where it was incredibly painful for him to do a poo. when I changed him I wasnt at all surprised as it must have been like pooing sandpaper!
anyway, babysitter just got here so off we go

outnumbered I googled them and it seems you can make your own as well as buy them! So just thought I'd ask... especially as it sounded like a spur of the moment thing. Have a lovely evening with all thoughts of suppositories banished anyway.