**German Chat**everyone welcome* - macht es euch gemütlich

[ZZZen]

reden wir weiter...

ZZZen - nope, it was the lady herself. Makes you want scratch all over, doesn't it?!

MmeLindt - LOL!! I love it when people tell it how it really is, I'm so sick of PC articles on how it's all so bloody natural. I drank gallons of that raspberry leaf tea stuff last time and it did naff all...

they're some kind of special tweezers then, not just ordinary eyebrow tweezers type-of-thing?

No, think I would have let her keep them after that! Mind you, they are only being used to kill ugly grey squishy disgusting stuff so wouldn't really matter too much where they had been, would it?

ok will definitely change into trousers before going to the vet then

oh i tried loads too to bring on labour but not even a braxton hicks happened!! but i had 3 normal deliveries after being induced so it was no big deal in the end!!

dh was telling me the other day that we need to get some vaccination in case we get a tick bite? never heard about this in the UK but he says you can become quite unwell sometimes?? need to get ourself a hausarzt first - not sure how to go about it though!!

frosch - very very impressed your dh works with F1 - i'm a huge fan!! but dont imagine you feel like that if he's away every other weekend (or they've felt like every weekend recently). does he come home in between races - thats a lot of travelling esp to the far away races!!
maybe this baby will come out of her own free will - will think dilating thoughts nearer the time!!

Canella
Yes, the ticks in Germany do carry a couple of nasty diseases if you are unlucky.

They can give you FSME which is

Tick Borne Encephalitis or ?TBE?.

TBE is a potentially life-threatening viral disease characterized by flu-like symptoms. TBE is transmitted by the bite of an infected tick during which contact time takes just one tenth of a second. There?s no known treatment but you can do something about it.

You can check with your doc if your area is a FSME Risikogebiet (or online)

Does your dd have a name yet Frosch?

Canella I think just call up and make an appointment. First time you go they note down your details from your card and ask for phone number too. There was no business of having to register in Berlin. If there is choice where you live, I'd ask some people who they go to,find personal recommendation is best.

Yes, you are in tick country and there is some mysterious disease you can get from being bitten by those ticks - Lime ? disease or soemthing like that, induces drowsiness and needs to be addressed fast I ws told. The vaccinations will be unproblematic, I would get it done now ready for summer.

Here

Saying that, even if the area is not a risk area, you are still not 100% safe. A neighbour got FSME a couple of years ago in Düsseldorf.

sorry crossed posts

Yes, the other one is Lyme disease, Borreliose.

I asked the Kinderarzt about those vaccinations and they said we didn't need them unless we were going somewhere like the Black Forest region etc I suppose the ticks don't know they are supposed to stay in those areas though

ZZZen - they are special green plastic tweezers with a split end so that the head can be gripped and twisted so the whole lot can come out, head and all. V. handy. No, no name yet for DD. DH has a 'shortlist' of 50. So organised. So efficient.

Canella - they are nasty little buggers. My Mum got bitten by one in the garden last summer, had the typical 'bullseye' bitemark and the klinikum took bloods straight away to make sure she hadn't been infected. The problem is that they are very small to begin with, about 5mm across, so you have to be eagle-eyed when checking the kids. Once they've been sucking for a few days, they're like 2cm round blimps. They drop off when they've had enough to drink.

DH is being very good and trying very hard not to go to every one. It's how we met, so I understand the stress he's under when he doesn't go and the phone will ring constantly if he works from home, which hacks me off. If he goes, it's nice to see him on the telly (DS waves at him) and know that he's not slacking off; at least I can check up on him!

Ticks carrying FSME have been found in Kent now so I think it's only a matter of time before this becomes an issue for GB as well. I have talked to our health visitor about it because we spend a few weeks every year in a high risk area but she hadn't heard about it at all. I'm surprised that there is no advice regarding this for people who travel to Europe. It's a nasty disease and I know one dead baby (well, knew her dad, never met the baby because I was in NZ during the short time of her life) and the (adult) son of one of my mother's friends is severly disabled after contracting FSME.
I would talk to a doctor urgently, Canella.

I agree, Gracelo. It is strangely completely unknown in UK. I never bothered with the vaccination as we lived in low risk areas but I guess I should as we are often in Würzburg. And as you say, Gracelo it is only a matter of time until the disease spreads all over Europe.

My DH's uncle had borreliosis, also not a fun thing to have. It was touch and go for a while.

We´re not in a FSME area, but dh treats loads of people with borreliosis every year. Fortunately, if you catch it early enough it can be treated really effectively with antibiotics, but as MmeLindt says, can be pretty nasty if left untreated. Some people seem to attract ticks more than others. Dd has only ever had one tick and ds has never had one, but a family we know seem to find ticks on their children virtually every week during the summer.

Frosch - I forgot to say, scraping off wallpaper brought on my contractions. I think it was the up and down movement and the really stubborn wallpaper. Unfortunately I wasn´t anywhere near my due date, but a couple of days of bed rest soon sorted me out. At least I got out of any more decorating after that.

Thanks for the advice! Checklist; nipple-twiddling, cinnamon on everything and wallpaper stripping? Great. She'll be here by Monday!

wondering if we should get vaccinated just in case now

phew back from vet, doesn't look as if the guinea pig has a broken bone, could be fractured but if so will heal according to the vet. Poor thing had two injections and gave me such a vorwurfsvolles look. LIke just what the hell are you doing to me here? Almost as bad as my dd.

Seems she has a big swelling on one foot and one thigh so I have to give her a drop of painkiller 3 x day. Never tried doing this before, guinea pigs are Neuland to me.

Hope she'll recover ok. Especially since it's my fault really, I had her on the sofa next to me. Vet was very STERN, I had the suspician she thought I might be the type who has weird sexual relationships with their pets or throws them about for fun or soemthing.

Frosch please post a video of that on youtube

thanks for all the advice about the ticks - looked on that website and we're in one of those risk areas!! only just though but i'll be getting dh on the phone next week to sort out a hausarzt and get the vaccinations sorted asap!! i've never even seen a tick bite or even a tick so it stresses me a bit that i might miss one on the kids!!

zzen - glad your guinea pig is ok but i'm a bit freaked out that you think the vet is thinking you're up to weird sex things with a guinea pig!! the mind boggles!!

frosch - i'm even more impressed that your dh is so involved with F1 that he's on the TV!! it gets more exciting with every post!! but F1 wont bring the baby here even if it is a dead exciting race!! back to the nipple twiddling then!

off to get some wine now - having another crap day with ds2 - he is such a little terror - jammed my finger in a the mossie door today causing me to drop two glass bowls! i've got a right deep blood bruise - its so sore!!
i'm also feeling low cause i cant get back to the UK for a ball in a few weeks I've helped organise cause dh is working and grandparents are still on holiday!! been talking about it to friends today and every time i talk about it, it makes me more gutted that i cant go!
we'd organised it because a really close friend died in october last year of sudden adult death syndrome - she was only 36 and left behind her dh and 2 dc - only 5 and 3 at the time. She'd been so healthy up until she died - so we're trying to raise money for CRY www.c-r-y.org.uk - they do loads of screening programmes if people think they are at risk and were so helpful to my friends dh after she died. so gutted i cant go to the ball (i'm a proper cinderella!!) but i'll just need to send a cheque in the post! just needed a moan - will try to be more cheery tom!!

Wow-this thread has been busy today! I have been out all day and this is the first chance I have had to sit down at the computer (except for after tea when we warched Spiderman and his Amazing Friends on youtube! DS has picked up about spiderman at KG (even though I prefer Postman Pat or Charlie and Lola!) and I gave in and said we could look on the computer! Brought back memories of watching with my little brother 25 years ago!)

Visited my friend in hospital today-she has been taken in with bleeding yesterday at 28 weeks. Baby seems ok though and they are monitoring her for the next few days. To be fair the army are getting her DH back from Iraq and he will be here tomorrow. They can be good sometimes!

Frosch I don't think you are making a fuss about nothing re your DH going away. A lot depends on how much he needs to go, how easy it is to get back and what your support at home is. Good luck though. DS was induced at 40 weeks as he was getting so big, refused to budge and I ended up with a c-sect and forceps as he was still so high! Surgeon said he would have waited at least 2 weeks-must be comfy in there

yes I was quite freaked out reading what Gracelo posted about the baby dying of a tick bite. Horrible. Just go to your local Kinderarzt and get the children seen to and then yourself at the Algemeinarzt when the dc are kiga. Put your mind at rest.

Do you think it is adjusting to life in kiga or something that is making ds a bit more difficult than usual? Does he still have a nap or is it being cut short? In dd's kiga they usedto have to wake the dc for them to be picked up sometimes and that didn't go down well with dd.

About the vet, she was really quite disapproving looking althogh she did make some effort to be nice and chatty, giving dd sweets and so on. Maybe it was all in my mind but I thought she looked as if we weren't to be trusted with animals somehow.

I used to work with this girl whose boyfriend worked in A & E in the US and he said you wouldn't believe the number of people who came in having done weird things to pets etc and got somehow stuck. I will leave your mind to boggle a bit but guinea pigs and getting stuck was one thing that has never gone back out of my mind after having heard it.

She was all white haired and old and a bit severe, you knowthe type. I like 'em jolly and rosy cheeked and a bit more down to earth but feeling very relieved nonetheless.

Disclaimer: I do not do weird things with guinea pigs

hope your friend recovers well trockodile. How worrying for her.

Canella sorry forgot to say (wrote so much weird stuff) that it would be good if you could somehow go to the ball. If the grandparents (is that your dp?) are on holiday, what about the ILs, couldn'tthey help you out?

my parents are no use - its the ILs who are local who are on holiday!! really cant go - have thought of all possibilities including taking all 3 kids back with me and asking a friend in the Uk to look after them!! but for the fact that i cant get the 3 of them round the shops at the mo dont think i'll get all 3 on the plane!!!!

no idea whats going on with ds - he's only at kiga till 11.30 - he has a nap on most days - he would sleep for hours but then he doesnt go to bed in the eves so we only let him have 45 mins!! he just doesnt listen to anything i say - thought i was winning by saying example "if you throw those stones one more time i will take you inside away form all the fun" -but it worked for a few dyas but he's now back to bing as naughty s ever. feel like a terrible mother sometimes as if its my fault but my other 2 are so well behaved (most of the time - they're not perfect!!) that i must have some good paretning skills!! just feel i've ran out of ways to deal with him!

its just a bad day today - i'm full of moans! tom is a new day!

ps - i'm still boggling about the guinea pigs! huh?

Speaking of ticks ...we used to live in teh SW of Germany right in the middle oftehdanger zone for tick illnesses. We never got the vaccinations but every night when I got the 2 dc ready for bed I did a full body check to be sure.

how are you progressing with everything admylin?