Mumsnet, you made me cry!

[steppemum]

I've only just discovered mumsnet last week, and I've spent HOURS over the last few days reading all sorts of threads. I was feeling so isolated, and it has been so fantastic to find some other real mums out there to chat to, that I sat and cried over the computer on Friday! We live in Central Asia, and went back to the UK to to have ds (now 4 months). While we were home I joined an NCT group, and I desparately miss the coffee and chatter with the babes. We are the only expats in our city with a baby, there are very few expats all together, and I spend all my time with locals defending how I am bringing up ds (all local babies are heavily swaddled until 6 months) It has been so good to find mumsnet! Thanks a million.

I too am a complete mumsnet adict. Love it love it love it. It really makes me feel normal - and when bad hvs and 'parenting rulemakers' are telling what you 'have' to do - its great to find people who do what works for them. It gives me confindence to do what works for me and my family. Welcome steppemum! Enjoy. Thanks to all the mumsnetters out there! You rock!

I can't believe there is a company that makes only yurts! Learn something new everyday!

wow, just come back on line (can only do that once a day, internet is a bit pricey round here), thanks for all your responses. It's totally addictive, I'm sure my ds will soon be suffering from neglect "just one more post darling before I change your nappy)

Looks like the yurts are all occupied by Gf anti fans, I don't like to tell them that organic veggie stuff is not available in a yurt, it's meat, meat, meat all the way, the fattire the better!

Can I ask a dumb question? (no follow up discussions I promise, a simple yes or no will do. Is Gina Ford the author of Contented Little Bbay?

whoops, I'll work on the typos

Yes, she is

And I don't think all the Yurt dwellers are anti GF any more. That may have been how it started though.

Hi Been thinking about you out there in the wilderness.I do admire you - are you on an actual Steppe?
My sister in law lives in the sub sahara she and her husband are the only europeans in the samll town they live in and there is no road out of it just dust track. We have all just clubbed together to get her a lap top to get her on email but i think she needs mumsnet. She has 3 kids under 4. She has made some good friends wiht local people and has quite an active socila life I think. She is like one of those intrepid 19th century explorers but I would definitley need to touch base occasionally.

Hi y'all (I'm just pretending to be from the Wild West) I live in Belgium and YES mumsnet's great and I look at it whenever bébé's having her naps.

I had a dream last night that mumsnet had to go - something to do with money (hazy on the details). I was absolutely devastated. Told my sister (a dedicated lurker) about this (in real life) and she said the exact same thing that I had thought "but you would never ever know what happened to everybody - you wouldn't be able to contact any of them". It's really made me realise what an important part of my life this is. Am I sad? some would say so, but it makes me happy!

Just seen www's yurt picture. It's a bit plusher than the one I saw at Glastonbury. In fact it's a bit plusher than my house (yes I too am a domestic slob). Now I want one.

emieswill, if you're sad, me too! But don't worry, it was only a dream!

bubbly, yes that is real steppe, as in miles of rolling grassland with not a tree in sight, at least that would be what I could see if I went out of the city. As it is it is more like forests of soviet apartment blocks surrounded by snow/ice/mud/dust according to season.
We do have quite a few good local friends, its just that they tend to bring their kids up quite differently (tried to buy packet baby rice without sugar in it today, lady in the shop thought I was mad, after all, children like sweet things, so you give them as much as they want) so its not much good asking for advice.

We do have quite a few yurts around though. They tend to appear as cafes in the main square on public holidays. They quite cosy, all brightly colourd woolen hangings etc (and just for the record, its not just Mongolians who live in yurts, in fact if you ask people round here, they would say WE invented them!)
Now, if only the could add a loo they'd be great...