Pros and cons of second hand clothes shopping for babies

Berlin, especially its Eastern side, is full of stores where second hand products for babies are sold. Usually in this part of the city, there is a high concentration of babies too and thus, these stores are just recycling a lot of things, some of them hardly worn. 

However, how recommended are those products, especially for babies? I am talking here about clothes and shoes, as I will address on a separate post the issue of car seats and toys?

Here are a couple of pros and cons:

Pros:

- Children are growing up fast and you better find some affordable pieces of clothing for less as in one month time you will have anyway to buy more.

- As the clothes were washed so many times, the harmful chemicals and other substances are already out of the material.

- You protect the environment as using products made already save the harm produced while creating new ones.

Cons:

- What about the germs contained in clothes from previous owners ???

- Second hand clothes often look tiresome and...just second hand...Do you want your kid to look like a beggar? Even if he or she does not notice that for now....

- Sometimes you do not save too much money. Some Oxfam stores in Germany can be quite expensive in fact.

My choice:

- I am not a big supporter of second hand clothes. I NEVER EVER use second hand shoes, for instance, and I never buy from stores. Stores like ZEEMAN in Germany offer nice and colourful and very cheap clothes so why not use this option instead?

- I prefer to take clothes from people I know and wash them before using. I am very selective though and choose the ones that look fresh and are spotless. 

Pro and cons the bottle food

In the very first days of the first week of the 4th month of the baby, we started immediately to change his menu, by introducing each day and right now, one month after, each meal, a new type of food. As I am preparing right now an extensive post with my lessons learned about the first baby meals, I focus right now on some aspects regarding the bottle food only. Two months ago, I started to ask and read around various opinions about and also based on my own conclusion, the following ideas emerged:

Cons

- Expensive - One small bottle can cost in Germany around 1 Euro one. Right now, I buy every week around 5 different ones. If I want something really special, I have to buy the kosher ones which are more expensive - around 3 Euro the little bootle. As in Germany the food is so cheap, you may suppose that you can reach a budget of around 3 Euro the week for all diversified meals.

- Unknown source of vegetables - There is always the bio option, but anyway, you have no idea how the vegetables grew up, how and when were harvested and especially, what kind of chemical treatment, if any, was used for them. 

- Perisability - Actually it happened very recently to me the following 'story': a mixture of vegetables - pumpkins, potatoes and carrots was no more good looking after 3 days of getting in and out the fridge. 

Pros

- Sterilic - The final product was created in high-end supervised hygienic conditions, respecting the highest food safety rules. Regardless how clean you are, the laboratory-like conditions can never be replicated at home. 

- Low  risk of chocking - Especially in the first months, you should be very careful with what you feed your baby. The bottle products are supposed to have that perfect balance between solid and liquid food that is scientifically required without experiencing any unhappy experience.

- Saves time - Either you are a traveling mom or not, when your baby is screaming from the deep of his or her lungs and you just cannot afford to waste time to clean the vegetables properly, put in the food processor, wait again till everything is done etc. Some products - like bananas - cannot be stored without risking deterioration. With the bottle, you just take it from the fridge and start feeding the baby.

Before being informed about the bottle food, I was convinced that I can do everything on my own, and even downloaded on my Kindle a special book with recipes for babies. I had a lot of time only for my baby, after all. However, after asking people with experience in the field of babies, checking the diverse market I have in Berlin and also reading various opinions of specialists, I decided that, at least for now, I will use the bottle food. The baby is quite happy and developing and as for now, no allergic reactions were noticed and thus, we should just go on with the bottle food.

How to Prevent Sudden Instant Death Syndrome (SIDS)

Sudden Instant Death Syndrome (SIDS) is a relatively unpredictable tragic occurence leading to the death of the new born, that based on the medical experience with children can be prevented though.

Also called crib death, it occurs during sleep, within the first months of life of the baby. It may be associated with a certain abnormality in the kid's brain, most specifically a disfunction at the level of the part that is supposed to control breathing. The most exposed are usually kids with a low weight at birth or with respiratory infections. For the boys, the risk occurs when there is already a family history of SIDS, with second hand smoke and premature birth. If the mothers are over 20, smoke, take drugs and drink alcohol and with an indadequate prenatal care, the risks are higher.

One of the best prevention of SIDS is to be sure that the kid is sleeping during the night on the back and not on the stomach or on the side. The baby should also have the blanket around the body and far away from the face in order to leave him breath properly. We are using a nice sleeping bag that helps baby D. to control his moves.

It is also important to avoid bringing the kid in the same bed with the parents as they may obstruct his breath during the sleep. The crib of the baby should be bare, regardless how big is the temptation to gather his favourite friendly looking toys around. It is also said that brestfeeding for at least 6 months can reduce the risk of SIDS.

Another important preventive method is to maintain a room temperature between 18 and 20C, as overheating can create breath problems. The air should not be dry either and in order to keep the air fine, once in a while we brought a wet towel on the thermostat. It is a relatively primitive method but it works for now.

As for us, what we additionally did and do, is to check on him regularly. Even he looks fine and asleep, it is always good to keep an eye on him every hour and check if everything is fine.

A busy day in the life of a 4-month baby

The newest  addition, an awesome combination of toys that helps the baby to grow

Being a mom is a very demanding task, but as a baby, there are so many things to do every day that you can hardly have a free time on your own. Somehow, being a baby and being a mom means for both a lot of chores and a very strict program to follow every day. There is almost the same program, a routine that does good to the baby and almost brings the mom to the edges of desperation. But given the exciting times ahead and the permanent development of the baby, we better enjoy the situation as it is and we cut short the complaining part.

As for now, let me introduce you to the daily schedule of my cute baby boy, 4 months and 2 weeks old:

- The day starts around 6.30, 7.00 the latest - without waking up in the night -, with a milky breakfast, followed by some small gymnastic, and the administration of a drop of Vitamin D on the pacifier. Usually we also change him to different clothes than the ones used for the night.

- For one hour, he usually plays with the toys hanging on the mobile playground, the latest add to the baby collection of toys.

- He sleeps in the middle of the playing for around 1 hour when he wakes up for the second meal of the day.

- As we started to diversify the food, he eats besides the milk 2-3 full spoons of carrots or parnsip puree. We give it to him in between milk shots and he likes it. 

- Until the next meal, we usually split the time between our working room, where I try to have some work done, and his mobile playground. If he is quiet, I am trying to put him on the belly or on other sides but the back.

- The next meal - we keep a strict schedule of the meals, with a list of the eating hours - is again a combination between milk and bottle food.

- Around 13 o'clock it is about time to go out - when the strange German weather allows it, of course. I usually do not change new clothes, just add new layers adapted to the outside temperature. We go to do shopping, or to visit and meet friends, or to have coffee and cake. He likes being outside and very often the crispy weather makes him sleep. As I go out, I always carry with me a big bag with: powder milk, thermos with hot water, bottle with cold water, milk bottle, 2-3 diapers and wet napkins. Even we only plan to be out for an hour, it is good to be ready, just in case our plans are changing. Thus, you can keep a certain level of independence.

- After the afternoon meal is finished - if we are at home we have the same menu of milk and solids - it start the most difficult part of the day, when he is relatively tired, regardless how much he slept outside, and needs more attention than during the rest of the day. Usually, I take him in the hands, we talk and play and laugh together, listen to some children music. If he is calm enough, I am trying to put him on the belly again for a couple of minutes. 

- Bath time is the busiest time of the day. There are so many things to arrange and set up in a relatively short amount of time: preparing the night clothes, the towel, the bath tube with the sponge and shower gel, the bottle of milk, the bed with the sleeping bag. The bath takes around 10 minutes, followed by drying up, some oil massage and kissing time. In the last weeks he is falling asleep very easy so I have to be fast with getting the mobile playground out and arranging the room for the next day. The baby days ends around 20.00 the latest.

From now on, I can continue doing some work or just relaxing. Tomorrow is a new day, for me ad y sweet baby.

Sweet dreams!

Book review: Die Mama trickliste für Babyzeit

As during pregancy I did not read too many books about babies and other related information, the first days after giving birth we started to update at the speed of light with various data and answers for basic questions about the baby life. The advantage of speaking many languages is that you can find various resources, but of course, the school of thought when it comes to children may be very different. 

However, I am open to integrate various ideas and tips and I do not mind to take the best from all. As we have the luck of a very good children doctor we are half-way through happiness, but I still feel that I need to improve my knowledge about babies. 

This book by Ute Glaser has the advantage of offering a lot of simple information both for parents - at least about the beginning of the book - and for children. I was happy to realize that some of the tips I was already using, such as to have a thermos for keeping warm the water for the milk. 

For me, the most important part was about what you have to do after giving birth, and especially how wise it is not to try to be the best and keep inviting people. This is exactly what we did and my burnout shortly after made a lot of sense. Wish I was more convinced that 'Relax, tomorrow is another day' should be my motto. It is also says that it is quite normal to feel at the end of a very exhausting day as you have not done nothing and before starting to write intensively every day, this is how I felt in the first weeks after coming back from the hospital.

As for baby-related information, I discover some good ideas: for instance, that second hand baby clothes are better because many of the chemical substances are already out of the materials following repeated washing; or that you have to keep the baby in the arms in the part close to the heart that he is used to hear from the time in the womb; or that the afternoon sleep in the open air is very healthy;

My disappointment regarding this book is the lack of a more structured information about the various stages of life. In the first year, planning every step every month is very important and I am very interested to know how I can deal correctly with various changes - right now, diversifying the food. Overall, a book recommended to GErman speakers parents, but still not that book I am looking for. Search in process...

Month 4 with the baby

Here we are: our beautiful sweet baby is 4-month old. Compared to the first two months of his life, it seems that there were not too many nothworthy events taking place lately. Well, this is because I am looking from outside, from the height of my age and experience. But I am more than sure that for the baby boy every new day and new discovery mean a fantastic improvement. 

We already set a routine, with a specific hour to go to sleep and a long trip, usually before 13 and 15 o'clock. Unfortunatelly, given the cold days when the outside temperatures reached around -13C, we were forced to spend the day at home. Which was not necessarily a bad idea. The boy started to play more and thanks to some special toys we bought - review coming up soon - made of different materials which utter various captivating sounds, he can even play with himself for couple of good minutes. 

His degree of receptivity increased significantly in the last weeks: he is able to follow with his eyes us or a moving toy, to play with his hands and suck it in the mouth. For the last aspect, we were told by a specialist that it is a good thing and a sign of a normal development. 

The sleeping is not always regular, with some nights when he sleeps for around 10 hours and some when he wakes every three hours. The screaming is also more intense and lasts longer. As we made together the first overseas trip this month, he was able to scream for the duration of 5 months of the flight. Hope we will never meet again any of the annoyed passengers. But as a compensation, he smiles even more and with an open mouth and this is enough to forget all the hard noisy hours.

Health wise, we did again the requested vaccination and things went well. We need to deal though with a flat head issue that apparently can be fixed through weekly therapy. The German medicine is focused on prevention and one may need to get used with the many checkings and second opinions which does not mean necessarily that you have a problem, only that you have to work out for avoiding any problems.  

In order to keep him fit, we do some small gymnastics in the morning, and he enjoys it a lot. We continue also with the intensive music program and other relaxing activities.

From now on, we are entering the 5 month, with many new challenges ahead, the most important being the change of the food plan and introduction of solid foods. 

From HiPP, for Daniel

When I was about the leave the hospital and searching for a reliable baby milk solution, the hospital recommended me to use the Hipp. One week after baby D. was born, I started to feed him with the ready made formula and he tolerated it very well. Later on, our children doctor recommended to use it too and one of my doctor friends, a long-time resident in the German speaking realm, also mentioned it. We started to faithfully use it and nothing changed the first good impression (except that very often we cannot find it in the Rossmann or DM stores, as we were explained that there is a high demand of the product from China).

When you grew up in a different land, with different children products, it is not easy to get to know the customs in terms of children nutrition. I knew about Milupa and Humana, so Hipp sounded a bit new for me, also in terms of brand reliability. But it seems it was only my fault for not knowing more about it. In fact, the first Hipp products were produced in 1899, and the company bearing this name was created in 1932, being since then a family business located in Pfarffenhofen, in the South of Germany, close to Munich. Since 1956, it is pioneering the ecological agriculture, offering a variety of milk powder products - based on various nutrition requirements, such as additional to breasfeeding, for allergies and different eating sensibilities, as well as bottle products to be introduced in the children food after the 4th month of life. The products are used on many markets outside Germany, such as Benelux, Bulgaria, Scandinavian countries, France, China or Vietnam.

Shortly after the baby was born, I decided to send a coupon to the company requesting some more details. After more than 2 months when almost forgot about, my bf called me that baby D. has a special package from Hipp. When I saw the personalized box and a sticker with his name, I understood the reasons for the delayed answer. Everyone was busy to deliver something really special. 

The box included a pacifier - we are already using it and he got used with, a milk bottle, similar with other 2+ bottles we are using, and a small package of wet napkins for ultra sensitive skin which we took with us on the road and very satisfied with the results. Another plus of Hipp is the quality customer service with whom I got already in touch several times, much better compared to many other companies in Germany. Their website is also well designed and informative.

As we are growing up now and the food needs are changing, we are looking forward to new and much diversified food experiences. 

Month 2 with the baby

Our beautiful prince is already two-month old...Time goes fast but our baby is growing up even faster. This second month from the life of our baby boy was less eventful health-wise, except  the vaccination session that went actually great with only half a day of serious problems. We also had a little eye infection that was fixed with proper medication - although was warned that sometimes in Germany they exaggerate a bit with the antibiotics. The colics problems were fast solved with the help of the 15 drops of BSimplex that we give him before every milky meal. 

Working in shifts

We, as parents, we got used with the sleep deprivation, and were smart enough to plan the night shifts. Given the fact that at the end of the second month I started to work again full time, this time management detail helps me very much to maintain a healtlhier night life program. Also the baby sleeps much more, with around 5 hours in a row in the evening, after the bath and evening meal. But he also seems to be more demanding, with more and intense sessions of crying. Often he is unhappy with the load on the pampers or he wants to eat or to sleep, but it also happens that he is just bored and needs our company. Yes, sir!

More organised

We did not have too much time to breath, but we got more organised: we write down the eating hours and we started to buy in advance diapers and milk powder. (This after a couple of late Saturday evening or Sunday crisis when we realized that we may not have enough changes or milk for the baby). We bought a milk powder separator that helps to have everything ready and prepare the bottle within minutes. We also got more information about baby products and we purchased a special bottle cleaning substance and special laundry cleaning material. In order to avoid the bad smell of diapers, we keep putting the use ones in small bags that we close afterwards. 

Nails cutting made easy

We got much more experience in the field of nails cutting, but contrary to all the advices we did it not during sleep but after the bath. He cooperated very well and the operation succeeded withot incidents. In comparison with many other children, he enjoys staying on the belly and we tried to practise this exercise as often as possible. Overall, we are much better and our hard work is more and more often rewarded with big sincere natural smiles. Long enough to allow us to take so many pictures to send to our family and friends from far away.

To be continued...