What's the hardest adjustment

MouseInLux · October 2012

that you've made regarding baby in being out of your home country with a LO or while PG?

jp03 · October 2012

OMG this one's a toughie.

I don't mean to sound weird, but the toughest thing I've found is finding the same products down here in New Zealand that Canada had. (Diapers, medications, wipes, bath/shampoo stuff, even clothes....)

Pampers (and diapers in general) are outrageously expensive (anywhere from 50c a diaper to $1 a diaper - of which I'm used to 21c a diaper), as is everything. I'm having to buy a lot of stuff on ebay.com to get the products I'm familiar with and want.

And then there's the meeting the friends part and getting play groups together.....just tough being by yourself in a foreign country, slowly learning the ropes.

BlushingMama · October 2012

MouseInLux:
that you've made regarding baby in being out of your home country with a LO or while PG?

I have only had a baby here so I have not made any sort of adjustments. Although you can get almost anything here in the UK so if I missed anything I could have sourced it. Oh wait, except for decent childrens medicine. They have nothing for kid's runny nose, or under 6's coughs or kids runny stomach/cramps. I plan on stocking up on that when I visit SA.

AmericanInOz · October 2012

with LO - not having family support (well, I have SIL, but I miss my Mom & aunts, etc).

while PG - the lack of reasonably priced maternity clothes!

MouseInLux · October 2012

AmericanInOz:
with LO - not having family support (well, I have SIL, but I miss my Mom & aunts, etc).

while PG - the lack of reasonably priced maternity clothes!

Oh my gosh! don't' get me started on maternity clothes! I hate them here!!! The girls in the US can NOT complain, the ones here are horrible...some even have ultrasound pics on the belly?!?! You basically have to walk around in huge shirts with feet or other horrible pictures on them or get them from a very expensive store!

I'm lucky that I have family here...but I'm a strange case!

Cloth diapers are a pain to find here, I end up ordering from the UK.

kelly321 · October 2012

The difficulty of finding some products, true (a package which included Tucks pads got stopped by customs and they confiscated those and the Tums which were in the same package Embarrassed

), but mostly the distance from helpful family. My ILs live about an hour away, but they are very hands-off and MIL has explicitly said she wouldn't want to watch DD on even a semi-regular basis. They're happy to see her when we're around, but that doesn't give us much of a break.

kelly321 · October 2012

expatmama:
The conflicting advice - the maternity/newborn care where I live is supposed to be top notch, but so much of it seems to go against the common stuff you hear in the US. I was terrified as a FTM that I would do something wrong - but then I just kind of drew the conclusion that I needed to do what worked for me, and that if one of the country's recommended it it probably wasn't godawful and terribly dangerous....
And we settled into finding our own way....

This! Food recommendations, car seat regulations, now circumcision since it's again being recommended by the AAP, should you assist a baby in sitting to help them develop their core muscles or will it cause damage to their young spine, the list just goes on and on as to the different recommendations. It can be pretty overwhelming, but I completely agree with you. If the recommendations differ, I'm guessing it's not a huge deal either way (as long as it's not against the law) and we can do what works for us.

MouseInLux · October 2012

kelly321:
expatmama:
The conflicting advice - the maternity/newborn care where I live is supposed to be top notch, but so much of it seems to go against the common stuff you hear in the US. I was terrified as a FTM that I would do something wrong - but then I just kind of drew the conclusion that I needed to do what worked for me, and that if one of the country's recommended it it probably wasn't godawful and terribly dangerous....
And we settled into finding our own way....
This! Food recommendations, car seat regulations, now circumcision since it's again being recommended by the AAP, should you assist a baby in sitting to help them develop their core muscles or will it cause damage to their young spine, the list just goes on and on as to the different recommendations. It can be pretty overwhelming, but I completely agree with you. If the recommendations differ, I'm guessing it's not a huge deal either way (as long as it's not against the law) and we can do what works for us.

Yup! I know that in Germany and Lux they don't sell jumproos or anything like that because they are considered bad for the baby's development, you have to import them or spend big bucks!

dulcemariamar1 · October 2012

Everything is so so expensive. I am so glad that my Mom came to visit us last month and she brought us a suitcase full of baby items.

Also, only in the last few years have the hospitals started to support "natural birth." I still think they are far from what I consider natural birth but I guess they are heading in a good direction.

PittPurple · October 2012

I'm having a harder time being away from family than I expected. I've just had a hard time over the last year and it would be nice to have them around!

On a different level - there is just a lot less choice here than in the states, for everything. Although honestly, given how hard I find making these decisions (what pram to buy, etc), it's probably better for me that I'm already a bit restricted. I can just see myself going a bit insane if I had more options to look at!

BlushingMama · October 2012

UKmommy:
Now that I'm pregnant, I miss having my family nearby. DH's family is very close to where we live and they have been super supportive, so I'm thankful to have them here.
Another thing is the differences in antenatal appts between the US to the UK. The other women in my birth club (May 2013) are mostly from the US. It used to worry me when they would talk about having a 6 wk u/s, an 8 wk u/s, and a 10 wk u/s when I am still waiting for my first one at 12 wks. After talking to my midwife and doctor here in the UK, it sounds like there isn't a lot to see at those early u/s so they aren't typical here unless you have a history of pregnancy complications. That made me feel a lot better!

Hi UKMommy, in the UK you typically get a scan at 12 weeks and 20 weeks. Anything else is just a bonus. I got an extra one at 37 weeks because I had a high risk pregnancy, but even that is rare. If you ever have any questions about the NHS system feel free to ask, there are quite a few of us that have been through it or are going through it.

Where in the UK are you? I am in Bournemouth.

PittPurple · October 2012

Another UK pregnant nestie here :-)

I know a lot about the NHS system now and I have to say, I've been very, very impressed with the level of care. It's definitey very, very different from what my friends (and my BMB) experience in the states but I have no complaints. They will always see you for extra visits if there are any concerns at all.

ExpatFamily06 · October 2012

UKmommy:
Now that I'm pregnant, I miss having my family nearby. DH's family is very close to where we live and they have been super supportive, so I'm thankful to have them here.
Another thing is the differences in antenatal appts between the US to the UK. The other women in my birth club (May 2013) are mostly from the US. It used to worry me when they would talk about having a 6 wk u/s, an 8 wk u/s, and a 10 wk u/s when I am still waiting for my first one at 12 wks. After talking to my midwife and doctor here in the UK, it sounds like there isn't a lot to see at those early u/s so they aren't typical here unless you have a history of pregnancy complications. That made me feel a lot better!

All of this was exactly me when I was pg.

frlcb · October 2012

UKmommy:
BlushingMama:
UKmommy:
Now that I'm pregnant, I miss having my family nearby. DH's family is very close to where we live and they have been super supportive, so I'm thankful to have them here.
Another thing is the differences in antenatal appts between the US to the UK. The other women in my birth club (May 2013) are mostly from the US. It used to worry me when they would talk about having a 6 wk u/s, an 8 wk u/s, and a 10 wk u/s when I am still waiting for my first one at 12 wks. After talking to my midwife and doctor here in the UK, it sounds like there isn't a lot to see at those early u/s so they aren't typical here unless you have a history of pregnancy complications. That made me feel a lot better!
Hi UKMommy, in the UK you typically get a scan at 12 weeks and 20 weeks. Anything else is just a bonus. I got an extra one at 37 weeks because I had a high risk pregnancy, but even that is rare. If you ever have any questions about the NHS system feel free to ask, there are quite a few of us that have been through it or are going through it.
Where in the UK are you? I am in Bournemouth.
Thanks! It will be helpful to have a know a few people who have been through their whole pregnancy in the UK. I'm in Berkshire near Reading.

There are a lot of us who have had/are having a baby in the UK. I had 2 u/s, at 12 and 20 weeks, and then one at 41 weeks. I had my second in the US and had 2 u/s - 12 and 20 weeks, and then one at 41 weeks, exactly the same as the UK - because I went with midwives in the US. It is a difference between midwifery/ob care more so than US/UK care, IMO.

Tofumonkey · October 2012

I had my babies in London, great experience overall.

lorryfach · October 2012

For me the biggest thing is how hands-off doctors and midwives tend to be. If you want meds for morning sickness, or if you want them to take your potential depression or SPD or whatever you think is going wrong seriously, you really have to advocate for yourself in a way I'm not used to having to do back in the States. Not that it's perfect there by any stretch, but it's just different.

kelly321:
now circumcision since it's again being recommended by the AAP

This isn't true. They recommend AGAINST doing it routinely, but believe there are enough benefits that parents should have the option to do it if they want to, and it should be covered by insurance. It's neither a "do it" or a "don't do it" but more of an "eh, whatever you want."

jb2rn · October 2012

Expensive. Especially since when we moved here, I left my job, so we are on one income, and my dh gets paid in USD. We do get a cost of living allowance, but it's not enough, IMO.

I echo missing family and friends. I haven't lived in the same state as my parents, sisters, and childhood friends since 2004, but since having a baby, the distance is much more difficult.

Oh, and Target. I really, really miss Target. Sorry.

What's the hardest adjustment

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