Transparency: This article contains unpaid advertisement as well as  affiliate links. It is based on my own experiences as a mom in Stuttgart and I only point out things and services that I personally know and can recommend. 

1. It’s all a phase

Sleepless nights, sore nipples, teething, baby blues, weaning blues… Most moms encounter these things so don’t ever think you are alone when it’s getting tough! One thing a good friend told me right before I gave birth was this: “It’s all a phase. It will be hard sometimes. But it will pass, I promise you.” Man was she right. But this is also true for the good and sweet things. Your baby will not always smell like a newborn so enjoy it as long as it holds on! Your baby will not always fit in those tiny rompers, so take lots of pictures – mental ones and real ones. Your baby will not always make those cute noises, so safe them in your mind, your heart and on film… I could go on like this forever because now, one year later, I already miss all those little things 🙂

2. All those examinations…

When your baby is born it already has a lot of appointments. With your pediatrician. They are called “U-Untersuchungen” in German and it is very important that you don’t miss them. The following U examinations await you in the first 12 months:

• U 1 will take place in the first hour after you gave birth and the doctor will check your little one’s vital functions.
• U 2 will take place on day 3 to 10. It includes tests for metabolic disorders,  cystic fibrosis and a newborn hearing test.
• U3 will take place within week 4 to 5. It includes – amongst others – a consultation about the vaccinations.
• U 4 will take place within month 4 to 5. It focuses on the physical and mental development of your child.
• U 5 will take place within month 6 to 7. The physical stage of development is in the focus of the examination.
• U 6 will take place within month 10 to 12. The doctor now looks at everything your child can already do. Special attention is paid to possible developmental delays so that, if necessary, early support or treatment can be provided.

You will get a special pass/book for all U-Untersuchungen, the yellow Kinderuntersuchungsheft. The exact date and the results of all examinations are recorded in the Yellow Children’s Examination Booklet by the doctors and, in some cases, midwives and maternity nurses. The booklet supports parents in preparing for the respective early detection examination by providing information on the age-appropriate examination contents. It is usually given to you in the maternity clinic – in the case of home births by your midwife or obstetrician.

3. To vaccinate or not to vaccinate

First of all: vaccinating your baby is not mandatory in Germany. But it is highly recommended. Your pediatrician will tell you what vaccinations are recommended, when they will be due and answer all your questions.

4. Post-birth fitness

You will not feel very fit after giving birth, this much I can tell you 🙂 I enjoyed participating in post-birth fitness classes. Special Rückbildungskurse are even payed for by German health insurances. Here your trainer will focus on the pelvic floor, your stomach and your general fitness and well-being. If you want to do more, special post-birth yoga or fitness classes will support you. I visited the courses offered by Laufmamalauf (Run Mom Run) and enjoyed them a lot. Some of them are even in English.

5. Fun groups for babies (and moms 🙂

Meeting other babies and moms is a lot of fun. You can join special Krabbelgruppen in Stuttgart, some of them are even in English or follow an international approach. I wrote about three of them in this former mom life update.

6. Where to buy baby stuff?

Believe me, you will need A LOT OF STUFF for a baby. I personally bought most of what we have second hand, on special baby bazaars in Stuttgart or on eBay Kleinanzeigen online. It doesn’t only save you money, is is also good for the environment to buy used items.

But there are of course also great addresses for new baby stuff in Stuttgart.

For example we bought our pram at Babyone in Leinfelden-Echterdingen. For the stroller we went to Metzingen and bought it at Princess, a store that is well known for it’s excellent counseling and huge selection when it comes to prams and strollers.

When you’re looking for a fine selection of high quality products like toys and such I can recommend motchies in Stuttgart-West and Korbmayer in the city center.

The drugstore dm has a great selection for babies when it comes to food and – that might come as a surprise – clothes. I can highly recommend the silk-wool rompers!

For more inspiration visit the post I have written about shopping for baby items in Stuttgart.

7. How do Germans introduce solid food?

From conversations with expats from all around the world I know that the German way of introducing solid food and weaning is different to many other approaches. In general baby nourishment is closely linked to culture and thus different from country to country. In Germany most parents feed their babies purees after a few months and introduce meat in a very early age. Find out more why and how in this article I have written about the German way of introducing solid food to your baby.

8. Oh I feel the blues…

Some of you might have heard of the “baby blues”. It can hit new moms a few days or weeks after giving birth and can even grow to a real depression. Very often it is linked to the sudden change of hormones in the female body after giving birth.

In my personal case I didn’t experience the “baby blues” but what I call “weaning blues”. It hit me – as the name suggests – two weeks after we have completed weaning. From one moment to the next I felt super weak, physically but also mentally. At first I didn’t know what was going on but then I found out that a lot of moms are experiencing the same and it has also to do with the change of hormones.

As I know from personal experience how horrible this might feel like and how helpless and lonely one can feel it is important to me to spread the word about this situation, the “weaning blues”. So in case it might hit you, I want you to know that YOU ARE NOT ALONE! There are many of us out there who are experiencing or have experienced the same and went through the same you are going through at the moment. And: It is no sign of weakness to seek help! Your gyn or midwife are the first addresses you can – and should! – turn to! You do not need to suffer!

9. Help!

I can only imagine how it might feel being a new mom in a foreign country. If you need support I can recommend the local company Gravidamiga. The specialize in supporting international moms in Stuttgart. They offer private counseling as well as courses.

10. Helpful books and more

There are TONS of parenting books out there and I haven’t read all of them. That being said I want to recommend one book that I truly loved: The Wonder Weeks [affiliate link]. Apparently in the first year, all babies undergo the same developmental steps at the same time. This book tells you what is going on with your baby at the moment and how you can help him or her to master this step. This book has helped me big times understanding why the little one was grumpy one day and happy the other. And I got a lot of inspiration for games I could play with her.

Moreover, there were two Netflix shows that I LOVED as a new mom:

Firstly: The letdown. A comedy about new mom Audrey and her struggles. SOOOOO good, SOOOOO true and SOOOOO funny!

Secondly: Babies. A documentary series that follows parents around the world through the first year with their babies. Moreover, every episode focuses on different research findings about the development of babies. SOOOOO interesting!

11. Make memories for a lifetime

I couldn’t sound more stereotypical but: Times flies sosososos much when you have a baby! I can’t believe how much our little one has changed in only 12 months!! She’s not a newborn anymore, not even a baby but a toddler. Make sure t0 enjoy your baby as much as possible in this short first year. And believe me, as easy as this sound now, as hard it can be after a night without sleep or the fifth shirt you have to put into the washing machine because someone puked on it AGAIN in one day… But, oh my god, all those priceless little wonders! Those toothless smiles! My heart is melting when I think of it 🙂

Find a good balance between enjoying your baby “technic-free”and taking pictures and films of him or her to save all those wonderful moments for the future. Another wonderful way of conserving the “smallness” of your baby is to get 3 D imprints of their feet or hands. We went to Kerstin in Waldenbuch and she did a great job! She speaks English too and has worked with a lot of international families already. You find more information on her website: mk13.de

Another thing we did was take pictures of the litte one each month. Like this we could document how she was growing and developing. We have used these pretty wooden blocks [affiliate link] and the milestone cards [affiliate link].

Moreover, I also wrote a diary for the little one in this first year. My mom did the same for me and it was so touching and also super interesting to read it now, as a mom myself, with my baby undergoing the same developmental changes I did 🙂

Disclaimer: Please note that I am no doctor, nurse or midwife. For any concerns about you or your baby please turn to your gyn, midwife or doctor. 

The post 11 things you want to know as a new mom in Stuttgart appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

Moritz and I have been debating in the days leading up to the big day whether or not we should celebrate. We are still in the middle of a pandemic, right? But I reallyreallyreally wanted to celebrate so we decided we organize an “open garden” for a small number of friends so that there would still be enough space for the guests to keep their distance. Luckily the weather was on our side, too.

OF COURSE the little one didn’t understand what was going on. And after half an hour or so she was done with socializing and wanted to run around the house for a million times and play with the toy frog in our rainwater collector.

But it was so lovely celebrating this past first year amongst friends and people who care about her. It melted my heart 🙂

The last 12 months…

When I look back at the last 12 months I can’t believe how many things have changed. Obviously our whole life has changed 🙂 We have become parents and are now responsible for a little, helpless, super cute and wonderful human being. I think I personally have changed tremendously – and am still the same person at the same time, too. Does that make any sense?? 😀

I am so thankful that Moritz has taken nearly one year Elternzeit (parental leave) so that I was able to work again a bit after 3 months. I think this was a great experience because I could really have it all – I was a new mom but still self-employed and active. I can only speak from my point of view but for me it was very healthy to be able to wrap my head around other topics than diapers and such all day long.

Another thing I am very grateful for: Our amazing trip to Tasmaia when the little one was 5 months old. We have spent 2 wonderful months in Down Under in a camper van and were able to enjoy this adventure as a family and make memories for a lifetime.

Then the pandemic hit us and we came back prematurely. But at least we made it back safely and healthy.

I remember how strange it was at first to be stuck at home with the little one with no play dates and Krabbelgruppen to attend. I think I can call us lucky again as she is too young to understand what is going on. But I also remember how glad I was when it became warmer and the situation a bit better and we were able to meet friends in the fresh air again.

What a whirlwind of a year. Not only our personal little world has changed so much, everybody’s world has.

When I can wish for one thing for the little one’s first birthday it is that this next year will bring a cure for Corona and wisdom for mankind. Haven’t these past months shown us what is really important? Family and friends and health? We really don’t need much to be happy but very often we forget about that. I wish for the little one and all other kids of the next generation that we as a society learn and grow, that we stop buying stuff only to throw it away again, that we stop destroying the planet and our health and that we remember what is really important and act upon it. I know, I know, big words 🙂

Sources for new moms and moms to be in Stuttgart

If you want to browse through my experiences as a new mom in Stuttgart, check out the following articles:

• What I’ve learned from being a new mom in Stuttgart for 3 months
• What I’ve learned from being a new mom in Stuttgart of a 4 months old baby
• What I’ve learned from being a new mom in Stuttgart of a 5 months old baby
• Being a mom in Stuttgart of a 6 months old baby
• Being a mom of a 7 months old baby (no, I didn’t forget the “in Stuttgart” part 🙂 I wrote this mom life update while we were on our trip in Australia)
• Being the mom of an 8 months old baby in Stuttgart
• Being the mom of a 9 months old baby in Stuttgart
• Being the mom of a 10 months old baby in Stuttgart
• Being the mom of an 11 months old baby in Stuttgart

You find an overview over all my mom life updates here.

If you are pregnant at the moment you might find helpful tipps in my category Pregnant in Stuttgart.

And if you’re thinking about introducing solid food to your little one, here is an overview about the German way of weaning (with recipes for purees and a pdf-document that holds all information and that you can download for free).

I plan to post an article about things I would have loved to know before I became a mom and another about what to buy before the baby arrives (and where – in Stuttgart and online). So stay tuned for that when you’re expecting a little one yourself 🙂

Thank you for staying with me this past year. It was so special to me and I love that you were a part of it through this blog 🙂

The post Happy 1st Birthday, little one! appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.

[This post contains non-paid links to products and services I like as well as affiliate links to amazon. When a link is an affiliate link I will write that after the link. Affiliate means that if you buy something on amazon.de I get a little reward while your price is not affected. This helps me to maintain my blog.]

How is the little one at 5 months?

She is very active 🙂 She actually prefers lying on her stomach over lying on the back now. I totally understand because in this position she can play more easily and that’s what she’s into these days. Oh, and she has gotten her first tooth!! 😀

The biggest highlight in the last four weeks definitely was celebrating Christmas with the little one. Obviously she did not understand what was going on but just having her around, showing her the tree and singing Christmas songs for her was so beautiful. We had our parents come over at Christmas Eve to our place and our baby girl got some lovely presents from her grandparents. Then we all sang some songs together and she looked at us with big eyes and listend carefully. Around seven we put her to bed and then enjoyed Raclette 🙂

By the way, I found a great substitute for sparkling wine. If you are also breastfeeding or pregnant and need to avoid alcohol, you have to try Prisecco from Manufaktur Jörg Geiger! I saw their stand at the Stuttgart Christmas market this year and remembered that we once had their alcohol free Prisecco at a party in my office years ago. And I remembered that it was really good. So I bought it again and what can I say: I LOVE it! It’s not your usual, super sweet alcohol free sparkling wine. It is a refreshing, sparkling and fruity drink that tastes delicious. It definitely comes with a price (nearly 10 Euro for one bottle?!) but it is high quality and locally produced. We had it again on New Year’s Eve and it was a hit. I bought it from my local EDEKA but you can order it online, too.

What she loves:

• We have noticed that she tried to grab the fish in the “pond” I pointed out in my last mom life update and got quite frustrated because she could not get them. So we got her a new play blanket, one with all sort of things to grab and touch. I have found this one from Lamaze [affiliate link] but I bought it second hand on eBay Kleinanzeigen. It is actually quite cute as the butterfly and the leaves make sizzling noises when you grab them and the little bug and the baby bird are rattling/squeaking when she shakes/squeezes them. She LOVES it 🙂
• Being carried around – while we are outside, taking her for a walk “in” the pram. She usually sleeps in the pram but nowadays she is more often awake and gets bored lying in there and starts complaining. So we have to take her out and as soon as she is in our arms she is happy again and looks around very interested.
• Parsnip. It turned out my little girl is actually a little gourmet. We introduced slurry to her diet two weeks ago. She was not very keen on carrots, this much I can tell you. There was an incident with a spoon flying through the room… 😀 But then we tried parsnip and it is a hit! She is even leaning towards the spoon now and has a big smile in her face when she has the slurry in her mouth.

What we’ve been up to this month

Memories for a life time

When babys are small like our little girl is at the moment it is hard to picture them as toddlers, teens or grown ups. But they grow SOOOO very very fast! It makes you want to freeze the moment. And a few weeks ago I found a way how we can actually preserve this special time – at least a little bit: Did you know you can make life sized replicas of your baby’s feet and hands?! I just learned that in December and I LOVED the idea of it.

I found the lovely midwife and artist Kerstin Steiner through a recommendation of a friend and made an appointment with her at the beginning of December. This gave her enough time to finish the replicas before Christmas because Moritz and I thought that these little artworks would make the perfect Christmas present for the grandparents! 😀

Kerstin is based in Waldenbuch, just a 20 minutes or so drive from Stuttgart. She welcomed us warmly and showed us around. She actually does baby belly artworks as well and photoshoots for families. And she is experienced in working with English speakers.

When we arrived she connected with our little girl instantly. As a former midwife she knows how to treat babies so that they feel comfortable and relaxed. We were offered hot drinks and then Kerstin prepared everything for the big occasion: A box with a warm, liquid mass where the little one had to put her feed, later hand, in. So far, so good. The trick with babies is to make them hold still. But the four of us were a great team: Moritz was holding our baby girl, I was standing in front of her, singing and making a fool out of myself to distract her and Kerstin gently put her feed/hand in the mass and held it until the mass got solid. That only took 2 minutes and luckily our angel played along nicely.

Kerstin could see right away that the feed imprint was perfect. With the hand we could not be sure, we had to wait until she had formed it out. You can imagine what wonderful news it was when she contacted us a few days later to tell us that all the replicas turned out great! I was so happy!

There are countless options how the replicas can be presented: in a frame, on a frame, on a canvas… I wanted them to be viewable from 360 degrees so Kerstin put them on little stilts. I am SO happy with the results! They will always remind us on how tiny our girl once was. And she will look at them later and wonder how tiny she was 🙂

And of course the replicas made great presents for the grandparents!

Kerstin, thank you SO, SO much for your wonderful work! You are the best!!

Baby massage course

I wanted to do a baby massage course much earlier but never found one that suited me time and location wise. But some things happen for a reason I think. Because a few weeks ago I met wonderful Josette. Josette is co-organizer of the Bumps meet-ups at Karl’s Kitchen (you find more about them in my former post as well) AND she teaches baby massage courses in English! When I met Josette I felt instantly that she is a warm and caring person and that there was a connection between her and my little one. Josette is a former neonatal cardiac nurse from the UK so this lady knows what she is doing when it comes to handling babies! I needn’t think twice and booked a massage course with her right on the spot. And after the Christmas holidays me and the little one visited her at The little Nestling Place to learn how to give baby massages.

Josette teaches her courses in her beautiful home. She helped me put the pram inside (there are some stairs to climb) and when we entered the appartment I found that everything was already prepared: cuddly blankets in the middle of the room, cozy temperatures, a thick and comfy diaper changing pillow in the middle of it all and a lovely light setting with LED lights around the pillow. Josette offered me tea and coffee and I started to get the little one ready for her massage.

Josette is a wonderful teacher with a soothing and calm attitude. She had a baby dummy on which she showed me the different strokes and touches so that I could copy her. She explained every step, had tips for when I will be massaging the little one at home and answered all my questions. I seriously couldn’t have found a better baby massage course in Stuttgart. This one had everything I had been looking for and more: I even got a gift bag at the end of the course. I won’t give away what was in it as I want it to be a wonderful surprise for you just as it was for me 🙂

From the bottom of my heart I can recommend a baby massage course at The little Nestling Place to you. I also found out that Josette has just finished a training and is now certified to also teach newborn massage courses. I can imagine how wonderful it would be to massage such tiny human beings and how much it will help bonding with your newborn with the help of such a course.

Packing for baby’s first big trip

We have quite an adventure ahead of us. As you guys know, Moritz has taken one year Elternzeit which basically is payed parental leave here in Germany. And it has become a “trend” that many families use some of this very special time to travel. Because, when do you get the chance in your adult life again to travel for a longer period of time, right?!  So at the moment we are super busy with packing. Preparing a big trip with an infant is quite a different story then it was when it used to be just the two of us.

We have a long distance flight ahead of us. In order to keep the little one entertained I did some toy shopping: I bought a chain that consists of teething soothing rings and rattles when she shakes it. We will also take a litte “book” with us that makes noises when she is touching it. And I found an amazing butterfly with all sort of fun things to explore attached to it: a mirror, sizzling wings, rings to chew on… I hope that keeps her entertained for a while. We also learned some finger games and songs (the people sitting next to us on the plane will LOVE us :-D). Question for all travel experienced moms and dads: Do you have any tips for us how to entertain a 5 months old on a long flight?! Every hint is highly appreciated! 😀

I won’t be writing much about our travels here on the blog as most of you guys are mainly interested in Stuttgart focused stuff, right? But if you want to follow us along, hop over to my Instagram account as I will publish the one or other story about our adventures abroad.

The post What I’ve learned from being a new mom in Stuttgart of a 5 months old baby appeared first on Living in Stuttgart.