Parenting – Page 2 – Czech the Flip

Our Very Own Czech Christmas

Published on December 28, 2013December 28, 2013 by Grace9 Comments

Our Christmas this year was spent at home. Jakub is already old enough to understand and remember, so we decided to make it a semi-traditional one.

On Christmas morning, Jakub and my husband helped me set up the table. They made this traditional Christmas decor to adorn the table.

One of the traditions here in Czech during Christmas is the consumption of dried fruit preserves. And guess what? It can also be used as a decoration. I am not really sure about the meaning of this, but it’s supposed to symbolize the world. (Although it looks like a spaceship to me.)

In the Philippines, Christmas involves heavy meals with an abundance of food all throughout the day. Needless to say, it is one of those times when it’s ok to pig out. But here in Czech, people fast prior to dinner with the belief that one is eventually rewarded with the sighting of a golden pig. You can read more about it here.

This is the part of the Christmas tradition that I don’t like. To keep up with tradition, we only had fruits for lunch. By 3pm, Jakub got so hungry he would eat anything. It was quite funny that he kept asking me: “what’s that, Mom? Can I have it?” He would eat onion if I let him. Thus, to end our misery, we ended up having dinner around 4pm , just after sunset.

Another tradition is to eat fish, usually carp, at dinnertime. In our case, we had carp soup which my husband made. I’m not a very big fan of fish soups, but it was pretty tasty.

But our main course was salmon. I don’t like carp that much, so Salmon was a compromise. At least it’s still fish.

A very significant difference in tradition is that Czechs believe that Little Jesus brings the gifts, not Santa. But since we are a multi-cultural household, Santa is still a part of our Christmas story.

It was quite difficult to make the Santa story work since we didn’t have a fireplace. So, I made up a story that Santa got sick and told Little Jesus to bring Jakub’s gifts for him. Jakub bought it. After all, he is only 3. Still very young and impressionable. He had a grand time opening his gifts from Little Jesus and Santa.

Even my little daughter was very cooperative. She allowed all of us to have a decent family dinner and was just watching us from her rocker. She just recently started to smile which really charms me and made me forget all the hardships we’ve been through.

and here’s another priceless moment…

Everything went very well and it left all of us happy and satisfied.

I hope yours was great as well. Best wishes for the coming year!

Halloween

Published on November 5, 2013 by Grace9 Comments

Celebrating halloween is not customary here in Czech. This year we decided to carve out a pumpkin in keeping up with the celebration.

The weather was wonderful on halloween day. Since times like these are quite rare this season, my family and I decided to take Michaela out for a walk in our neighborhood.

Afterwhich, my husband and son decided to carve a pumpkin they got from friends in our neighborhood.

Jakub was goofing around while I was trying to capture his dad in action.

The pumpkin that they carved turned out well. It was my husband’s first carved pumpkin. I thought he did a good job.

Jakub had to take a posterity pose beside the finished product.

There was no trick or treat, but we still displayed the pumpkin outside. We then capped off the day with a nice dinner and some quiet time with the family.

Our Star is Born

Published on November 3, 2013 by Grace16 Comments

After all the waiting and anticipation, our little star is finally born. This explains my absence during the past two weeks, as I am still adjusting to my new role as a mother of two.

Unlike my first birthing experience, this one was a little bit stress-free. I knew what was going to happen and was prepared for the worst.

My little Michaela was born via scheduled c-section. I checked in at the hospital a day before the actual surgery. All the monitoring and preparations were done a day before. I am also very lucky to have good friends who worked at the hospital and were very helpful with the preparations. The moral support and reassurances made a lot of difference in the whole experience.

I couldn’t help but shed off tears when I heard her first cry. This was an experience that I never had with Jakub. Back when I had him, I had general anesthesia and was completely knocked out. This time, the surgery took a little more than 45mins. The anesthesiologist and my husband talked to me through the whole process and that alone helped a lot.

Afterwhich, I was transferred to the ICU for a day to aid in recovery.

The actual surgery was completely painless except for some sensations of pressure here and there. However, the recovery was painful. I had to ask the nurse for pain reliever shots and just slept it off.

I am not sure if it is common practice here in Czech, but it seemed like breastfeeding is almost a given. While in the ICU, my daughter was brought to me twice and I was encouraged to breastfeed. I was too weak to do anything fruitful, so all those attempts were unsuccessful. The nurses were understanding and they continued to encourage me to always give it a try.

The next day, I was asked to stand and take a shower. I was then transferred to a regular room where I had my daughter room in with me. As with the previous attempts, there was again the push to breastfeed. The nurses never even broached the topic of feeding formula to my newborn. It was as if every mother is expected to breastfeed. And so I did. And guess what? It all paid off. I am proud to say that my daughter was completely breastfed from the day she was born. Again, another experience that I never had with Jakub.

There were only 2 things that I didn’t like about this experience: 1) the hospital parking arrangements and; 2) the cleanliness of the bathrooms. The Kolin hospital probably has one of the worst parking arrangements that I’ve seen here in CZ. There is no designated parking for patients (people park on the streets) and only 3 parking spaces for newborn pick-ups.

Another con is the cleanliness of the bathrooms in the hospital. The building is quite old and has seen better days. Although some parts have already undergone some extensive renovation, others have remained old and untouched. Perhaps one aspect that I really didn’t like was the way the bathrooms were kept. There were a few traces of mold on the tiles and shower curtains. I may be overacting, but I thought it should have been better. Bathroom cleanliness is one of my pet peeves.

However, despite these 2 technical negatives, I was quite satisfied with the service that I was accorded. I’ve heard horror stories about impolite nurses at this hospital, but I didn’t meet a single nurse who was rude to me. The doctors themselves were also very competent and professional. These made a whole lot of difference in the whole experience and somehow made those technical negatives better.

Right now, we are already back home and I am slowly trying to get to know my daughter. Jakub is very excited in his new role as a big brother and I am lucky to have my husband and mother-in-law stay with me for 3 weeks until I regain my strength back. I’ve had a series of sleepless nights but otherwise happy to be home and spend time with my new daughter and loved ones.

Baby M’s Nursery

Published on October 15, 2013 by Grace5 Comments

This past weekend, I finally finished decorating my daughter’s nursery.

I didn’t really do anything monumental, just made use of the little bedroom that is hers.

Most of the stuff here are old ones from Jakub. I just played with the colors a little bit to add a feminine touch.

We initially had a blue sofa bed in this room and back then I thought of keeping it. But realistically, it doesn’t really serve the purpose because I have decided to room with her in her first few months of life. With the feeding and diaper changes, being in the same room is just very convenient.

So off went the sofa bed, and we replaced it with Jakub’s old bed.

I accessorized the wall with decorative stickers, after deciding not to re-paint it.

On the other side of the room, I placed a small, simple changing table and decorated the bare walls with some of her dresses.

I’m glad I was able to find a border sticker that was pink with neon green accents. It somehow connected with the color of the closet which was my initial worry.

Anyway, I’m quite happy with the room now and I hope she will be too.

The Art of Waiting

Published on October 7, 2013 by Grace17 Comments

I only have one week left before I get to meet my daughter. Somehow, it seems like such a long wait. I am quite excited and nervous at the same time. To keep me occupied, I have busied myself arranging and re-arranging both of my children’s rooms. My nursery is still unfinished at this point since I am still missing one more detail.

Anyway, here are pictures of my son’s bedroom now.

I didn’t want to do any painting so I decorated the bare walls with decorative stickers instead.

The windows currently have automatic electronic blinds, but somehow I feel like it may need some curtains. But the thing is, this house is passive and we need to absorb the light from the sun as much as possible, so I am still re-thinking it.

Anyhow, I’ve also been trying to eat healthily these days since I am really HUGE now. I’ve already gained 15kg (33lbs), and for someone who’s short, that is not good.

Anyway, I found this all-natural juice from my neighborhood store and I’m loving it now.

With one more week to go, I hope I don’t gain any more weight. Otherwise, I may be running like crazy after my daughter is born just to shed off all the weight I’ve gained.

Weekend Photo Challenge – Eating

Published on September 28, 2013 by Grace4 Comments

My friend Eszter at Kukolina created this challenge to showcase one’s outfit for the day or some random baby photos describing the topic for the week. In my present condition, I decided to opt out of the first challenge since I am not very comfortable with my figure right now.

The topic for the second challenge this week is eating. So here are a few pictures of Jakub doing just that – eating.

This was taken this afternoon as he was devouring his afternoon doughnut snack.

I can’t believe how much he has grown. This was how he used to eat.

Have a great weekend!

My Growing Belly….and Family

Published on September 17, 2013 by Grace16 Comments

I am now on my 35th week of pregnancy and as anxious as ever to give birth. Albeit, life had never been more hectic lately. I had been keeping myself busy with arranging my children’s bedrooms and making checklist after checklist of all the things we would need for the baby while at the same time checking my toddler’s needs. One tricky thing about raising children is that they grow very fast – literally. With the changing season, I have to constantly check that my son has adequate and appropriate clothing for the day’s weather. Last season’s pants are now too short, and although he didn’t gain much horizontally, some of his shirts are also getting shorter. I know that I will not be able to do a lot of shopping when the baby arrives, so I have now stocked up on some fall and winter clothing. Plus, I made sure that all his vaccinations and doctor and dentist check-ups are up-to-date, and made an effort to schedule some of these appointments ahead of time so I will not have to worry about it when I have another child to take care of. As you may notice, I am a freak when it comes to organizing things. I believe that in order to be successful in anything, adequate preparation has to be done and that means everything has to be well-organized.

I have also been reading about how to help older siblings cope with the arrival of a new member of the family. It is said that since all the attention will now be focused on the baby, it is important for parents to be mindful of the older child. My husband and I have already talked about it and we have decided to involve Jakub in everything that has to do with his sister — from helping out with diaper changes to being on the lookout for hazards that may be harmful to the baby. Almost everyday, I remind him that he is going to be a big brother soon and I am happy to note that he exhibits a certain sense of pride in his new role.

Anyway, we had a maternity photo session last week to document the anticipation of our little one’s arrival. I am sharing with you some of my favorite shots.

Photo: Jan Strnad — Photo by: Jan Strnad (www.atelierkolin.cz)

It is normally difficult to get a toddler’s full attention in this type of activity, but my little boy was surprisingly enjoying it. He was willing to oblige to every pose and was always excited to check out his own image in the camera after a shot was taken.

Here’s one of my favorite photos. The big brother communicating with his baby sister.

She is already loved.

My growing belly….and family.

We still have about a month to go before we finally meet her. I feel SO HUGE that it seems like there’s no more room left for growing. This is the longest month ever. Although I am suffering from all the discomfort that pregnancy brings, I am happily looking forward to finally hold my little girl in my arms.

“Čas na Pivo” (Time for Beer)

Published on September 10, 2013 by Grace15 Comments

There are only a few residents in my little community, but it is not without a pub. A pub is a very important part of a Czech settlement, because it is the home of the beer. And for those of you who are new to Czech and would like to meet a few people, it is the best place to go.

One day, as my 3-year-old son and I were walking, he tried to drag me to the direction of the pub and told me: “Mommy, Čas na pivo” (time for beer). I was taken aback by this gesture and was thinking to myself: “where did he learn that phrase?” But it really doesn’t matter. He could’ve easily picked it up from the people around him. It just goes to show that beer is an integral part of Czech culture. Even a 3-year-old knows it.

Playing with an empty beer bottle during our first few days here.

In my opinion, there are 2 basic food items in this world that Czechs can’t live without: bread (chleba) and beer (pivo). I know this because if I don’t have these things at home, my Czech husband gets into a bad mood. I have learned my lesson. I need to have a steady supply of bread and beer at my home to prevent any unpleasant mood swings.

During our big move from the US to Czech, we stopped by Brussels for 2 days to do a little sightseeing and slightly recover from the jetlag. Guess what my husband ordered in a Belgian restaurant. That’s right, a beer sampler.

This fondness for beer is not only with men but also with women too. Beers come in different varieties, alcohol strength, and raw material source. And to cater to everyone’s “needs,” a beer can also be non-alcoholic. Inasmuch as Czechs like alcoholic beverages, there is a zero tolerance limit of alcohol for drivers in this country. Thus, brewers have to come up with this non-alcoholic variety.

Before meeting my husband, I never liked beer. When we were still living in the States, and had parties with friends, I would drink it just to have something to drink. But now that we are here in the Czech Republic, and I have been introduced to all different kinds of beers, there is a growing fondness for beer in my palate. Thankfully, they have the non-alcoholic variety, so I can still enjoy it even now that I’m pregnant.

If you are Czech and don’t like beer, please do share your story of your secret society. Because out of my two years of living here, I have yet to meet a Czech who has an aversion to beer.

“Pabaon” is also a Czech Trait

Published on September 6, 2013 by Grace10 Comments

“Pabaon” (send-off) is a Filipino trait. In the Philippines, it is a send-off practice where the one who is going away is given a lot of things as gifts from the person (s) he/she is visiting.

The longer I have stayed here, the longer I have realized that it is a Czech trait too.

Last weekend, we visited my in-laws in Moravia and came home with a lot of “pabaon” from them. It is already Friday and we “just managed” to eat all the food that my mom-in-law prepared for us. Since it would be our last visit before the baby arrives, she prepared special dishes for us. One of those was roasted duck which we were digging into until yesterday. Aside from the cooked food, we also got to take home fruits, baked goods, eggs and even kitchen towels and a washing scrub. And if that’s not enough, they also gave us some insect spray (for mosquitoes and ticks) because they know we live close to the woods.

This type of practice always happens whenever we come to visit my in-laws. We never come home empty-handed. There is always something that we get to take home.

It reminds me of my very own culture. We do the same. Going home is like going to the market. You come back with lots of stuff. Now there are even some items that we can buy for ourselves like kitchen towels or insect sprays, but it is really the thoughtfulness that means so much more. These things are not only things but they convey a deeper message: “You are loved.”

I think that this is one of the traits that have brought our families together. Although we come from opposite sides of the globe, the things that we value are pretty much the same. Knowing this gives me comfort. It makes me feel at home.

New Baby, New Hairstyle

Published on September 3, 2013 by Grace12 Comments

I have been contemplating about chopping my locks. With the impending birth of my little one, I just know that I wouldn’t have enough time to take care of everything, including my hair. Staying at home and caring for kids look easy, but it is honestly the hardest job I ever had.

So yeah, I want to cut my hair and leave it at a length that’s easier to maintain. Plus, it’s all just going to fall off anyway. I remember that a few months after I’ve had Jakub, my hair just started falling off. I almost went bald. Ok, that’s an exaggeration. But as you can see in this picture, I did have a bald spot.

It is one of the downsides of having a baby. As if the weight gain, sleepless nights, and lack of energy is not enough.

A few of the mom friends that I know over here had really short haircuts after they had their babies. It must be another unique Czech practice, I think. Or maybe I just started noticing it now since I am in the company of moms. Most of them had pixie hairstyles. But they can very well pull it off since they have the face to match it. Czech women are pretty.

As for me, maybe I’ll just stick to something like this.

I’ve never really looked good in short hairstyles, but it has to be done.

For all you moms out there, did you have to cut your hair after having your baby(ies)?

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