Baby Questions - Help!
Moms and moms-to-be in Germany, I need some help! Oh, please! Here are a few questions that I know some clever ladies out there can answer for me... So please chime in with your comments below!
* Diapers - I need to know how diapers work in Germany. I mean, I know you can buy disposal ones, but what about the kind that are cloth, that I could have delivered and washed for me OR ones that are cloth that I can buy and wash. And HOW do you wash poopy diapers anyway, isn't this a little, well.... Um, unsanitary?
* Diaper disposal - Can someone suggest where I can dispose of diapers in Germany - is there a specific trash for them because they are plastic (if I go for the plastic disposal bio ones)?
* Diaper disposal units - When you toss a dirty diaper, where do you put it so that it doesn't smell up the house or bedroom? Where do parents generally keep dirty diapers?
* Car seat - Can someone suggest a car seat that I can easily find on Amazon.de? Please!
* Favorite baby bio brands - Anyone want to tell me about their favorite baby brands that are biological? Detergent for clothing, body wash, soaps, shampoos, creams, etc.?
Thank you ladies! :)
(image: paul et paula - a new favorite blog!)
* Diapers - I need to know how diapers work in Germany. I mean, I know you can buy disposal ones, but what about the kind that are cloth, that I could have delivered and washed for me OR ones that are cloth that I can buy and wash. And HOW do you wash poopy diapers anyway, isn't this a little, well.... Um, unsanitary?
* Diaper disposal - Can someone suggest where I can dispose of diapers in Germany - is there a specific trash for them because they are plastic (if I go for the plastic disposal bio ones)?
* Diaper disposal units - When you toss a dirty diaper, where do you put it so that it doesn't smell up the house or bedroom? Where do parents generally keep dirty diapers?
* Car seat - Can someone suggest a car seat that I can easily find on Amazon.de? Please!
* Favorite baby bio brands - Anyone want to tell me about their favorite baby brands that are biological? Detergent for clothing, body wash, soaps, shampoos, creams, etc.?
Thank you ladies! :)
(image: paul et paula - a new favorite blog!)
Comments
The diapers get twisted up (like sausages) and they don't smell so much anymore!
We used disposable, I would walk them outside to the trash can (PU), I know some use the diaper-genie, which encases each stinky disposable in plastic (it makes a diaper-sausage-string) it's more plastic, but if it's stored in the house less stinky.
Friends who used cloth (still used disposable for day trips and diaper bags so they didn't have to haul stinky ones around) generally they dunked them into the toilet to remove the poo and then put them in a bag for 'pick up'.
I was always a little weirded out about diaper services and sharing of the baby-"underwear". I know they sanitize them, but i still couldn't do it.
Where we live, diapers are normal "Hausmüll". We had a little litter box for the baby`s room for the normal diapers the "bad" ones were put in extra little bags and knotted.
We had a Maxi Cosi with Isofix base for both babies.
Our favorite detergent was Ecover. We bought it at DM. We did not use any oil or powder or creams. Just water to clean the little ones. For dry skin (if any) we used my milk as long as I had some.
Just keep asking :-)
Carla
Just a quick answer for the car seat question
http://www.amazon.de/R%C3%B6mer-2000008111-Autositz-BABY-SAFE-Fossil/dp/B00A30EQ8Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1383143812&sr=8-2&keywords=r%C3%B6mer+babyschale
What you need first is a BABYSCHALE. (So you can search for it) I buy lots of stuff online, but rarely on amazon. (Unless it is books *laugh*) The Römer one is the one we bought for our baby when I had my first child. Back then it was the best regarding Stiftung Warentest. I have no idea which one is the best now ... but Römer is one of the "big brands" for car seats here in Germany.
With the diapers - it really depends. If you wanna have a service that delivers you have to search for "Windelservice" or "Windeldienst" It is not available everywhere, but as you live in a bigger city you should find something. Ask your Hebamme! I bet she knows!
Regarding disposal ... the regular diapers (like pampers) you throw in the trash called "Restmüll". Does that make sense?
How to store them until you dispose them .... well ... that is a tricky one. :-) There are special trash cans especially for storing diapers so it does not smell. However, the one we bought back then was not that awesome - so with the second child we simply dumped the poopy diapers outside as quickly as possible. If you wanna see which products are available you could simply order a catalog from http://www.baby-walz.de/ I am not their fan or anything - just the first one that came to mind. :-) They have everything - and MORE - you could ever need for a baby. *laugh* You certainly will not need everything in their catalogue, but it is kinda fun for browsing and getting to know what is available.
Will post about bio brands later ...
Hope this helps a bit.
Love,
Ursula
Ecover is great for clothing, and I used and loved Weleda's calendula diaper cream, body wash and tooth gel (when the baby is a little older). I also have used Weleda's Skin Food as a face moisturizer for me years. It does what La Mer says it will do and better, and it's much less expensive! It's a wrinkle killer. ;)
Erbaviva is also a great baby brand. I am not sure if you can get that in Germany, though.
Here is a link to it on Saffron Rouge:
http://www.saffronrouge.com/baby/babies
Hope that helps!
http://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B008A5CWYE/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1383144085&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70
besafe izi go - car seat
http://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B003A5UGIS/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1383144146&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70
wool and silk cloth for your babyboy - i loved it - it's so great for the little ones?
http://www.hug-and-grow.de/shop/Stoffwindeln.html
diapers - great shop - you can call them - they can tell you which diapersystem works best (tjey have also very cute bio baby clothrs)
http://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B005OV5CJ4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1383144239&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70
diaper trashbin - so it doesn't smell!
hope it helps, have a wonderful day, eva
diapers are Restmüll. In some areas you can get special bags only for the diapers. You get them from the Müllentsorgungsstelle. I didn`t had a diaper pail but for some households it is very useful. Car seat: we had Maxi Cosi and later Römer and we were happy with them. Maybe you look at special magazines/online (Ökotest, Stiftung Warentest). There are often tests which are the best seats. Or you ask in a special baby market, they can help you. Bio Brands. Alnatura is the best. Or a market call Denns. The drugstore DM has a lot of Bio. Sometimes the cheaper products in the drugstore are very good, too, look at "Ökotest gut/sehr gut". I preferred second hand clothes, there are a lot of special Babybasare all over the country, these clothes were washed and it is a good alternative to new clothes which are "schadstoffbelastet". Alnatura has good Bio-Clothes, too, but I think also little Onlineshops have Bio-Clothes. I hope I could help and you understand my English.
Tinka
The rest is the work of a diaper company that will come once a week and replace the dirty diapers.
I guess you have a midwife - she will tell you about the Bahnhofsapotheke Kempten where you can find the best organic cosmetics for your baby that are especially and only produced there (also also for pregnant women): http://shop.bahnhof-apotheke.de/babypflege.25.0.html
Also I used and still use: http://www.logona.de/produkte/baby-kids/baby/
and
https://www.dresdner-essenz.com/Produktlinien/Kinderwelt_Dreckspatz.html
and
http://www.lavera.de/produkte/baby-kinderpflege.html
yes I remember these questions :-) we tried cloth diapers from popolini, it didn't work for us though. There is so much laundry anyway with a baby.
You can buy diaper-trashcans in almost every Möbelhaus. We don't have one, just put the stinky ones into an extra bag and be sure to empty the trash often :-)
As for the organic products, everything from weleda (DM) works best for us. They have great products for pregnancy too, like the Schwangerschaftsöl and later on the Stillöl.
Carseat: we had a Römer, they are great. If you are member of an autoclub (like ARBÖ), they might have special prices. Here in Austria you can rent them very cheap for a year at a time.
The best organic clothing you can find on grueneerde.com or hessnatur.com
I hope I could help you!
Alles Gute euch zwei!
klassisches bio-kleidung für kinder gibts bei hess natur, alana textil von dm hat finde ich ganz schöne sachen, die müssten ökologisch sein, ich weiss nur nicht, wo die produziert werden.
pflegemittel kaufen viele von weleda...
I am living in Hannover in Oststadt area and my baby boy is 6-month old.
Some months ago I was asking myself the same questions. Finally, after searching and comparing information, this is what I am doing :
1 - Diaper : I use classic Diaper, going to the normal garbage.
For the new born (size 1), I recommand Pampers. They got an indicator, I can say that it is very useful at the beginning, when it is difficult to evaluate.
Now, I am with size 3. I bought Pampers (DM in Lister meile mainly) and "green" diapers in Alnatura (lister Platz).
At home I wash my baby bottom only with water and these reusable tissues (sorry in french : http://www.tendances-emma.fr/bebe/42-kit-eco-chou.html)
2. Diaper disposal : no idea in Hannover. I asked some german friends. I had the impression to ask a silly question, as if I wanted to go back 50 years before !
3. Car seat : I have a Römer, bought with my new car.
4. Bio brands : I use Weleda for Face cream, and Avene Cicalfate (not bio but very efficient) for the redness bottom
I will add that
- I did not buy a special diapers bin. I bought a classic one from Authentics, they got great choice of colors.
The key is to the frequency !
- a "baby wippe" is very very very useful. I have a Baby Bjorn.
- As my changing table is not in the bathroom, I use a MUJI PET Pump Bottle to always have water to clean my baby bottom
- I really enjoyed the Ergobaby Tragetuch to carry my baby.
I wish you all the best for the coming weeks,
Amelie
I am a mother of 4. The last two had cloth diaper and I washed it home. I keep them dry in a bucket and wash them every cca. 3 days. Two extra loads are not a very big deal considering the amount I wash every week. It has a slight smell. I store the bucket in the utility room where I wash them anyway and I always drop a couple drops of tea tree oil on the inside of the lid. Theat helps a lot.
If we travel I use diposable ones.
After they are 6-8 months old there are times when they pee an extra amount at night for couple weeks. For these times I use disposable for night!
One more thing. With cloth diapers are big and prevent them from moving along. Doctors say this is very good for their hips. These babies learn to move, crawl and walk later. For me this is not a problem, just thought you might loke to know.
I use prefolds, that dry faster. My fav is BambinoMio.
Just make sure you feel satisfied with your decision!
Diapers - all has been said I think. Wenn babies are litte the smell isn't as bad. Now I take them out to the trash instantly, but we should be done with them soon (My daughter ist three). I always used pampers, because I'm lazy and didn't want to deal with fabric diapers. Store brands don't absorb as well - so you need to change more often, which eats up the saving on the long term and the risk of a sore butt is bigger.
Cosmetcis and washing powder:
weleda is bio, but contains a lot of allergens, my daughter and I both have super sensitive skin and cannot use any of their products - not even the sensitive range.
I like best the sensitive range (own brand) from DM - it doesn't give any of us allergies and is much cheaper than the pharmacy stuff. They also have a liquid detergent which is as good as ecover, but much cheaper.
All the best! Heidi
I just wanted to post some tips and ideas, but others were faster and I don´t want to repeat the infos.
Your Hebamme will also surely be great for giving advice!
We went for disposable diapers. But if I have a second baby I might try a Windel-Service.
Best, Steffi
I am going for disposable Diapers, didn't want the mess of washing or collecting them until they get picked up.
I always put a used Diaper in a little plastic bag and throw it into Hausmüll. I do not have a special diaper trash can, b/c they get smelly after a while.
I got the Babyschale by HTS izy go. It is really good.
I use Weleda and Almond Oil ( at the pharmacy ) and Cotton Pads (DM) and warm Water.
That's it- less is more. Best Wishes Cora
There are some great organic baby clothes brands made in Germany, like cosilana, Reiff Reläx, Engel Natur and Selana ( you find them in Germn Online Shops). They make nice and pretty clothes especially out of wool and wool-silk that will keep your winter baby warm and cosy! I have a little baby boy and we love those clothes for him as they always keep him warm but not too warm! Best for you from Berlin* nadine
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elimination_communication
http://www.britax-roemer.de/auto-kindersitze/auto-kindersitze/baby-safe-plus-shr-ii but you need isofix in your car. And for that sensitive baby skin I recommend Weleda, we love it!
Tiffany at No Ordinary Homestead has a review, and has since reviewed other Kiddy products.
http://www.noordinaryhomestead.com/the-kiddy-comfort-pro-car-seat-it-saves-lives-2/
all Baby Bio Products from DM are really good. Or from Alnatura. The best Popo-Cream is the one from WELEDA. And we have all car seats from RÖMER. Really good.
Best wishes
Lina
I have worked with many types of carseats. For infants I also love the Maxi Cosi. They have adapters for the Bugaboo stroller so you can go straight from car to stroller without taking baby out of his seat! They're great. (Although pricey, I have to say that the bugaboo is also amazing. And I've used MANY different strollers! Though there are other great options for sure.)
Here is a great post about cloth diapering if you choose to do that: http://bleubirdvintage.typepad.com/blog/2012/10/q-a-cloth-diapers.html. Very useful! I know many families that do a combination of cloth and disposable and that seems to work well. You will quickly figure out what works best for you!
Personally, I love diaper genies and seeing as you will be living in a 4th floor walk-up, I don't see running out to the bin every change being very realistic. You can empty the diaper genie every evening or even every two, and it will not stink. Promise! This one is not AS hideous as other models: http://www.diapers.com/p/diaper-dekor-plus-pail-6589 Sort of more modern I think?
From your other post: There are so many cute diaper bags to choose from! It depends if you want something totally discrete or not. I like skip-hop (french stripe! chevron!) and these are beautiful: http://www.soyoung.ca/diaper-bags-and-clutches.html. And: http://www.moopshop.com/ Looks like they will ship to Germany! You will likely use it every day, so get something you love!
Hope that helps you! Although I am not a mom, I was a nanny for many years (In Germany for a year, actually!). Good luck!
Würde ich im Laden sofort kaufen ;)
Grüße, Mia
Regarding diapers, here's a great explanation and comparison of various types of cloth diapers. The blog is written by a young American woman living in Germany in a Bauwagen with her husband and child.
http://www.clickclackgorilla.com/2013/07/23/cloth-diapering-for-beginners-or-what-i-am-telling-my-pregnant-friends-this-week/
And here are single posts from before she wrote the summary:
http://www.clickclackgorilla.com/?s=cloth+diaper
Between her and the guys from younghouselove, I'm pretty much sold on going that route, should I have a baby.
http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/08/the-much-requested-cloth-diaper-post/
They have more posts on it, the search works well there.
For organic baby stuff, I'll second/third/fourth the recommendation of Weleda or the dm house brands. Also many choices at the Alnatura stores. Since boys tend to have more problems with bellyaches/colics, my sister (they have two boys) loves recommending and gifting "vier Winde Öl" for tummy massages. You can easily get it online or in stores. Along with they did a certain kind of massage called "Pupsprogramm", and it worked wonders. She had a neat chart with visual explanation that I couldn't find online, but here's a description:
http://forum.glamour.de/threads/58465-Forums-Babys-XIV-Knubbelzehen-und-Kullertr%C3%A4nchen/page325
If you ask your Hebamme, she probably knows it and may have a copy.
have you heard of Diaper Free Babies and Elimination Communication? That helps to reduce the amount of diapers used, be it disposable or cloth. Babies give you cues when they need to go, really! I did this gentle method with my second baby and it is more than worth a try!
here are some links that might help...
1.http://www.amazon.de/Geruchsdichter-Windeleimer-Diaper-Champ-regular/dp/B000OKMOOG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383939395&sr=8-1&keywords=diaper+champ (works well and you can buy normal litterbags)
2. during the first months we bought pampers newborn, now we take the rossmann ones during the day and pampers at night
3. we bought one of the "Stiftung Warentest Testsieger" : http://www.amazon.de/Cybex-2013-ISOFIX-Classic-Black-black/dp/B00BQVGF2Y/ref=sr_1_8?s=baby&ie=UTF8&qid=1383939871&sr=1-8&keywords=cybex+aton+3
Test : http://www.adac.de/infotestrat/tests/kindersicherung/kindersitz-test/?tabid=tab1
4. best baby bio brands:
- weleda!!!(best nursing tea,babycreme for red baby bottom) -"Heilwolle for red baby bottom" (http://www.babyzeiten.de/windeln-wickeln/Einlagen-Zubehoer/Lenya-Heilwolle.html)
- cosilana wolle & seide bodys for winter babies,
- loud+proud,
- alana (dm) wolle & seide nursing pads
- hoppediz tragetuch http://www.hoppediz.de/de/elastische-tragetucher-gots.html
Best wishes! anne
I would not like diaper service, since I don't know how they are washed and would not want that ours are washed with dirty ones from other kids...there are many super cute patterns out there.
For Kidersitz and co. ADAC Tests are good to sticks with.
I live near Wiesbaden. In our area
there are a lot of Kindersachen Flohmarkt, which are held in the Kindergartens. Moms can sell the clothes their kids have outgrown there. They probably have these in Hannover as well. You could check out the Kindergarten facilities, have a little Kaffee and Kuchen and buy your child some good quality clothes (especially if the Kiga is in a good neighborhood), which have already had all of the chemicals washed out of them. All the German ladies I know do this (especially doctors and their wives - must be something to it!)
The Diaper Champ I used in the nursery with my other kids always ended up becoming very stinky. The plastic holds the smell in terribly.
I agree with the other posters - keep it simple and healthy.
Elle
"All work and no play makes mommy a disgruntled chick."
I always wanted to answer this post but never found the time, but here we go. Carseats in Germany are tested by Stiftung Warentest and I always look at their tests. I don't necessarily buy the best ones but I look at what they have to say and decide what is important to me. If your car has Isofix I would definitely buy one because it is so much easier to attach the baby seat (and more importantly safer) You can find the test results from the most recent ones here https://www.test.de/Autokindersitze-201Sitze-im-Test-Sicherheit-fuer-Ihr-Kind-1806826-0/?mc=google.autokindersitze09.link
As for diapers I always used the Pampers and at the very beginning if you are nursing the yellow ones. If your stomach can't handle anything yucky don't take fabric diapers. I don't want to get into details but in the beginning it's very liquid-y. If my kids wore anything else then Pampers they would get a rash and they were totally wet at night.
For the disposal. I bought an expensive diaper trash can and stopped using it after a few weeks. First of all it stinks badly when you empty it (esp. when the kids get older) and secondly you need to hands to use it but you need to leave one hand with the baby. And unfortunately you won't get a third hand (even though I still think you should grow at least one extra hand with each kids ;-)) I always use small plastic bags and after a couple of diapers or a BIG one you just knot it and bring it away. I used to have a trash can with a foot paddle because you can use it one-handed.
As for cosmetics it is recommended to use as little as possible and in the first year I did not have anything except cream IF they have a red bottom which was rarely. I swear by Desitin Salbe from the pharmacy and if it very cold and windy. I used Wind and Wetter Cream. And sunblock in summer (only DM Hausmarke) BTW my kids had little problems with red buttons because I swear by Hipp wet wipes. Anything else they would get sore. Less is more in Baby cosmetics. I honestly don't like the Weleda Baby stuff because I think it smells badly. I prefer the baby's own smell (is there anything better?) to Calendula which is in almost everything Weleda Baby. If you shop at DM definitely join there Baby program because you will get lots of coupons. I also signed up with Pampers and Hipp and received lots of coupons every couple of month.
If the Baby is colicky (not every baby is) I recommend Windsalbe (found it worked better then they oil) and Carum Carvi Kinderzäpfchen. Keep my fingers crossed though that your little one has no problems in that department.
Do ask your midwife. I found that they always have very useful information and know what's best.
Have fun Shopping Kathrin
1) Diapers - I cloth diapered all three of my kids and used Popolinos since that's what most Germans were using at the time (ca. 2006). I just want to point out that cloth diapering has evolved considerably since the rinsing in the toilet days. There was a liner where the poop went and we just flushed that down the toilet. The diapers went into a pail with a lid and we got a mesh liner (like a really big lingerie bag) and could just dump that into the machine. As someone else said - every 3 days or so.
2) Moltex Oeko are great. My British friends also swore by these. The DM eco brand is our alternative.
3) Regarding disposal: Yes, wrapping diapers in plastic bags help. But please don't BUY plastic bags for this purpose. Any bag will do. We just used plastic bags that were the packaging for diapers or toilet paper for instance.
4) Car seat: we used Maxi Cosi because they were compatible to the Bugaboo (which survived three well-travelled children well). Buy according to your Kinderwagen compatibiilty or your car. And as others have mentioned, if Stiftung Warentest is not your friend, now is a good time. When I relocated to Germany last year, I bought all major and small appliances based on that list and have not been disappointed once.
5) Another vote for Weleda Calendula cream. Heals other small child rashes or irritations too. We also like Lavera baby shampoo/soap.
Please try not to buy too much clothes for your unborn baby. Many people will give you these as gifts.
I joke that DM takes half of our paycheck after housing. The other half goes to our local Bioladen. I recommend Alma Win cleaning and laundry products. I've tried the other brands too.
I've said once and I'll say it again: Germany is a wonderful place to have babies and raise small children.
You've had lots of good advice here I think!
We used a mixture of cloth and disposable nappies with my daughter. The cloth ones we kept in a bucket in a bin with a lid, so there was no smell. (We scraped off the worst of the poo.) We found storing them 'dry', i.e. not in water, worked best for us, and we'd wash them every couple of days (without bleach). We used disposables at night and sometimes if we were going out. Pampers gave my daughter a rash - the own-brand ones from Lidl suited her much better. So you might find you need to shop around a bit.
For wipes I cut up an old sheet, and I'd keep a thermos flask of warm water by the changing mat and use that rather than disposable ones.
Ah, I feel weirdly nostalgic writing this. I wish you the very best with the rest of your pregnancy and birth!
Helen
I've just met the "Hannover Blogschwestern" crowd yesterday, and today is surfing-on-their-sites-day. As you were also mentioned I just came across this post. If you would like to know more about cloth diapers, I'd be happy to help you out. Check out my blog, and if you want you can have a look-and-feel, too. Just send me a note.
All the best for you and your little one! Greetings from the List,
Thu
Just put the nappy outside and take it to the normal trash later. I used washable ones a lot.
Get a Manduca carrier. It is fantastic!
All the best!