Friday, July 01, 2005

What brings you here? And why do you stay?

These two questions are posed to almost every foreigner living in Finland whenever they meet someone new - Finn or others like themselves.

I'd now like to pose these to YOU - dear visitor :-)

I see from my hit counter that my little blog is increasingly popular and that many read several postings. I'd love to know your how you found my blog? was it helpful - why or why not? do you visit regularly?

I've enjoyed writing just for the fun of writing and to exercise my brain & fingers, but its nice to think that others find it interesting.

So, pls leave a comment behind....

3 comments:

Peanut's Mom said...

Hi Sweetoow's Mom,

congrats on the coming arrival of your little one :-) I'm glad my blog has been helpful to you.

I can understand your feelings of 'what to do!' with the first one as Peanut is our first baby too and I remember wondering how on earth would we know what to do. However, something very natural and instinctive kicks in once the baby arrives and suddenly you find yourself feeling very comfortable with the little bundle. It takes a few weeks, but soon you too will be an expert. It may be hard to believe right now, but it will happen :-)

I just posted a piece about the prenatal classes. You may also want to check out a few websites like www.babycenter.com which can help answer some of your questions. Babycenter also had some videos which you may or may not want to watch about birth! I continue to check Babycenter every once in a while when I have question about something.

As for used KELA packages - you can purchase all of the pieces in it from the various baby shops. They may not be exactly the KELA outfits, but serve the same purpose. Alternately, on the auction site Huuto.net you often see the winter bunting suits for sale for very low prices. It is all in Finnish so perhaps a collegue or friend can help your family navigate it.

http://www.huuto.net/fi/cats/vaatlastvauv.php3

The most important pieces would be the winter suit, hat, mittens, booties and stroller sleeping bag (which I know Stockmann sells for about 25EUR). the starter bed set was nice, but can also be duplicated with store bought items.

Best of luck to you! I'm happy to try and help with any other questions you might have - jsut send me a note!

Peanut's Mom said...

Hi again,

You can also rent a baby bed from
http://www.vaavi.fi/info.

cheers,
peanut's mom

Unknown said...

Hello!

I found your blog very useful for myself as i am an expecting mother now. Thank you very much for time you have spent in writing blog and sharing your experiences!!!

All the best to your family!

JJ