This guy is insatiable!

September 6, 2007 · Filed Under An American Expat in Deutschland 

I have literally been breastfeeding almost continuously from 4pm to 9:30pm. I’ve given up now and Rainer is giving my little barracuda a bottle.

Wednesday was spent in München. First, we registered Oliver’s birth at the consulate (actually, first we got stuck in construction/rush hour traffic and ended up being 30 minutes late for our appointment). The guards at the consulate were extremely nice and polite. Rainer joked that although consulates tend to treat their own citizens pretty well, there is no way a German guard would get the door for you. I’m not so sure, I’ve had a few Germans get doors for me now that I’m tooling around with a baby carriage (although there are still plenty who try to run me down).

Strangely, the cashier was German and spoke in English to Rainer, while the consulate worker we dealt with was American and spoke mainly in German to me.

The whole process went very smoothly, they didn’t even ask to see the originals of the school record copies that I sent them to prove my at least five years of US residency. Oliver’s passport should arrive in two weeks. His social security card will take a few months. I’ll write the whole thing up in detail later.

We then met up with the very beautiful Schokolade Mädchen and had an excellent lunch at Vapiano in Fünf Höfe. I highly recommend it. It seems to be a Europe-wide chain and it even has a no smoking section. You order your food at a bar and can watch the chef prepare it in front of you. Rainer is going to try to recreate the dish I had, Salsiccia Calabrese, on Sunday. He said it looked pretty easy to make, and yet was awesome.

While at the restaurant, an “only in Europe” event occurred. I was breastfeeding Oliver at the table when a family with maybe a two year old daughter sat down next to us. The mom went to get food and the dad stayed with the girl. She got excited when she saw Oliver and went to touch him, but the dad told her that the baby was eating and they could just watch him eat! In all honesty, it didn’t bother me one bit to be watched, but I found it humorous that it is something that probably would not happen in the US.

Today, Oliver had his 3rd checkup and everything was fine. I LOVE LOVE LOVE our Kinderärztin (pediatrician) by the way. She is super nice AND recognizes the importance of statistics (not that common a trait in German physicians, I’ve found).

It’s going to be busy the next couple of days, tomorrow Cliff and Sarah are coming for dinner, then Saturday our street is having a little grillfest. Not sure what we’ll do if it is 10 degrees and raining, which seems likely. Anyways, hope you all have a great weekend!

Oliver - 3 Sep 2007

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Comments

13 Responses to “This guy is insatiable!”

  1. Carol on September 6th, 2007 10:36 pm

    I need to hold this adorable little munchkin. Like right NOW!! :-)

    Carol

  2. ChristinaG on September 7th, 2007 12:58 am

    Just 22 days and you’ll get your chance!

  3. Ange on September 7th, 2007 2:59 am

    It’s good to hear positive breastfeeding stories, but then it is “normal” in Europe as opposed to North America!

  4. J on September 7th, 2007 6:03 am

    I love that look on the kid’s face.

  5. Blythe on September 7th, 2007 9:03 am

    The Social Security number takes forever. We applied in February and still don’t have Theo’s! I called a couple of months ago and they told me they were still working on the 2006 applications.

    I am a huge Vapiano fan. There’s one in downtown Nurnberg that we frequent. Too bad it’s not closer to the Hauptbahnhof…

  6. ChristinaG on September 7th, 2007 12:39 pm

    @Ange: Yeah, I’m a bit worried about how the trip home in December will go, but it will probably be fine. My family loves going out to eat though… hopefully no one will make a fuss about me breastfeeding in public.

    @J: Me too!

    @Blythe: I guess I won’t expect his Social Security card any time soon then! And we may need to make another trip to Nürnberg soon to try out the Vapianos there! (I haven’t decided if I’m going to drive or take the train on the 29th).

  7. EuroTrippen on September 8th, 2007 8:57 am

    Wow, Oliver’s getting so big already!! He’s absolutely adorable and I can see a lot of Rainer in him.

  8. ChristinaG on September 9th, 2007 3:25 pm

    @B: Everyone is saying that about this picture. I agree but Rainer doesn’t! Crazy!

  9. Haddock on September 9th, 2007 6:15 pm

    I never got round to registering the Juniorette at the British consulate. I figured she’d better off with a German passport :)

  10. Anonymous on September 10th, 2007 1:36 pm

    Gorgeous baby! I sure hope I can meet him someday. Any plans to come visit us down undah?

    Lynn

  11. ChristinaG on September 11th, 2007 1:34 pm

    @haddock: He’s probably better off with the German passport (when he travels anyway), but I still want him to be half-American :)

    @lynn: Thanks, Lynn! I hope we’ll all see each other again. I would love to visit Australia, maybe we can work it out somehow (Rainer was invited there for a conference last year).

  12. Megan on September 12th, 2007 11:33 am

    Belated congratulations on your baby! Being married to one, I can say that the name Oliver is an excellent choice. ;-)

    I love how people are so relaxed about breastfeeding here, but even my German sister-in-law had problems with stares. If you should decide that maybe you or Oliver would like more privacy during feedings, my sister-in-law loved the Bebe au Lait nursing cover. It’s a very pretty and lightweight alternative to draping a pashmina or cloth over the baby’s head. This could make things easier in the US. I give them to all my new-mom friends…

    bebeaulait.com

    (It’s dual branded as a Hooter Hider but you can choose the label more fitting your style)

  13. ChristinaG on September 12th, 2007 6:22 pm

    @megan: Thanks for the link, those are cute - and I’m more of a bebeaulait girl than a hooter girl ;-)

    I’m not shy at all about it here, but I might get one of those for when I visit the US.

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