Movies

• Superbad: The Unrated McLovin Edition - Man, I think I knew these guys back when I was a teenager.  If you’re into silly comedies about geeks and dorks, you’ll probably love this film, for me, it was like reliving the bad parts of high school.  Sure, I had a few laughs, but overall I’m glad I’m in my 30’s now.
• 300 - My Persian in-laws railed against it, so I avoided seeing it for the longest time.  When I finally did watch, my expectations were low and I kept in mind that it was based on a graphic novel, and only very loosely followed true historical events.  It is exactly like a graphic novel come to the big screen.  Many visuals look like they could have been taken straight from the novel.  Now, I don’t actually know anything about the novel, so I could be wrong that it follows it.  Anyways, I enjoyed it, despite Xerxes being really odd and into paraplegic lesbians.  (For a different, and very interesting, review of 300, read “300 Sucked” - found via Clint’s Blog)
• Be Kind, Rewind - oh God, kill me.  This sucked.
• Atonement - snooze… I didn’t find any chemistry between the main characters and didn’t care about any of them.  I had the novel on my Amazon wish list before seeing this.  I immediately removed it.
• Sicko - It did not piss me off like Fahrenheit 9-11, but I was really frightened about returning to the US after seeing this movie.  Then I remembered that when my dad got cancer, Kaiser never gave him any problems.  While I’m sure there are plenty of people like those portrayed in the movie, I don’t know anyone who’s had trouble with their insurance company.  It’s not as bad as he shows.  Also, Europe is not as good as he shows.  I know plenty of British and Canadians who complain about their system.  The French family shown can not be a typical middle class family, they are well off, unless the French are doing phenomenally better than the Germans.  In the end, typical Michael Moore.  His message is important, but making biased movies invites opponents to attack your message, and lets folks get off with ignoring it.  It would have been a much stronger movie just showing the good things about socialized medicine, why all the scare tactics?
• I am Legend - I liked it.  The first half is great, the second half is okay.  It’s a disturbing premise, most humans being wiped out by an engineered virus, and most of the survivors being turned into vampire-like creatures.  It’s also upsetting if you’re a dog lover, just to warn you.
• Little Children- Really good.  It was controversial, I dunno why.  Because a pedophile is portrayed as a human being?  Because the main characters have a steamy affair?  Because the pleasantly curvy Kate Winslet appears nude?  It’s an interesting view of how it can feel to be lost in suburbia.
• Night on Earth- Cab rides in 5 cities.  I honestly don’t understand what the big deal is about Jim Jarmisch.  This is basically the same movie as Coffee and Cigarettes, except that it takes place in a cab rather then over coffee and cigarettes.  In the end, it’s okay, but nothing special.  And I liked the Helsinki section best.
• Sunshine- On first viewing, I thought this end of the Earth, the sun’s going out sci-fi thriller was okay.  Then I watched the film commentary of physicist Brian Greene, and you know what, I’m considering buying the DVD now.  If you’re a science geek, definitely check out the commentary.

Television

• Weeds, Season 1 - Widowed housewife starts selling pot to the local dads in order to make end meet.  Loved it.  I give it two thumbs up.
• Heroes, Season 1 - Don’t watch this unless you don’t need to be anywhere for a couple days.  It’s that good.
• Dexter - This just started on Premiere.  I’m two episodes in and completely addicted.  It’s a serial killer who works for the Miami PD and only kills killers.  It’s such a completely different concept from all the Law and Order, CSI, NCSI type crime shows.
• Numb3rs - A crime show with a mathematician.  I enjoy this, but it’s not awesome or addictive.  Also, I think if the FBI are investigating the spread of a virus, they’d go to an epidemiological specialists, even if the head investigator’s brother is a pure math “God.”

Have you seen anything especially “Empfehlungswert?” (recommendable)

I had the added challenge of doing this while holding a squirmy 2 month old - can you top that?

*Courtesy of Cliff over at Regensblog

Okay, this thing doesn’t seem to work on Blogger, but my score was something in the 27,000+ area.

What’s so special bout this picture?

Why, it’s of me in my pre-pregnancy jeans!

I got on the scale this afternoon and was shocked to find that eight days after giving birth, I am only 3 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. This inspired me to try on my jeans and cha-ching - they fit! I can sit in them and everything - in fact, they fit well enough that I’m still wearing them right now as I type this up! My tummy is quite a bit flabbier - and my hips and butt are a slightly less pretty shape - but wow, this is reason to celebrate!

And here’s a picture of my sweety Oliver sleeping peacefully:

I posted two more videos to YouTube (here and here). They’re both very cute (in my admittedly biased opinion). I’ll be posting videos there regularly for my family back in the States, but from now on, I will only post about especially cute videos here, so as not to overwhelm the readers who may not be as into baby videos as some, so if you want to see the new videos as I post them, just bookmark my YouTube user page and check it every once in a while.

My mother is claiming that Brother #1 is engaged and that he showed her the receipt for the engagement ring. When I spoke to him on Saturday, he admitted that he sorta had a girlfriend in Thailand, but that it wasn’t serious. Hmph. Who knows?

Since starting Oliver on Lefax drops, his tummy aches seem to have improved and he’s crying a lot less. I’ve also been drinking lots of Stilltee (breastfeeding tea), which may have helped my milk to come in - it came in the same day I started drinking - coincidence? I dunno. But then Rainer cooked pasta with garlic last night and Oliver refused to drink after that, so I guess I’ll need to be going easy on the garlic in the future. Strange - I ate a ton of garlic during pregnancy, he should like it!

At the beginning of this month, I got a reader email question wondering where to buy maternity clothes:

I was wondering where you bought maternity clothes in Germany. Thus far I have only been able to find clothes at H&M and I was wondering if any of the other chains carried maternity clothes (or what you would recommend).

I answered quickly and planned to expand on my answer in a blog post on a rainy day. Over on Problogger this week is a Rediscover Your Blogging Groove challenge, and today’s topic is Answer a Question. I thought, okay, perfect opportunity to post my thoughts on the subject. So here is my newly expanded answer to the question:

First thing to know, maternity clothing is called Umstandsmode in German. Second, if you are under a size 10/12, you’ll be fine, but if you are above this, you are probably going to have some work ahead building a decent wardrobe. Most boutiques only carry up to size 42. The major stores typically carry up to size 46, and occasionally have larger sizes. I found a few places online that claim to carry clothes up to size 56/58. I don’t know what you are expected to do if you are bigger than this. I guess you’ll need to have a friend ship you stuff from the US. For me, ordering tops online was no problem, but I really needed to try on pants. It seems that the typical German of my size has smaller thighs and a less prominent tushy than I do. I also encountered problems finding proper fitting bras. Germans seem to have pretty narrow shoulders and smaller rib cages than Americans. As a 38C, I generally find myself needing the largest available size here (and the pretty bra brands, although they are supposedly “my size,” don’t fit - e.g. Chantelle), also the size XL Medela pregnancy bra (which should be plenty big enough, since according to the size chart, I am a size L) is seriously TIGHT around the ribcage. I’ve always got deep red painful indents when I take it off in the evening. It’s very disappointing to know that I could walk into any Victoria’s Secret in the US and find pretty bras stocked in up to 42DD.

——-

Here’s a list of shops and websites that are either in Germany or will ship baby stuff to Germany. I’ve put an asterisk behind websites that I’ve used and been happy with (*=ordered once, **=twice, ***=three or more times). As I come across new sites, I will update this list. Remember that for sites outside the EU, you will be responsible for paying duty on items valued at more than €22. See also a related post Buying Baby Stuff in Deutschland. If you find this list helpful, you may be interested in my other blog, Mamas Worldwide, and it’s online shopping directory.

Major chain stores that carry maternity wear: H&M, C&A, and Baby-Walz

• H&M clothes were my least favorite at first, but they are the ones that have held up best and are most comfortable now. Not all locations have maternity clothes, so check the website first. If I remember right, their maternity wear goes up to size 46. You can order off their website too.
• Esprit - Carries maternity wear. On the website, look under Women, then For Moms.
• C&A maternity clothes were my favorite when I was around 6 months pregnant, but I find that they don’t really fit me anymore (especially the pants)! So if you buy there, I’d make sure the stuff is roomy. All the C&A’s that I explored had maternity sections. I think their stuff goes up to size 48/50, and maybe even bigger.
• Baby-Walz*** also carries maternity clothes that are pretty good quality. If there is not one near you, you can order off their website. The sizes here generally go up to 46.

Large Online Retailers that carry maternity wear: Baby-Walz and H&M (see above), Quelle, Neckermann, and Otto

• The Quelle, Neckermann, and Otto websites also carry some things. Neckermann has the slightly higher quality and selection out of the three, but the clothes are a bit grandmotherly, even the ones that look okay online (my husband told me to send them straight back after they arrived). Most items on these sites only go up to size 44 or 46, but in clicking around, I saw there are some things available up to at least size 56.

Specialty stores:

There are smaller retail and online stores for maternity clothes.

• Babygerecht.de- carries Hoppeditz belly bands, Paolo Maria, MaM, Expressiva, Emma-Jane, Mamaway, BabyB, Carriwell, Nicosch, Still|Leben, Glamourmom and Bravado clothing. Also has a secondhand section.
• Baby Inside - Austrian site that carries La Belly belly bands, maternity and nursing clothing, LilyPadz, MobyWraps, and Manduca baby carriers.
• Belissimama - This maternity-wear store includes Plus and Tall sizes, evening and bridal wear. Carries Bravado and Anita bras, also has a secondhand section.
• Bellamama - Clothing from Mama Licious, Torelle, Happy mura, Christoff, elenie, be! and Mitex. Has a small plus size selection (XXL Mama).
• BellyButton - Big selection of really nice looking maternity wear, including evening and bridal wear.
• Hebamen Shop- Products selected by midwives and nursing consultants, the selection includes Noppies and Medela nursing bras, and Boob nursing tops.
• Klapperstorch - Maternity wear from Noppies, Esprit for moms, Queen Mum, Christoff, Bellybutton and others. They carry sizes 34 through 52.
• Mamarella - this was a favorite of the women in my birthing class. They carry Fragile, Chiarakruza, Crave, Séraphine, Bella Materna, Femmes, Amoralia, Cherry Picking, and Blossom clothing.
• Mia Nana Berlin - Fun and colorful maternity wear up to size 48, includes evening and bridal wear .
• Paulina - expect in style - Want what the celebs are wearing? Then this site is for you.
• StillLeben* - Glamourmom breastfeeding tops, LilyPadz, Medela and Bravado breastfeeding bras, Lele belly bands
• Sweet Belly Couture - maternity wear for fashionistas, by Sandra M. Another site with celebrity worn stuff. Really nice evening and bridal wear selection. Makes me wish I was pregnant and going to a gala or something.
• Trend Mama - clothing from Mama Licious, Bebefield, Vero Mode, Funmum and Valja.
• Another option that worked well for me, is buying tunics from LandsEnd.de one size bigger than what I’d normally wear. The cloth is nice and soft, and because it’s higher quality cotton, it’s breathable. I was also able to wear their knit pants in one size bigger than my normal size up until just recently (I’m due in a week), but that could just be my body.

In Regensburg, the C&A in DEZ, the H&M in the Arkaden and the Baby-Walz in the Köwe Center carry maternity wear. There is also a boutique called Zaubergarten that has maternity wear and kids clothes at Maximilianstr. 6 in the Altstadt.

I hope that helps you in your search. Anybody else have advice to add?

Finally, some nice weather today! Our neighbors were nice enough to snap a family pic of us.

LOL! I guess there’s no need to second guess my choice of major in college! (For those not yet in the know, I majored in statistics)

Okay all you parents out there, I need some help here. The information out there is so conflicting, what have you found to be most important in a diaper bag?

Size runs the gamut, from diaper wallets to weekend bags. How many do you really need and in what size?

Have you found any decent bags in Germany? All the ones I’ve seen in shops so far are pretty plain and boring.

If you want an idea of my tastes, I’m thinking about:

Timi & Leslie Longevity Mia Bag

OiOi Messenger Bag in Charcoal & Lime Dot

Fleurville Chocolate Ogo Mothership Bag

Fleurville Sling Tote Diaper Bag-Pink Bingo

Fleurville Escape Pod Purple Swirl

Skip Hop Glam Duo Stroller Bag

Daisy Gear Messenger Bag in Hawaiian Green

Does anyone have any experience with any of these bags? What do/did you think of them? Any other bags you’d highly recommend? (Maybe a good one for Rainer, my tastes lean towards the girly-side)

Okay, I’m completely exhausted today, so I think I’m going to head for a nice relaxing bath. I hope to get around to putting up the cake recipe and making the mango salad again tomorrow.

Update (17 Jul 2007): I ended up buying both the Fleurville Escape Pod and Skip Hop Duo Glam from Pamper with Style. This German company carries bags from Fleurville, Skip Hop, and Emilia’s Mum, along with Aprica car seats, Easy Walker strollers, Mozzee high chairs, and Baby Compact accessories.

Update (2 Nov 2007): Three months in, I have never used my Fleurville Escape Pod, although it is very cute and I can see it being useful in the future once Oliver is a toddler.  The thing is, it only holds diapers and wipes, and at three months, I have different needs if we just run out quickly.  I love my Skip Hop Duo though and it goes everywhere with me.  I have wished for a bigger bag than the Duo, for long trips or when I leave him with a babysitter.  There’s not a lot of room for bottles, toys, and all the other stuff that might be needed in those situations. I’ve thought about getting a StorkSak, which is available in Germany from Fruitandjuice.de.