German vs. American Baby Prep

Throughout most of pregnancy, I expected that I would be spending my first few weeks with the baby holed up in our apartment in Bonn. It wasn't until almost week 30 that I had to shift gears and start imaging what it would be like to have the baby in the states. While something were a great relief -- like being able to take birthing classes in English -- many of the things I had already planned for the baby's arrival were no longer necessary.

In my German planning, when I did get out of the house with the baby, it would be into the Rhineland’s dark, damp wither. Even though I wasn't expecting cold like I'd know in the Northeast, the temperatures I anticipated were still pretty chilly. To prepare for this weather, I purchased a super warm snowsuit and got a sleeping bag insert to go inside his stroller. My Mom and sister had the same idea, purchasing snuggly warm clothing for the baby's first few months.

Now that we are living in Raleigh, however, my adorable snuggly snowsuit may never get worn. I tried to use it on Saturday on our outing to the farmer's market, but even though it was cold the baby would have suffered heat exhaustion if I put it on him.
Another purchase I may have made differently if I had known that we'd be in the states was my stroller. The Harman VIP that we bought second-hand has big wheels to handle old cobble stone streets and maneuver easily on and off the escalators to the U-bahn (Bonn's subway). It doesn't, however, fold up to the same tiny package that American strollers do. Nor does it have the "travel system," which would allow me to pop the baby from car to stroller without taking him out of his car seat.

Also, if I had purchased the stroller in the states, we would have received instructions about how to fold it up in English. Instead, the booklet is in German, which is really no help to us. Yesterday we decided to take the baby for a walk around one of the lakes in the area. Before being able to get in the car, though, we had to call friends in Germany who had the stroller before us to ask how to fold the thing up.