Umm A | ExpatWoman.com
 

Umm A

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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 02 January 2014 - 15:35
Hi Guys, Anyone know any good Mother and Toddler groups near JLT?? And what days??- Also that its mothers with children not Nannies/maids with children?? Hi there. why don't you join mums united in dubai on facebook, it's a group for mothers without a nanny. Tge group arranges meetups and offers help and support. Also feel free to email me on primetime at hotmail dot dk, we are a group of mothers having our first meetup in a weeks time (toddlers, but some of us also have babies)
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Latest post on 13 December 2013 - 13:29
Hi ladies :) I have a 4 months old baby and I don't have friends here :( what do you do to enjoy staying at home ? Hi Angelsmile I am also living in Discovery Gardens, I have two boys, a two year old and a two months old. You can contact me on primetime at hotmail dot dk then maybe we could meet up and I could introduce you to some of my friends in the area. On facebook there is a group called playdates in discovery gardens and the gardens.
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Latest post on 25 September 2012 - 17:08
They sell Osso Buco meat in Geant
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Latest post on 15 September 2012 - 01:23
Oh I feel for you. I don't have any suggestions as all the sleep coaches I've heard of here seem to use CIO methods. Hopefully the no cry works for you. My boy is always in bed by 7, and I find after that he's overtired and it can take ages to settle him. That must be very hard if your husband is not home till 7.30 though. Good luck :) Thank you :). I really hope this will work also, the CIO/CC is just not for us, there must be better alternatives. I would love the 7pm bedtime, more time to be just me and more couple-time, by the time its 6pm i am pretty much done for the day, but i would feel like I robbed my son and husband of their bonding time if we changed the bedtime and the starting the day at 1-3am when he sleeps earlier is just aahhgggrr. He do seem to be happy about sleeping around 9:30, it only takes him about 5-10minutes to settle. Hopefully he will sleep through the night within the next 9 years :P
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Latest post on 15 September 2012 - 00:41
Thank you very much, I would really appreciate it, my email is [email protected] The articles look really good and I have made sure to save them, especially the weaning one, but for now I am okay with nursing him a few times a night, before he was eating all the night but it has been much better the last few months so I hope he will stop by himself. I don't expect a sleep-miracle but I would be so happy if he at least would only wake every 2-3hours. We have tried changing the time of sleep both to earlier and later but it only became worse, but it might be time for a new try, it is a little difficult though as my husband don't get home till after 7pm (and often closer to 8-9pm), and by 9pm i really really really need him to sleep. We will also try to sign up for the Haya Club again as we have found that he sleeps much better after a swim (and not just a bath), would also be a great way for me to get fit. Thank you again for your help, it is very kind of you give me your email and I'll send you the no-cry PDF also here are some gentle sleep training techniques for older babies http://www.parentingscience.com/infant-sleep-training.html and for nightweaning, if it really looks like he won't grow out of it on his own and you can't cope (I would maybe have tried this eventually but at 13 months my son just night-weaned by himself and started sleeping 12 hours) http://drjaygordon.com/attachment/sleeppattern.html As SG says, early bedtimes can actually improve the length of night sleep and getting the timing of naps just right seems to help too.
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Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 23:40
Hi there....sleep deprivation is a killer isnt it! If your bub is waking that often it sounds like he has some sleep associations...does he require a dummy/boob/rocking or anything else to get back to sleep? When my DS was younger he would wake every 45 min for his dummy all night long so we had to teach him to fall asleep on his own. We worked with a sleep coach but it did involve some crying it out, but it worked and now DS sleeps a solid 12 hours and goes to sleep by himself with no tears. But there are other ways of getting rid of sleep associations that don't involve crying, they just usually take a bit longer. See if u can get your hands on the book The No Cry Sleep Solution by Elizabeth Pantley, or give Kiwispiers a shout out I think she has a PDF of the book she could email you. Good luck and I hope you all get some sleep soon. Oh...and have you tried putting him to sleep earlier? 9.30pm is very late and he might be so overtired he can't settle into a deeper sleep, especially if he's only having short naps. My boy goes to sleep between 7-730pm and sleeps 12 hours plus has a 3 hour nap during the day. Sometimes the more they sleep, the more they sleep! Earlier bedtimes can do wonders, it's worth a try. Thank you very much for your answer, and yes it is a killer. He doesnt really use the dummy, and at night we don't rock him to sleep anymore (we did the first 6months, and still do it during the day). He likes the breast during the night but not everytime he wakes, and I can make him sleep again without nursing. I don't wish to let him cry it out since he really is a good boy, he has maybe cried a total of 30minutes since he was a born, so it would just feel wrong. Regarding the late sleep time, we have tried both putting him to sleep earlier and later, but when we put him earlier he woke up between 1-3am and thought it was morning, it was a horrible time. I would love have him sleep at 7pm if it wasnt for the early wake-up and the fact that his dad doesn't get home from work until 7:30-9pm. I will try and read the no cry sleep solution (sounds great already). Again thank you very much for your answer, we might try and move the bedtime a little again, maybe it will work this time :). Your boy sounds like a little sleep-angel, I hope that will be us in the future, if not I will start working and tell his dad to quit his job and do the nights :P <em>edited by Umm A on 14/09/2012</em>
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Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 22:03
contact healthbay clinic, they have a baby care coordinator who does sleep coaching.. Thank you, will try and give them a call :)
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Latest post on 14 September 2012 - 15:55
Hi ladies. If anyone know of a good sleep coach then please let me know. It has to be someone who doesn't use the cry it out or controlled crying approach. My son is 12 months and I am really desperate by now. His first two weeks he was an angel, then we came to Dubai and he just stopped sleeping. He usually wake up 2-3 times every hour all night long (he sleeps from around 9:30pm till 4-5pm and then he usually take one or two short naps in the day). The first 6months I was going nuts, then I seemed to learn to cope with it, but now I am so exhausted again, my mind and my body just can't do it anymore. Please help with contact details for a sleep coach or just your personal advice. Thank you in advance
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Latest post on 10 September 2012 - 13:41
Hi Anette. Welcome to Dubai. Can I ask where you are from? (your name got me curious). My son is now 12 months but started taking him out alot for classes when he was 5months, but apart from babysplash (it's great) most of the baby classes aren't worth the money. Some babies enjoy nursery rhymes classes but i think it's better for the toddlers. Have you considered some mums groups? That was what worked for us, my son could wrestle with the other babies and I made a lot of friends. EW arrange some meetings for mothers and babies, you can see them under events. If you are interested I have some great links for meetings and playdates but am not sure if it is allowed post them here. You can email me on primetime at hotmail dot dk and then I can forward them
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Latest post on 31 August 2012 - 17:51
Hi Ladies I'm a 31 year old teacher moving out in a week on my own.. Slightly terrified but extremely excited! Do any of you live in this area? Would love any advice on meeting people. :) Also, I was thinking of organising a Macmillan coffee morning as a way of getting to know local ladies? Is this a good idea or not one I could organise through this?. Hi shelders. I have been living here a little more than a year and I love discovery gardens. Expatwoman arrange coffee mornings, check under events, but you can also look at some of the discovery gardens groups on Facebook. I know a few ladies here but would love to get to know one more ;). If you are interested you can send me an email on primetime at hotmail dot dk <em>edited by Umm A on 31/08/2012</em>
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Latest post on 06 August 2012 - 21:01
I doubt it would be allowed, or I am sure it is not. You would need to rent a approved place for the kitchen and getting license here is expensive (most likely you would actually be paying to work) <em>edited by Umm A on 06/08/2012</em>
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Latest post on 06 August 2012 - 20:34
I think EW has a coffee morning sometimes at Ibn Batuta (or is it Marina Mall)? WIll be a good place to meet mums from everywhere. Yes EW has meetings in Fun City in Ibn battuta every sunday as far as I remember, for mothers and toddlers Good you mentioned it, might be a good option for other mums in the area. <em>edited by Umm A on 06/08/2012</em>
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Latest post on 06 August 2012 - 20:31
where can we exactly find lot of families u said??? I stay at street 1 n wanna meet people :D If you have kids try and chat with mums at the playground, street 1 is not so good for making friends as the other streets are I think, as it is mostly shops. Would invite you for a walk but dont think it is allowed on EW :P Or try and check dubaimumsclub . com edited by Umm A on 06/08/2012 <em>edited by Umm A on 06/08/2012</em>
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Latest post on 06 August 2012 - 20:28
Yes, Peek-a-boo is quieter during Ramadan to be fair. The other nursery rhyme session is at 4pm. Fun city has a lovely soft play area for AED30 unlimited all day pass. Try it too. Sounds good with Fun City, I will definitely try and go there this week (and again after ramadan). Thank you for all the great ideas
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Latest post on 05 August 2012 - 23:29
Locked? That can't be right. Most of the pools in the Gardens i've been to are open. Avoid Thursday eve as the whole world comes out. Lol. Also in Ibn battuta there are several soft play areas for babies. A really good one is fun city and peek-a-boo. The ones in the gardens are open yes, but not the ones in discovery gardens (at least not the ones where i live). But might check out in the Gardens, its within walking distance so pretty much the same :P. I usually go to peek-a-boo once a week but I am almost always the only one there, i usually go at 11am for the nursery rhymes, but maybe i should try it more often :). Do you know what other soft play areas there is in ibn battuta? I only know peek-a-boo, the others I have seen are more for toddlers and older children
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Latest post on 05 August 2012 - 23:09
In the Gardens the pool is usually a good place to make friends with like minded people i've found. Bring you little ones to one of the baby pools:) I have seen some of the pools in the Gardens when i walk in the ''park'' and its true there is always a lot of families. In my street all the pools are locked all year for some reason, but might be something to look into. Thank you for your reply :)
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 05 August 2012 - 22:44
I remember a lady who posted on here earlier who told that she bought a big book of easy removable stickers that her little one could stick on everything in the plane (she asked permission first). It might be fun for the 3 year old? (my son is only 11months so dont have those problems yet). I wish you a good flight
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Latest post on 05 August 2012 - 22:41
Hi Ladies. I have now been living in Dubai for a year and have met a lot of nice ladies all over town, but almost noone where I live. I have an 11month old son and usually go to the playground with him in the early mornings or late afternoons and always find nice ladies to chat with, but it is a little limited when most of the mums are from the same building and most of them are from the same country (so they stick together). If any of you are living in this area do you then know if there is any community arrangements where I can meet other ladies/mums.
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Latest post on 05 June 2012 - 23:34
I get between 3-5hours sleep on average and never more than 30minutes at a time. Naps is a no-go. Ahhh the pleasures of motherhood
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Latest post on 03 June 2012 - 15:34
Thanks Umm A, it is going to be very tight! Hopefully if the official job offer comes through, my husbands work will sort out his visas etc and we can get to Dubai sooner rather than later.... We definitely want a maid/nanny and I have heard live out are not common so I guess would go for live in. Our parents couldn't come at this stage so family is not an option. Thanks for your ideas, I think that's what we'd have to do but I am not sure how happy other mums would be if this baby decides to come at 130am in the morning!!!! I hope you will find a good nanny, and I'm sure you will. You can always sign up for the fairy godmother club and keep it as an option. Most mothers here know how difficult it can be when you have no relatives or friends here and will be more than happy to help even if its 1:30 in the morning ;). My son would love some 2am playmates :P
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Latest post on 03 June 2012 - 15:24
We may be moving to Dubai very soon. We are just waiting for official job offer. I am 29 weeks pregnant so we would have to make sure we could get there whilst I can still fly (I think Emirates allow you to fly up until 34 weeks with a doctor's certificate). I have 2 year old twins and we are worried if baby decides to come in the middle of the night who could look after them. We would like to get a nanny/maid but am not sure how quickly that would be organised and how much we could trust her after such a short period of time? Any advice appreciated thank you! Are you planning on getting a live-in nanny? I know some agency have nanny's you can hire on a weekly basis but Im not really sure I would trust them). If so get the nanny as early as possible and spend weeks watching her with your twins. Another solution for you might be The Fairy Godmother Club (Dubai) on facebook, I know they have helped a mother before. 3-4 mothers arranged a lot of playdates together with the pregnant mum in the weeks before her due date so the twins knew the other ladies and their kids, and then they babysat the children when it was time for her birth. Or even just join some mum's clubs around Dubai and get some friends fast. I hope you find a good solution if you are coming here
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 21:59
The culture is to buy gold. Hope this helps But that is for baby girls right? If the boy is muslim gold would be a no-go. Not really, it applies to both baby girls and baby boys! they are not bought for the intention to be worn, but gold is viewed as a valuable present in the Arab culture.. Yeah i actually thought about afterwards :P. Its an investment for the future. In most of the arab families I know (our own included) its just often only the girls that get gold (not only to wear) and the boys get ''dollars''. Gold coins is a good idea
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 20:50
My sister in law just had her first baby and we're going to visit on Friday; have NO idea what to buy him! DH is less than useful as he's never given baby gifts before (I guess men don't bother lol). I'd really like to get him something but don't know what's expected or appropriate. I would like to do something personal like initialled baby towels but don't know if that would be seen as weird.... Any ideas would be much appreciated! Preferably not extravagent like Dior booties - I'm not spending loads of money on something he doesn't know about and will grow out of, would prefer something long lasting :) Thanks ladies Not local but love the idea about the towels.
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 20:49
The culture is to buy gold. Hope this helps But that is for baby girls right? If the boy is muslim gold would be a no-go.
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 20:24
I often use the local dairy brands and found they work quite well, last week bought Elle & Vivre and its hopeless, not sure if I have just a bad box or what, I was expecting it to be better as its more expensive. But whipped for ages and it never peaked whereas the local ones did so nice and quickly. which local brands? al Marai made in Dubai and Puck made in Saudi mostly I can't help myself. You can hardly call Puck a local brand as it is owned by arla (denmark, germany, sweden). Most of Pucks products are produced in Denmark and a few in Saudi, so far I have only seen cream produced in denmark. Sorry sorry When I said "local brands" I meant locally or regionally produced products, I was not referring to the country of origin of the company. I would expect that was pretty much understood, butcannot see the importance to this thread anyway. Had I known it was such an issue for you I would have been more detailed, however it was just a question about whipping cream opinons that I was responding to not a legal issue on company origins! Yes Puck is a German owned company- and it makes products in this region too! [b'>Production Products under the Puck® brand are produced at Arla’s dairy in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.[/b'> source (http://www.arla.com/brands/our-brands/cheese/puck/) :\: Its not a big issue, but still I would like to buy fresh locally produced products myself, and I wouldnt call puck cream that. It says on the link you add: Products under the Puck® brand are produced at the four Danish dairies: Holstebro Flødeost, Bislev, Esbjerg and Branderup, and also at Arla’s dairy in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. And on the two whipping creams I have on my fridge it says product of denmark, produced in Esbjerg. More just to point out that the cream is not local (none of the ones i bought at least) Yes the link I gave contained the words you quote as well as the words I quoted! Have not got you anything better to do? ETA watching the Tudors right now so gone into ye olde english :D edited by Di@DXB on 30/05/2012 Well if I sit here and ''write'' my husband get the ''lovely'' job of putting our baby to bed, so no :P
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 19:57
I often use the local dairy brands and found they work quite well, last week bought Elle & Vivre and its hopeless, not sure if I have just a bad box or what, I was expecting it to be better as its more expensive. But whipped for ages and it never peaked whereas the local ones did so nice and quickly. which local brands? al Marai made in Dubai and Puck made in Saudi mostly I can't help myself. You can hardly call Puck a local brand as it is owned by arla (denmark, germany, sweden). Most of Pucks products are produced in Denmark and a few in Saudi, so far I have only seen cream produced in denmark. Sorry sorry When I said "local brands" I meant locally or regionally produced products, I was not referring to the country of origin of the company. I would expect that was pretty much understood, butcannot see the importance to this thread anyway. Had I known it was such an issue for you I would have been more detailed, however it was just a question about whipping cream opinons that I was responding to not a legal issue on company origins! Yes Puck is a German owned company- and it makes products in this region too! [b'>Production Products under the Puck® brand are produced at Arla’s dairy in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh.[/b'> source (http://www.arla.com/brands/our-brands/cheese/puck/) :\: Its not a big issue, but still I would like to buy fresh locally produced products myself, and I wouldnt call puck cream that. It says on the link you add: Products under the Puck® brand are produced at the four Danish dairies: Holstebro Flødeost, Bislev, Esbjerg and Branderup, and also at Arla’s dairy in the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. And on the two whipping creams I have on my fridge it says product of denmark, produced in Esbjerg. More just to point out that the cream is not local (none of the ones i bought at least)
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 19:39
I often use the local dairy brands and found they work quite well, last week bought Elle & Vivre and its hopeless, not sure if I have just a bad box or what, I was expecting it to be better as its more expensive. But whipped for ages and it never peaked whereas the local ones did so nice and quickly. which local brands? al Marai made in Dubai and Puck made in Saudi mostly I can't help myself. You can hardly call Puck a local brand as it is owned by arla (denmark, germany, sweden). Most of Pucks products are produced in Denmark and a few in Saudi, so far I have only seen cream produced in denmark. Sorry sorry why does it matter ?? It doesn't, why I say sorry and that I cant help myself But still a local product is more likely to be ''fresh'' compared to one from denmark
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 19:23
I often use the local dairy brands and found they work quite well, last week bought Elle & Vivre and its hopeless, not sure if I have just a bad box or what, I was expecting it to be better as its more expensive. But whipped for ages and it never peaked whereas the local ones did so nice and quickly. which local brands? al Marai made in Dubai and Puck made in Saudi mostly I can't help myself. You can hardly call Puck a local brand as it is owned by arla (denmark, germany, sweden). Most of Pucks products are produced in Denmark and a few in Saudi, so far I have only seen cream produced in denmark. Sorry sorry
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 12:26
Hi ladies , I need help, where can I go to buy Oliver twist character type clothes? I need a baker boy hat too, and preferably a brown waistcoat & trousers. Don't want to spend an arm and a leg either! ( wish the schools provided costumes!!) Thanks in advance and apologies for any typos ;) Seen lots of the flat caps in H&M (cheap)
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 12:16
As has been said previously you can only marry at Dubai Courts if your fiance or both of you are Muslim. Note that if your fiance is Muslim and you are not, you will only be allowed to marry if you are Christian, no other religion is accepted (or I should say 'tolerated') for marriage purposes. Most countries, meaning your home country whichever that is, have requirements as to how long you have to register a marriage performed abroad e.g. 3 months, 6 months, etc and penalties may apply if you delay the registration. In reality, if you do not register the marriage in your home country you would still be consider unmarried, however strictly speaking it would be illegal (false statements regarding marital status and what not. But unless I misunderstood, neither of you is Muslim, so the Courts option would not be available to you in any case. It is allowed for a muslim man to marry a good christian or jewish woman, as they are of ''the faith''.
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 12:10
I use Puck, a lot of the others doesn't ''whip'' very good, they are too liquid even after ages of whipping
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Latest post on 30 May 2012 - 10:47
As the other users wrote you can make it yourself and you can buy it in the organic shop (organic foods and cafe or something like that) Or just use Laban <em>edited by Umm A on 30/05/2012</em>
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Latest post on 29 May 2012 - 21:09
My husband says alline_jlt's answer sums it up good. But his answer for what is best depends on the amount you wish to invest
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Latest post on 29 May 2012 - 11:23
Aaww wish we had a garden. I have been feeding all the ''strays'' downstairs, but i think someone has given them poison since now they are all gone :(
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Latest post on 29 May 2012 - 10:27
My husband has been working in Gold in Dubai for the last 10 years so will just ask him for his input when he gets home tonight