DubaiCat | ExpatWoman.com
 

DubaiCat

DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 20:04
Sorry, I've only just seen this! You have mail and I hope I'm not too late. I'd forget my backside if I didn't sit on it these days.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 17:55
Ether or sauvignon blanc - that'll teach me to post after a few! :D
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 13:16
Thanks. I think DH's work have been sorting out the typing this week but their communication skills are somewhat lacking!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 13:07
Can I jump in with another ID question please? :) We got texts telling us we have our appointments booked. Mine's in March and DS's is in April! Is it normal for it to take so long?
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 12:32
Is the natural yoghurt OK for babies? If so that's a great idea, thanks!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 12:30
That's what I was saying - [i'>if[/i'> they don't decide at the gate you're ready to drop. I didn't mean they don't make the decision at the gate! If they do think you're too far gone, then you ain't gettin' on :D . When I was crew our manuals stated you could fly until the end of the 35th week with just your certificate, so from 36 weeks onwards you couldn't fly unless you had prior approval from Emirates medical department. That's still the info on their website too. I had an awful situation once where we had a lady who was clearly heavily pregnant and unfortunately, clearly beyond 36 weeks because she didn't have a certificate with her and was trying to hide her belly. Between us we had to make the decision whether to carry her or not and sadly we couldn't, although I felt for her desperately. She was going back to the UK and I often wondered what happened to her.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 12:21
I am so, so sorry to read this. May she rest in peace and God give you strength to carry on.x
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 10:13
All the best for the big move! And have a macaroon bar for me when you get home :D. x
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 10:09
I know. I really felt she was caring. Unfortunately, because of certain factors in my life right now, I cannot implement sleep training. If she is not sleeping through the night in May, I will go see her again. I'm sorry to hear that. I hope you start getting some sleep soon or manage to get to Cecile in May.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 10:09
I'm so pleased you went and it was worthwhile :D. Cecile's method and plan for us is already working on Day 2! And last night we got the longest stretch of sleep ever - 8:30pm - 4:30am (of course i woke up like a lunatic thinking something had happened to DD, whilst in fact she was happily waking and lying in her cot)! Today is a new day and it looks brighter already ;) Are you strutting round your house with a smug look appearing on your face every time you see DH?!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 21 January 2011 - 00:14
Got some if you want them, I'm in Springs or can email you one if the little tike gives me two minutes to myself!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 20 January 2011 - 23:53
He did seem a bit odd, but was proudly boasting about her poaching skills!! Just spat my wine out - hilarious!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 20 January 2011 - 23:49
If she's escaping the Bumbo I don't think you have much to worry about :D. It's so hard not to measure them by how their peers are doing, even for things like getting teeth - which they don't have much control over!
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Latest post on 20 January 2011 - 23:46
I'm so pleased you went and it was worthwhile :D. And AD, plumie's right. There's never any judgment and the overwhelming feeling I got was that she really understands just how hard it is sometimes. And by hard I mean hard for us to actually do what needs to be done.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 20 January 2011 - 23:44
End of 35 weeks if you're flying Emirates and they don't decide at the gate you're ready to drop ;). OK I just talked to her and this is what happened; She doesn't have her residency visa in Kuwait yet (problems with her DH's company sorting it) so she was advised to go home and have the baby to avoid possible problems with getting birth certificates and passports. She went home at 34 weeks and went to her local GP to register. She explained she wasn't a resident in Kuwait yet and had to prove she hadn't a) been out of the UK for longer than 2 years in total and b) hadn't left more than two years ago (even if she'd been back in the meantime). Then all she had to do was register officially at the GP and that was that, they told her which hospital she'd be delivering at. She's going to find the letter the hospital gave her and let me know what it says so I'll update you when she gets back to me.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 20 January 2011 - 10:18
I'm so sorry to hear that :(. Take care of yourself.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 20 January 2011 - 10:15
All I will say is that I'd rather be on my own than with a guy that's not right for me. I'm happily single by the way and me and my friends have the most amazing life, travelling, partying, shopping, girls nights in - and we don't have to check with anyone. On the other hand though thats not to say I wouldn't curb my single ways and settle down if the right guy came along, but he has to be something special to make me give up my freedom (so to speak). Just try and be happy with what you've got, make the most of it and let fate decide if you're supposed to meet that special someone!! :) Well said! Don't compromise just because you don't want to be on your own. I have a friend who does that; when she's single she's constantly telling me how happy she is to be able to focus on work, the gym and her friends, then she goes and hooks up with some totally unsuitable bloke just because he's there and he's interested. One minute she tells me it won't go anywhere and she's binned him, the next she's updating her FB status to 'in a relationship' just because she's so desperate to settle down. I loved being single. I love being married. I wasn't ready to be settled when I was younger but now I wouldn't change it for the world and as magicbeanza says, we've had tough times and good times but he is my rock. And just as an aside, I still have girls' nights out and trips away and it's less having to 'check' with someone than making sure all our joint responsibilities (dogs, kids etc) are covered. TBH when I was single I was never out on the pull anyway so a night out with the girls single isn't much different to a night out with the girls married! :D <em>edited by DubaiCat on 20/01/2011</em>
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 20 January 2011 - 09:40
Thanks DubaiCat! Yes if you don't mind asking your friend for the latest info then that would be great. I wasn't thinking of not paying for it it is just my experience when asking an NHS GP to do something 'for money' has led to blank faces and lots of receptionists running around wondering what to do with me or just flat out refusing to embark on helping me. And that was just for immunisations! If you want to pay for it then I'd suggest contacting the GP clinic closest to where you'll be staying as a first step. I eventually managed to pay for an appointment when I was home so hopefully they'll know what to do! I'll email my friend now and ask what she's had to do to get herself organised. ETA: I had the same experience asking my old GP clinic for immunisations. My first words were "I'd like to book a private appointment for vaccinations, please" and when the receptionist called me back (she had to ask the nurses about it) she said, "Well the nurses haven't got a clue what that vaccination is so they're not happy to give something they don't know anything about and besides, it would HAVE to be a PRIVATE appointment so there WOULD be a charge of thirty-five pounds." Needless to say I registered temporarily elsewhere! <em>edited by DubaiCat on 20/01/2011</em>
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 20 January 2011 - 09:36
DS is nearly eight months and while he'll sit for a short while if I sit him up, he can't get up there by himself and he quickly collapses! I have a Bumbo if you'd like a loan of it.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 22:05
Hmmm. Thanks - I'll look into that. I'm a bit sick of DH turning the a/c off in the night so I wake up drenched!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 21:13
Haven't had anything checked apart from kidney and liver function (I had pre-eclampsia) a couple of weeks after he was born. Should I?
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 21:11
DubaiCat, the press totally misreported the BMJ article. Advice hasn't changed - the best thing is still (as Wickedangel says) to let your baby be the guide :). Some babies are ready before 6 months, some after. That's the message I got from the story I read; it [i'>may[/i'> not be best to wait until six months if your baby shows signs of being ready earlier. There are so many factors to consider, not least who funds what and who has an interest in what! I think we should all have a vegetable patch in the garden and feed our babies fresh veg from there when they're ready :).
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 20:17
I haven't used them in a while but www.rentacrib.ae hire them.
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 19:52
He's now almost 8 months. I was really bad just after I had him and I thought it had improved, but I keep finding myself overheating again :\:.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 19:09
Personally, no. I think the noise and lights would be overstimulating and also, my DS at six months would never have sat still or been quiet so he would have been a total nuisance to everyone else :).
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 18:58
Good luck. My DH took some convincing but it was so worth dragging him along there to get a few things through his male skull. ETA: Not regimented at all, don't worry! <em>edited by DubaiCat on 19/01/2011</em>
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 18:56
I read the other day that the six-month thing may not be the right advice after all. I give up!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 18:26
I'll give you a call if you don't mind, and drop some stuff off to you over the weekend.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 19 January 2011 - 00:10
I have some too. Are you happy to pass them on or shall I contact him directly? I don't mind either way.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 19:22
I asked you how to collapse it, remember?! :D My sister's selling her P&T at home... ;).
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 19:20
Hurrah. I am now clear! Thanks :D. ETA: Sorry, I wasn't being deliberately dim. A week of reasonable sleep isn't quite enough to clear away the cobwebs of seven months' worth of sleep deprivation! <em>edited by DubaiCat on 18/01/2011</em>
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 17:19
My skin went haywire during my pregnancy and although I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did after DS was born. I looked awful :(. I had loads of spots in my hairline and on my face so I saw my GP and a dermatologist and they gave me topical creams, which helped, but in the end it just took time to clear up - I guess once my hormones settled down. I think this was about four or five months post-birth. I'd say it would be worth a trip to your doctor. The last thing you need right now is to feel low about how you look.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 17:08
This is the current confusion on the other thread :). I think I just 'got' what another poster was trying to explain, though. When you need a feed add a small amount of &gt;70 degree water to the formula powder to sterilise it, then add cooled boiled water to make it up to the right amount. Then you get the safety of sterilising the powder and the safety of not having to store the feed. Right?
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 17:06
I hear you :). Part of the reason we got so messed up was that I spent a fair while at home in the UK and my Mum was the same. I also felt like I had to keep him quiet in the night so he didn't wake anybody. I think mums and mums-in-law often forget what it was like having a young baby and what they themselves did. I also think a generation ago, it was believed that some babies just didn't sleep and you basically had to suck it up, so they don't really 'get' this sleep training thing. I doubt my MIL would go to DS and bring him to me if he cried. I'm pretty sure she utterly neglected her three.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 15:54
Thanks for posting this. As I'm reading it, you have a choice of two risks: 1. You add cooled boiled water when making up a feed just before use and therefore risk not killing any bacteria that might be in the powder, or 2. You add water hotter than 70 degrees, cool it quickly and store it in the fridge then therefore take the risk that something might go wrong during the storage time, i.e. your fridge might be warmer than 5 degrees for some reason on that day. And the WHO thinks the second risk is the lesser of two evils. Is that about right or am I off on the wrong track?
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 14:54
And if that scares you we had one night of an hour and a half of on/off crying, 20 minutes (if that) the next night and that was it. I was dreading it and it was nowhere near as bad as I was expecting. If we hadn't done it, I'd be in an institution by now.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 14:07
I have an iCandy Apple which comes in a jogger version, has a carrycot for use from birth (or you can attach a Maxi Cosi Cabriofix/Pebble car seat), and can be rear-facing. The only downside is you'd have to either go back to the UK and get one or get someone to bring one over, 'cos you can't buy them online :(. Unless, of course, you get one on eBay then you can.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 14:02
We are working with Cecile at the moment and she recommended we stay in the room with DS and sit next to his cot patting him and soothing him. The only thing we couldn't do was pick him up. I'm not sure if this counts as full-on 'Cry it Out' but I think Cecile will only suggest what she thinks you can handle and will offer advice based on your individual situation rather than a one-size-fits-all technique. Our son has gone from waking every 45 minutes to waking once so to me, Cecile is a Godsend.
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Latest post on 18 January 2011 - 10:20
Sorry, I'll be more specific - the Maxi Cosi car seat we bought was way cheaper in the UK and the next size up is too :).
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 19:06
Car seats are definitely cheaper - ours was GBP95 over there and almost Dh1000 here. And don't worry about knowing if it's a boy or a girl if you don't want to. Everywhere does white!
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Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 19:04
To register temporarily with a GP surgery, all I did was call to make an appointment then fill in a form when I got there. There's a section on the form that asks for your regular GP so I put my doctor here and was clear I didn't live in the UK. I put Mum's address as the temporary address. I'm not sure what you would do if you didn't have a regular GP to put on the form. The first time I went - for me - I asked to pay when we were done and the practice manager told me he couldn't be bothered to do the paperwork, then when we went with DS I asked beforehand and they charged me as a private patient. Shall I ask my friend who's at home now waiting to have her baby? She'd probably have up-to-date info on what to do.
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Latest post on 17 January 2011 - 14:58
We looked into private maternity care in our area (North Somerset) and found the same thing - nothing. It was all in London. A friend of mine who lives in Kuwait has just gone home to have her baby [Disclaimer here: I don't necessarily agree with what she's doing'> and has just registered temporarily with her local GP. She's having the baby at the nearest hospital.
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Latest post on 16 January 2011 - 23:50
600 54 5555 ETA: http://www.dubai.ae/en.portal?topic,Article_000550,1,&_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=general :). <em>edited by DubaiCat on 16/01/2011</em>
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 16 January 2011 - 23:31
Yes, that's a con! Definitely call that consumer protection line.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 16 January 2011 - 22:28
LOL. I run with a friend and we are doing the 10k on Friday. Look out for us: We will be wearing tshirts that read TWO OLD BAGS on the front and M5 Poop Patrol on the back. We both own dogs and are sick to death of having to dodge horrible piles left by other irresponsible owners! But that's a whole other thread! I'll tell DH to look out for you - DS and I will be having a lie-in at home! :D Enjoy your run.
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Latest post on 16 January 2011 - 22:15
Thanks, DC and JJ ... DS [i'>[/i'>[i'>will[/i'>[i'>[/i'> have to work around my schedule tomorrow, cause we need food!;) I'll give Cecile a call, I'm really struggling on my own and it's affecting my relationship with DS. And I can totally relate to that. Drop me a line if you like - catherine.rankin at hotmail.com.
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 16 January 2011 - 22:13
I'm out every day with both pups and offspring so I can keep an eye out ;). And I am on poop patrol as I am sick of getting dirty looks when it wasn't my boys who left the offending pile, so I am always on alert!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 16 January 2011 - 22:08
Hey Dubai Cat, sorry about late response I was away doing other stuff. Given that I see this dog in a bit of a blur as I am slamming on brakes, swerving to other side of the road, I think its a golden Lab, not a golden retriever. It would be great if you could advise the owners to get her to keep it from wandering on to the road while she chats. Dogs, got to love em. :) Is it an older dog? If so I think I know the one. I'll see what I can do!
DubaiCat
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Latest post on 16 January 2011 - 21:49
I really did intend to make sure DS fit in with me and not the other way round but I guess that just didn't suit him ;). I'm hoping we'll have far more flexibility a bit further down the line or there may not be number two and three! :D. And Amen to the support of another human being. That's been the turning point for us, not the library of books I've trawled through in desperation. <em>edited by DubaiCat on 16/01/2011</em>
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Latest post on 16 January 2011 - 21:34
Unfortunately I haven't found that to be true :(. Of course, we'll have to see what happens once our new routine is established and we try getting out and about more, but up until now DS just hasn't been able to get the sleep he's desperately needed if I've been trying to fit him into my day rather than having my day fit round him. I always said I'd never be one of those mums who can't do anything if it doesn't fit in with baby's routine but I can tell you, seven months of no more than two or three hours' sleep at a time has changed my attitude pretty d*mn quick. I do think you can read too much, though. Reading HSHHC in conjunction with seeing Cecile is working for us but I'm sure it's the human factor we get with Cecile that's driving it. She can personalise her advice, whereas a book can only generalise.
 
 
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