Amy's first visit to Rostock Zoo

When we went to Germany about two weeks ago, we were blessed with absolutely gorgeous weather, so we tried to spend as much time as possible outside. On a gorgeous Sunday, we decided to make the most of the weather and take Amy for her first visit to Rostock Zoo.

Rostock Zoo is the biggest zoo on the German Baltic Coast and a place that I visited many a times with my family when I was a child. It is literally round the corner from where I grew up and where my parents still live and it guarantees a perfect day out for all the family. Young and old can see 1700 animals in 250 different species, enjoy water play and adventure playgrounds and stop for snacks and drinks in the many little cafes that you will pass when you make your way around the 56 hectare extensive grounds. (see map below)

We started our tour at the duck pond, said hello to the penguins and walked along the monkey house where Amy decided that it was time for some yummy banana and apple puree. After finishing the entire glass, looking at animals makes hungry after all, we made our way to the elephants before we came to Amy's absolute highlight: the polar bears. The polar bear enclosure is situated in the heart of the historical park tract (since 1899) and impresses with a huge polar bear castle with rocks, waterfalls and a bathing basin, which has over the years become the zoo’s centrepiece. In fact, due to Rostock's success in propagating polar bears, many European zoos are now housing the white giants from Rostock. Amy really enjoyed watching the bears jump into the water and catch their food and I have to say that I was more than impressed by how attentive she was. Amy followed the zoo keepers every move and giggled whenever the bears landed in the water with a big splash.

After strolling through the historical part of the zoo, we watched the cheeky capuchin monkeys jump from tree to tree, relaxed with the gnus and antelopes that were lazing around in the sun and ignored the terrarium which is forbidden territory as I have a massive slight snake phobia that would have spoiled the whole day for me. At this point, Amy got a bit grumpy because her teeth started to bother her, so we decided to finish our tour by walking past the flamingos and visiting the wild cats. There is much more to see but we will save that up for our next visit because that one is booked already.

Silent Sunday

We are back from our first holiday as a family

If you are a regular reader of Mummy Alarm, you will have noticed that it was a bit quiet on the blog during the last week. The reason for this is that we were on our first holiday as a family. We didn't go anywhere fancy or stayed in a hotel or beach resort but enjoyed a week with my family who live in Germany.

Quite a lot happened during these last days. Amy went on the plane for the first time. We surprised my nan who was in a rehabilitation centre after a hip operation and had never met Amy before. Amy cut two teeth without me even noticing (I know, I'm a bad mummy) and she went to the zoo for the first time. I'm a firm believer in the saying that traveling educates and although Amy is obviously too young to visit museums, go to the theatre or do other educational things like this, I have to say that this holiday was just amazing for her development. She usually is quite shy when meeting people she isn't used to but after this holiday, she has become so much more confident with new people. She has learned to play for herself for a bit longer and she can now produce a truly German sound - my mum and sister can give themselves a pad on the shoulder for that one.

If you want to know what we were up to in more detail, pop over during the next couple of days. There are some lovely pictures and stories waiting for you!

Silent Sunday

Silent Sunday

We are pregnant!

Exactly a year ago, we found out that we were having a baby and let me tell one thing: it was an absolute shock to the system. 

 

I had just lost my grandad 5 days ago and did think that this was the simple explanation for me not having my period. I didn't think for a second that I could be pregnant. We weren't trying for a baby and most of all, I was on the pill. But when I was feeling sick three mornings in a row and my mum jokingly told me not to make her a grandmother yet, I started worrying. My mum had fallen pregnant with me when she was on the pill. What if her fade was now mine? 

I started to search for pregnancy symptoms on Google and man, did they convince me: Feeling sick? - Tick! Tender breasts? - Tick! Constantly feeling tired? - Tick! A strange taste in my mouth? - Tick! A period that had gone missing somewhere? Tick, tick, tick, tick, tick! I couldn't believe it and told Ben what my mum had said and what Dr. Google was suggesting but instead of having a panic attack, he simply said: "Well, let's buy a test when we put in my prescription tomorrow and then we'll see". By the morning, I had convinced myself that I was pregnant. I had downloaded a baby app for my phone and was looking at the different development stages MY baby would go through before I finally managed to get to sleep. Suddenly, this all felt very real. I was sure we were going to be parents UNTIL I went into the pharmacy and actually bought the test.

I was sure that I had built my hopes up just to be disappointed. So on our way home I kept saying "I'm sure I'm not pregnant", "I'm sure I'm not pregnant" and didn't stop, until I carefully weed into a glass and dunked the test strip into it. It said "Pregnant 3+" before I could even say the word pregnant and oh my god did that emotional roller coaster hit me quickly. I had no idea what I was feeling: I was happy, I was nervous and I started crying when I came down the stairs to show Ben that we were going to be parents. Would I be a good mum? Could we afford a child? What would my parents say?

A year on, I couldn't imagine life without Amy. She's the best thing that could have happened to us and we love her more than words can describe. She is such a happy little baby and I am so incredibly proud of her. She has changed our lives over night and I am still overwhelmed by the feeling of unconditional love that overcomes me when I look at her and she gives me the biggest smile in the world - even when it's at 4.30 am. 

I love you my little Piglet ♥

Getting a passport is harder than getting into the Royal Family

I don't know if this is actually true as I have never tried becoming a member of the Royal Family and I also don't intend to ever become one but I can imagine that Lizzie & Co would want to know quite a bit about you before they let you into Buckingham Palace and .

Well, the people at the Passport Office are quite curious as well and that is fair enough as they obviously want to be sure that they only hand out passports to people who are actually eligible for them but to be honest, I think they are going a bit over the top with what they want to know.

This is what you need to apply for a first children's passport according to the Passport Office's website:

What the website doesn't tell you is that if one of the parents is not British (that would be me), you absolutely have to strip down to your pants when applying for your child's first ever passport. Not only do they demand that you send your passport and all other forms and certificates to the Passport Office, no they also require the following information for each of your parents: full name, date of birth, their place of birth and when and where they got married. What does my parents' wedding anniversary have to do with Amy? Isn't it enough that Ben and I gave proof of who we are? I really don't want to know what they would have wanted me to pull out my sleeve, if my parents had only been co-habiting - probably the birth certificate of my great grandaunt's German Sheppard. Ridiculous!

Silent Sunday