# Babies.



## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Hi,can any of you with spanish family pass on some do's & don'ts re; what to do when a baby is born. The neighbours daughter is due in the next few weeks & We don't really want to commit a Faux pas. Do you visit at the hospital or wait for them to come home ? What do you do in the way of gifts, etc ? Any help appreciated.


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

gus-lopez said:


> Hi,can any of you with spanish family pass on some do's & don'ts re; what to do when a baby is born. The neighbours daughter is due in the next few weeks & We don't really want to commit a Faux pas. Do you visit at the hospital or wait for them to come home ? What do you do in the way of gifts, etc ? Any help appreciated.


Well when I had my son here, there wasnt time for anyone to visit me in hospital because I was out within just over 24 hours!  So unless she is having a c-section I would imagine it would be the same. I had relatives visit me (Brit/South American tho not Spanish) on the one evening I was there apart from a Czech friend who lived opposite the hospital. And I think the Spanish woman I shared the room with only had relatives visit too. 

I get the impression that it would be mainly family only that visit her in hospital since its such a short stay. My neighbour had a daughter a couple of months ago and I just went round with a cute dress for the baby as a present, as I knew she had a big family and would be well catered for with the basics. If its her first and there are no other children in the family I would get a baby gift pack of some sort - with all the basic essentials.

But am sure Pesky and Talullah and others will be along shortly to explain the protocol correctly!


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Caz.I said:


> Well when I had my son here, there wasnt time for anyone to visit me in hospital because I was out within just over 24 hours!


 24 hours!! My Goodness!

My experience is...
They don't have baby showers. (Do they have them in the UK now?) But the thing is they raely give you anything before the baby is born, which I think leads to huge amounts of stress, shopping for the new born _*with*_ the new born, and lots of repeat presents. (This may go back to when there were more problems with births and you never knew if the baby was going to live or not...) The good thing is you needn't feel bad that you haven't given anything before the baby was born and you can see what they've already got and give smth appropriate.
They also tend to give things for a new born, so they've got nothing for when the baby's bigger... (This may be due to the fact that in the past you could only get winter things in the winter and summer things in the summer. Now I think there's more variety on sale)
To be on the safe side, blue for a boy (celeste blue) and pink ("baby" pink) for a girl unless you know they're going to be outrageous and dress the baby in "colours"!! The most surprising people are soooo traditional when it comes to baby clothes.
I think most people buy clothes, but I on several occasions have bought some lovely bibs with bees and flowers and animals embroidered on them, explaining that it was for later on so thay didn't think I was completely retarded. I've also bought a small stuffed toy or smth for the pram..
Lastly, if you're in the Bilbao region, a large selection of bows and ribbons is required!!


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## gus-lopez (Jan 4, 2010)

Thanks to you both. My wife bought some things in may when she was in the UK & we also know that it's a boy so we're covered on that front. It's her 1st & the 1st grandchild . Maybe that explains why her mother has been painting all the front entrance & landscaping the garden. Expecting an influx of visitors !


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

Pesky Wesky said:


> 24 hours!! My Goodness!
> 
> 
> Lastly, if you're in the Bilbao region, a large selection of bows and ribbons is required!!


Yes I know, I wanted to stay longer! I worked right up until about 4 days before the birth so I was hoping for a wee rest before the hard work started! No chance!

I have also noticed a lot of parents are quite traditional when it comes to dressing baby - going down the pink frilly, flowery look for girls and the blue "sailor" look for boys - even the modern Princess Leticia seems to prefer this style.


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## Guest (Sep 8, 2010)

Caz.I said:


> I have also noticed a lot of parents are quite traditional when it comes to dressing baby - going down the pink frilly, flowery look for girls and the blue "sailor" look for boys - even the modern Princess Leticia seems to prefer this style.


Does this frilly old-style dressing of baby change in other parts of Spain? In both Santander and Bilbao it's unbelievable. There's a little guy on our street who has pretty much been dressed in leiderhosen all week. 

I just know I'm going to be the guiri who mete-s la pata with my kids...


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Caz.I said:


> Yes I know, I wanted to stay longer! I worked right up until about 4 days before the birth so I was hoping for a wee rest before the hard work started! No chance!
> 
> I have also noticed a lot of parents are quite traditional when it comes to dressing baby - going down the pink frilly, flowery look for girls and the blue "sailor" look for boys - even the modern Princess Leticia seems to prefer this style.


compared to how long I stayed in in the UK with my second 24 hours is ages!!!


she was born at 6.14 pm & I managed to escape after brekkie the next morning

if I'd managed to cut the 45 minute labour down by 14 minutes I could have escaped almost immediately!!


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> compared to how long I stayed in in the UK with my second 24 hours is ages!!!
> 
> 
> she was born at 6.14 pm & I managed to escape after brekkie the next morning
> ...


And you would have avoided the hospital food too...

I was having my first though and was hoping for some kind of instruction manual before I left... Could still do with one, actually.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Caz.I said:


> And you would have avoided the hospital food too...
> 
> I was having my first though and was hoping for some kind of instruction manual before I left... Could still do with one, actually.


yeah so could I

with my first I was there for 6 weeks before she was born & 2 weeks after


so you can sort of understand why I wanted to get out fast the second time!!


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

xabiachica said:


> with my first I was there for 6 weeks before she was born & 2 weeks after
> 
> 
> so you can sort of understand why I wanted to get out fast the second time!!


 After that, I am just surprised you went back to hospital at all.


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## Tallulah (Feb 16, 2009)

Hi Gus!

I think it really is pretty much the same as it was in the UK - if you're close enough and you/they are happy for you to pop in during their stay in hospital, then so be it - especially if your neighbours have been friends "de toda la vida" and are really more like family (you know how sentimental we can be!). Otherwise it's just a case of waiting until they get home - as they're neighbours you can just ask if it's ok to pop around with the gift. Typically as with any new mum, they'll be inundated with visits anyway....so just play it by ear. 

Hmmmm regarding the gifts and the comments on Princesa Letizia - well, there is a huge traditional fashion thing going on - especially the way she has chosen to dress her daughters - and they even brought out a Leonor doll a couple of Reyes ago! Lots of exclusive little boutiques selling these types of clothing - I personally think they look gorgeous but incredibly restrictive and god help you if you get anything spilt on them - the prices of the outfits!!! Give me cheap baby clothes/babygros every time.......

xxx


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## Bagpiper (Sep 8, 2010)

gus-lopez said:


> Hi,can any of you with spanish family pass on some do's & don'ts re; what to do when a baby is born. The neighbours daughter is due in the next few weeks & We don't really want to commit a Faux pas. Do you visit at the hospital or wait for them to come home ? What do you do in the way of gifts, etc ? Any help appreciated.


Hello,

I live in the Basque Country, my wife is Spanish and we've got 2 kids. As you've been told before, gifts are given once the baby is born. Gifts can be anything that a baby uses, toys, soft toys, blankets, clothes..., unless you really know the couple, I woudn't go on "practical" things like bottles, sterilizers... If you buy clothes or blankets, as you've been told, the safest choice is light blue or light pink depending on the sex. Not everybody has their children on "navy clothes" (not even here, in Bilbao region) but you'd want them to more or less like it. For the same reason, avoid lots of ribbons and so.
Regarding visits in hospital, if it's a natural birth they'll be in hospital for 2-3 days, but only family and close friends are supposed to visit.

Best regards


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

Caz.I said:


> After that, I am just surprised you went back to hospital at all.


yes - I avoid them at all costs

for me anyway -I am seriously considering doing a medical interpreters course though

if I ever get time


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

Bagpiper said:


> Hello,
> 
> I live in the Basque Country, my wife is Spanish and we've got 2 kids. As you've been told before, gifts are given once the baby is born. Gifts can be anything that a baby uses, toys, soft toys, blankets, clothes..., unless you really know the couple, I woudn't go on "practical" things like bottles, sterilizers... If you buy clothes or blankets, as you've been told, the safest choice is light blue or light pink depending on the sex. Not everybody has their children on "navy clothes" (not even here, in Bilbao region) but you'd want them to more or less like it. For the same reason, avoid lots of ribbons and so.
> 
> ...


***


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## Caz.I (Mar 21, 2009)

lol. Have now made a mental note of all this and decided to strike Bilbao from my list of possible places to move to.


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## Guest (Sep 9, 2010)

Caz.I said:


> lol. Have now made a mental note of all this and decided to strike Bilbao from my list of possible places to move to.


May we start a collection for the therapy I am apparently going to need for being a "bad mother" and wanting to avoid bows and leiderhosen?  

I see it coming. Something has already been said about me, in the future, needing one of these "Mercedes" of baby carriages... (and wee ones are years out, still!)


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