The Glamorous Side of Stay-at-home Mommyhood

We're back from our Swedish vacation and a much-welcome breath of non-Turkish air; as much as I love Turkey, I need to get away every so often. And I'm back with renewed energy to tackle my many roles: wife, mother, teacher, friend ...

The women of Stockholm made stay-at-home motherhood look glamorous, never mind easy. Slender mothers dressed in Swedish-casual were everywhere, and rarely alone -- meeting in cafes, whose generous entrances and wide aisles easily accommodated their prams; at outdoor skating rinks; or at child-friendly places such as Junibacken, the amazing indoor play area dedicated to everything Astrid Lindgren. (I wish I'd taken a photo of the fifty-or-so buggies locked up outside in the 'parking lot.') Small groups of moms would stop and chat on street corners, there still being ample room for other pedestrians to walk past them on the wide Stockholm sidewalks, which seemed to have been made for prams!

And on the subject of prams -- interestingly, the ever-sleeker, sportier, lighter buggies so in fashion elsewhere were nowhere to be seen; Swedish women seemed to prefer wide, low buggies squatly suspended above four wheels, reminiscent of my mother's own Silver Cross. The most popular brand seemed to be native Brio.

Indeed, Sweden in many ways seemed dedicated to promoting family life. I visited the most beautiful children's bookstores, and a peek at the Swedish-language books for 0-24 month-olds revealed the most imaginative, creative and interactive books the likes of which I have yet to come across in Toronto. The clothing and toy stores I saw were full of beautiful classic Swedish children's items that made me want to be a kid again -- that, or have ten more babies. And public buses are free if you board with a baby carriage!

A little research quickly taught me that most Stockholm mothers I saw have careers, but that they are enjoying their one-and-a-half years of maternity leave. And once they do return to work, their husbands often take their own three months' leave before sending their kids to daycare. And even then, nobody seemed to work more than 35-hour weeks!

Accessibility

Yesterday while walking along Istiklal Caddesi, I saw this sign outside a Starbucks:

"Ring bell for assistance," it reads in Turkish.

The small step was no challenge for me and my stroller, but someone in a wheelchair would have definitely needed help. Seeing this sign made me happy -- I have faced more difficult entrances than this with my stroller, where not a ramp or elevator was in sight.

I love when it is obvious that someone has thought of such details. It tells me that someone not only recognized a problem, but did something about it. And that in turn inspires confidence that the employee or business is a good one.

Except I'm not sure how the fact that said Starbucks is three-storeys high but has only one washroom fits with that theory.

Biting the Bullet

I've been meticulously scouring the internet, making lists, polling friends ... and the only thing to come out of it is my being overwhelmed and subsequently discouraged! Albeit briefly. Never one to stay defeated for long, I decided last week to bite the bullet: when so little of what is out there is actually available to me here in Adana, I need to narrow my field and actually go to a store and make some decisions that don't take every single factor in the whole wide world into account.

And so I did. I went into Özge Bebe, whose less-than-remarkable window displays had in the past always caused me to keep walking by. However, it actually surpassed my expectations! Talk about looks can be deceiving: there's a whole basement full of stuff! It had all the essentials, a wide selection of strollers and prams, and really knowledgable saleswomen. I pretty much made up my mind on a Chicco travel system (infant car seat + stroller); decided that a play pen would be a more practical investment than a bassinet Lily will grow out of after three months; did a quick scour of what else was to be had, and left, renewed optimism radiating through my bulging blue veins (another surprise of pregnancy!).

I then went home to research Chicco and the brands over which I'd chosen it (Kraft, Quinny). What I found:

Kraft vs. Chicco: essentially the same, so it came down to brand preference. Since I couldn't even find a website for Kraft, I chose Chicco.

Chicco vs. Quinny: this was trickier, as I was severely tempted by Quinny's amazingly attractive design. (Can you spot my attempts to convince myself in the reasoning below?)

Chicco
*half the price
*plenty of underneath storage
*not super light; folding it up and hoisting it into the back of the wagon would be a workout
*typical-looking, boring, like every other mommy's stoller in town

Quinny
*double the price
*zero underneath storage, unless you buy a Quinny basket sold separately ... which on principle annoyed me
*So light, I could lift it with a finger! And compact!
*Oh-so sleek and sexy-looking! Would definitely set me apart from every other mommy in town

Ok, so I still sound like an obsessive compulsive planner, but this is an improvement! I was comparing two items, actually available to me!! And in the end, I did make a decision -- today I'm going back to buy the Chicco stroller and playpen.

Next project: crib. Am sorry to say I still have a looooong way to go on that subject.