Guest Post: In Love with Nature, Design and Safety

Thanks, SAM, for inviting me to guest blog! I’m a Swedish mom myself and also work hard to keep our Swedish heritage alive in my children. Scandinavian products help so I’m glad to have found your blog! Another tricky thing is to keep some of the Swedish mindset and attitudes alive. And they can be surprisingly different, for example when it comes to being outdoors or safety.

 

 

No matter where in the Scandinavians countries you happen to be, midsummer means long nights that never get really dark.  Where there is no midnight sun, dusk blurs into dawn without night in between. This is the time of year that many Scandinavians long for all winter and their love for summer and nature is deeply embedded in the culture. While Americans celebrate the end of the hot summer and a successful harvest with Thanksgiving, Scandinavians celebrate the arrival of spring and new life with music and dances. There are numerous Swedish songs about nature, and most of them are about spring and summer. The hymn “Den blomstertid nu kommer” celebrates the return of the “flower season” and is sung at most last-day-of-school celebrations in early June. Maja’s Alphabet songs, popular with schools and children’s choirs, are all about different plants found in nature. This one is about an ash tree and this one is about poppies.



Stroller walk with my three little tykes. Sturdy wheels are standard on Swedish strollers-how else would you get through the snow drifts?

However, if you think Scandinavians stay inside during the cold and dark half of the year, you have deeply miscalculated their love for the outdoors. My oldest child started daycare in March, a time when there is nothing but wet snow and mud in the Stockholm area. With water proof boots, good snow suits plus vinyl overalls, the kids had a blast in the muddy yard. “There is no bad weather, just bad gear” is a phrase and an attitude that every Swede grows up with. There is a lot of truth in an article about polar bear moms, but I’m not sure we are quite that ambitious every day…

In addition to their love for nature, Scandinavians are well known for their creative design. Combine that with the Swedish passion for traffic safety (just think “Volvo”) and you end up with fun colorful reflectors that make you visible to drivers when it is dark. However, the reflectors haven’t always been colorful or fun.

My mom wearing a hard reflector.

When I went to school in the 70′s and 80′s, we all had reflectors. Recently, someone told me that insurance companies handed them out. Reflectors are cheap life savers, so that makes a lot of sense! Those we had were made from hard, clear plastic and came with a string and a safety pin. We pinned them inside our jacket pockets and while out in the dark, they were dangling at knee height to notify drivers about our presence. The strings easily got tangled up with keys left in the pocket and the reflectors made an annoying clanking sound whenever they swung into other things around you. In the late 90′s, 3M launched a patented reflective vinyl foil, that could be turned into colorful, lightweight soft reflectors. All of a sudden, people started to wear reflectors because they looked cool! No longer did they need to be hidden in pockets during day time, so the string was replaced with a short ball chain. A recent poll among Swedes shows that about 90% of kids and 50% of parents wear reflectors. About 30% of the Finns wear them as well. That prevents many nighttime pedestrian accidents!

In America, the concept of hanging reflectors on your jacket, backpack, purse, briefcase, stroller, wheelchair or dog is little known. At Halloween (the biggest danger for kids that night is getting hit by a car), reflective tape is frequently recommended, but how cool is that? So after moving to the US with my three grade school kids, I set out to launch a line of fun reflectors for the North American market under the trademark funflector®. To make it fun and cool to be safe all year around, we work with Swedish designers living in the US, to get the best from both worlds. Enjoy the picture gallery and stay safe!

Elisabeth

You can buy the funflector® tags in Elisabeth’s web shop. She also writes her own blog about traffic safety, design and European culture. Please help spread the word about this easy and fun way to avoid accidents!

The Muppets

So the Muppets are not exactly Swedish, except for the Swedish Chef, but it is something I grew up with and I am just super excited about the new movie coming at Thanksgiving. Plus the muppets actually spoke Swedish so it felt very Swedish to me.

Baby L's birth story

We had an induction scheduled for Monday morning. On Sunday afternoon I chickened out and decided I wanted to wait so we canceled the "appointment". Turned out I didn't need to be induced anyway since I started having contractions in the middle of the night between Sunday and Monday. The contractions were very far apart. I did get a little sleep so I think they were about an hour apart. I had a feeling they were real contractions but since I got induced due to my water breaking with Little L I wasn't absolutely sure, and these contractions were not nearly as painful as the once I had after getting pitocin.

My husband went to work in the morning. I don't think he would have if I would have told him the contractions started in the middle of the night. I didn't tell him that until after he left. I went to drop of our dog and one of my in-laws dogs at the groomer - an errand that took me about an hour. I didn’t tell my in-laws about the contractions when I picked up their dog and just went about my day as if it was any other day.

My husband and I were texting most of the morning and he told me several times that we should go to the hospital. I kept telling him no since I thought the contractions were still far apart and very mild. I tried taking a nap around 10am, but couldn't. Right before then my husband said he was coming home and were we were going to go to the hospital when he got there. I was still stalling thinking they would just send us back home when we got there. When my husband came home I convinced him we should go eat lunch first. On our way to lunch we were betting on when the baby would arrive. My husband said by 6pm and I was thinking more around 10pm.

After lunch we drove over to the hospital. I was still thinking it was too early but my husband was super excited. He was telling everyone we walked by that we were going to have a baby. We got to the hospital and checked in at 1:35pm. Once in the delivery room I put the gown on and the nurse came in about 30 minutes later to check me and get me hooked up to be monitored. I was dilated 5 cm so they hooked me up to the IV and I asked for my epidural.

All I can think at this point is Oh crap - I just ate lunch! When we had Little L I threw up so I was imagining my tacos coming back up (and why the H$%$& did I eat spicy tacos before going to deliver my baby).

My doctor came maybe 45 minutes after that, so now it's around 2:45pm. He had another patient at a different hospital so he wanted to break my water and get back to that patient who was a little further along. With Little L my water broke on its own so I wasn't prepared for the pain, especially not since I started having a contraction at the same time. But he got it done pretty quickly. Now I was 6cm dilated, I still didn't have the epidural hooked up since I had not gotten enough liquids.

The contractions got a lot harder after he broke my water. I guess that's why I wasn't convinced I was close to delivering before then. Laboring up until this point was easy, and before the doctor left he pointed out that I had made it this far so I shouldn't have a problem delivering naturally (he wasn't pushy, just matter of fact). But I refuse to push out a baby without any pain meds - I probably could have handled the labor.

After he broke my water the anesthesiologist came to prepare for the epidural. The contractions were very close together now. It was very had to sit still so that they could get the epi in while having contractions but I managed to do it somehow.

Just like with Little L, the epidural took better on the right side so they had me lying on the other side for the meds to even out. It seemed to take forever and Baby L wasn't too happy about it since her heartbeat would rise with every contraction.

After this my husband’s parents came in with Little L for a quick visit (she’s had just turned 2). She of course had no idea of what was going on but gave me a few kisses and then asked to leave the room. That was probably better anyway. They found another little boy in the hallway that they all went to play with, my husband included so now I was in the delivery room by myself.

Shortly after everyone left the nurse came back and told me they needed to start flipping me from side to side to get Baby Ls heartbeat under control. The umbilical cord was most likely around her neck and flipping me around would help get it looser. So I called my husband and told him to come back. Once back in the delivery room he called his parents and told them it would be a while. I think my husbands’ dad went to pick up our dogs that I had dropped off at the groomers that morning.

A few minutes later the nurse came back and says “Lets skip the flipping - I think it is almost time to push”. The doctor came back a couple of minutes after that and confirmed. My husband is so excited at this point it's kind of funny.

So I start to push. I think I pushed twice during the first contraction and three times during the next two contractions. Then the doctor tells us that we have to get the oxygen out NOW!! and give it to me because Baby L needed it - or I can just push her out now since I am having another contraction. So I did. I got her out in less than 10 minutes just before 5pm.

The doctor then tells my husband that it looks like he will be cutting the cord and quickly gets it cut of our little girls’ neck. My husband got to cut it in the right length after that, so he did get to cut it, it just wasn't attached to me.

Our little girl was perfectly fine and the first thing she does is pee on the nurse holding her. The hospital where she was born does kangaroo care so I quickly got to put our little girl on my chest and spend some time with her.

My mother-in-law and Little L came in to visit after about an hour I think. Little L did give the baby a kiss but then quickly asked to leave the room again. It was all probably very crazy for her. My father-in-law missed this first visit with the baby since he was picking up the dogs, but that was probably good since I was more or less naked (trying to nurse) so I would not want him there anyway.

So that's how it all went. I had to be dragged to the hospital but it turned out I needed to be since we only spent a little more than 3 hours at the hospital before she was born. (Plus I kept my lunch down).

When we were situated in the recovery room we got the laptop out and Skyped my parents so they could have a look at our new little baby girl. It is just amazing that you can show people half way across the world the little bundle less than a day old.

Elderberries

These super cute Elderberry print shirts from Polarn O. Pyret USA made me think of the yummiest Elderberry drink my mom used to make.

Elderberry is a tree with little white flowers. My mom would use the flowers to make an elderberry syrup that you then mix with water for a delicious summer drink for the kids (or add some vodka for the grownups). When we finally move to a house where I know we will stay fro a long time I am defiantly going to try and find some to plant in the garden. I don't think they are very easy to find in the US but I have seen some sold on eBay before.

You can buy Elderberry syrup at IKEA, I have some in the fridge right now.

If you would like to try the grownup version I also like to add a few current berries that I mash with a fork to get some juice out and then decorate with whole berries on the vine. (I would add the red current to my imaginary garden as well, these are a little easier to find in the US).

If you have elderberry trees this is how you made the syrup:

You will need:

About 50 collections of elderberry flower

4 lemons

4 1/2 cups of water

9 lb of sugar

1 oz of citric acid

Put the flowers in a large pot that will hold all the ingredients.

Wash the lemons and slice them very thin and add to the flowers.

Boil the water in a different pot and add the sugar and citric acid, stir until it has dissolved.

Add the hot liquid to the flowers and lemons and let the mixture cool for 3-4 days.

Run the liquid through some coffee filters to remove all the debris then it is ready to use. 

Mix the syrup with water for drinking or store in the freezer if you would like to keep it fresh for a longer period of time. Preferably in smaller containers.

Outdoor play in the heat

We have had almost 100 degrees for the past two weeks so I asked our friends at activekidsclub.com for some advice on outdor play activities when it is that hot out and you can't make it to the pool. As a Swede I am used to being outside in all types of weather but not when it is that hot, since it very rarely - if at all - gets that warm in Sweden. I got some really great suggestions that you can adapt to children of almost any age.

Different kinds of water play : Different sizes of buckets of water: Use different sizes of buckets and containers filled with water and let the kids play with them for fun. Of course babies and small toddlers need to be supervised.
Water painting: Little Van Gogh’s will love to be creative with water painting. It is simple; you just need a bowl of water and large paintbrushes. In China you can find public courtyards filled with children painting with oversized calligraphy brushes dipped in water on the sidewalks.

Another way is to use empty liquid dish detergent bottles rinsed and filled with water. Any outdoor surface can be their canvas as they squirt faces and designs on sidewalks or squirt each other.Kids playing in summer rain

Water tag: Get the kids and yourself in swimsuits and let the play begin. Soak a sponge in water and decide who is going to be “it” and they can chase and throw the soggy sponge at the other players to make them it.

Kiddie Pool: If you have a little kiddie pool, it can be great way to have some water fun in the backyard; splashing and having boats and toys floating in the pool.

Rainy day: Recently my daughter surprised me when she and a friend ran down the stairs wearing swimsuits on a warm rainy afternoon. Rather than sitting inside, they were dancing and tumbling in the backyard getting wet and giggling.

And finally, don’t forget how much fun a sprinkler can be. Just turn it on for a few minutes, it will usually do the trick for cooling off.
http://www.activekidsclub.com/summer/recreational/water-play.html

If you have newborn babies make sure they don't get overheated while you are outside playing with the older kids. If you are worried get them a little when since they cool down very quickly and keep them in she shade at all times. 

Don't forget the sunscreen for everyone!

Let me introduce you to Moomin

He is a round white little troll that LL just won't let go of. She has three things she just won't let go of for very long - blankie, bunny and Moomin. She was so excited when I first gave her Moomin. I croched him from this moomin amigurumi pattern a couple of months ago, and when I handed him to her she just started laughing. I am not sure if she was laughing at the name (she kept repeating it) or something else. But she has not let go of him since. It is time to give him a wash so I hope he holds up well. If not I guess I'll just have to make another one.

Moomin is the character of a series of children's books by Tove Jansson. I was never a big fan of the books, but think the character is very cute.

Nametags For Your Clothing

I have noticed that just about every piece of Scandinavian kids or baby clothing I have has a place to put the kids name. I think this is really great for several reasons. I can put her name there so I can tell the difference if I bring it in to daycare.

I gave most of the clothes I had for Little L to her 9 month younger cousin, but before I did I wanted to write her name in them so they would know it was hers. In the non-Scandinavian clothing I had to write it in a seam somewhere or on the care tag (with laundry instructions - what are those called?). Now I am really glad I wrote her name in the clothes since we are expecting another girl. My sister-in-law sent them all back and more of her own little girl's clothes so we have more than enough for Baby L.

Dala Horses by Röda Hund

The Dala horse is another traditional Swedish symbol. It's a little wooden horse that is traditionally decorated in red with a harness and details in white, green, tellow and blue. I belive it was originally used as a toy for children, but today you can find them in many other situations.

Right now you can find some super cute clothing with this traditional horse created by Röda Hund at Vyssanlull.com. It hink the onsie and t-shirt are great as a gender neutral addition to your baby's closet that can be handed down to other soblings or cousins, and as always with Vyssan Lull it's in organic cotton. Little L is really in to dresses right now and loves animals so that would be perfect for her. Plus we are trying to potty train right now so a dress is the way to go (usually without a diaper is she has a say in it).



Happy Swedish Flag Day

Today is Swedish Flag day - Sweden's "Independence Day". Swedes celebrate by eating herring and drinking snaps as we do for so many other holidays. I found an online shop in the US a while back that sold Swedish national costumes that I though would be perfect to share with you today, but now I can't find it. Instead I have this cute number from The Tiny Universe - appropriately named The Tiny Swede. The brand focus on creating stylish clothes for baby's first year.

Baby L's Nursery

I wanted to share some pictures of Baby L's nursery. It is not really complete yet, but we will probably let her sleep in there starting next week. The only issue is the monitor. Right now Little L (LL) is taking her diaper of after she goes to bed, so I like having the video monitor on her so that I can go in there and put one back on if she does. I always check on her before I go to bed, but I feel like having the monitor there helps. I might just buy an additional one

I got a great deal on the bedding. It is Nurseryworks that I purchased at Overstock.com for around $100. I actually didn't know it was Nurseryworks until it arrived. I'm glad I decided to purchase new bedding. Little L is very possessive of her stuff so she probably would have been upset if she saw me put the baby on her bedding. Above the crib we have some Umbra wallflowers.

I splurged a little on a couple of animal prints from the animal print shop for about $25 each. I love animals and thought these matched the blanket and giraffe we already had for the baby. To get a better look at the prints you can find the giraffe here and the lamb here. The frames are just $5 from Amazon.com. I dont't think Sophie Giraffe needs much of an introduction and the blankie is a Lamb by Appple Park.

I got the curtain from Pottery Barn Kids when they had a curtain sale. It's a blackout curtain and I am absolutely loving it. I have to get something similar for Little L's room since her room is in the sum all afternoon and gets to be about 100 degrees when she goes to bed. The rug is actually a textured bathroom rug from TJ Max. The dog felt he needed to be included in the photo shoot.

The nursery has a good size closet. Since we didn't have a dresser for the room I put our old nightstands from IKEA in there as shelves. Baby L already has more than enough clothes for her first year. She got hand me downs from Little L and her cousin so she is all set. I have only bought her one new outfit so far and that's what we took her home from the hospital in.

Polarn O. Pyret Stripes Sale

If you are a fan of Polarn O. Pyret you know that their classic stripes collection does not go o sale very often. Tomorrow they will launch a sale on the stripes a sale that includes the stripes swim, Merino wool, rain gear and the Best Basics tops/shorts. Items that are often not on sale during their twice-a-year sale so get your deals early. Included in this sale they are also offering customers 10% off the Limited Edition Camp Combo labels from Mabel's Labels. The PO.P sale will be 25% of orders over $75. You should also check out some of their fabulous spring and summer things.


The stripes is a favorite of ours and we have shirts, pants, onsies, dresses, and a swimsuit for the girls that they love and wear over and over again. I am not sure exactly what items are included in the sale but Little L's favorite dress is the one she is wearing in this picture.


If you are new to PO.P check out Design Mom's post to learn a lot more about them than the fact that they are Scandinavian.