Hi all,
This post is just trying to gather advice, anecdotes, etc. No opinion is right or wrong, I would just love to hear from some women who had their first child in Switzerland. Here is my situation: I am 26, been married for a little over 3 years, have wanted to have a baby since I was 23, but was always too busy, too 'young', "not the right time" etc. I moved here for my husband's job, and have recently been thinking that this would be a great time to have a baby! I'm not working, so I could take advantage of that opportunity to stay home with our child. Here is the problem - I wonder if others have had a baby over here and regret not taking advantage of the ability to go out, or travel if/when they want to, or are sad to be away from family. I realize that nobody can tell someone else - particularly if you don't know that person - whether or not she should have a baby. However, I would love to hear opinions from other women who are in the position, and what you are experiencing.

Happy posting!

If you wait for the "right" time to have a baby then you never will. There is always somewhere to travel, a job to get, nights out to be had etc. If you & your husband think this is a good time then go for it, it could take a while anyway. Travelling with a small baby is actually quite easy, our first born had been to about 9 countries in Europe before he turned one (one of the joys if living in Switzerland), it is when they get mobile that the fun starts .

My husband and I did not decide to have a baby, rather we decided to stop trying not to have a baby. In other words, we ceased contraception and we let Mother Nature take its course. Sometimes it takes time and sometimes it doesn't.

The rest is history. Travelling with one child is easy. A breastfed baby carried in a sling can be like an extension of yourself. Travelling with 3 young children... now that is difficult.

We had our first ten months after moving here! Not quite how we'd planned it but we haven't regretted it at all. I was 26 when he was born too - the whole thing was an excellent experience (as much as giving birth can be when the baby's head seems to be the size of a watermelon thanks to your husband's lovely genes) but I hear that varies from canton to canton.

On the family side of things, I think the grandparents have visited us more often than they might have done if they hadn't become grandparents. But we've made good friends and generally haven't missed having family nearby to help out.

We're also not really the going-out type so we haven't missed that at all. As for travel, google "round the world trip with kids" and you'll be amazed at how many families are not at all held back by one, two or even five children. And like the others said, travelling with babies is easy, whether short or long trips. We took ours to New Zealand for a month when he was 18 months and it was fine. It just requires a wee bit more planning than you might otherwise do. But I don't think we currently travel much less than we would otherwise do, even now we have two over the age of two years. If you really want to travel, you'll find a way of doing it with the kids, and they'll enjoy it too.

Best of luck if you decide to go for it!

Thank you for sharing your opinions! You all made me feel better about my decision. To us - we enjoy traveling with our dog, taking him to restaurants, etc., even though it is more difficult. We know that a baby is very different from a dog, but we think that we would enjoy having one around as well even though it may take more planning/be less convenient, etc. We have wanted one for so long, so we're just going to go for it!!

Thanks again for your advice, and I would love to hear from more moms so if you are just coming across this thread feel free to post. I never get tired of hearing about these experiences.

Famous last words.

Welcome to the Forum and I hope your wishes will be fulfilled. I loved having children and now I love having grandchildren. They do tend to cramp ones style a bit but the plus side outweighs the negative by far. For one thing, you can 're-start' doing all those things an 'adult' shouldn't be doing any more. I wouldn't dream of playing in the sand or splashing around in the water unless I could pretend that I'm really doing it to humour my grandchild.

Have fun and I hope all goes well.

Hi Laura,

My husband and myself have been now trying to get a baby for the last 6 months

I hope it will happen soon. I know I think too much about it but I just can't help it.

Moreover, I really think that Switzerland is one of the best country to get a baby:

- The health system is really good

- You will have beautiful walk in the swiss Mountain with your child

- your child will be multilingual!

I hope you will get pregnant soon.

Take care

Delphine