Newborn child

congrats in advance on becoming a father, and all the best and wellbeing to the mother and child too

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Don't get angry with me! I'm only typing what you are thinking!

Eeekk! Breastfeeding! Nasty!

I agree with ex-pat breastfeeding is best but even with support for some mums and babies its not that easy. I breast fed two babies with a lot of hard work and support. my first one didnt take to it even with, he couldnt latch on properly even with the hospital support and attending two breast feeding courses where the nurses couldnt find a reason why he wouldnt latch on and i was told by them its ok as some babies dont take to it despite all the support you get. In the end i found a compromise and used a nipple shield for 7 months until he stopped wanting the breast all together. My second one didnt have problems breasfeeding at all. I just think in the past breastfeeding was discouraged and favoured with bottle feeding and these days theres a push for breasfeeding (which is a good thing), however for mothers who get mastitis and struggling with it all, are made to feel guilty for not breastfeeding.

In the end it should be a descision based on what the mother and baby feels comfortable with and what works for both of them.

I do use disposables at night now. Once my kids became heavy night-wetters it was impossible to keep them in cloth diapers. I tried every conceivable solution and finally gave up. However, if I'm doing cloth for at least 75% of my diapers then I guess I'm doing OK :o)

The Pediatric Emergency service in Doha is excellent. Make sure you get your health card sorted as soon as you get your resident permit sorted.

Great advice from Expat :)

If you end up buying formula, you are looking at about 100QR per week if you use Similac, and another QR 50 for Pampers. If you dont have medical coverage you can use the Pediatric clinics (which are actually better than private in most cases). Child vaccination is free whereas in private clinics they can be anywhere from QR 800 - 1200 per visit.

Clothing can vary depending on what you want them to wear. You can get clothes from places like Maxx or Sana for next to nothing, a little more pricey is Babyshop, and then of course you get into the more expensive places like Mothercare, Adams etc.

A baby can cost you a fortune here or can cost you next to nothing, it really depends on you.

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"Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock - Will Rogers"

There is a support network for breastfeeding here - you just have to look for it :) When/if you come to Doha get in touch with me and I'll point you in the right direction.

Breastfeeding is difficult at first - I speak from experience on that one - but I do not agree that "not too many babies take to it". While both mums and babes can have difficulties learning how to breastfeed properly, it's very rare for a baby to honest-to-goodness "not take to it", and typically involves babies with other developmental problems.

Breastfeeding is natural for babies and it is important not only for their physical development, but also for their emotional development. I'm not (not, not, not) saying that formula-fed babies will have something wrong with them or won't love their mums - just that breastfeeding provides benefits that bottle-feeding cannot.

The main reason that breastfeeding is difficult for mums is that they have very little support in today's culture. One hundred years ago women lived near their families and had the support of their mums, aunts, sisters, etc as they learned to breastfeed - and many women nursed the babies of others as well, whether they be the babies of relatives or "employers" (as a wet nurse).

Today we don't have much support, so breastfeeding can be very difficult and frustrating. I spent a good month in agonizing pain with my first child, but I kept at it because it was important to me. . .I utilized all the resources I could find and eventually it worked. Not everyone has the determination that I did regarding breastfeeding and, frankly, our society makes it very easy to simply reach for the can of formula.

Cloth nappies do involve "effort", but it's been effort that I've been able to deal with just fine with both of my kids - including an overlapping period where they were both in cloth diapers. It's really not that big a deal, and I much prefer the effort that I expend to the thought of throwing some 6,000 balls of plastic, pee, chemicals, and crap into the landfill (or ocean). Again, society has made it easy to choose something convenient - but that doesn't mean it's good for the baby (or the world, for that matter). You can visit http://www.thediaperhyena.com/diaper_drama.htm to get a good idea of the benefits of cloth - be sure to read through each of the four (?) "scenes".

Expat Sueño

P.S. I do use disposables at nursery and occasionally at home or when we're going out - it's not like I never ever use them, but cloth are definitely preferred in this home :)

PEACE BE UPON YOU,BY THE WAY TRY TO GET AND THINK ABOUT GOOD PACIFIERS DOCTORS PROVED IT TO BE HEALTHY IN THE FIRST YEAR THEY FOUND IT HELPS IN PROTECTING FROM SUDDEN INFANT DEATH(GOD FORBID)WOMAN SHOP FOR HUSBANDS AND THEMSELVES BEFORE THEY ARE MOMS AFTER HAVING A BABY THEY JUST WANT TO BUY FOR THERE CHILDREN ,IF BUDGET IS LOW TRY TO CONTROL IT BY BUYING LESS FROM EACH KIND ESPECIALLY THAT KIDS AT THIS AGE IN THIS COUNTRY DO NOT SOCIALIZE A LOT.

breast feeding is best but not too many babies or mothers take to it, even then some babies need milk formula supplemented. As for cloth nappies, it is cheaper to use cloth nappies but unless your willing to clean crap of them every four hours(and trust me babies crap a lot, apart from eating and crapping theres not much else they do for the first 4-6 months)your partner might not be too immpressed with this job, between constant feeding, crying and sleepless nights the last thing you need is a huge bucket of crap to clean. I tried the cloth nappies for a day and turfed them out replacing thme with disposables.

Costs of clothes and babies stuff is pretty much the same as in western countries. Comparing things to prices in Australia its pretty much the same. However you can pick up some good brand clothes and babies accessories when they are on sale here.

last piece of advice get as much sleep as you can before the arrival of your baby, as you may not be able to have a peaceful sleep for quite sometime.

JizakAllah Nadia .. so i have been told and yes no matter what the doctors say, brestfeed is the best source of milk for a child ... also i've been trying to squeeze the amount out of people, do you know roughly how much per month will a person have to spend on clothes and all the other ususal baby stuff (thanks for Expat Sueno to give the brilliant idea of cloth nappies)?

PEACE BE UPON YOU,WELL IF YOUR WIFE COULD BREAST FEED SHE WILL SAVE A LOT,BABY MILK IS EXPENSIVE AND MOTHER'S MILK IS A TREASURE THAT YOUR BABY DESERVE IT,CONGRATS

Brilliant ta mate! better leave the rest of the thread to the people who are going to reply back to my question ... Happy new year once again mate.

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qualification (Masters in Computer Networks) and experience (around 4 years of UK IT experience) will really back me up but my passport might let me down mate ...

what high schools?...

what Universities?...

what Masters?...

SHOW UP YOUR PASSPORT and you're in!

Mom, why you made me in Eastern Europe? Huh? :(

http://www.qatarliving.com/node/314490

true that ... NOC aside but how good is the job market? London is full of jobs ... jobserve is one of the websites i look for jobs while being in UK and around 1000 IT jobs are posted every day ... the market is so good IF only you have UK experience which i'm lucky to get away with ... what about Qatar? any good with respects to that? Also i've heard that having the relevant passport really boosts your pay scale which is shyt if you ask me.

"if you want to move on to a new job role with better pay and everything" you need a Non Objection Certificate

Unfortunately it is entirely up to the employer if they issue a NOC, regardless of how long someone has been working for the company, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years etc.

Most companies don't and you have to leave the country for 2 years.

I think that if you have served your initial contract that a NOC should be a workers given right!

Maybe Qatar needs to look very carefully at this NOC situation, as in someways it could too be seen as a form of slavery.

http://www.qatarliving.com/node/314490

off the topic mate, how good is the job market in Doha? I mean IT industry in particular? what if i want to move on to a new job role with better pay and everything ... what's the best way to find a job? also will the company provide the extra bits and bobs like the allowance and shyts?

Not good :)

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I'm stuck at work mate, for another firggin 2hrs ... someone hand me a shotgun, i want to shoot my head off ... thinking of taking my mrs. to Central London tonight but quite a lot of cheap looser will be there, pushing and screaming so might not take the risk ... will take her to a local lebonese resturant instead and tell her to sleep in it :-P

OK, now shoot off your computer, take your wife, wait 30' for a friggin' taxi and ...straight to the best restaurant/bar (no the crappy sports/bar where you use to go everyday!)

Buy a good/expensive bottle of wine and be happy!

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souls...helpful advice for June 2009 :)

If your baby is not born in the Hammad hospital, you have to go to the Woman's hospital at Hammad with the birth certificate request from the hospital where you has the birth, with the usual both passports copies, both RP copies, both ID copies if you have them, marriage certificate, where you can get a Hammad number in about 10 minutes (1 hour to park.

You then need to go across the road to the NHA department next door to the LuLu centre.

Take a number from the machine on the right as you go through the door, wait, wait some more and then get served.

They will ask you how many copies you want 20QR each, you then pay at the cashier around the corner, negotiate the security and go up to room 38 on the third floor, where they will write all over your request form and ask you to go back to where you first came from downstairs.

Hand over all the documentation again and they will tell you to come back in 1 week.

All I need to do now is pick it up and take it to the British Embassy to get ripped off with the cost of a new birth certificate and a passport,

Form for BE is on their website,

Good Luck

and

Happy New Year!

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hahahahahahaha Dracula, you're a legend mate! this will surely save me so much time ... first time daddy so wouldn't have been able to handle the shock of "Fookin ell, so much to get the child registered". You my friend are a LEGEND! thanks a bunch once again ... i guess this thread will be quite useful for other peeps ... God bless and a Happy new year to you mate .. ta!

that certainly will be helpful ... still trying to make a decision whether to accept the job offer or not ... so trying to make sure that i know what i will have to face if i say YES but really do appreciate all the replies ... oh and yeah Happy New Year to you all! :-)

by breastfeeding rather than using formula/milk :o) Cloth nappies are also a lot less expensive in the long run, though they do require an initial cash outlay.

great! so roughly should i be looking around QR1500 roughly a month?

Expenses are higer here coz there is not much competition between the big retail supermarkets. compared to UK where you can always save on multi buy etc.. Goodluck..

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HE WHO DARES WINS

Now i'm bloody scared :-D yeah the mums forum should be nice to look at ... plus can any one tell if the expenses are higher than that of being in UK? just a rough idea

Yep a lot of money.. It almost like half of your groceries from Carefour.. We all been there.. a lot of fun..like not getting any sleep for the first three months..lol

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HE WHO DARES WINS

A bloody fortune! Wait till its older its gets worse! Good luck to you!

it would be depend on wether you used disposable or terry nappy. Type of milk ... How often your 'newborn' baby need to visit the doctors.

There is mums group in this board, why dont you post your question over there. I am sure some ladies would be able to answer your question.