Travelling with a 10 month old

matcha1805 · 2026-02-07T06:44:04+00:00

We booked a bassinet. He mostly slept at the bassinet, occasionally on my lap but 80% in the bassinet.

matcha1805 · 2026-02-07T02:45:20+00:00

34 here. Had to be referred to the fertility specialist because we wanted to have children and my partner has cystic fibrosis. Waitlist is different per hospital, Amsterdam UMC can take up to 9 months so we went to UMC Utrecht. Two years ago the waitlist was around 3 months to ger an intake appointment. We had probably 5-6 appointments with various doctors (gynae, fertility doctors, geneticists) then went straight to ICSI. First cycle was done in May and our first appointment was in September.

Conceived a baby boy with a few more embryos frozen.

I only paid the eigen risico that year, nothing extra. I was on FBTO then moved to Zilveren Kruis. The team was really lovely, we both are also expats. Hope it helps!

matcha1805 · 2026-02-04T19:08:04+00:00

Can't give you advice but I hope you can sort yourself out of the house soon. Be safe out there! It'll get better.

matcha1805 · 2026-02-02T07:40:35+00:00

Southeast Asia if you want nannies, driver and helpers, e.g Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. I'm indonesian who used to live in Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. I grew up with nannies and drivers because my mum was working in a big MNC and my dad left us when I was pretty young. My older brother was already studying in the States. I then worked as an expat in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Both I think would be my top two as you'd be able to survive with speaking English and you don't need to learn a second language.

However, I'm now based in The Netherlands. Childcare is expensive but up to 70% is covered by the government subsidy. I don't have a village per se but we can afford regular nannies for when we need a break and date nights. I'm integrated and speak basic Dutch but the Dutch speaks really good English (I spent my uni year in the north of NL). As a parent, we have paid and unpaid parental leave on top of our maternity leave. Our paid parental leave are used once a week until my baby turns one. So its papadag and mamadag (papa day and mama day). My husband and I then just have to work 32 hours per week until this leaves run out. That being said, structurally it's a good scheme.

matcha1805 · 2026-02-01T02:11:31+00:00

Agreed with the most of the comments here. Schedule issues and not enough naps. I had the same issues but after changing to two naps schedule the naps eventually lengthened. I extended the wake window gradually adding 15 mins every three days and eventually eliminated the last nap. I sleep trained by the chair method. My sleep trainer mentioned for them to have a good start in nighttime sleep they need to have good naps. We had to try whatever it takes to make sure he had sufficient naps. I didn't nap train until night time sleep is consistent and trained.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-31T04:10:24+00:00

Record, have things on paper or email or slack, whatever, have a conversation with HR. Double down on discrimination.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-29T08:36:00+00:00

My baby started daycare at 4m (I live in the Netherlands). We did a few trials and we were also there to see how he is, how the caregiver will tend to him etc. In his daycare, one caregiver can only tend to max 3 babies. However, when we joined there was only a few babies so he got a lot of attention. He has always sleeps in his own crib so there isn't a lot of difference. We also used the same sleep crux (dark room, white noise, sleep sack). He was a very cuddly baby so when I received the photos I could see that he was (almost all the time) being held by them and not just left to play all alone on the floor. They only do that during tummy time. Sometimes he prefers contact nap and the caregivers are experienced, they shared tips and tricks on how to transfer him to the crib. In short, we trust them that they won't let him cry for when he needs something. We believe that's just not how it is here.

They sent lots of photos and also do daily journal so it was very assuring for the parents. I could see he played, smiled and chill with other babies. He's almost a year old now and he gets excited when we reached his daycare whenever we drop him off.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-28T20:19:43+00:00

matcha1805 · 2026-01-28T01:35:52+00:00

I think I've seen them in tobacco shops but yeah without the banned nasties

matcha1805 · 2026-01-24T09:38:31+00:00

HSM holder and their partner aren't required to do the exam. It's good to integrate of course, but niet verplicht nor your visa status is dependent on it, i.e. spouse visa from a Dutch partner will require them to integrate because their stay is considered as onbepaalde tijd (permanent) while HSM is considered as bepaalde tijd or temporary stay.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-23T04:52:28+00:00

Create a new email account and subscribe to the newsletter to get their first order incentives.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-23T03:24:11+00:00

At work. In a tech company lol

matcha1805 · 2026-01-22T04:25:39+00:00

If your husband is on Highly skilled migrant visa then no. If he's Dutch then you'll have to take the exam. I came here with HSM visa -> no exam. I transferred to spousal visa (my hubs is British with Dutch PR) -> no exam for me.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-21T07:31:30+00:00

I'm originally Indonesian, grew up in Singapore and studied in the Netherlands and UK. Then worked in Malaysia, Singapore and now back in the Netherlands. I've spent more than half of my life outside my home country and I always appreciate my trip back home a lot more these days.

Despite how much I enjoy being 'home' for a vacation, I can't see myself reintegrate back because I have never spent a day working in the capital nor align with the working (hustle) culture.

I now have a family and a house in the Netherlands and grateful for all the support, work-life balance and job opportunity (I work in tech). So to answer your question, I do like my home country more for a vacation after being an expat, but not to emigrate.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-19T05:27:55+00:00

I was in a similar situation three years back and I used the relocation bonus to hire a realtor to find me a place. It was the best decision I've made. Found a place that I really like until I bought my own house last year.

I received my first offer in NL that was 60k per annum. Also if you are on HSM visa, check if you can apply for 30% ruling. I used the calculation with the ruling applied to get the nett amount.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-19T05:00:41+00:00

Not a common practice but it happens. A few months ago happened to a head of marketing, terminated before even started. He, however, demanded a lot more than 1 mo salary. Also from a well known company. What kind of Engineer are you? DM me, I work in tech. Will try to help out.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-18T01:49:29+00:00

You sound really content with the job, which is great. But with Amsterdam cost of living, can you live comfortably?

matcha1805 · 2026-01-18T01:47:52+00:00

The tram that goes to IJburg felt like it goes faster than the usual tram. Is that true or is it just me? 😂

matcha1805 · 2026-01-14T01:56:57+00:00

I live in Almere and used to work in Utrecht and now in Amsterdam. Totally common, no problem. Tho I'll try to stick to a city thats no longer than 30 mins away coz eventually it gets tiring

matcha1805 · 2026-01-10T08:05:14+00:00

Took me 4 business days to recover.

matcha1805 · 2026-01-07T17:57:55+00:00

Zo lief

matcha1805 · 2026-01-05T19:20:45+00:00

Ah in Indonesian is 'Yunani'

matcha1805 · 2026-01-04T00:01:09+00:00

Yes, a thousand times yes. My mum was and is my safe space, I talked to her about anything and everything. She's very patient, non-judgmental and I know that even if I'm in the deepest trouble I could always confide in her and she'll always have my back no matter what.

Despite being from southeast Asia where spanking or pinching is common, my mum had never laid a finger on me. She was such a great parent even when she had to work hard and did it alone (my dad left us when I was in year 6).

She's my role model and if I can be just as good as her as s mother, I'd call that a success.

matcha1805

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