Wow, it's been a long time since I last posted. Nothing like working full time with a newborn AND having guests and clients in town. Pshew. It’s not that I haven’t been writing in my head (I do that constantly) but finding time to sit at the computer and type it all out - that’s what I’ve been missing. To ease my way back into the blogging sphere, I thought I’d favor you with a list of handy dandy Czech vocabulary words I put together for a friend of mine who is about to have a baby here. I came up with this list while I was in the hospital, waiting to come home and finally catch up on my sleep, ha.
Why a vocabulary list? The maternity hospitals here are very comfortable and the care excellent, but if you are an English-speaking mother the nurses sometimes shy away from you, or get a bit aggressive and loud (do all cultures have the habit of raising their voices while speaking to mute foreigners?). Having just a few of the same words to bandy about can really relax the atmosphere - especially at, say, 5 in the morning when the nurse needs you to weigh the baby before she goes off her shift and you think she is randomly waking you up for crazy hospital regulation reasons (both would be correct, but I did take comfort in knowing the exact crazy hospital regulation reason).
It's a pretty basic list, but nurses and doctors tend to repeat the same words (thank heavens). I did leave out certain phrases such as: "You don't really expect me to eat THAT do you?" and "Are those really goats mehhing outside my window?" because the answers are self-evident and the sentences long. Any further thoughts on useful words are, as always, welcome.*
* Thanks to Anne over at Tuckova for her editorial advice!
The very basics
můzu mít... = can I have...
je to mozny = is it possible
profen = ibuprofen
led = ice
bolí mě... = I have a pain...
břicho = belly
šití = stitches
hlava = head
Who is who
miminko = baby
malé dítě = baby
kojenec = baby (who is presumably breast feeding)
sestra = nurse
doktor = doctor
maminka = mommy
matka = mother
Words you'll hear in labor
tlač! = push!
contrakce = contraction
dýchat = breathe
dýchání = breathing
Words you'll hear after the baby is born
potrebujete neco = do you need something?
ukašte mi = show me...
kontrolovat = to control, or check
kojeni = breast feeding
krevní tlak = blood pressure
vaha = weight
vážit = to weigh
koupani = bathing
vykoupat miminko = to wash the baby
Your newborn's top 10 to-dos
vytahnout = take in
kojit = suck
škytat = hiccup
krknout = burp
blinkat = spit up
plakat = cry
čurat = pee
dělat bobek* = poop
zívat = yawn
spát = sleep
*I’m not sure how common this phrase is, but it is the parlance in our Czech family.
Other useful odds and ends
záda = back
bok = side
oblečení = clothes
plenky = diapers
prsa = breast
polštář = pillow
porodnice = maternity hospital
očkovací = vaccine
postýlka = crib
As I was saying...
1 week ago