This is a chapter from the 1887 book "Life Among the Germans" by American author Emma Louise Parry. In it she describes life in Berlin in the 1880s. She is staying with a wealthy family and marvels at their way of living. Class is a defining property in this society. Miss Parry tells us about the house, the food, the neighbours, and the class system, and compares them to what she's used to in America. Her musings give a us a fascinating insight into two worlds gone by.

If you were thinking that infant formula was invented to prevent babies from starving whose mothers had died or weren't able to produce enough milk you're going to be disappointed.

This blog started out with me, Karin Bergstermann, being a Mum and breastfeeding counsellor in Germany in 2005 wondering where all those silly rules on infant care had come from. Feeding on a schedule? Baby wearing spoils the child? They have to sleep through the night at what age? Surely stone age people never thought about these things, so when did they come up and why? But there were hardly any books on this topic.