For The Journey Not just the destination…

Dear Pumpkin,

I’m so behind in your monthly blog updates that I’m just now posting about your 5th month in March, and it’s the first of May. On the plus side, we’ve been really busy having a great time exploring our new home.

We moved into our new apartment in the Inner Sunset neighborhood of San Francisco at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately, our furniture was delayed as the ship from Belgium went down to Chile and then up to Vancouver before delivering our moving crate. It was very frustrating to see on the tracking map how close by it passed us without stopping.

The minimalist lifestyle, though, suited you well. Since you could not yet roll, you slept on the floor in the corner of your room. We ate meals on the dining room floor, and you had a huge playspace in the empty living room. I was almost disappointed when our furniture arrived from Belgium and cluttered up our space.

Without any furniture, we made great efforts to get out and explore our new neighborhood. Every week, we got together with our playgroup, walked in Golden Gate Park with friends, and attended Baby Rhyme Time at the library.

We also did some exploring around the city. I switched between pushing you in the stroller and carrying you in the Ergo, but you happily rode (and fell asleep) in both. In fact, you slept through most of our excursions this month. We took you to Berkeley, Alcatraz, Ocean Beach, Glen Park Canyon, Grand View Park, Golden Gate Park, Crissy Fields, and the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. (Links to photos coming soon!)

You continue to grow so fast. The big excitement this month was that you started sleeping through the night, generally 8pm until 7am. A couple moms asked me for tips, but the only thing that changed is that you started sleeping in your own room. I’m guessing that little distance allowed both of us to sleep more soundly.

Another accomplishment this month is that you discovered your thumb. You’ve never been much of a fan of pacifiers, so this thumbsucking is great. It takes some of the pressure off of me to sooth you…and it lets us know you’re ready to sleep.

Also in anticipation of a date night without you in April, I started pumping. The pediatrician warned us that we might have waited to long to introduce you to the bottle, but you took to it without any problems. In fact, this allowed me to go to a local craft night and leave you home with Papa. He fed you and put you to bed while I went out and worked on hand-tying one of my quilts.

Overall, you’re doing great – you’re happy most of the time. I love your laugh and gummy smile, though the drool has started. I attribute it to early teething. You’re grabbing things and getting much stronger on your tummy and even starting to sit up with some assistance.

Hugs and Kisses,
Mama

I’ve posted more photos and videos from this month on PicasaWeb:
Pumpkin’s 5th Month (22 photos, 5 videos)

Dear Pumpkin,

I’m changing the format of these monthly updates back to what they were when I was pregnant with you. They are much easier to write when I’m writing to you. Hopefully, the next month won’t be so late…

Your fourth month was quite busy, starting with an international move from Belgium to the US. Welcome to California! You were awesome on the 15-hour flight. We spent this month in a temporary apartment in the swanky Nob Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, complete with cable cars outside ding-ding-dinging all day (and night) long. We quickly narrowed in on our favorite neighborhood (Inner Sunset) and started searching for an apartment. I’m sorry for how much time you spent trekking around with us in the stroller, but we did find a place!

One of the first orders of business when we arrived was to get you scheduled with a pediatrician. We found a doctor here that we’re pretty happy with, and got you all checked out. At the beginning of the month, you weighed 12 lbs. You did not start your vaccines in Belgium (they start there at 2-3 months), and while it didn’t bother me there, I felt much more uncomfortable in San Fran. In Belgium, strangers hardly ever acknowledged you, but here, random people ask about and try to touch you. I’m not a particulary germaphobic person, but I feel like I’m around coughing, sniffling people a lot more here. We started your vaccines, and honestly, I’ll rate that day as the toughest day of parenting yet. You were a sleepy, cranky mess the rest of the day, and to make things worse, your dad was home sick too – two fussy babies.

The other goal after moving here was to find some playgroups. I joined the Golden Gate Mother’s Group and attended their playgroup formation meeting at the end of the month. Stay at Home Moms don’t seem real common here (nannies are), but I did find a playgroup to meet some others through. Unfortunately, about 2/3rd will be returning to work in a couple months.

When we lived in Atlanta, we attended the local Unitarian Universalist church, which had a wonderful group of parents from which I hoped to learn. We checked out the local UU church here hoping to find a like-minded community. This was also the first time we left you without either of us — in the nursery. We were nearby and I had my cell phone on vibrate just in case, but it was a big step for us. They said you hardly cried. Unfortunately, our first impression of the church wasn’t the same vibe as we had in Atlanta, so we haven’t been back yet, but we’ll be sure to give it another try sometime.

So what else? You now consistently can pull the loop on your bouncer to play music. You received a Bumbo chair where you’ve been practicing sitting up straight. We also went to Houston for a few days where you got to meet your great grandmother and my aunt and uncle. The month was packed full, but if it’s a hint of what living here will be like, I think we’re going to enjoy it.

Love and Kisses,

Mama

P.S. I’ve posted more photos and videos on PicasaWeb:

• Pumpkin’s 4th Month (32 photos, 4 videos)

I’m a little late in posting this entry as Pumpkin is now 14 weeks, but we’ve been busy traveling and moving back to the US. By the end of this third month, Pumpkin had added 3 countries (Turkey, France, and the US) to her list. We joke that if she’s been to 3 continents by 3 months, will she have seen them all by a year? :) I feel a little bad dragging her on all our travels, but thankfully, she sleeps well on airplanes and in her stroller.

With as much time as she’s spent in her stroller, I’ve tried to give her plenty of playtime too. This month, she’s really taken an interest in her play gym and the toys dangling over her bouncy chair. By the end of the month, she could grasp cloth, so I rigged one of her burp cloths to the music ring on her chair so she could trigger it herself. She also loves movement – when we kick her legs, clap her hands, or blow raspberries, she giggles.

Pumpkin has started noticing the world around her, and is now less interested in being worn in her Wrap as it doesn’t give her a good view. Instead, she prefers to be carried face out, but thankfully, she’s still light (just 11.5 lbs). I didn’t imagine that I’d have such a small baby, but I don’t think it’s anything to worry about. She’s a very strong and alert little girl.

At the end of the month, our prenatal class had a reunion. It was really great to see all the new moms and dads again, and finally meet the babies. They were all around 3 months and cute as can be. As we shared our birth stories and new parent experiences, it was reassuring to hear that some of the challenges we’ve had are perfectly normal and were experienced by others.

This month has really sped by and I’m backlogged on all our trip photos, but I’ve posted some random photos and videos of Pumpkin to PicasaWeb:

• Pumpkin’s 3rd Month (29 photos)