I’ll make this brief since this is what I’m up against…
Hippie tip #1: Buy and sell (or give away) used moving boxes on craigslist before and after you move. Earth friendly and cheap.
Here we are in our (old) backyard with a passed out babe and movers schlepping patio furniture.
P was clearly not stressed out by the packing process. On the contrary, he slept probably 30 of the 36 hours that we were transitioning from one home to the next. He just looooves being held, and since we had no furniture to put him in, we spent the day passing him back and forth between the two of our arms. I thought I was screwed because the entire time the movers were doing their thing he was snoozing…and knowing we had a 6+ hour car drive ahead of us I was so nervous he’d be awake the entire time.
[Ordinarily I wouldn’t mind if he stayed up for the long commute (because at least then he’d sleep at night), but since Kyle and I have two cars we had to drive up to Nor Cal separately…meaning nobody was in the backseat with Patty-cakes…meaning his rear facing car seat left me blind to how he was doing. Without being able to see him, it’s way easier to determine when to stop and change/feed him when he goes from asleep to awake.]
Hanging out in the bedroom (the last room they packed up).
The movers started at 8 am and didn’t finish until 3 pm (!!!!!). They were really efficient too, which leads me to believe forced a reality check, we have a lot of stuff. The real issue was that they underestimated the truck space they would need and ended up having to get two trucks to move us. I was slightly annoyed at first, but the whole Boston stuff that was going on really put life in perspective. I have nothing (NOTHING) to complain about. Period.
Soaking up some final Santa Monica sunshine with my last meal at 12th Street (seitan, quinoa, avocado, tomatoes, and a hard boiled egg).
After doing a walk through with our landlord and one final diaper change/feeding, we finallllly hit the road. At rush hour. The timing could not have been worse and it took us over an hour to drive a mere 4 miles to the freeway (talk about a flashback to the hospital…minus the whole labor thing).
In the end, P slept (again!) for the entire car ride to the Bay Area. Oy. We arrived at my parents’ house around midnight, totally exhausted. For reals, I was a freakin’ zombie. My parents were already asleep…but what grandparents can resist waking up to play with this guy???
My dad hasn’t seen PAC man since he was 4 days old (he was out of town for our visit home last month). Oh and ignore my dad’s jacked up face, he was in a bike accident a few days ago. He’s okay, thank goodness.
The next morning we met the movers in Davis to begin the unpacking process (something I adore and despise equally).
The master bedroom.
P’s nursery.
And the chaos begins…
This is my view from the kitchen. :) Not too shabby.
More miscellaneous…
It’s already summer in Davis. Hello hot hot heat.
Beyond Meat salads from Whole Foods. Both exceptional, but the curry was my fave.
Decaf coffee and the French press (very important things to locate in the 40+ kitchen boxes). I guarantee our movers thought we had problems given the amount of kitchen appliances and serving ware we own. Note to self: use the good china!!!
Hippie tip #2: For the future wives creating wedding registries. Go minimal. As fun as cake platters and wine decanters sound, they’re not necessary if you still prefer Bud Light and pastries from a bakery box.
Watcha doin’ dad!?
House warming gift from Greenbotics.
My love bug.
“Home-cooking”.
Vegan and gluten free style cheese & crackers.
And the biggest deal of all… P’s first night in his crib in his nursery. [!!!]
This has been a long time coming. We’ve been using the pack ‘n play (in our room) for over 2 months and as much as I love being near him, I was ready for him to transition to his own room. We were going to switch him there sooner but once we found out we were moving, we decided to hold off until after the move so he didn’t go through too many transitions in a row or get confused. Basically, I wanted to give us all the best shot at making it happen in one fell swoop.
Video monitors are the sh!t by the way.
Now, I don’t wanna make all the new mamas out there jealous (or jinx myself) but the first night he slept from 9:30 pm to 5 am. Straight. Not a peep. And the second night he slept from 9:30 pm to 3:30 am. And both times he went back to sleep after I changed and fed him.
In my head I’m thinking “WTF this is too easy, where’s the catch?!?!”. So now I’m just waiting for it to all go to hell.
Each night we do bath time, read him a story, and then I breast feed in his (darkened) room, and hold him until he seems sleepy enough to transition to the crib. Sometimes I cut it too close and he wakes up and I have to start over again, but if I’m patient he doesn’t really stir too much in the transfer.
Who knows how things will go from here. I don’t own a single parenting book or know anything about sleep training or nap schedules or whatnot (I do know there are a million different opinions/studies/theories on them though). I am literally just following his cues as best I can while still living my own life (kinda).
Okay, that’s the latest over here! Back to unpacking!
P is so cute, I want to give him a big squishy cuddle! You are very lucky/skilled that he is so settled.
And hippie tip 2 on gift registries – so true! Why did no one tell me??
The OCD in me wants to hop on a plane and help you put away and organize ALL THE THINGS! But then again, maybe that’s also your beautiful weather and beautiful baby. Holy crap, woman. I know it’s stressful now, but you really are blessed with so much 🙂 (And I know you know that.)
Look forward to seeing the finished product!
Yay!! So glad you’re IN the new place. Moving is the worssst.
And P’s sleeping face in that first picture is too good.
Moving with a newborn is stressful. We moved when our little guy was 3 months. I was worried about the adjustment and sleeping in his bed but he was fine. They adjust better than we think. It’s about the snuggles, love, food, and diaper changes for them.
P looks particularly cute & gorgeous in these pictures – really. And thank you for the awesome detailed post – been dying to know the moving deets.
I have moved house over 15 times as an adult (yikes!) and I have learnt that sleep and unpacking everything & not leaving boxes ‘until later’ is key.
Enjoy the new surrounds – and that cutie patootie puddle-duck.
Cheers
Lori
Congrats on the move! Living near parents is great when you have kids! P looks like one heathy, chunky breastfeeding baby!!! Stay away from the sleep books. Most of them make parents think they’re doing something wrong and a lot of the advice sabotages breastfeeding (yes, most babies get hungry sometimes at night, even after 6 months or whatever the books say). Just go with your instincts. You’re going to have great nights and rough ones too (teething, growth spurts). The thing to remember is that it gets better, and that babies need reassurance at night just like they do during the day 🙂
That’s great that P was so great during the move, I’m sure that made things a lot easier! And your new place looks great! Haha much bigger than what I see around here in Chicago. And, um, could you send us some of that heat?
gotta love p’s picture catching flies 🙂
godspeed on the move! thinking of you guys <3
xo.
Congrats on a successful move! Your new place looks great. I have yard envy for sure!
It turns out I am six weeks pregnant, so looking at your adorable little guy is giving me the hormonal weepies. Haha.
eeeeeek!!!! congrats!!! im so so excited for you!!!! yay yay yay.
are you still looking at ucla?
im the same way w the ocd. its overwhelming bc i want things to get organized FASTERRRRRR. feel free to come out and help 🙂
How exciting! I swear, I will never move without movers again. Especially now with the kid. It makes such a difference!
Ok, the sleep. I am so proud of you for not reading books. I read them all and they didn’t help, they just upset me. The books will tell you that around 4 months you should start putting P down awake, and potentially letting him cry. I think you know how I feel about the crying. I am simultaneously jealous and happy for you that you seem to have a great sleeper, anyway. We tried (almost) everything the books said, and G has never slept like that. Not once. I really think it is up to the child and we just help them a long any way we can. My non-professional and totally unsolicited opinion is to keep doing what you’re doing. What a doll baby.
Oh and now I really want a wine decanter.
Thank you!! And yes. I really want to deliver with the midwife group at Ronald Reagan. I’m just trying to make sure my insurance will cover.
OMG. P is soooooo cute! Good luck with the unpacking and congrats on the move!
i think we’re all fools pretending we have some control over what our little ones do. lets be real, they’re the bosses. for every suggestion ive heard a horror story resulting from the same approach. its too much.
im very lucky because for now P seems to be doing well with sleeping/breast feeding/etc. but i have no idea if/how long it will last so ill just soak it up for now. it certainly has nothing to do with anything im doing or not doing so im not even going to bother analyzing it.
but yeah, i def couldnt just let him cry by himself without soothing him. im his mom. thats my job.
Well, I’m going to admit that I’m super jealous. My little one is almost 8 weeks old and the longest she’s ever gone without waking up is 4 hours. And that was only once and after she had been screaming her head off for almost 3 hours. Be thankful you don’t have a colicky baby. It truly is as horrible as you can imagine and I pray for the day when she outgrows this mess.
P is absolutely adorable, by the way 🙂 Good luck in your new digs!
Congrats on your new home and a successful move. Wishing you much happiness there. You have an extremely cooperative son – I’m sure he makes you proud. And might I add – he is so adorable.
P is getting so big! I can’t believe it. I love when Hunter sleeps with his mouth open – it cracks me up! I have a request… Could you write a post on your experience with P’s sleeping the last few months?
I miss you guys already!!! I am visiting immediately!!! Well, post Argentina. =)
hmmm…ill think about it. my hesitation is only bc i dont want to come across like i have any idea about what im doing (i dont). also im not so sure how much baby stuff i want to do on the blog yet. but if you have qs feel free to email me or text them (i sent you a DM on twitter yesterday w my cell #). feel free to ask anything as often as you want. dont even hold back, for reals. i have a good mom network and i ask a million questions too!!
P looks so cute in all pictures, but “I love my mom” shirt/onesie pic is just super cute!
Boy oh Boy is that baby cute! So darling.
I’m glad you had a safe trip to your new home. From what I can see it looks nice and bright.
I love the pic of your dad and P.
As for parenting, sounds like you guys are doing just fine.
I’m so happy to hear that the moving transition has gone well thus far 🙂 For future people moving, most grocery stores get a ton of medium sized boxes and if you ask a few days before you need them they will likely have more than you need when you go back for them. When I was moving around frequently my first few years of college thats what I did.
Can’t wait to see the first recipes from the new kitchen! Glad it all went smoothly!
Great idea on the boxes! I’ll remember that this time around. Last time I moved, I just hit up the liquor store and asked for boxes–they gave me more than I could ever need!
Good luck unpacking!!
I did the same thing w college moves too. Unfortunately our little family needs wayyyy more than produce boxes now.
Every post = you making me clucky!! I have photos of Misty passed out like P – same milk induced coma 😉 SO CUTE!!!! Hooray for new exciting beginnings for your little family 🙂
Welcome to Davis. I hope you grow to love it as much as we have. Make sure to check out Wed. Night picnic in the park! Too bad you missed Picnic Day, but Whole Earth Festival is coming soon.
those pics of a totally k.o.-baby are too adorable. lots of luck in your new house!
i just tried that curry “chicken” salad yesterday at WF too! i was slightly irked that it cost $5 for the little tub but i’m going to try and recreate it at home… stay tuned 🙂 ps the new place looks great!
Yay for a smooth move!
I loved going to Nugget Market when I did my undergrad at Davis.
http://www.nuggetmarket.com/
Hi Elise!
I can’t believe I am just now reading your blog! I am so bummed I didn’t discover it years ago! It’s so great and informative! I’m vegan, also love running, and enjoy cooking healthy meals for my boyfriend and I, so your blog is really fun to read and very inspirational. I’ve spent all morning/day reading various posts, and all I have to say is daaaaaamn that girl can eat! Haha, but seriously you look great! It’s obvious you take really good care of yourself and family and I look forward to reading all the many more blog posts to come 🙂
you are one busy lady! good luck with all the changes.. and i love the hippie tips 🙂
Moving is always stressful even without kiddos. I love your little one’s chubby cheeks–that is a sign of a healthy baby!
Don’t they always say that the first child is a breeze to make you more likely to have a second – then that child is the one that terrorizes you? I’m just sayin….while I’m sure P is an angel, maybe wait for the second before you start bragging too much 🙂
In other news, the place looks awesome and I am taking your moving tips as I am getting ready to pack up my own crap soon.
xoxo
What exactly are you admitting to second child?
Congrats on the move!! i never had babies who traveked well or slept well, so go P 🙂 This is a hilarious post that sums up every baby sleep book out there:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/ava-neyer/i-read-all-the-baby-sleep-advice-books_b_3143253.html
new commenter, but I have been following your blog for a while – cute stuff! I’m from Davis, just wanted to say you should check out the Co-op (on G St.) – local, organic, bulk, great atmosphere, cooking workshops, lovely lovely people. I can imagine the new whole foods is nice, but it’s also scary to think that its competing with the goodness of the Co-op. check it out and please support!!!
Hi Abby! I love the co-op! We joined the first day here and have been back 4 times since already! Such a fantastic place – any restaurant recs??
Woo! So glad you had an easy move! Your new home looks beautiful- so light and cheery. And I LOVE that exposed brick!