It has been a while since I updated my blog, so I figured today is as good as any to start with the updates. April and May have been very eventful.
We are officially settled in Banon. Our gite rental lease terminated after three months, and we decided to sign a long-term lease. We originally planned on living in this house until we found something better. We signed a three-year lease, even though we are planning to be here for one or two years. The landlord said that we are able to terminate the lease with a two-month notice, so we still have flexibility. The reason why we would move is because we are far from a large hospital and midwives. We want to try for another baby later, so it would be nice to have certain amenities nearby.
My husband and I were a bit surprised that it rained most of April (and May). We were picturing it to remain warm and sunny, but the weather has been mainly cold and rainy. Almost felt like we were back in Normandy at times. I hope this is not typical provincial weather. I am happy that all this rain has resulted in a greener landscape and vibrant flowers. I went for a walk the other day and picked wildflowers for my dining room table – it was spectacular.
Juliana is no longer wearing her brace for hip dysplasia. We would like to take her to a specialist for children to do another xray to make sure the problem is solved. There is a specialist in Marseille, but he could not fit us in until July – we are anxiously waiting for this appointment. It is wonderful not to have to put her in the brace at night, and she is finally starting to sleep a little on her side. She still hates to lie on her stomach. I am hoping she starts to crawl soon. She started tucking a leg underneath her while sitting when reaching forward for a toy – which is a step before crawling. I heard that babies will catchup when out of the brace, so we are looking forward to her being able to reach her milestones now.
My book is almost done. I have underestimated how long it would take to finish with a baby in tow. The book is titled French Mamma’s Pregnant in France, and is targeted to English speakers who are having a baby in France. It is both an informational book and teaches readers the vocabulary they should know to communicate with doctors. The idea for this book came during a doctor appointment when my husband was acting as my interpreter and was stuck on the word “col.” They kept trying to describe it and finally, I realized it was “cervix.”
This book is a joint effort between me and my husband. I wrote it and he translated the entire book into French. On one side of the book you will find my stories and information in English and the opposite side it is in French. I pulled out the main vocabulary words and included practice sentences at the end of each chapter. Since every time I make a change in English, it must be changed in French, this book has been quite a project!
We are still waiting to get our in house babysitter. The company where we are hiring from mailed the wrong form to CAF. It normally takes a month to get approved, but this set us back to two months. The two months are almost up, so I am getting excited. She will come to our home for 3 hours a day, 3 days a week and it will all be covered by CAF. I wake up about 3 hours before Juliana and my husband tries to take her for about 2 or 3 hours a day, so with CAF, I will really be able to put in some time writing. I have so many ideas for books that I want to dive into – both fiction and nonfiction.
My husband had a wonderful idea of having a movie night with wine and cheese. He went out and bought several yummy looking cheese and good wine. Then disaster hit! We got food poisoning. Since I am still breastfeeding, Juliana was also affected. The doctor gave us some medicine to ease the symptoms. She directed me to continue breastfeeding because it was still better for her than switching quickly to all solids. It took us about week to get back to normal. Right when we were feeling better, my husband needed to go in for surgery to get his wisdom teeth removed. All four! He did great and the pain was minimal. It was funny because I felt that I spent my life at the blender. I would make Juliana’s baby food in the blender, then cook our dinner and put my husband’s food in the blender. It took him a while to be able to eat solid food comfortably. Ooooh, my two babies, hahaha.
We ordered a crib and mattress for Juliana off of Amazon.fr, but I was disappointed that it would take up to 2 months to receive. We had bought her a bed up north, but it somehow broke in the move. The new mattress came in within 3 weeks, so that was a pleasant surprise. It is more comfortable than I imagined, so I am very happy with this purchase. The crib should arrive before May 30. I found a crib that converts into a toddler bed, so it should last us up to four years for only 100 euros. Other websites have these beds for over 400 euros, so it was an amazing deal. Our king bed is really two twin beds put together – both sides allow us to electronically move the head and foot sections up and down. Juliana is getting too big to share my side of the bed and she cannot go in the middle where the crack is. So basically, she is knocking me out of bed each day or I end up with a foot in the gut. One morning my husband almost had her foot in his mouth!
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