Time Flies

It was exactly three years ago today that Matt and I left our home in Minnesota to make the journey to our new home in Switzerland. It’s amazing how fast the time has gone. Three years! That day in the airport was such a difficult one. I remember being overwhelmed with sadness about leaving family and friends as well as anxious about how we’d fit in over here. Although it’s been hard to be away from our loved ones, the experience has been wonderful. Thank you for taking me on this adventure, Matthew.

The Tidy Swiss

A friend passed along this link about a Swiss artist:
http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2011/09/12/140394807/extreme-tidying-up?sc=fb&cc=fp
Does it mean I’ve lived in Switzerland too long if I like his work?

Birthday Boy

We celebrated Matt’s birthday last week with pizza, rice crispy bars and Green Bay Packer football. Everything a guy could dream of, right? Matt recorded the game from the night before. This was Finn’s first Packer game. Matt was convinced Finn was watching to the game. I didn’t want to burst the birthday boy’s bubble but Finn was more into the movement on the television than the actual content of the program. He would have looked just as interested had it been one of my trashy reality shows.

Finn’s football in the photo is straight from Lambeau Field courtesy of the Elko family from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Finn carried it around town in his stroller on game day but no one offered to play with him.

Diaper Run

My, oh my, how things change. We used to be going on beer runs to Germany. Now we’re doing diaper runs to France. Diapers are a lot less expensive there than they are in Switzerland so off to France we go to stock up. I’ve had to have a chat with Finn to explain that we need to make the most of a diaper - none of this pooping immediately after I’ve just changed him. Diapers are too expensive for that in Switzerland – about $32 for 55 diapers. Back home the same brand is $10 for 42!

Barb went with me on the most recent run. It turned out to be a stressful trip. Finn was over-tired and screamed for the first 10 minutes. We received countless sour looks as we made our way through the aisles. I had him in the Baby Bjorn and was in the process of taking him out to calm him down when I saw a woman at the end of the aisle giving me a dirty look and motioning with her arms to cradle him. Not the kind of advice I wanted at that moment. To be fair there were three people in the store who gave us friendly looks. That’s right, THREE out of a store full of people.

Here’s a picture of Finn all ready in his car seat to head to France.

Growing Boy

Finn is busy growing these days. He’s gained close to 4 pounds in just two months.

Gramma Barb and I took him to get weighed yesterday at a place called Espace Prevention in Morges. It’s a weigh-in station for babies. The agency contacted me after Finn was born and said I could come by to have him weighed once a week. The Swiss are really into tracking a baby’s weight gain. I don’t think there is as much emphasis placed on this in the US as there is here. I haven’t heard any of my friends talk about stopping by a weigh-in station on a weekly basis back home. Just a difference I’ve noticed in how things are done here.

Overall I have been very impressed with the support given to new parents and their babies in Switzerland. It’s all very proactive; troubleshooting problems before they become bigger issues. Within 24 hours of being home from the hospital we had a midwife come for a home visit. She came again two days later. I have three more visits with her in the next six months related to breastfeeding if I need them. The Swiss really know how to support their new parents and babies.

Gramma Barb

Finn made another trip to the airport last Wednesday. This time it was to pick up Gramma Barb. She will be visiting for three weeks. We’re so happy she could make the trip over to spend time with Finn. I think she held him for three straight hours the first day. He’s already found a special place in her heart. Barb’s found a special place in my heart, too…I haven’t changed a diaper since she’s arrived!