Baby #3 and Move

Today is move day. I can’t believe I’m typing this although the bulk of the work is done. Richard prepped it all so well this will probably be an easy grab and go job.

I am 31 weeks pregnant. All has gone rather smoothly with this pregnancy in terms of the main exams we’ve done and emotionally as well. I am convinced the pregnancy hormones helped in that sense but of course I’m concerned once they crash after birth, as they do for all women. I am just hopeful they reestablish themselves as they should’ve but didn’t after Emma. We shall see. In any case, my desire to grow the family was stronger than that fear. I am also calmer with a team of professionals around me and with more awareness on the signs to keep an eye out for. I just saw on my pregnancy app that baby weight doubles between now and birth. This baby has been the largest of the three. I definitely feel it too. I’m a little concerned with the next two months but will just make sure to keep moving until then.

About the move… we have been planning on doing this since around COVID time as Miami has gotten very expensive and there has been a huge influx of New Yorkers, Californians and others looking to be closer to the sun and beaches. This also means the city traffic has gotten even worse and in my eyes the overall quality of life. I grew up in a farming region in Brazil and most of my holidays and weekends were spent on farms playing outside with animals and nature and going to bed at sun down. I have lived in cities as an adult since about 2001 so I look for my nature kick whenever I can. Ever since having kids it’s also been a priority for me to have them play outside and connect with nature as I did. Mathias’ first school experience was with Miami Nature Playschool which I definitely recommend although it was a Mommy and me class for his age and was pretty far from the area we live in.

In terms of where to move, our options were varied as we both work remote and document wise we could even consider International options. However, my husbands job is 9 to 5 and we had to think about time zones, taxes, and other realities too. We’ve been looking around and visiting a couple of cities but none convinced us until my husband had a work meeting in Greenville, South Carolina earlier this year and both of our eyebrows raised. I knew the State and City as my brother did his MBA there about 20 years ago. As a couple, our first road trip was to the Blue Ridge Mountains and we both loved it. We had agreed to visit often and potentially buy a home there one day. We can actually see those mountain tops from certain areas of Greenville. Long story short, Richard really enjoyed his work trip and we began our research on neighborhoods, schools and living in that City. The podcast Selling Greenville by Stan McCune was very helpful. We actually met up with Stan when we visited as a family on Spring Break and he was so generous providing information and tips.

We chose our house during that trip and as a family fell in love with the city. We drove around most neighborhoods, visited some schools and lots of local playgrounds, museums and parks. There are so many hiking and biking trails that we can’t wait to explore. Coming back to Miami was filled with mixed feelings. For me, it will be hard to leave behind our ocean view and our local tribe of friends and family. For the kids, leaving their school that they have come to love and so have we will be hard. However, I grew up moving around a lot as a family and am convinced this change will gift us with a new special community and lots of learnings. Also, we know Miami will be a road trip or 1 hour flight away.

I will be sharing more about the third trimester and delicate fourth trimester as well. In the meantime, send us any tips in our new hood or any questions/comments you have. 🙂