[ Editor’s Note ]
If you’re a parent, you’ve heard the term “fourth trimester.” It’s those first few months after the baby’s
been born, when you’re finding your sea legs together, so to speak, and learning all about your new normal.
Some moments are just the way you imagined they would be, but most of the time you’re thinking to
yourself, “what have I gotten us all into?” If you’re like me, you’re unsure whether the nurses ever should
have let you leave the hospital in the first place — whose idea was it to put you in charge?
That’s pretty much the way I’m feeling about my new job as the editor of Metro Parent — not quite sure
of what I’m doing, but hopeful that alongside my tribe, I’ll figure out it. Only in this case, the tribe is you — all
of the kids and their grown-ups who keep Portland weird and make it such a great place to raise a family.
I’ve got lots of plans for the magazine in the coming year. The goal is
to become even more local, more relevant and more fun to read. By the
end of the summer, we should have our new website up and running,
and I’m hoping to hear plenty from our readers on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram — find, friend and follow at @Metro_Parent or www.facebook.
com/MetroParentPortland.
In the magazine, look for some new features in this month’s issue,
including a focus on family-friendly restaurants and dining in Portland’s
ever-expanding food scene, and a new look for what’s called the “front-ofbook” — those first few pages you leaf through. In the coming months, we’ll
roll out more stories about the way we — and our kids — live now, from
lifestyle to neighborhoods to technology.
So here’s to the fourth trimester, and beyond, to keeping it weird and
finding those sea legs. I’m so glad you’re all along for the ride.
— Julia Silverman
[ Contributing Writers ]
Michael Barton (Field Trip) spends a
great deal of time exploring Portland’s
natural areas and blogging about
connecting children to nature (at
exploreportlandnature.wordpress.com).
He lives in SW Portland with his son,
Patrick, daughter, Afton, and wife,
Catherine, a librarian for Multnomah
County Libr