We got back from our jaunt to the US on August 2nd. Why am I so late in getting off my bum and posting anything you may ask? Yeah... jetlag, playdates, Shimon went out of town for a bit... yes, I have valid excuses this time!
I promise to get some summary posts up! I have to also try to get my pictures organized (from my phone, my mom's phone[don't see that one happening quickly!], and the ones from the camera) and then post. We'll how see that goes.
Just wanted to post a little something to let people know we're still here and alive and kicking!
Friday, August 24, 2012
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Big Adventure Ahead
I don't think it is an exaggeration to call getting on a 10 hour flight with a 5-month old an adventure. Yet, that is only the tip of the iceberg!
We leave tonight to head to Denver via San Fransisco. We have some luck in our favor to make our flights (if all goes as planned) nicer. We are flying out of the new international wing of Tokyo-Haneda Airport. This probably means very little to people not in Japan, but I'll try to explain. Haneda is about 30 minutes from home and the flight leaves at night. Narita (the other international airport) is nearly 2 hours away and the flights leave mid-afternoon. It's hard enough traveling with a baby, but starting the trip by throwing a wrench in Touma's normal routine didn't sound like much fun.
We are also lucky to be meeting my mom in San Fransisco, so if things are going badly at that time I have an extra pair of hands to help.
The last bonus is the carrier. We are flying Japan Airlines. That translates to "we're flying an airline where the flight attendants are friendly and helpful and will most likely not balk at the idea of watching Touma for 5 minutes if I have to use the toilet."
The rest of our adventure is of course seeing friends and family that I haven't seen in awhile. Particularly friends! I get to see some of my former teammates from college who I haven't seen in 10 years!! It hardly seems possible that it's been that long.
I will attempt to keep posting while we're on the road, but can't promise anything as I have no idea what kind of internet access we'll have. Either way... wish us luck!
We leave tonight to head to Denver via San Fransisco. We have some luck in our favor to make our flights (if all goes as planned) nicer. We are flying out of the new international wing of Tokyo-Haneda Airport. This probably means very little to people not in Japan, but I'll try to explain. Haneda is about 30 minutes from home and the flight leaves at night. Narita (the other international airport) is nearly 2 hours away and the flights leave mid-afternoon. It's hard enough traveling with a baby, but starting the trip by throwing a wrench in Touma's normal routine didn't sound like much fun.
We are also lucky to be meeting my mom in San Fransisco, so if things are going badly at that time I have an extra pair of hands to help.
The last bonus is the carrier. We are flying Japan Airlines. That translates to "we're flying an airline where the flight attendants are friendly and helpful and will most likely not balk at the idea of watching Touma for 5 minutes if I have to use the toilet."
The rest of our adventure is of course seeing friends and family that I haven't seen in awhile. Particularly friends! I get to see some of my former teammates from college who I haven't seen in 10 years!! It hardly seems possible that it's been that long.
I will attempt to keep posting while we're on the road, but can't promise anything as I have no idea what kind of internet access we'll have. Either way... wish us luck!
Thursday, July 05, 2012
5 months old
I know I haven't posted many pictures lately, but there's just so much going on that half the time I forget to take pictures. I have to get better at that.
Touma is 5 months old! I can't believe it!?!? When did my tiny little baby get so big. He's nearly 17 pounds! (Holy cow!!) Our main mode of transportation (for him) is still babywearing. I'm trying to improve my core strength, but it's not going all that well. Luckily I have good carriers that last several hours before my back starts to get tired.
The big adventure we're working towards is going out on the train using the stroller. Our stroller is not that small (it's a jogging stroller), but it does fold nicely to store at home. We have to go on the train tomorrow using the stroller. Our station has an elevator, but I've been searching everywhere to see if the station where we are getting off has one. Very stressful and haven't found anything yet. (Boo!) I guess we'll just least early and figure it out when we get there. (Why are we using the stroller? Because my hair salon is baby friendly and I can take Touma, have him sit in the stroller AND get my hair done! Otherwise it would be carrier all the way.)
So, what does 5 months mean for our little man? It means he is rockin' and rollin' - literally! He can get up on his little knees and rock back and forth. He can also roll back to front and front to back easily. He also tries to get in a plank-like position and see how strong he is. It doesn't last long, but it's pretty funny. He's also a huge fan of his Johnny Jump Up! We listen to music and he bounces around. :-)
He went through a rough time with his night time sleep pattern, but he's starting to get back in the swing of things (and so is mommy!). I think we may start being early risers because he seems to really like getting up at 7, but then goes down for a nap around 9ish. That is something I can deal with.
Next week we leave for Denver to visit family and friends. I'm a little worried about flying alone with Touma, but we're flying on Japan Airlines and they are meant to be quite good. We are also leaving in the evening, which I'm hoping allows for both of us to be nice and tired that we can get some sleep on the way over.
And now, I'll leave you with one picture.
Touma is 5 months old! I can't believe it!?!? When did my tiny little baby get so big. He's nearly 17 pounds! (Holy cow!!) Our main mode of transportation (for him) is still babywearing. I'm trying to improve my core strength, but it's not going all that well. Luckily I have good carriers that last several hours before my back starts to get tired.
The big adventure we're working towards is going out on the train using the stroller. Our stroller is not that small (it's a jogging stroller), but it does fold nicely to store at home. We have to go on the train tomorrow using the stroller. Our station has an elevator, but I've been searching everywhere to see if the station where we are getting off has one. Very stressful and haven't found anything yet. (Boo!) I guess we'll just least early and figure it out when we get there. (Why are we using the stroller? Because my hair salon is baby friendly and I can take Touma, have him sit in the stroller AND get my hair done! Otherwise it would be carrier all the way.)
So, what does 5 months mean for our little man? It means he is rockin' and rollin' - literally! He can get up on his little knees and rock back and forth. He can also roll back to front and front to back easily. He also tries to get in a plank-like position and see how strong he is. It doesn't last long, but it's pretty funny. He's also a huge fan of his Johnny Jump Up! We listen to music and he bounces around. :-)
He went through a rough time with his night time sleep pattern, but he's starting to get back in the swing of things (and so is mommy!). I think we may start being early risers because he seems to really like getting up at 7, but then goes down for a nap around 9ish. That is something I can deal with.
Next week we leave for Denver to visit family and friends. I'm a little worried about flying alone with Touma, but we're flying on Japan Airlines and they are meant to be quite good. We are also leaving in the evening, which I'm hoping allows for both of us to be nice and tired that we can get some sleep on the way over.
And now, I'll leave you with one picture.
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| Playing with hats the other day.... doesn't quite fit! |
Friday, June 29, 2012
Sleep regression
So last week, when we tried and failed at sleep training I thought Touma's waking up more was because I screwed with the schedule. Nope! It turns out that it wasn't my fault afterall. It's the 4 month sleep regression. To be fair, it's not been so bad. He wakes up 2-3 times now, when it was one (or sometimes none!). It's only horrible because I haven't been making myself go to sleep early enough.
Touma will fall asleep around 8:30 or 9 and I relish the freedom... so I stay up until 11:30 or 12 just fiddling around. I do a little reading and a little searching on the internet. Just silly stuff. I also usually do the dishes if Shimon worked late.
To get us out of this sleep regression, I've been reading lots of books and think I have a plan of attack. A) Start our bedtime routine earlier (we have been doing bathtime at 8pm). B) Get to bed myself as soon as Touma is nicely settled. I can read or whatever, maybe do some yoga, but my ultimate goal is more sleep. So this is the new plan. We'll see if it works!
Touma will fall asleep around 8:30 or 9 and I relish the freedom... so I stay up until 11:30 or 12 just fiddling around. I do a little reading and a little searching on the internet. Just silly stuff. I also usually do the dishes if Shimon worked late.
To get us out of this sleep regression, I've been reading lots of books and think I have a plan of attack. A) Start our bedtime routine earlier (we have been doing bathtime at 8pm). B) Get to bed myself as soon as Touma is nicely settled. I can read or whatever, maybe do some yoga, but my ultimate goal is more sleep. So this is the new plan. We'll see if it works!
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Sleep Training Fail
Last week, after having read a number of articles and book sections about it, I tried a tiny bit of "sleep training" or at least scheduling. Yeah, that SO didn't work!
My idea wasn't all that strict. It wasn't like I wanted Touma to sleep right at 10:30am or that I wanted him in bed right after bath time at 8:30pm. Nope, I thought that getting him down between 10:30am and 11:00am or so would be fine. For his second nap, sometime between 3pm and 4pm would be fine. And then bed time whenever he fell asleep after his bath. Pretty flexible sounding, right?
I think that the moment I decided to try scheduling, Touma knew it and foiled my attempts. Last week he woke up more than he had in weeks! Going from sleeping through the night on occasion to waking two or even three times a night. Not good for mommy's sleep that's for sure.
So, I gave up. Sleep scheduling or training isn't right for us now. Will it be sometime?? Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that I need a certain amount of sleep to function and I did not get it last week.
Parenting is all about trial and error, right?
My idea wasn't all that strict. It wasn't like I wanted Touma to sleep right at 10:30am or that I wanted him in bed right after bath time at 8:30pm. Nope, I thought that getting him down between 10:30am and 11:00am or so would be fine. For his second nap, sometime between 3pm and 4pm would be fine. And then bed time whenever he fell asleep after his bath. Pretty flexible sounding, right?
I think that the moment I decided to try scheduling, Touma knew it and foiled my attempts. Last week he woke up more than he had in weeks! Going from sleeping through the night on occasion to waking two or even three times a night. Not good for mommy's sleep that's for sure.
So, I gave up. Sleep scheduling or training isn't right for us now. Will it be sometime?? Maybe. Maybe not. All I know is that I need a certain amount of sleep to function and I did not get it last week.
Parenting is all about trial and error, right?
Monday, June 11, 2012
Sleep schedule, day 1
So, I've read a lot about trying to schedule sleep for little ones. Until recently we've had a great sleep pattern... Mostly sleeping through the night or one night feeding. Well, last week we went back to waking twice a night. Now I realize this doesn't sound like much to those moms who have difficult sleepers, but it's taking it's toll on me.
Last night I decided that I'd try to have Touma nap on a schedule. My loose idea was to have him go down between 10:30 and 11 and let him sleep for up to two hours. Then have him nap from 3:30 or 4 for bout the same amount of time. Funny how, the moment I decide to try a schedule, things get in the way.
Touma was just about down for a nap when my family called on Skype. I would have ignored it except the volume was loud and I thought that it might wake him up. As I go up to get it, Touma woke up so I took him with me. I thought that we'd talk a bit and then Touma would go down again semi-easily. Ha!!!
He was awake for the next hour and I gave up and decided to run errands. And that was when he decided to fall asleep.
We got home after errands (he finally fell back asleep again on the walk home!) and I gently laid him down to try to have him get more sleep. No go! He woke up and didn't go back down again until 5:40 or so (we got home around 3). He then slept until about 7:30 or so.
Now we're at 9pm and so far our post-bath routine has gone like normal (bath, play, nurse...), but all my plans for the day went completely awry! Here's to hoping tomorrow goes better!
Last night I decided that I'd try to have Touma nap on a schedule. My loose idea was to have him go down between 10:30 and 11 and let him sleep for up to two hours. Then have him nap from 3:30 or 4 for bout the same amount of time. Funny how, the moment I decide to try a schedule, things get in the way.
Touma was just about down for a nap when my family called on Skype. I would have ignored it except the volume was loud and I thought that it might wake him up. As I go up to get it, Touma woke up so I took him with me. I thought that we'd talk a bit and then Touma would go down again semi-easily. Ha!!!
He was awake for the next hour and I gave up and decided to run errands. And that was when he decided to fall asleep.
We got home after errands (he finally fell back asleep again on the walk home!) and I gently laid him down to try to have him get more sleep. No go! He woke up and didn't go back down again until 5:40 or so (we got home around 3). He then slept until about 7:30 or so.
Now we're at 9pm and so far our post-bath routine has gone like normal (bath, play, nurse...), but all my plans for the day went completely awry! Here's to hoping tomorrow goes better!
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Teething has begun!
10 Signs that Touma is Teething:
1) His mouth has become a drool faucet.
2) He chews on his hands relentlessly.
3) He grabs any finger within reach, pulls it to his mouth and chews on it with a vengeance.
4) He doesn't suck his thumb, he chews it.
5) Likes his new teething ring, even when it's just out of the freezer.
6) He chews and pulls when nursing. (OUCH!!)
7) He's unusually fussy and sometimes even nursing doesn't help.
8) He has tried chewing on his snail toy (not a chewable toy at all!).
9) His napping has become more irregular than usual.
10) Soon he will be chewing his newly discovered toes!
Now that Touma is 4 months, I figure that in a month or a little more he should be getting some teeth. My mom tells me that I got my first tooth around 5 months. Not sure if Touma will follow suit, but I won't be surprised if he gets his first tooth around the same time frame.
Lately we've been on a less normal sleeping schedule than we were at 3 months. We've had more nights with 2 wakings in the last week than we had during most of his third month. *Sigh* Momma's tired. So, I think that starting tomorrow I will be trying to keep track of nap times and not let them get too long and also tried to wear him out when he is awake. Also, I will be sure to nurse him good before I put him down for the night. We'll see how that plan works for the upcoming week. :-)
1) His mouth has become a drool faucet.
2) He chews on his hands relentlessly.
3) He grabs any finger within reach, pulls it to his mouth and chews on it with a vengeance.
4) He doesn't suck his thumb, he chews it.
5) Likes his new teething ring, even when it's just out of the freezer.
6) He chews and pulls when nursing. (OUCH!!)
7) He's unusually fussy and sometimes even nursing doesn't help.
8) He has tried chewing on his snail toy (not a chewable toy at all!).
9) His napping has become more irregular than usual.
10) Soon he will be chewing his newly discovered toes!
Now that Touma is 4 months, I figure that in a month or a little more he should be getting some teeth. My mom tells me that I got my first tooth around 5 months. Not sure if Touma will follow suit, but I won't be surprised if he gets his first tooth around the same time frame.
Lately we've been on a less normal sleeping schedule than we were at 3 months. We've had more nights with 2 wakings in the last week than we had during most of his third month. *Sigh* Momma's tired. So, I think that starting tomorrow I will be trying to keep track of nap times and not let them get too long and also tried to wear him out when he is awake. Also, I will be sure to nurse him good before I put him down for the night. We'll see how that plan works for the upcoming week. :-)
Friday, June 08, 2012
Photo Book
Click here to view this photo book larger
The new way to make a photo album: photo books by Shutterfly.
Wednesday, June 06, 2012
Magic on the Train
Japan is a country with lots of trains. Japanese people are often known to be very polite. However, these two facts do not always coincide. Often the rudest moments of a Japanese person's day occur on the train. I have witnessed this fact many times, especially while I was pregnant.
This little story is not about rudeness though, it is about the kindness of a stranger and how gaijin (foreigner) look after each other. After having lunch and visiting with a friend and her little girl yesterday, I began the trek home from Tokyo. I changed trains at Shibuya at about the time when lots of school kids were heading home. I quickly scanned the train for seats and made eye contact with another foreign guy, nodded in acknowledgment (this is a typical "greeting" between foreigners in Japan), and found my place to stand as there were no seats. Touma was being a superstar so it wasn't so bad to stand.
At one of the stops soon after, a seat opened up and I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the foreign guy, who had blocked off the seat so that Touma and I could sit. An older Japanese gentleman noticed the seat and made a move toward it and this guy blocked the seat from the gentleman saying "there's a baby" and we were able to sit down.
After having so many experiences of people ignoring the pregnant lady, pretending to sleep, "reading" the newspaper, etc. in hopes of avoiding giving up their seat while I was pregnant, I was touched that someone I'd never met would help us out like that. I know there will be many times when people won't give up a seat in the future, but yesterday it really touched me that a total stranger would help us out.
This little story is not about rudeness though, it is about the kindness of a stranger and how gaijin (foreigner) look after each other. After having lunch and visiting with a friend and her little girl yesterday, I began the trek home from Tokyo. I changed trains at Shibuya at about the time when lots of school kids were heading home. I quickly scanned the train for seats and made eye contact with another foreign guy, nodded in acknowledgment (this is a typical "greeting" between foreigners in Japan), and found my place to stand as there were no seats. Touma was being a superstar so it wasn't so bad to stand.
At one of the stops soon after, a seat opened up and I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was the foreign guy, who had blocked off the seat so that Touma and I could sit. An older Japanese gentleman noticed the seat and made a move toward it and this guy blocked the seat from the gentleman saying "there's a baby" and we were able to sit down.
After having so many experiences of people ignoring the pregnant lady, pretending to sleep, "reading" the newspaper, etc. in hopes of avoiding giving up their seat while I was pregnant, I was touched that someone I'd never met would help us out like that. I know there will be many times when people won't give up a seat in the future, but yesterday it really touched me that a total stranger would help us out.
Monday, June 04, 2012
Touma 4 months
My goodness does time fly! I can hardly believe how fast the past four months have gone. Touma has gone from a tiny little newborn to an active infant over night. He's just such a joy to watch grow. He's full of smiles and giggles and lots of drool! I wish I were better at updating my blog. I'm trying, but I realize that I forget to take pictures of a lot of the activities we do each week.
Last week we had two play dates and a mom and baby lunch! Busy week.
What I am amazed by is how much he can do now. He can scoot around on his belly (not in a controlled way, but still...), he loves to screech and talk, he can hold onto toys now (major accomplishment!), and he's getting good at entertaining himself on occasion. At four months, he also already loves to try to stand up while mom holds him and he definitely likes sitting. It's both exciting and sad how fast babies grow.
Without further adieu, here are some recent pictures.
Last week we had two play dates and a mom and baby lunch! Busy week.
What I am amazed by is how much he can do now. He can scoot around on his belly (not in a controlled way, but still...), he loves to screech and talk, he can hold onto toys now (major accomplishment!), and he's getting good at entertaining himself on occasion. At four months, he also already loves to try to stand up while mom holds him and he definitely likes sitting. It's both exciting and sad how fast babies grow.
Without further adieu, here are some recent pictures.
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| With the other babies at the mom/baby lunch. From the right: Mana, 3 weeks; Luca, 6 weeks; Aria, 2 months; and Touma, 4 months. The size difference is amazing! |
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| Side shot, same babies! |
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| Being four months old sure is tiring! |
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
DTaP and IPV
Today was Touma's 3 month check (he's really 3.5 months, but that's ok). He's now 7.35 kg (16.2 pounds)! He's also talking up a storm, rolling over and scooting around. Babies are amazing! He did so good through the whole check he smiled lots and talked up a storm.
He did especially well with the shots. With the IPV (inactivated polio) he looked a little startled, but didn't cry. Then came DTaP. He definitely cried then, but also stopped much quicker than last time. We also went and nursed a bit and he was fine. He even fell asleep on the way home.
I have a question that I was mulling over with a friend. Why do some vaccines hurt worse than others? Is it because they contain vaccines for more than one illness? Or does that have anything to do with it. Just curious if anyone knows the answer. I've seen the results, but I don't exactly understand the causes.
I'm also happy to report that I was less upset this time than I was the first time we did the vaccines. Not that it doesn't hurt to see him so sad and startled, but somehow it gets easier. I guess that's motherhood for ya. :-)
He did especially well with the shots. With the IPV (inactivated polio) he looked a little startled, but didn't cry. Then came DTaP. He definitely cried then, but also stopped much quicker than last time. We also went and nursed a bit and he was fine. He even fell asleep on the way home.
I have a question that I was mulling over with a friend. Why do some vaccines hurt worse than others? Is it because they contain vaccines for more than one illness? Or does that have anything to do with it. Just curious if anyone knows the answer. I've seen the results, but I don't exactly understand the causes.
I'm also happy to report that I was less upset this time than I was the first time we did the vaccines. Not that it doesn't hurt to see him so sad and startled, but somehow it gets easier. I guess that's motherhood for ya. :-)
Sunday, May 13, 2012
3 month pictures!
So, this blog's going to be a picture dump! Enjoy!!
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| Tummy time! |
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| First teething toy... are we ready for teeth?? |
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| Joy. |
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| Riding in the car. Not so bad. |
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| Swinging. Finally liking the swing! Success!! |
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| First outing in Em's beautiful mei tai! I love it!! It's so comfy! |
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| My boys. Aren't they sweet!? |
Friday, May 11, 2012
14 weeks 3 days!
I can't believe how time is flying! Last week we took our first family "vacation." Vacation is in quotes because we went to visit my mother-in-law, which isn't quite a full on vacation where Shimon and I had to do everything with regards to Touma. We had a lot of help! I love being back home, but I do have to say that I do miss the other arms that we had to hold Touma during mealtimes and such. It's amazing how quickly I forgot how difficult juggling eating and Touma can be!
In the process of being gone and while we were away we had lots of "firsts." To name a few: first ride on a bullet train, first car/car seat ride, first stay in a hotel, first time sleeping kawamoji style (in Japan parents and kids often sleep in the shape of the Chinese character for river, which looks like this 川 and is read kawa), first shrine visit, first official pictures, and first time flying on an airplane. :-) Some of the firsts were bigger than others like first bullet train (5 hours of entertaining Touma for mom and dad - Shimon usually sleeps 4 out of 5 hours on that trip!) and first plane ride (and I was alone with him! he did really well and smiled at the pretty cabin attendants!).
While we were away, Touma officially rolled over for the first time. And the second time he did it, I was filming! He was a little surprised that he did it, but wasn't annoyed or scared or anything. The short video is on my facebook page if you haven't seen it already,
Next week we have our three month check and possibly more immunizations to look forward to. Also, my friend Chika had her baby so we'll have to get over to see her as well. Lots to do!! (pictures to follow when I get the time, baby's waking up now!!)
In the process of being gone and while we were away we had lots of "firsts." To name a few: first ride on a bullet train, first car/car seat ride, first stay in a hotel, first time sleeping kawamoji style (in Japan parents and kids often sleep in the shape of the Chinese character for river, which looks like this 川 and is read kawa), first shrine visit, first official pictures, and first time flying on an airplane. :-) Some of the firsts were bigger than others like first bullet train (5 hours of entertaining Touma for mom and dad - Shimon usually sleeps 4 out of 5 hours on that trip!) and first plane ride (and I was alone with him! he did really well and smiled at the pretty cabin attendants!).
While we were away, Touma officially rolled over for the first time. And the second time he did it, I was filming! He was a little surprised that he did it, but wasn't annoyed or scared or anything. The short video is on my facebook page if you haven't seen it already,
Next week we have our three month check and possibly more immunizations to look forward to. Also, my friend Chika had her baby so we'll have to get over to see her as well. Lots to do!! (pictures to follow when I get the time, baby's waking up now!!)
Monday, April 23, 2012
Back to school
So in the fall I decided that in order to make a career of teaching I needed to take the next step: get certified in TESOL. There are various ways in which I could do that. There are many short certificate programs and online programs, but I decided that I should go for a full masters (#2 for anyone interested).
Luckily the program I found is entirely online, so wherever I am I can keep working on it. Also, I can take up to 6 years to finish. With any luck I can finish in less time than that, but we'll just have to see. I'll be starting with one class in the Fall at Shenandoah University in Virginia. I'm still in the beginning phases of figuring out which course I'll take and all that, but it should be interesting. I'm just hoping that I can get all the work done and still manage my mommy duties. At least this way I'll have to practice good time management again!! :-)
Luckily the program I found is entirely online, so wherever I am I can keep working on it. Also, I can take up to 6 years to finish. With any luck I can finish in less time than that, but we'll just have to see. I'll be starting with one class in the Fall at Shenandoah University in Virginia. I'm still in the beginning phases of figuring out which course I'll take and all that, but it should be interesting. I'm just hoping that I can get all the work done and still manage my mommy duties. At least this way I'll have to practice good time management again!! :-)
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Touma 10 weeks！
10 weeks!?! How did we get here so quickly?
Touma is such a little bug. He is definitely a morning person (not like dad!!). He wakes up around 6 most mornings and giggles and smiles up a storm. After that we usually sleep a bit more before starting our day.
At the moment our days consist of lots of eating, floor time (tummy time, singing, reading books, etc.), swinging (he finally doesn't hate the swing!!), and miscellaneous other activities. We get out of the house most days and usually once a week we go on a longer outing. This week we went to visit my friend Ashley in Shibuya. She's giving birth tomorrow!!
Today Touma had his first immunizations. We decided to do rotavirus, Hib, and PCV this time around. Two shots!! It's so hard to watch him cry because he doesn't know why he hurts. I cried a little too! :(
Now for some pictures...
Touma is such a little bug. He is definitely a morning person (not like dad!!). He wakes up around 6 most mornings and giggles and smiles up a storm. After that we usually sleep a bit more before starting our day.
At the moment our days consist of lots of eating, floor time (tummy time, singing, reading books, etc.), swinging (he finally doesn't hate the swing!!), and miscellaneous other activities. We get out of the house most days and usually once a week we go on a longer outing. This week we went to visit my friend Ashley in Shibuya. She's giving birth tomorrow!!
Today Touma had his first immunizations. We decided to do rotavirus, Hib, and PCV this time around. Two shots!! It's so hard to watch him cry because he doesn't know why he hurts. I cried a little too! :(
Now for some pictures...
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| Tummy time!! He's doing pretty good I'd say! |
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| Slightly fuzzy... but it's Touma digging his swing. Notice the lack of crying. |
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| Funny face... he was halfway asleep. |
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| When he finally fell asleep, Touma was propped up on my leg and a pillow! |
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| Who woke me up?? |
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Smiles
Touma is now officially 2 months! How did we get here so fast? It's incredible to think that it's been 2 months!! He's getting to be such a smiley sweet little guy. I'm fairly lucky with how well he sleeps (knock on wood!), he generally wakes up only once or twice at night after he goes down after his final feeding (he usually sleeps from 9-11 and then goes down for a longer stretch from 11:30 or 12).
The newest thing he's been doing is getting up in the morning and being super smiley. Means he takes after me and not Daddy (Shimon is REALLY hard to wake up in the morning!!). Maybe he's in early training for morning practices... ;-)
Here are some of the smiles that he gave me this morning!
The newest thing he's been doing is getting up in the morning and being super smiley. Means he takes after me and not Daddy (Shimon is REALLY hard to wake up in the morning!!). Maybe he's in early training for morning practices... ;-)
Here are some of the smiles that he gave me this morning!
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| Just warming up... |
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| for the main event! |
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| He was smiling and wiggling in this one, which is why he's a bit off center. |
Friday, March 16, 2012
6 weeks!
This week Touma is six weeks old. How did the time fly?? He's already looking so different from when we first brought him home from the hospital. I can't believe how quickly he's growing and how different he is with each passing day. I am starting to understand why people keep saying to enjoy this time because it's over too quickly. :-)
Touma already has some favorite things... he loves his bath, likes to be on the move as much as possible (mostly strapped to Shimon or me), he likes napping somewhere other than his crib (with mom in bed or on top of mom's chest), he likes music (especially the Stephen Colbert rendition of "Friday" and Motown)... I could go on, but there's too much to list up properly.
One thing I'm grateful for is that Touma doesn't like a messy diaper... I'm hoping that this means that he'll have less diaper rash. So far (knock on wood!) we've been really lucky!
Last week we started cloth diapering full time. There's still some things that I need to figure out and I still have to buy a few more diapers, but all and all it's been a pretty easy transition. I am mostly using all in ones and ones that require a cover (I'm still not totally up on the lingo), but on occasion I throw him in a prefold with a cover as well. Prefolds are great during the week when we're at home just the two of us! Dad would probably not want to mess with prefolds, but for me it's no biggie and they're really good for when he just wets.
Now for some pictures...
I've been bad at keeping up with my blog, but I'm pretty sure that everyone understands. I'll try to find more time to at least add pictures. It's also good for me to keep a record of how things are changing. :-)
Touma already has some favorite things... he loves his bath, likes to be on the move as much as possible (mostly strapped to Shimon or me), he likes napping somewhere other than his crib (with mom in bed or on top of mom's chest), he likes music (especially the Stephen Colbert rendition of "Friday" and Motown)... I could go on, but there's too much to list up properly.
One thing I'm grateful for is that Touma doesn't like a messy diaper... I'm hoping that this means that he'll have less diaper rash. So far (knock on wood!) we've been really lucky!
Last week we started cloth diapering full time. There's still some things that I need to figure out and I still have to buy a few more diapers, but all and all it's been a pretty easy transition. I am mostly using all in ones and ones that require a cover (I'm still not totally up on the lingo), but on occasion I throw him in a prefold with a cover as well. Prefolds are great during the week when we're at home just the two of us! Dad would probably not want to mess with prefolds, but for me it's no biggie and they're really good for when he just wets.
Now for some pictures...
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| This was taken at about 3 weeks... he's making his fishy face! |
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| This was taken at about 5 weeks... very serious boy we have. |
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| He's not always serious... he is definitely a smiley guy. |
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| We had a very good time while my mom was here. This was a typical naptime for Touma when she was here. |
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| He also likes sleeping with Daddy too! |
Friday, February 10, 2012
Touma Pics!
Touma is officially a week and three days old. We have been home for about a week. We (Shimon and I) are getting a handle on things with the help of his mom who's up from Yamaguchi (about 5 hours away by bullet train). I'm glad for Shimon in the evenings because by the time he gets home, I'm pretty tired and he does a good job of taking over some things and giving me a bit of a rest.
We don't have so many pictures of Touma yet... which will be remedied at the weekend when Shimon can take some more pictures. I also realized that most of my pictures are of him sleeping. Oops! Also to be remedied soon. :-)
There will be many more pics after the weekend, but for now these are the highlights!
We don't have so many pictures of Touma yet... which will be remedied at the weekend when Shimon can take some more pictures. I also realized that most of my pictures are of him sleeping. Oops! Also to be remedied soon. :-)
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| Newborn Touma! This was January 31st a few hours after he was born. At our clinic he didn't get his fist bath until the following day, so he's quite red. |
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| We'd had a small acccident so Touma spent a few hours in his going home clothes... And judging from his smile he must have liked them! |
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| He's just too cute! |
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| The Suzu cat gets very concerned for Touma when he cries... this is what she does to see if she can "help":-) |
Thursday, February 09, 2012
Touma Patrick Yamamori
This post could have an alternative title as well: giving birth in Japan...
So I thought I'd share my birth story for my blog readers. It also helps me to get it all down before I forget anything!
Monday, January 30th, I went in for my appointment at my clinic. When I had gone in the previous week before my due date there wasn't a lot happening, so my doctor booked me another appointment. By the 30th, there was more activity and some fairly minor birthing waves/contractions. But I wasn't all that concerned as I wasn't in any discomfort and didn't expect to be in any for some time.
Before I continue, I would like to add that I intended to use Hypnobabies as my birthing method. It's a method that helps mothers relax and focus during birth and, since I was giving birth naturally, a good way for me to try to manage my birthing experience. Hypnobabies is a great birthing method and really helped during the first portion of my birth experience, I'll go into how/why it was less effective later on as the story unfolds.
After my appointment, I went home had some lunch, talked to my parents on Skype, etc. In general, I just spent the afternoon relaxed and rather unconcerned about anything regarding baby. As the afternoon wore on though, I began to feel some rather irregular pains in my abdomen. As I hadn't really experienced Braxton-Hicks, I figured that's what it was and continued about my business.
Around six o'clock, I realized that what I was feeling was maybe NOT B-H and started using my Hypnobabies training to manage the waves of discomfort. It worked great. I watched my shows (Bones & NCIS) and made dinner, all while experiencing early stages of labor. By the time that Shimon arrived home (around 8) and we were eating dinner, I had started to time because I had no idea how far apart things were. I also told Shimon quite calmly, "I'm in labor." He didn't really react much, but I think he got a bit more anxious as we were eating.
By the end of dinner, I had been clocking contractions for 45 minutes and I was hitting either 3:40 to 5:15 between them. Still I wasn't having a major problem, so we went into the living room and watching our Monday night drama. I was using my relaxation techniques from Hypnobabies and was standing up or leaning during the most strong sensations. Also, it felt like I had to go number 2 during each one... which I found out later was caused by the baby dropping!
We passed the time watching TV and finally around 11, I went and took a bath. It felt wonderful!! But when I got out, Shimon was pretty concerned and he wanted to call the clinic. He called and then put me on the phone. I was prepared to be told to wait awhile longer (I was all ready to get into bed and turn on my relaxation tracks to start getting more ready for what was ahead!), but the nurse said to come on in.
This is where my Hypnobabies did not help me, because I had misjudged how much time I would have before leaving my house for the hospital I wasn't able to utilize all of the resources from Hypnobabies. However, I realize this was more a problem with my inexperience and less with the program itself. I would still endorse Hypnobabies for anyone wanting an enjoyable and relaxed birth experience. I just wasn't able to utilize it to the fullest this time.
Shimon called a taxi and we were ready to leave in about 10 minutes. It was around that time that it all hit me - this was really happening!! Eek! Shimon was also having similar thoughts. On the way to the clinic I listened to my Hypnobabies track, which did help minimize the stress of being in a taxi on the way to give birth.
We got to the clinic at around midnight. We went to the delivery area and the nurse checked my progress (2-3cm) and I changed into my hospital issue nightgown. Then headed to the room where we would be until things progressed a bit more. Slowly, the fact that I was losing my grip on my Hypnobabies methods sunk in. However, I did have plenty of help from Shimon (holding my hand, distracting me with bad late night TV, etc.) to make it through the next 45 minutes or so.
Just before one the nurse came in and I was in some fairly intense pain... and the breaks between were quite short. So she checked and I was already 7cm dilated and she said that we should get ready to move to the delivery area right then. Yet again, I was unprepared for the speed at which things were moving along. Eek! And after this things get a little fuzzy...
My husband was a gem. He offered me his hand (which at the beginning I would take, but closer to the end I wouldn't because I was afraid I'd crush it!!) and water when I asked and counted out the contractions (and the pushes once we got to that point!) He was great. And this is the man who was very skeptical about joining me for the actual birthing...
I think we spent about an hour as I dilated to 9cm. They put a monitor on me for the duration... and I was still getting some amount of break between each contraction. I was able to feel when each one was coming on (intense sensation in my lower back and bum) and Shimon would count so I could concentrate on something besides the hurt. As I mentioned before, this portion of my birthing did not benefit from my Hypnobabies training. So I tried to keep calm and relaxed, but often succumbed to yelling out "Ouch!" repeatedly in Japanese. We also changed positions a few times during this time, but I can't really remember how long I spent in which position.
After what seemed like forever, the nurse said that I could push curing the next contraction. The first few pushes weren't great. It felt good to be doing something, but then the nurse told me how to focus and when to breathe in order to be most effective. That worked better and Shimon was really helpful at this point because I was supposed to try to push for as long as possible... and with him counting it helped me focus.
Finally, after what was at least another hour (in reality it was probably longer), it was time to call the doctor on duty in. The only unfortunate thing about having a baby in the wee hours is that my regular doctors weren't on duty. The night doctor was a guy I hadn't actually seen before. However, at that point the nurses and midwives had done way more anyway and I was confident in their abilities. After much pushing, Touma Patrick Yamamori arrived at 4:08am on January 31st, 2012. It's amazing how relieved I felt when I could see him... and I ended up panting, but Shimon and the nurses/midwives were there to help me keep my breathing regular so I didn't hyperventilate.
From arriving at the hospital to giving birth to Touma, it was just over 4 hours. During all the talks with friends and the official doctor talks (there were two) about giving birth, everyone said that giving birth to your first baby takes a long time. Around 19-32 hours total. From 6 when I realised I was in labor to 4am when Touma arrived, it was about 10 hours. And the brevity is part of the reason that I wasn't able to use my relaxation methods as effectively because I was caught completely off guard.
So... this is very long... but a story like this one has to be told thoroughly! :-) Pictures will come soon!
So I thought I'd share my birth story for my blog readers. It also helps me to get it all down before I forget anything!
Monday, January 30th, I went in for my appointment at my clinic. When I had gone in the previous week before my due date there wasn't a lot happening, so my doctor booked me another appointment. By the 30th, there was more activity and some fairly minor birthing waves/contractions. But I wasn't all that concerned as I wasn't in any discomfort and didn't expect to be in any for some time.
Before I continue, I would like to add that I intended to use Hypnobabies as my birthing method. It's a method that helps mothers relax and focus during birth and, since I was giving birth naturally, a good way for me to try to manage my birthing experience. Hypnobabies is a great birthing method and really helped during the first portion of my birth experience, I'll go into how/why it was less effective later on as the story unfolds.
After my appointment, I went home had some lunch, talked to my parents on Skype, etc. In general, I just spent the afternoon relaxed and rather unconcerned about anything regarding baby. As the afternoon wore on though, I began to feel some rather irregular pains in my abdomen. As I hadn't really experienced Braxton-Hicks, I figured that's what it was and continued about my business.
Around six o'clock, I realized that what I was feeling was maybe NOT B-H and started using my Hypnobabies training to manage the waves of discomfort. It worked great. I watched my shows (Bones & NCIS) and made dinner, all while experiencing early stages of labor. By the time that Shimon arrived home (around 8) and we were eating dinner, I had started to time because I had no idea how far apart things were. I also told Shimon quite calmly, "I'm in labor." He didn't really react much, but I think he got a bit more anxious as we were eating.
By the end of dinner, I had been clocking contractions for 45 minutes and I was hitting either 3:40 to 5:15 between them. Still I wasn't having a major problem, so we went into the living room and watching our Monday night drama. I was using my relaxation techniques from Hypnobabies and was standing up or leaning during the most strong sensations. Also, it felt like I had to go number 2 during each one... which I found out later was caused by the baby dropping!
We passed the time watching TV and finally around 11, I went and took a bath. It felt wonderful!! But when I got out, Shimon was pretty concerned and he wanted to call the clinic. He called and then put me on the phone. I was prepared to be told to wait awhile longer (I was all ready to get into bed and turn on my relaxation tracks to start getting more ready for what was ahead!), but the nurse said to come on in.
This is where my Hypnobabies did not help me, because I had misjudged how much time I would have before leaving my house for the hospital I wasn't able to utilize all of the resources from Hypnobabies. However, I realize this was more a problem with my inexperience and less with the program itself. I would still endorse Hypnobabies for anyone wanting an enjoyable and relaxed birth experience. I just wasn't able to utilize it to the fullest this time.
Shimon called a taxi and we were ready to leave in about 10 minutes. It was around that time that it all hit me - this was really happening!! Eek! Shimon was also having similar thoughts. On the way to the clinic I listened to my Hypnobabies track, which did help minimize the stress of being in a taxi on the way to give birth.
We got to the clinic at around midnight. We went to the delivery area and the nurse checked my progress (2-3cm) and I changed into my hospital issue nightgown. Then headed to the room where we would be until things progressed a bit more. Slowly, the fact that I was losing my grip on my Hypnobabies methods sunk in. However, I did have plenty of help from Shimon (holding my hand, distracting me with bad late night TV, etc.) to make it through the next 45 minutes or so.
Just before one the nurse came in and I was in some fairly intense pain... and the breaks between were quite short. So she checked and I was already 7cm dilated and she said that we should get ready to move to the delivery area right then. Yet again, I was unprepared for the speed at which things were moving along. Eek! And after this things get a little fuzzy...
My husband was a gem. He offered me his hand (which at the beginning I would take, but closer to the end I wouldn't because I was afraid I'd crush it!!) and water when I asked and counted out the contractions (and the pushes once we got to that point!) He was great. And this is the man who was very skeptical about joining me for the actual birthing...
I think we spent about an hour as I dilated to 9cm. They put a monitor on me for the duration... and I was still getting some amount of break between each contraction. I was able to feel when each one was coming on (intense sensation in my lower back and bum) and Shimon would count so I could concentrate on something besides the hurt. As I mentioned before, this portion of my birthing did not benefit from my Hypnobabies training. So I tried to keep calm and relaxed, but often succumbed to yelling out "Ouch!" repeatedly in Japanese. We also changed positions a few times during this time, but I can't really remember how long I spent in which position.
After what seemed like forever, the nurse said that I could push curing the next contraction. The first few pushes weren't great. It felt good to be doing something, but then the nurse told me how to focus and when to breathe in order to be most effective. That worked better and Shimon was really helpful at this point because I was supposed to try to push for as long as possible... and with him counting it helped me focus.
Finally, after what was at least another hour (in reality it was probably longer), it was time to call the doctor on duty in. The only unfortunate thing about having a baby in the wee hours is that my regular doctors weren't on duty. The night doctor was a guy I hadn't actually seen before. However, at that point the nurses and midwives had done way more anyway and I was confident in their abilities. After much pushing, Touma Patrick Yamamori arrived at 4:08am on January 31st, 2012. It's amazing how relieved I felt when I could see him... and I ended up panting, but Shimon and the nurses/midwives were there to help me keep my breathing regular so I didn't hyperventilate.
From arriving at the hospital to giving birth to Touma, it was just over 4 hours. During all the talks with friends and the official doctor talks (there were two) about giving birth, everyone said that giving birth to your first baby takes a long time. Around 19-32 hours total. From 6 when I realised I was in labor to 4am when Touma arrived, it was about 10 hours. And the brevity is part of the reason that I wasn't able to use my relaxation methods as effectively because I was caught completely off guard.
So... this is very long... but a story like this one has to be told thoroughly! :-) Pictures will come soon!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Still waiting...
Yesterday was my due date!! And apparently the cold weather has our little guy convinced that it's not quite time to make an appearance. :-)
I have done a much better job of getting out and taking some long walks... the only problem was the weekend got pretty chilly and I didn't quite get out as much.
I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. I wouldn't have to go if I'm already checked into the hospital, but I have a feeling I'll be making that appointment.
I can't be too worried as I was born 3 days after my due date and plenty of my friends have had babies later than their due dates. From the beginning I wasn't really counting on the 28th of January anyway... but I would have loved to have been proven wrong!
I have done a much better job of getting out and taking some long walks... the only problem was the weekend got pretty chilly and I didn't quite get out as much.
I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow morning. I wouldn't have to go if I'm already checked into the hospital, but I have a feeling I'll be making that appointment.
I can't be too worried as I was born 3 days after my due date and plenty of my friends have had babies later than their due dates. From the beginning I wasn't really counting on the 28th of January anyway... but I would have loved to have been proven wrong!
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