The eve of my due date is a little strange. It’s not like Christmas or Easter when the following day holds the promise of staying put on the calendar. You get presents on Christmas, chocolate at Easter and we want our baby on our due date! If the baby isn’t born today or tomorrow then everyday after that for the next 2 weeks becomes my potential due date. It’s just so unfair!
I’m feeling really good these days. The first few days after the move I felt really tired and awful. I felt more like I was ready to pop at that point than I do now. I have started feeling some hints of contractions and raging hormones though. On Saturday night I woke up several times with hot flashes. Not so fun considering my favorite sleepwear fabric is fleece. Then on Sunday I started to have very deep low back menstrual type cramping for a couple of hours at a time. I get the occasional tightening all the way around my belly and it feels about as hard as a bowling ball. The Kid itself is getting really strong and is able to do some pretty impressive yet freaky alien impressions.
The doc gave me the option of coming in on Tuesday or Friday this week. I chose Friday with hopes that the baby would come before then. If he or she doesn’t make it’s way to the outside world before then I guess we’ll be talking about when to induce and what method we want to use. I think this Kid is just like it’s dad and is quite happy to remain toasty and snug in warmth and darkness! Doesn’t it know it has it’s own room now? With lots of cute clothes, books and toys! Maybe I need to lure it out with Italian espresso and fresh baked chocolate banana bread just like Sean on Sunday mornings!
Originally, this blog was created to chronicle the experience of starting our family in Japan. Now in Canada & expecting our second child...the journey & the adventure continues...
Monday, May 01, 2006
“Takin’ it easy day”
Yesterday was a great day! Alixe came over around 10:30 in the morning with a basket of fresh made whole-wheat biscuits, some sinful fruit spread and an assortment of tea. We sat around and chatted, ate biscuits and drank tea for a few hours and had a really lovely time. I had a bit of lunch and put some family photo’s up in the baby’s room. Then Erin Poop tried to crank call me but introduced herself first so that backfired! She was with the usual suspects…Sara and Amanda and within half an hour they were sitting on our living room and the four of us were eating ice cream and sharing disgusting cockroach stories! We chatted and goofed around for most of the afternoon and then they were gone in a flurry of giggles and oversized sunglasses. What a crew! Before I knew it Sean was home and we were parked in front of the TV with dinner and a movie. If you haven’t seen The Way of the Gun go out tonight and rent it. Benicio del Toro, James Caan and Juliette Lewis are all awesome in this flick. To top the night off I got a great call from my mom.
I think that’s the kind of day Sean wants me to have when he says “take it easy today ok?” I can never cook them up quite like that though! So anyone that wants to stop by or call please feel free to do so. I need all the help I can get!
I think that’s the kind of day Sean wants me to have when he says “take it easy today ok?” I can never cook them up quite like that though! So anyone that wants to stop by or call please feel free to do so. I need all the help I can get!
Thursday, April 27, 2006
April 25 Doc appointment
Had another non stress test today. This time I was the one that needed waking up. The move really tired me out and it was sooo friggin’ hot in the hospital. My newly bronzed doc had a student in with him today, which was cool. The baby gained nearly a pound and a half in 11 days so you can imagine our doc’s surprise. Probably had something to do with the Cadbury Mini Eggs and Bounty bars! So he asked me if he could do an x-ray to make sure the baby’s head was going to fit thru my pelvis. I said “sure as long as I get to x-ray your testicles too”. Just kidding. I didn’t say that, but I really wanted to. The whole “foreigner has big baby” is wearing a little thin with me. If I end up needing a C-Section because the baby is too big then having an x-ray isn’t going to make any difference at this point. The Kid’s only 8.5 lbs and due any second now. I told him that I respected his concern but that I didn’t think an x-ray was necessary at this time. Other than that I had a good appointment although I did avoid going to the gas station afterwards!
-baby weight: approx. 3926 grams (approx. 8.5 lbs)
-head is down
-cervix is 2-3 cm dilated
-doctor: Coppertoned
-baby weight: approx. 3926 grams (approx. 8.5 lbs)
-head is down
-cervix is 2-3 cm dilated
-doctor: Coppertoned
New digs
That’s right. We’ve moved. I’ve been so busy dealing with the reality of it that I haven’t had the time to mention it previously. So here are the details.
Our previous apartment though quaint as it was simply was just too small especially for the amount of money we paid for it every month. So Sean mentioned to his office that we would like to check into the “possibility” of moving (our housing is supplied by his office but we pay for it). That was on Thursday, March 30th. When Sean showed up for work on the following Monday his supervisor had a list of available housing all over the city and had already called our landlady (whom we lovingly refer to as the “Dragon lady”) to tell her of our intention to move. I can’t express how fast this reaction time is for any kind of request done thru a workplace office in Japan. Especially since Sean works for a prefectural (similar to provincial) government office. Record setting indeed. The most promising apartment was is West Obihiro in a Government of Hokkaido Employee Housing Complex. Built in 1987 is was a good twenty years younger than our apartment at the time, with 3 bedrooms, 83 square meters of space instead of 43 and it was better than half of what we were paying. The only thing was we couldn’t view it. Just doesn’t happen with that kind of housing here. So we crossed our fingers and took the plunge. By Friday our moving day was set for Saturday, April 22nd (11 days before the babies due date!). Wow!
We had a great group of friends help us move and everything was moved to our new place in 2 hours and 15 minutes. By the end of the day on Sunday Sean and I had unpacked half of the boxes and we were well on our way to being settled.
Now we’re at the point where just the sight of cardboard makes us cringe. We only have the spare room to finish and I think that can get done in a day. The best part is indeed the fact that we have a room dedicated entirely to our baby on the way. We went out and bought a crib on Saturday and it was the first room to be completed. Nothing throws a pregnant woman’s nesting instincts into overdrive like a baby room full of boxes less than 2 weeks before her due date!
I’ll post more photos of the rest of the place soon.
Our previous apartment though quaint as it was simply was just too small especially for the amount of money we paid for it every month. So Sean mentioned to his office that we would like to check into the “possibility” of moving (our housing is supplied by his office but we pay for it). That was on Thursday, March 30th. When Sean showed up for work on the following Monday his supervisor had a list of available housing all over the city and had already called our landlady (whom we lovingly refer to as the “Dragon lady”) to tell her of our intention to move. I can’t express how fast this reaction time is for any kind of request done thru a workplace office in Japan. Especially since Sean works for a prefectural (similar to provincial) government office. Record setting indeed. The most promising apartment was is West Obihiro in a Government of Hokkaido Employee Housing Complex. Built in 1987 is was a good twenty years younger than our apartment at the time, with 3 bedrooms, 83 square meters of space instead of 43 and it was better than half of what we were paying. The only thing was we couldn’t view it. Just doesn’t happen with that kind of housing here. So we crossed our fingers and took the plunge. By Friday our moving day was set for Saturday, April 22nd (11 days before the babies due date!). Wow!
We had a great group of friends help us move and everything was moved to our new place in 2 hours and 15 minutes. By the end of the day on Sunday Sean and I had unpacked half of the boxes and we were well on our way to being settled.
Now we’re at the point where just the sight of cardboard makes us cringe. We only have the spare room to finish and I think that can get done in a day. The best part is indeed the fact that we have a room dedicated entirely to our baby on the way. We went out and bought a crib on Saturday and it was the first room to be completed. Nothing throws a pregnant woman’s nesting instincts into overdrive like a baby room full of boxes less than 2 weeks before her due date!
I’ll post more photos of the rest of the place soon.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Don’t try this at home
Tums + Cadbury Mini Eggs + Bounty Bars = Constipation
I’ve discovered the above combination of indigestion relief and treats from home cause me a considerable amount of discomfort!
First off, the Tums. I’ve had a nasty case of bedtime heartburn for the past month. No amount of home remedies, pillows or change to my diet seemed to help the situation. So Sean and I headed to the pharmacy to see if we could rustle up something that we recognized to be for heartburn relief. No such luck. We did however luck out with the pharmacist although for a limited time only. The lucky part was that he spoke English. The unlucky part was that when I had the remedy, which, even appeared to be herbal in my hot little hands I asked him if it was safe for me to use while pregnant. He said that he couldn’t sell it to me and that I had to go see my doctor for all medications during pregnancy. I could feel a “aw you gotta be F’n kidding me” rant coming on so we left immediately. When we got home I emailed our friend Alixe from Obihiro who just happened to be home in Edmonton for a visit and requested that she locate, buy and bring me the biggest bottle of fruity Tums she could get her hands on! Alixe is without a doubt my hero! She brought me the biggest bottle of Tums I’ve ever seen along with lots of treats, vitamins and a tube of Preparation H just in case!
Now for the Cadbury Mini Eggs and Bounty Bars. I got those in the Friday parcels from my sister. I love both and the problem with them not existing in Japan is that once they arrive in your apartment they’re pretty hard to leave alone no matter how well they are concealed behind the cupboard doors and on the topmost shelf. So I overindulged a bit which most likely didn’t help my nighttime heartburn in any way!
So here I am eating way too much chocolate during the day and taking the Tums at night. Basically making concrete in my guts. There’s likely no need that I describe what I went through much further except to say that this is a pooh story that didn’t result in any “poohing” over the course of several days. Thank goodness I was home when “things started to move along”. May you all learn from my mistakes!
I’ve discovered the above combination of indigestion relief and treats from home cause me a considerable amount of discomfort!
First off, the Tums. I’ve had a nasty case of bedtime heartburn for the past month. No amount of home remedies, pillows or change to my diet seemed to help the situation. So Sean and I headed to the pharmacy to see if we could rustle up something that we recognized to be for heartburn relief. No such luck. We did however luck out with the pharmacist although for a limited time only. The lucky part was that he spoke English. The unlucky part was that when I had the remedy, which, even appeared to be herbal in my hot little hands I asked him if it was safe for me to use while pregnant. He said that he couldn’t sell it to me and that I had to go see my doctor for all medications during pregnancy. I could feel a “aw you gotta be F’n kidding me” rant coming on so we left immediately. When we got home I emailed our friend Alixe from Obihiro who just happened to be home in Edmonton for a visit and requested that she locate, buy and bring me the biggest bottle of fruity Tums she could get her hands on! Alixe is without a doubt my hero! She brought me the biggest bottle of Tums I’ve ever seen along with lots of treats, vitamins and a tube of Preparation H just in case!
Now for the Cadbury Mini Eggs and Bounty Bars. I got those in the Friday parcels from my sister. I love both and the problem with them not existing in Japan is that once they arrive in your apartment they’re pretty hard to leave alone no matter how well they are concealed behind the cupboard doors and on the topmost shelf. So I overindulged a bit which most likely didn’t help my nighttime heartburn in any way!
So here I am eating way too much chocolate during the day and taking the Tums at night. Basically making concrete in my guts. There’s likely no need that I describe what I went through much further except to say that this is a pooh story that didn’t result in any “poohing” over the course of several days. Thank goodness I was home when “things started to move along”. May you all learn from my mistakes!
April 14 Doc appointment
I had a non-stress test today. The baby was sooo non-stressed that the nurse had to come in twice in a 40 period to wake it up so that they could actually monitor the change in heart rate during activity. She had this neat little device that looked like a sweater shaver but there was a vibrating button where the shaver part would be. Anyhow she just found the babies head and gave it a little vibro action and the Kid woke up pretty darn fast! Which was followed up by an equally fast return to sleep. So she did it again and the Kid stayed awake long enough to kick and move a bit so the whole test wasn’t a total waste of time. In the end the doc said that the test results were perfect. This kid is growing in weight in textbook fashion. I’m hoping to go into labor before 9 lbs!
-baby weight: approx. 3599 grams (approx. 8 lbs)
-head is down
-internal exam showed that I am 2 cm dilated!
-baby weight: approx. 3599 grams (approx. 8 lbs)
-head is down
-internal exam showed that I am 2 cm dilated!
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
Meeting the Midwives and our April 7 doc appointment
Well that “class” that wasn’t on our official “class list” for the hospital wasn’t actually a class at all. It was an opportunity for us to meet with the midwives, ask any questions, squeeze in a doctor appointment, get the finances sorted out and get us organized for our “big” arrival at the hospital when the time comes.
As I had mentioned before I was a little cheesed about the lack of notice for this meeting. Jess was away in Kyoto and Tokyo so Sean and I asked our friend Eiko to join us. She did an awesome job translating and we are so grateful that she could come along. We showed up at 9:15 am and were there until 2 pm. This was by far the best meeting/appointment/class that we’ve attended at our hospital. It was very organized and no stone was left unturned.
First of all Eiko and I went in to meet with the lactation consultant. She was fan-friggin-tastic, super genki and knowledgeable. Our hospital has a “mother’s milk is best” policy and this woman is really committed to helping us through what can be the most frustrating part of breast-feeding…the first week. She prescribed more nipple exercises (I haven’t mentioned this before but ya, there’s nipple exercises) that involve pulling and pinching. Must toughen those babies up! Then we discussed our expectations of the hospital during the first hours of the baby’s life on the outside, rooming in, frequency of feedings, formula, sugar water and the different cultural expectations during this time between Japanese women and myself.
Then I had my usual doctor appointment, which I wasn’t expecting but was no biggie. The greatest news was that the baby finally decided to present itself in a head down position. Our doctor was so pleased and we were pleased for him. Honestly, Sean and I weren’t too concerned about it. We figured we had nothing to get excited about as long as the Kid is head down for Launch Day. It was really nice to have Sean there. He hasn’t been able to come to many appointments so he got to see the baby in the sonogram again. Of course the Kid is growing like a frickin’ weed so we mentioned that Sean was nearly 10 lbs at birth and I think Pat weighed a little over 100 lbs before she got pregnant. Nervous laughs all around with that one! So here are the details…
Apr 7
-baby weight: approx. 3214 grams (approx. 7 lbs.)
-head is down
-baby packing on weight
-my last blood test!
-internal exam showed that I am 1.5 cm dilated
-cervix is softening
Yes, that’s right, 1.5 cm dilated and sporting a softening cervix! My immediate thought when the doctor told me this was “guess I should stop riding my bike!” This was followed by the news that my doctor was leaving for a diving trip to Malaysia on April 15 and returning on April 23. Oh joy! I’ve taken that flight from Hokkaido to Malaysia. It’s a good 12 hours away but he did promise me he’d come back if I went into labor. Ok, well, I’ll try to hang on!
So the next segment of our visit was dedicated to the full on tour of the hospital. Right from the front door to the delivery room. We were given a tour of the rooms, which range in price from free for 4 moms to a room to about $80 a day for a private room with shower, toilet, washer dryer and enough beds for the entire family. We’ve decided on a private room with just 1 bed, TV, fridge, DVD player and phone but without a washroom or washer and dryer (they’re right across the hall). The cost is about $30 a day but it’s totally worth it considering I’ll be there for 5-6 nights. Yech! And there’s the whole staring thing. Being the only “gaijin” or foreigners in our hospital we draw a lot of attention to ourselves. I really don’t want that kind of attention while I’m trying to get a screaming infant to latch!
Then we were shown upstairs to the cafeteria where we finally got to sit down, have some juice and then we had a meeting with another midwife. She was also wonderful and Sean and her took a shine to each other instantly. When she got up to get us more juice she made a friendly gesture towards Sean by putting both of her hands on his shoulders. It was the first time a Japanese person ever touched him. He was very pleased! Now down to business. We discussed exactly what kind of stuff the hospital would be supplying…toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, underwear, nightgown, a limited supply of baby and nursing care stuff. Then we went over the list of things we have to bring…my own blanket for me (weird, I know), clothing for me and the babe, the balance of the baby care and nursing stuff etc. We got to chose cloth over disposable diapers for the baby during our stay in the hospital which was really nice I think. We went over when to call the hospital, what number to call, how to time the contractions, emergency procedures, the details of the meeting with the lactation consultant, visiting hours, how soon I can possibly manage to get my ass out of the hospital (no less than 5 nights, damn!) more questions and lastly the finances. The cost of the delivery and care over my 7-day stay without private room is 297000 yen. That’s about $3000 Canuck bucks. The good news is we get a refund from Japan’s national health insurance plan for 300000 yen about 4 to 8 weeks after the baby is born. So we pretty much just end up paying for the private room and the doctor’s visits up until the birth (a little less than $500 CDN). So it’s a pretty good deal since we get 24 hour nursing care and a lactaction consultant for the first 7 days and 6 nights of the baby’s life on the outside.
By the end of this marathon hospital visit the 3 of us were feeling pretty pooped and totally starving. So we made our way to a sushi restaurant and Sean, Eiko and myself ate ourselves into near oblivion!
Later that night when I had got myself all snug in bed I had an overwhelming sense of being “ready”. All of our questions were answered, we had seen the entire hospital, the staff are awesome and both sides know the expectations of the other. Now we just wait out these last few weeks. Wow. What a day.
As I had mentioned before I was a little cheesed about the lack of notice for this meeting. Jess was away in Kyoto and Tokyo so Sean and I asked our friend Eiko to join us. She did an awesome job translating and we are so grateful that she could come along. We showed up at 9:15 am and were there until 2 pm. This was by far the best meeting/appointment/class that we’ve attended at our hospital. It was very organized and no stone was left unturned.
First of all Eiko and I went in to meet with the lactation consultant. She was fan-friggin-tastic, super genki and knowledgeable. Our hospital has a “mother’s milk is best” policy and this woman is really committed to helping us through what can be the most frustrating part of breast-feeding…the first week. She prescribed more nipple exercises (I haven’t mentioned this before but ya, there’s nipple exercises) that involve pulling and pinching. Must toughen those babies up! Then we discussed our expectations of the hospital during the first hours of the baby’s life on the outside, rooming in, frequency of feedings, formula, sugar water and the different cultural expectations during this time between Japanese women and myself.
Then I had my usual doctor appointment, which I wasn’t expecting but was no biggie. The greatest news was that the baby finally decided to present itself in a head down position. Our doctor was so pleased and we were pleased for him. Honestly, Sean and I weren’t too concerned about it. We figured we had nothing to get excited about as long as the Kid is head down for Launch Day. It was really nice to have Sean there. He hasn’t been able to come to many appointments so he got to see the baby in the sonogram again. Of course the Kid is growing like a frickin’ weed so we mentioned that Sean was nearly 10 lbs at birth and I think Pat weighed a little over 100 lbs before she got pregnant. Nervous laughs all around with that one! So here are the details…
Apr 7
-baby weight: approx. 3214 grams (approx. 7 lbs.)
-head is down
-baby packing on weight
-my last blood test!
-internal exam showed that I am 1.5 cm dilated
-cervix is softening
Yes, that’s right, 1.5 cm dilated and sporting a softening cervix! My immediate thought when the doctor told me this was “guess I should stop riding my bike!” This was followed by the news that my doctor was leaving for a diving trip to Malaysia on April 15 and returning on April 23. Oh joy! I’ve taken that flight from Hokkaido to Malaysia. It’s a good 12 hours away but he did promise me he’d come back if I went into labor. Ok, well, I’ll try to hang on!
So the next segment of our visit was dedicated to the full on tour of the hospital. Right from the front door to the delivery room. We were given a tour of the rooms, which range in price from free for 4 moms to a room to about $80 a day for a private room with shower, toilet, washer dryer and enough beds for the entire family. We’ve decided on a private room with just 1 bed, TV, fridge, DVD player and phone but without a washroom or washer and dryer (they’re right across the hall). The cost is about $30 a day but it’s totally worth it considering I’ll be there for 5-6 nights. Yech! And there’s the whole staring thing. Being the only “gaijin” or foreigners in our hospital we draw a lot of attention to ourselves. I really don’t want that kind of attention while I’m trying to get a screaming infant to latch!
Then we were shown upstairs to the cafeteria where we finally got to sit down, have some juice and then we had a meeting with another midwife. She was also wonderful and Sean and her took a shine to each other instantly. When she got up to get us more juice she made a friendly gesture towards Sean by putting both of her hands on his shoulders. It was the first time a Japanese person ever touched him. He was very pleased! Now down to business. We discussed exactly what kind of stuff the hospital would be supplying…toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, underwear, nightgown, a limited supply of baby and nursing care stuff. Then we went over the list of things we have to bring…my own blanket for me (weird, I know), clothing for me and the babe, the balance of the baby care and nursing stuff etc. We got to chose cloth over disposable diapers for the baby during our stay in the hospital which was really nice I think. We went over when to call the hospital, what number to call, how to time the contractions, emergency procedures, the details of the meeting with the lactation consultant, visiting hours, how soon I can possibly manage to get my ass out of the hospital (no less than 5 nights, damn!) more questions and lastly the finances. The cost of the delivery and care over my 7-day stay without private room is 297000 yen. That’s about $3000 Canuck bucks. The good news is we get a refund from Japan’s national health insurance plan for 300000 yen about 4 to 8 weeks after the baby is born. So we pretty much just end up paying for the private room and the doctor’s visits up until the birth (a little less than $500 CDN). So it’s a pretty good deal since we get 24 hour nursing care and a lactaction consultant for the first 7 days and 6 nights of the baby’s life on the outside.
By the end of this marathon hospital visit the 3 of us were feeling pretty pooped and totally starving. So we made our way to a sushi restaurant and Sean, Eiko and myself ate ourselves into near oblivion!
Later that night when I had got myself all snug in bed I had an overwhelming sense of being “ready”. All of our questions were answered, we had seen the entire hospital, the staff are awesome and both sides know the expectations of the other. Now we just wait out these last few weeks. Wow. What a day.
Baby shower!
As if getting 3 parcels stuffed full of all kinds of cute baby and mommy and daddy treats wasn’t exciting enough for one day…Bret and Sara organized a wonderful baby shower for us in the evening as well! Apparently this had been in the works for quite some time and I was totally surprised! I LOVE surprises but sadly I usually figure them out before I get them. I don’t know why it’s just one of my many skills! This was a surprise, pretty much right up until we got to their place (which is four floors above us).
So we head upstairs under the excuse that we’re going over for “cake”. We always eat yummy things at Bret and Sara’s so that wasn’t too suspicious. I really only knew something was going on when Sean peeled out of the way so I could walk into the living room/kitchen first. Lights off and everyone yells “surprise”! There was a heck of a lot more than cake in that place. So many of our friends (including the guys!) and a few new faces.
We started off the evening with lots of great food, which included a very adorable Domo cake that Alixe made and a to-die-for cheese cake made by Eiko. Then lots of great presents and games and tons of socializing. Sara, Bret and Erin Poop did an awesome job putting the evening together and I even got to stay up until 12:30! Way, way, way past my bedtime these days!
Many thanks to Bret, Sara, Erin P. and everyone that came. We had such an awesome time and really appreciate all the gifts and goodies that came along with the evening.
Click here to access my Flickr Bigger in Japan photo pool and to see more photo's of the baby shower.
So we head upstairs under the excuse that we’re going over for “cake”. We always eat yummy things at Bret and Sara’s so that wasn’t too suspicious. I really only knew something was going on when Sean peeled out of the way so I could walk into the living room/kitchen first. Lights off and everyone yells “surprise”! There was a heck of a lot more than cake in that place. So many of our friends (including the guys!) and a few new faces.
We started off the evening with lots of great food, which included a very adorable Domo cake that Alixe made and a to-die-for cheese cake made by Eiko. Then lots of great presents and games and tons of socializing. Sara, Bret and Erin Poop did an awesome job putting the evening together and I even got to stay up until 12:30! Way, way, way past my bedtime these days!
Many thanks to Bret, Sara, Erin P. and everyone that came. We had such an awesome time and really appreciate all the gifts and goodies that came along with the evening.
Click here to access my Flickr Bigger in Japan photo pool and to see more photo's of the baby shower.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
The Friday parcels
Well, Sean and I had a great time opening the parcels from my mom and sister on Friday evening. Once again I'm amazed by how much stuff the two of them can fit into a box or bubble pack! It’s quite safe to say that we have enough baby clothes to get us through the first 3 months of our childs life and we definitely have a solid head start for the 3 months following as well. I can’t get over how absolutely cute everything is! We’re definitely going to have a very well dressed kid! Here’s a list of the goodies that arrived from Ottawa this past Friday…
-10 receiving blankets
-4 wash cloths
-1 bath towel
-5 pairs of socks
-the monkey sweater!
-bunting vest
-monkey blanket
-stuffed doggie
Clothes for 1 month
-3 onsies
-5 sleepers (one which came with a matching hat and sweater)
Clothes for 3 months
-3 onsies
-2 sleepers
Clothes for 3-6 months
-4 onsies
-1 sleeper
Amongst the baby treats there were treats for us as well. Including lots of Easter treats, a good book for my 6 night painfully mandatory hospital stay and enough pit stick to last me until I return to Canada!
Thanks again to the best mom and big sister a girl could ever hope to have! Sean, myself and the wee nipper are very grateful to be so well taken care of by the two of you. Love and kisses from the 3 of us!
-10 receiving blankets
-4 wash cloths
-1 bath towel
-5 pairs of socks
-the monkey sweater!
-bunting vest
-monkey blanket
-stuffed doggie
Clothes for 1 month
-3 onsies
-5 sleepers (one which came with a matching hat and sweater)
Clothes for 3 months
-3 onsies
-2 sleepers
Clothes for 3-6 months
-4 onsies
-1 sleeper
Amongst the baby treats there were treats for us as well. Including lots of Easter treats, a good book for my 6 night painfully mandatory hospital stay and enough pit stick to last me until I return to Canada!
Thanks again to the best mom and big sister a girl could ever hope to have! Sean, myself and the wee nipper are very grateful to be so well taken care of by the two of you. Love and kisses from the 3 of us!
Friday, April 14, 2006
The BEST mom and big sis in the whole world!
My mom and sister have simply outdone themselves when it comes to spoiling their next grandchild/niece or nephew on the way. There has been a steady stream of parcels of all sorts of goodies from Ottawa to Obihiro for the last 5 months. Today I received 3 parcels! One for me, one for Baby O’Flanagan and one for Parents & Baby O’Flanagan! I opened the one addressed to me as I was pretty sure there would be Bounty bars amongst its contents. Indeed there were! Yippee for me! But there was also the cutest monkey sweater with matching socks that you could ever imagine. Pictures will SO be following. As a matter of fact I’m saving the other two parcels until Sean gets home in 1 hour and 35 minutes. He can’t miss out on this. Then I’m going to photograph everything and post it just so you all can see how amazing my mom and big sis are!
Thanks so much to you both. You’ve done a very good job of making me feel like the Pacific is a lot smaller than it actually is and I love you immensely for it!
Thanks so much to you both. You’ve done a very good job of making me feel like the Pacific is a lot smaller than it actually is and I love you immensely for it!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
“This is going to hurt a lot” Our second Prenatal class
Our second Prenatal class was devoted to the explaination of “Sofurorogi” This is an English word made up by some Japanese health care professionals to describe the breathing and relaxation techniques used by our hospital to get the laboring mom thru the pain of labor without medication. Apparently this is based on natural birthing methods with origins in Spain and France. The basic breakdown of the word is “soft” and “ology” which is roughly translated into a “calm birth”. See how that works?!
Sean, Jess and I showed up late for the class (once again cause we were on time). Sean was the only dad in attendance but my doc said it was a good idea for Sean to be there since he would have attended that sort of class in Canada. It was nice of him to take that into consideration. We watched another video of a woman giving birth but the bulk of this class was devoted to meditation and relaxation techniques. Once again the room was unbearably hot. After we got past the deep breathing portion some of the moms started to drop off to sleep. At least we know the technique works! We went thru the proper techniques for breathing during contractions and how to make adjustments to keep yourself comfortable. The thing that stands out the most in my memory is that the delivery nurse doing the presentation said on more than one occasion “this is going to hurt a lot” and that we basically needed to find our way through the pain using whatever breathing and relaxation worked for us. The reason this stuck out so much for all 3 of us was that she was so uncharacteristically Japanese and up front about the pain. It’s not very common for Japanese folks to be honest about feelings. Perhaps this is another aspect of that closeness and honesty between women folk in this culture. After the breathing instruction we were treated to a tour of the LDR (labor/delivery/recovery) room. All of us mom’s to be got to try out the very cool bed/chair that has MANY buttons and removeable and adjustable parts that basically turn it into a rocket ship for giving birth!
All in all it was a basic but pretty informative class and it was really great to see a bit more of the hospital. Apparently we get another tour of the place a little later on so we’re looking forward to what that reveals as well!
Sean, Jess and I showed up late for the class (once again cause we were on time). Sean was the only dad in attendance but my doc said it was a good idea for Sean to be there since he would have attended that sort of class in Canada. It was nice of him to take that into consideration. We watched another video of a woman giving birth but the bulk of this class was devoted to meditation and relaxation techniques. Once again the room was unbearably hot. After we got past the deep breathing portion some of the moms started to drop off to sleep. At least we know the technique works! We went thru the proper techniques for breathing during contractions and how to make adjustments to keep yourself comfortable. The thing that stands out the most in my memory is that the delivery nurse doing the presentation said on more than one occasion “this is going to hurt a lot” and that we basically needed to find our way through the pain using whatever breathing and relaxation worked for us. The reason this stuck out so much for all 3 of us was that she was so uncharacteristically Japanese and up front about the pain. It’s not very common for Japanese folks to be honest about feelings. Perhaps this is another aspect of that closeness and honesty between women folk in this culture. After the breathing instruction we were treated to a tour of the LDR (labor/delivery/recovery) room. All of us mom’s to be got to try out the very cool bed/chair that has MANY buttons and removeable and adjustable parts that basically turn it into a rocket ship for giving birth!
All in all it was a basic but pretty informative class and it was really great to see a bit more of the hospital. Apparently we get another tour of the place a little later on so we’re looking forward to what that reveals as well!
Wednesday, April 05, 2006
boobs vs. belly…The race for Greatness
Well here we are in the last month before Launch Day. The month when the Kid makes it’s best effort to get nice and fat! At my last doc visit the Kid gained about 500 grams but I didn’t gain anything so it’s all going to the baby. Here’s hoping it’s just getting longer and not growing a “gargantuan head”!
In other growing news…the other day I looked down at my chest and thought to myself, “hmmm, my boobs aren’t looking that big anymore”. Silly girl. They’re still big. It’s just the bigger belly slowly and consistently expanding below them that is causing the deception! Sean swears he can see a difference almost everyday. He did a belly circumference measurement just once, much to my dismay. I can feel my belly button stretching big enough to house a bar of soap so I don’t really need a figure in centimeters to back that up!
And to Jose…I know, I know…more photos of your baby sister all huge and pregnant are on the way soon!
In other growing news…the other day I looked down at my chest and thought to myself, “hmmm, my boobs aren’t looking that big anymore”. Silly girl. They’re still big. It’s just the bigger belly slowly and consistently expanding below them that is causing the deception! Sean swears he can see a difference almost everyday. He did a belly circumference measurement just once, much to my dismay. I can feel my belly button stretching big enough to house a bar of soap so I don’t really need a figure in centimeters to back that up!
And to Jose…I know, I know…more photos of your baby sister all huge and pregnant are on the way soon!
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Snow, sleeplessness, stomachache, Tetris, grapefruit juice, flames and nesting
Well it’s currently 5:05 am, -0.5 C, snowing like a mother scratcher and I’m wide awake. I’ve been up for a while. Possibly 2 hours. I try not to check. It just makes it worse. Sean and I have fairly offset sleeping schedules which, we’re thinking will come in handy once the Kid is born. I go to bed between 8:30 and 9:30 pm (the later is a real stretch for me right now) and I get up at around 6 am. Sean comes to bed sometime between 1:30 and 2:30 am and gets up no earlier than 8:15 am. Lately it seems that I don’t really actually need the sleep I get between 3 and 6 am. Which is a reversal from my pre-pregnancy life. Those used to be my most important sleeping hours. Also, if Sean engages me in any sort of conversation beyond “pee?” than I can’t get back to sleep after he comes to bed no matter what time it is.
Today I woke up when Sean came to bed and realized I had a stomachache. We went out for ramen last night since we thought spring was on it’s way. We wanted to treat ourselves to another of Misuzu’s famous Kodowari Miso ramen soup while the weather is still cold enough that you need warming up by the time you walk to the restaurant. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I'm all about the liquids these days but the noodles are soooo good at this place so I ate more than I could and ended up a little over stuffed a little too close to bed time. Well the stomachache went away after a few rounds of Tetris on the Game Boy (for those of you that have never been to our place you should know that our Game Boy takes up permanent residence in our washroom). Now I’m into the grapefruit juice.
Hmmm, there’s lot’s of fire trucks heading this way that are cutting their sirens somewhere’s near here. Last time that happened we had a fire in the basement of our building…I’m gonna go check it out…
…well there’s a fire on the next block down. I went up on the 8th floor and from what I can see it’s the porn video shop. There’s always apartments connected to those sorts of establishments so it’s not as good as it sounds. It’s 6:06 am. What an eventful hour. I’m gonna crawl back into bed with Sean for a while.
It’s now 11:11 am, still snowing and -1.5 C. The fire is out and I’m pooped. It turns out the fire was in the building next to the porn shop. It's totally gutted. I watched the firemen’s flashlights swirling around inside the darkened apartments once they got the flames out. There was lots of yelling and they were popping out windows to let the smoke out and fresh air in. I hope nobody was hurt. This is a pretty old neighborhood and if anyone was living in the building they likely would have been older folks.
Despite my tiredness I am being driven to nest. So nest I must.
Today I woke up when Sean came to bed and realized I had a stomachache. We went out for ramen last night since we thought spring was on it’s way. We wanted to treat ourselves to another of Misuzu’s famous Kodowari Miso ramen soup while the weather is still cold enough that you need warming up by the time you walk to the restaurant. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I'm all about the liquids these days but the noodles are soooo good at this place so I ate more than I could and ended up a little over stuffed a little too close to bed time. Well the stomachache went away after a few rounds of Tetris on the Game Boy (for those of you that have never been to our place you should know that our Game Boy takes up permanent residence in our washroom). Now I’m into the grapefruit juice.
Hmmm, there’s lot’s of fire trucks heading this way that are cutting their sirens somewhere’s near here. Last time that happened we had a fire in the basement of our building…I’m gonna go check it out…
…well there’s a fire on the next block down. I went up on the 8th floor and from what I can see it’s the porn video shop. There’s always apartments connected to those sorts of establishments so it’s not as good as it sounds. It’s 6:06 am. What an eventful hour. I’m gonna crawl back into bed with Sean for a while.
It’s now 11:11 am, still snowing and -1.5 C. The fire is out and I’m pooped. It turns out the fire was in the building next to the porn shop. It's totally gutted. I watched the firemen’s flashlights swirling around inside the darkened apartments once they got the flames out. There was lots of yelling and they were popping out windows to let the smoke out and fresh air in. I hope nobody was hurt. This is a pretty old neighborhood and if anyone was living in the building they likely would have been older folks.
Despite my tiredness I am being driven to nest. So nest I must.
Saturday, April 01, 2006
It’s all about the liquids
Nothing is wasted on me more than the tabehodai (all-you-can-eat restaurant) at this point. For the last couple of weeks the baby has been snuggled with it’s head rammed tightly under my ribs to the right of my sternum. This makes me feel like I have a ball joint on the top of my belly and leaves about a tablespoons worth of room for my stomach. If I eat two halves of a sandwich right now I need Sean to help me get up (our table is J-style so we eat dinner sitting on the floor). So I’ve found myself thinking more about soups and every manner of beverage. Fruit and yoghurt shakes are the big deal for me right now. This is definitely the land of yummy soups so there’s lots of places to eat good ramen or udon and I’m always up for attempting a new soup recipe at home. The down side to all of this is that I can’t be too far away from a bathroom for longer than an hour. Whenever we go out I have to stop and think about our route and destination and map out the toilets along the way. This is always complicated by the “nasty washroom stink syndrome” that plagues this country. There’s something about the smell of many Japanese toilets that can turn your focus away from your daily constitutional faster than you can say “hai”. Heaven forbid you should find yourself in a stinky washroom that happens to house only “squatty toilets” cause then you have to get CLOSER to the stink to get your business over with. Click here for a squatty tutorial. Alright this has turned into a poop story, time to cut it short.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
“The cute baby at the top of the mountain” Our first Prenatal class
We attended our first Prenatal class on March 8th. It was held at our hospital and Sean, Jess and myself were both excited and a wee bit nervous. We got there right on time which means we were late by Japanese standards. Chairs were pulled out for us and we got settled amongst the other couples. Then the nurse made an apology on our behalf to the rest of the group because the foreigners needed to be whispering in the back for the sake of translation. How kind.
Our doctor conducted a lecture for about the first hour on what to expect with the onset of labor, what the hospital’s procedures and policies are for certain situations (fetal stress, induction etc) and the differences between parenting styles for mothers and fathers. Most of the information was pretty basic but it was really nice to see that so much emphasis was being put on the importance of the father as an active member in the delivery, care and raising of the child. We’ve heard from many folks that have had children here that the dad is basically a non-participant in any aspect of the pregnancy and delivery. Now would probably be a good time to mention that I don’t have the option for a pain free delivery…no drugs…whatsoever. It’s standard for Tokachi (our region) and most of the rest of Japan unless you are in a big city like Tokyo or Kyoto where you have access to International hospitals. A lot of emphasis is put on relaxation and breathing techniques to get the laboring mom through the delivery. So all the while during the lecture we’re being reminded about the importance of staying focused on the breathing and getting through the pain because we’ll get to meet our cute baby that is waiting at the top of the mountain for us! The “cuteness culture” even prevails in the labor and delivery room! It’s hard to decide if the no drug policy is progressive or not. I think in many cases in the west drugs are given too readily but conversely I think there are likely many cases here when drugs should be given and are not. Let’s just hope I’m not proof of the later. Further on the topic of progression we found out that our hospital is the best maternity hospital on Hokkaido. When compared to other hospitals here or down south it appears to be light years ahead of the rest of Japan in the progressive thinking department. We couldn’t be happier to be living 2.5 blocks away from this place!
For the last half of the class we watched a very informative video. They actually showed a woman going thru the labor and birth process from the onset of labor at home right thru to the delivery of the baby. The editing was totally crappy but this video was made by our hospital and showed the actual procedures, rooms and staff that we would be dealing with which was greatly comforting. I’m all about eliminating the “unknowns” and this video struck a great deal of them off my list. Except for the compulsory enema, I still don’t know what that is like but I will soon enough!
So the 3 of us left feeling pretty good about climbing the mountain. Here’s hoping it’s more like Fuji than Everest!
Our doctor conducted a lecture for about the first hour on what to expect with the onset of labor, what the hospital’s procedures and policies are for certain situations (fetal stress, induction etc) and the differences between parenting styles for mothers and fathers. Most of the information was pretty basic but it was really nice to see that so much emphasis was being put on the importance of the father as an active member in the delivery, care and raising of the child. We’ve heard from many folks that have had children here that the dad is basically a non-participant in any aspect of the pregnancy and delivery. Now would probably be a good time to mention that I don’t have the option for a pain free delivery…no drugs…whatsoever. It’s standard for Tokachi (our region) and most of the rest of Japan unless you are in a big city like Tokyo or Kyoto where you have access to International hospitals. A lot of emphasis is put on relaxation and breathing techniques to get the laboring mom through the delivery. So all the while during the lecture we’re being reminded about the importance of staying focused on the breathing and getting through the pain because we’ll get to meet our cute baby that is waiting at the top of the mountain for us! The “cuteness culture” even prevails in the labor and delivery room! It’s hard to decide if the no drug policy is progressive or not. I think in many cases in the west drugs are given too readily but conversely I think there are likely many cases here when drugs should be given and are not. Let’s just hope I’m not proof of the later. Further on the topic of progression we found out that our hospital is the best maternity hospital on Hokkaido. When compared to other hospitals here or down south it appears to be light years ahead of the rest of Japan in the progressive thinking department. We couldn’t be happier to be living 2.5 blocks away from this place!
For the last half of the class we watched a very informative video. They actually showed a woman going thru the labor and birth process from the onset of labor at home right thru to the delivery of the baby. The editing was totally crappy but this video was made by our hospital and showed the actual procedures, rooms and staff that we would be dealing with which was greatly comforting. I’m all about eliminating the “unknowns” and this video struck a great deal of them off my list. Except for the compulsory enema, I still don’t know what that is like but I will soon enough!
So the 3 of us left feeling pretty good about climbing the mountain. Here’s hoping it’s more like Fuji than Everest!
Friday, March 24, 2006
March doc appointments
Mar 7
-baby weight: approx. 2300 grams (5 lbs.)
-heard baby’s heart beat
-saw 4 chambers of the baby’s heart via ultrasound
-head is down
-this kid is really packing on the weight
-all is well
My burning question this week was “What is your hospital’s policy on episiotomy procedure?”. This is one of the things I’m least looking forward to. I have a higher tolerance for pain than I do for seeing my own blood or anything to do with needles being stuck into me. I’m just not sure how I’ll handle the 3 together should the time come. So my doc said they have a less than 10% episiotomy rate (Canada has a crazy range of 31% in Quebec to 15% in Manitoba) so at this point I’m happier to be having the Kid here as opposed to Montreal! He credits his skilled midwives with the low rate and insists an episiotomy is only performed if a tear is inevitable.
Mar 24
-baby weight: approx. 2850 grams (6.27 lbs)
-head is up again
I didn’t have such a fun appointment today. The waiting room was sooo hot and it appeared that other mother’s who arrived after me were allowed to go ahead of me. The average Japanese woman is in with the doc for a regular visit for less than 5 minutes and I take about 15 minutes. So I figured they were clearing up the backlog before I slowed things down. Or it could just be paranoia. This whole thing could be cleared up if they went to an appointment system instead of a first come first served system. I showed up at 9 am and I was already 9th in line for my doc. Yucky.
So the doc is concerned about the breach presentation of our baby. I’m not. Not at this point anyways. I’ve got just a bit under 6 weeks to go and there’s still plenty of time and room for intra-uterine acrobatics. Jose had told me that Nick was two weeks late and didn’t go heads down until she was overdue. I relayed this to the doc and he felt a bit better until of course he asked how much Nick weighed and I said “nearly 10 pounds”. I didn’t bother telling him Sean was nearly the same size and degree of lateness! Geez, you’d think he was giving birth to this Kid! Anyways, the baby will come out when it’s ready and I’m not gonna get too hung up on weight approximations. If the Kid keeps growing at this rate it will be a 9 pounder and that’s gonna be a reality we face on Launch day.
I also found out that Sean isn’t allowed to cut the babies cord. He’s not too disappointed but I think he really wanted to be a physical part of that aspect of the delivery.
Then I found out we have another class we have to take that wasn’t on the official “class form”. So we have to meet with the delivery nurse and midwife for any last minute questions and for another tour of the hospital and the labor/delivery room. The timing is crappy as Jess will be in Kyoto so we’ll have to ask someone else to come along with us. I’m not too cool on the splitting up of the team but at least the hospital is making sure we are as prepared as possible.
I could now go on about my shitty experience at the gas station following my doc appointment but I won’t. Time to make some coffee and get outside and enjoy this sunny day!
-baby weight: approx. 2300 grams (5 lbs.)
-heard baby’s heart beat
-saw 4 chambers of the baby’s heart via ultrasound
-head is down
-this kid is really packing on the weight
-all is well
My burning question this week was “What is your hospital’s policy on episiotomy procedure?”. This is one of the things I’m least looking forward to. I have a higher tolerance for pain than I do for seeing my own blood or anything to do with needles being stuck into me. I’m just not sure how I’ll handle the 3 together should the time come. So my doc said they have a less than 10% episiotomy rate (Canada has a crazy range of 31% in Quebec to 15% in Manitoba) so at this point I’m happier to be having the Kid here as opposed to Montreal! He credits his skilled midwives with the low rate and insists an episiotomy is only performed if a tear is inevitable.
Mar 24
-baby weight: approx. 2850 grams (6.27 lbs)
-head is up again
I didn’t have such a fun appointment today. The waiting room was sooo hot and it appeared that other mother’s who arrived after me were allowed to go ahead of me. The average Japanese woman is in with the doc for a regular visit for less than 5 minutes and I take about 15 minutes. So I figured they were clearing up the backlog before I slowed things down. Or it could just be paranoia. This whole thing could be cleared up if they went to an appointment system instead of a first come first served system. I showed up at 9 am and I was already 9th in line for my doc. Yucky.
So the doc is concerned about the breach presentation of our baby. I’m not. Not at this point anyways. I’ve got just a bit under 6 weeks to go and there’s still plenty of time and room for intra-uterine acrobatics. Jose had told me that Nick was two weeks late and didn’t go heads down until she was overdue. I relayed this to the doc and he felt a bit better until of course he asked how much Nick weighed and I said “nearly 10 pounds”. I didn’t bother telling him Sean was nearly the same size and degree of lateness! Geez, you’d think he was giving birth to this Kid! Anyways, the baby will come out when it’s ready and I’m not gonna get too hung up on weight approximations. If the Kid keeps growing at this rate it will be a 9 pounder and that’s gonna be a reality we face on Launch day.
I also found out that Sean isn’t allowed to cut the babies cord. He’s not too disappointed but I think he really wanted to be a physical part of that aspect of the delivery.
Then I found out we have another class we have to take that wasn’t on the official “class form”. So we have to meet with the delivery nurse and midwife for any last minute questions and for another tour of the hospital and the labor/delivery room. The timing is crappy as Jess will be in Kyoto so we’ll have to ask someone else to come along with us. I’m not too cool on the splitting up of the team but at least the hospital is making sure we are as prepared as possible.
I could now go on about my shitty experience at the gas station following my doc appointment but I won’t. Time to make some coffee and get outside and enjoy this sunny day!
Wednesday, March 22, 2006
Meet Jessyca!
Jess is a good friend of ours and is going to be helping us out with the delivery of the Kid. Sean, Jess and I have gone to Prenatal classes together and between the 3 of us we're slowly unraveling the mysteries of having a child in Japan! Jess is very proficient in the Japanese language so she's also acting as our translator which has turned out to be very helpful and heaps of fun at the same time. There are even talks of team t-shirts with matching gloves for "Launch Day"! The 3 of us get along like a house on fire and I'm sure we've been labeled the "giggling foreigners" by the staff at the hospital. We were late (meaning right on time) for our classes and then we would have hushed giggling fits over some of the translations of the process and procedure of child birth in this country. At least we didn't fall asleep during the meditation portion of the class like half of the other moms!
We're so grateful to have Jess by our side during this part of our life. It's very comforting to have someone we care about so much as our cheering section, emotional backup and language discombobulator! Thanks Jess, you're the bestest!
We're so grateful to have Jess by our side during this part of our life. It's very comforting to have someone we care about so much as our cheering section, emotional backup and language discombobulator! Thanks Jess, you're the bestest!
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Ack! Stretch Marks!
I guess I’ve been living in a fantasy dream world when it comes to the topic of stretch marks. I figured that since I’m a bigger woman I would gracefully side step them altogether. Well, as of yesterday that theory has been flung out of our 4th floor apartment window!
It all started on Tuesday. I woke up feeling pretty normal but after I got out of bed the Kid who has been living with it’s head snuggled under my ribs for the longest while decided it was time for a change. Well into the afternoon I could feel the baby put it’s head into my pelvis then apparently unhappy with the position it would elbow, shoulder and knee it’s way back out. I felt like a parking lot at a senior’s center on Bingo night. In…not quite right…out…in…nope just a little more to the left…out…in…maybe I should face the other way…half turn…out. That was the most stretched I’ve felt so far and I now have 3 red marks on either side of my belly button to prove it.
My waist now looks sort of like this \ \ \ * / / /
So I discover these things in the shower yesterday. I get out and called Sean over right away and he handled it way better than I did. He sure knows when to say the right thing these days! So last night before bed he read to me from our book of 1000 Pregnancy Questions which claims that there was nothing I could have done to prevent the marks (it’s so nice to be absolved of that one!) and then I was treated to a nice belly rub with some Body Shop Hemp Lotion. Maybe they aren’t such a bad thing after all!
It all started on Tuesday. I woke up feeling pretty normal but after I got out of bed the Kid who has been living with it’s head snuggled under my ribs for the longest while decided it was time for a change. Well into the afternoon I could feel the baby put it’s head into my pelvis then apparently unhappy with the position it would elbow, shoulder and knee it’s way back out. I felt like a parking lot at a senior’s center on Bingo night. In…not quite right…out…in…nope just a little more to the left…out…in…maybe I should face the other way…half turn…out. That was the most stretched I’ve felt so far and I now have 3 red marks on either side of my belly button to prove it.
My waist now looks sort of like this \ \ \ * / / /
So I discover these things in the shower yesterday. I get out and called Sean over right away and he handled it way better than I did. He sure knows when to say the right thing these days! So last night before bed he read to me from our book of 1000 Pregnancy Questions which claims that there was nothing I could have done to prevent the marks (it’s so nice to be absolved of that one!) and then I was treated to a nice belly rub with some Body Shop Hemp Lotion. Maybe they aren’t such a bad thing after all!
Thursday, March 16, 2006
Boobs, can they really get that big?
So last week I put in my nursing bra order with my sister Jose in Ottawa. They’re on they’re way here via Airmail and I’m secretly hoping the package gets opened in Japanese customs. The cup size alone would inspire fantasies amongst the men and envy amongst the women in that building for years to come!
There’s no chance in hell I could find a nursing bra here that would fit me. At least not on Hokkaido anyways. I checked in Sapporo and the biggest were 20 cm too short around the body. The cups went up to a small looking DD and were padded of all friggin’ things! So when I went to Ottawa this past fall I was fitted and taught the secrets to proper bra measurement so I could guesstimate my post delivery size at about 7 months. By my calculations I’ll be a 40 DDD within the first two weeks after delivering the baby. It seems huge to me but I’m almost a full 40 DD at this point. When I was figuring out my size I was running back and forth between the boob measuring instructions written out by the maternity shop, the back up instructions I Googled on the computer and the mirror. I used to be a 38 C now I’ll be able to use my bra’s to launch canon balls across the Pacific! Sean is of course excited beyond words!
There’s no chance in hell I could find a nursing bra here that would fit me. At least not on Hokkaido anyways. I checked in Sapporo and the biggest were 20 cm too short around the body. The cups went up to a small looking DD and were padded of all friggin’ things! So when I went to Ottawa this past fall I was fitted and taught the secrets to proper bra measurement so I could guesstimate my post delivery size at about 7 months. By my calculations I’ll be a 40 DDD within the first two weeks after delivering the baby. It seems huge to me but I’m almost a full 40 DD at this point. When I was figuring out my size I was running back and forth between the boob measuring instructions written out by the maternity shop, the back up instructions I Googled on the computer and the mirror. I used to be a 38 C now I’ll be able to use my bra’s to launch canon balls across the Pacific! Sean is of course excited beyond words!
What the locals are saying and doing
Boy or girl? Well, every Japanese woman save 1 that I have asked is convinced we’re having a boy. The reason we’re having a boy is because the baby is high up and straight out or so I’m told. Usually the answer is preceded by the rubbing of my belly, a long view of my profile and all sorts of questions. Do you crave fruit or meat? What was the weather when you conceived? Are you tired? You’re not still driving your car are you? The belly rubbing is by far the most bizarre. This is a culture where all manner of salutations, thanks and respect are paid with varying degrees of bowing. Well, all the rules go out the window between women folk when one or more in the group are pregnant. This weirded me out at first. I had never been touched by a Japanese person until I was doing an English lesson with a dynamic group of ladies in Memuro. It was the first time most of us met. I did my usual self-introduction and for the heck of it I thru in the fact that I was 3 months pregnant. Man, talk about a sweet ice-breaker! These gals were so excited they were vibrating in their seats! By the end of the 90 minute session everyone in that room had either touched or rubbed my totally un-pregnant looking tummy. Now that I’m full on and very visibly pregnant there’s no stopping them! The best is the girls in my grade 1 and 2 classes. They stand under my tummy and wrap their arms around from the bottom up so all I see are these little waving hands in front of my face!
So far this is a phenomenon shared only amongst women. I’ve had the standard questions from the men. One of my VP’s asked me if the baby was moving a lot and I told him “Yup, it feels just like a big fish in there!” I’m not sure anyone had ever been that honest with him! On my last day of classes at his school he gave me a charm for a fast and easy birth from the local Shinto Shrine. It was a lovely gesture and had a definite touch affect on me. The guys are just much more sly about it I guess!
So far this is a phenomenon shared only amongst women. I’ve had the standard questions from the men. One of my VP’s asked me if the baby was moving a lot and I told him “Yup, it feels just like a big fish in there!” I’m not sure anyone had ever been that honest with him! On my last day of classes at his school he gave me a charm for a fast and easy birth from the local Shinto Shrine. It was a lovely gesture and had a definite touch affect on me. The guys are just much more sly about it I guess!
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Where in the heck?
It's been a busy month and I've had a nasty cold coming on 3 weeks now. I'm finally starting to gain on the cold and feel motivated to do more than sleep. Plus, I'm finishing up at work today then I've got another busy weekend and then next week I'll be free until launch day! So more from me soon. I've got blogs posts floating around in my head with titles like...
"What the locals are saying"
"Boobs, can they really get that big?"
"First Prenatal class"
"What the locals are saying"
"Boobs, can they really get that big?"
"First Prenatal class"
Friday, February 10, 2006
Another growth spurt on the way?
The kid seems to be growing in fits and starts and I think it’s ramping up for another growth spurt. Yesterday I was starving all day, cold and thirsty. Our gas heater has been acting up and I had a few words with it on more than one occasion. I finally gave up on it and told it off…“I hope you know I think you’re f%@kin’ useless!” I’m sure it’ll be working much better today. I drank so much water, tea and juice that I couldn’t be away from the toilet for more than 45 minutes. I had breakfast, 2nd breakfast, lunch, 2nd lunch, afternoon tea and dinner. With plenty of grazing in between of course! Should be an interesting and somewhat tiring week.
Wednesday, February 08, 2006
Set to ride in style
We bought our stroller a couple of weeks ago! You may be interested to know that in Japan it’s called a “baby car”. Just like every other car in this country it has as many names as a pedigree Shiba Inu. This particular model is the “Combi, A-Style, Stylish Sports” and it has a sticker on the side that proclaims it to be “As gentle as a mother’s arms”! Shopping for a stroller is a task not for those who easily succumb to option paralysis. Buying a stroller in Japan narrowed our choices quite nicely which, was a bit of a mercy. First on the list of “must haves” Sean had to be able push the stroller while standing completely upright. Sounds crazy but we tried out a few that had Sean bending at the waist to reach! Then we both agreed that it had to be sturdy and that I had to be able to open and close it using only one hand. Due to the general lack of space to store anything here many strollers fold into shapes and sizes that are really quite remarkable. Sadly this requires many folding components and more moving parts than you would believe which makes for a pretty rickety feel. Next it needed to have a push bar that could flip from side to side (a wise recommendation from our dear friend Jess!) and a sun hood that would completely cover the Kid from the darn harsh northern Japan UV. Price was also a concern. There are more strollers in the $400 to $550 price range than there are in the $200 to $300 range. The stroller we bought was originally $200 and we picked it up on sale for a mere $150!
We are currently shopping for the car seat. Then the bassinette and all the big stuff will be out of the way! Yippee!!
We are currently shopping for the car seat. Then the bassinette and all the big stuff will be out of the way! Yippee!!
Monday, February 06, 2006
The 3rd trimester is officially here!
Not quite the final countdown but we’re getting close to it. The ‘ol belly is noticeably bigger each week and we’re up to visiting the doctor every 2 weeks now. Here’s the goods on the last 3 doc appointments leading up to the beginning of the 3rd trimester…
Dec 20
-baby weight: approx. 470 grams (a wee bit over a pound)
-mom’s weight: as if!
-lots of movement
-all is well
Jan 21
-baby weight: approx. 1300 grams (that’s almost 3 pounds and 2.75 times bigger since the last visit a month ago!)
-I’ve been really tired this month and the growth spurt the Kid went thru definitely has a lot to do with that
-nurses initially thought I had high blood pressure but they spooked me when they didn’t give me advance warning that I had to get a blood test and it sent my BP through the ceiling. The head nurse talked me down though. She wears such pretty pink lipstick. It’s nearly hypnotic. Maybe I can get Sean to wear the same color for the delivery!
-all is well
Feb 4
-baby weight: approx. 1340 grams
-blood test results from previous visit good eg: HIV was negative (apparently they don’t have to ask for your permission for that one in this country!)
-got to hear the babies heart beat for the first time. COOL!
-legs are still about 2 weeks of growth ahead of the body! Hopefully at this rate our child will not end up with a 26 inch inseam like me!
-all is well
-signed up for our prenatal classes on Mar 8. YIKES!
Dec 20
-baby weight: approx. 470 grams (a wee bit over a pound)
-mom’s weight: as if!
-lots of movement
-all is well
Jan 21
-baby weight: approx. 1300 grams (that’s almost 3 pounds and 2.75 times bigger since the last visit a month ago!)
-I’ve been really tired this month and the growth spurt the Kid went thru definitely has a lot to do with that
-nurses initially thought I had high blood pressure but they spooked me when they didn’t give me advance warning that I had to get a blood test and it sent my BP through the ceiling. The head nurse talked me down though. She wears such pretty pink lipstick. It’s nearly hypnotic. Maybe I can get Sean to wear the same color for the delivery!
-all is well
Feb 4
-baby weight: approx. 1340 grams
-blood test results from previous visit good eg: HIV was negative (apparently they don’t have to ask for your permission for that one in this country!)
-got to hear the babies heart beat for the first time. COOL!
-legs are still about 2 weeks of growth ahead of the body! Hopefully at this rate our child will not end up with a 26 inch inseam like me!
-all is well
-signed up for our prenatal classes on Mar 8. YIKES!
Would it be possible to keep my cervix out of this?
Around the end of November I started to feel the first signs of movement. At first I didn’t really know what I was feeling and was convinced it was gas. By mid December the movement had developed into full on kicking, spinning and what felt like jumping jacks. There is really nothing more life affirming than feeling a baby moving around inside your own body. Up until that stage the doctor told us there was a growing embryo in there and we had seen the “Bean” in ultrasounds. But once it starts moving the reality of being pregnant really starts to kick in as it were. Sean felt the baby moving for the first time on December 17 and some time after that “the Bean” graduated into “the Baby” or “the Kid”. It would appear movement allows for a more human reference!
For the first time in my life I experienced being kicked in the cervix from the inside (not that I’ve ever been kicked in the cervix from the outside!). Took my breath away it did. At the time the kid weighed in at a little under a pound! Good grief what’s gonna happen when “the Kid” gets some more weight on it’s side!
For the first time in my life I experienced being kicked in the cervix from the inside (not that I’ve ever been kicked in the cervix from the outside!). Took my breath away it did. At the time the kid weighed in at a little under a pound! Good grief what’s gonna happen when “the Kid” gets some more weight on it’s side!
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