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...
Tuesday, June 27, 2006
Thanks Pat/Mom/Gramma!
We took Pat to the airport the day before yesterday. It was a very tearful good-bye and somewhat unbelievable too. Pat had been here for nearly 5 weeks and the time flew by so quickly that it seems it was just last week when we were picking her up from the airport.
It was great to have you here Pat. Thanks for washing the endless dishes, keeping the dust bunnies in check and most of all for your good old fashioned motherly love, support and advice! We feel really lucky that you could be here for us during such a stressful and crucial time.
We have so many great photo’s to remind us of Pat’s visit. Between the 3 of us we literally took hundreds of photo’s. Hopefully Keenan won’t suffer any retina damage from looking into the camera flash all day! I’ve added a few photo’s from Pat’s visit to Flickr so check ‘em out if you can.
Thanks again for coming Pat! We can’t wait to have you and Tom back next year!
Thursday, June 22, 2006
6 weeks
It’s really hard to believe that it’s been 6 weeks since our little guy was born. He is changing so quickly and it’s really fascinating to watch him explore his world. He really likes to sit upright to check things out and can hold up his head and look around for short periods of time. This week he started blowing bubbles and he’s really starting to put his little voice to work. So far his favorite words are “nnngooo” and “agga” and something that sounds a heck of a lot like onguent! It’s pretty easy to get a smile out of him these days and we are early awaiting his first laugh. His little legs love to kick and thrash about and this morning he moved himself about a 12 inches on the bed by lying on his back and pushing with his feet. Geez, soon he’ll be walking, then riding a bike, then off to university!
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Photo's for Daddy
Sean is away on business in Tokyo for 5 days. That’s nearly a quarter of Keenan’s short life so far!
Hey there honey, I've posted some photo’s of the fam and the babe you haven’t seen yet.
We miss you,
Mommy and Keenan oxoxoxo
PS~You owe me about 25 diaper changes so far!
Hey there honey, I've posted some photo’s of the fam and the babe you haven’t seen yet.
We miss you,
Mommy and Keenan oxoxoxo
PS~You owe me about 25 diaper changes so far!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Those 14 mintues…
Written on May 18th…
I was just laying on the bed with Keenan and I realized that one week ago today at this time I was in the delivery room and just heard the doctor tell Jessyca that he had some recommendations since I was starting to appear very tired. I could keep going and try to give birth naturally, have the baby delivered with vacuum assistance or have an oxytocin drip to strengthen my contractions. That was at 12 noon and there was no way in hell that I had come thru 15 hours of labor to have to resort to any means of artificial induction. I made up my mind at that point that I was going to give it my all during the next sets of contractions and get that baby out. He was born at 12:14. What a crazy 14 minutes.
I was just laying on the bed with Keenan and I realized that one week ago today at this time I was in the delivery room and just heard the doctor tell Jessyca that he had some recommendations since I was starting to appear very tired. I could keep going and try to give birth naturally, have the baby delivered with vacuum assistance or have an oxytocin drip to strengthen my contractions. That was at 12 noon and there was no way in hell that I had come thru 15 hours of labor to have to resort to any means of artificial induction. I made up my mind at that point that I was going to give it my all during the next sets of contractions and get that baby out. He was born at 12:14. What a crazy 14 minutes.
It’s a boy…don't let the pink towel fool you!
Introducing Keenan Thomas!
Born on Wednesday, May 11th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Weight: 4373 grams (9.6 pounds)*
Length: 51.4 cm
At: Keiai Maternity Hospital in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan
*We were told by our doctor that Keenan might possibly be the biggest first born baby in his hospital this year!
Keenan, Sean and myself are doing very well. I’m currently very busy trying to get Keenan to put some weight on so I don’t have much chance to get on the computer. Stay tuned though more news and tons more photos as I have the time.
Many, many thanks to everyone for following this blog, sending their emails and love and visiting us in the hospital.
Born on Wednesday, May 11th, 2006 at 12:14 pm
Weight: 4373 grams (9.6 pounds)*
Length: 51.4 cm
At: Keiai Maternity Hospital in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Japan
*We were told by our doctor that Keenan might possibly be the biggest first born baby in his hospital this year!
Keenan, Sean and myself are doing very well. I’m currently very busy trying to get Keenan to put some weight on so I don’t have much chance to get on the computer. Stay tuned though more news and tons more photos as I have the time.
Many, many thanks to everyone for following this blog, sending their emails and love and visiting us in the hospital.
May 9 Doc appointment…Bless my Dutch bones!
Yesterday I had my last doctor appointment before the arrival of this Kid. I can say that with certainty as we have decided that if we don’t have this baby by Thursday afternoon we will go in to start the induction process on Thursday evening.
My appointment was a mixed bag of emotions, results and events. I was going to call this post “Strike Two” as my doctor made his second big mistake with me but I’ve since put his indiscretion behind me (yes I will elaborate on this later).
Eiko picked me up and we were in hospital at about 9:45 am. Huge lineups, extra chairs were set out and it was hot as Hell in there. I got in pretty quickly and got my blood pressure, pee test and weight check over with. My blood pressure was initially a little on the high side but it was ok the second time around. Non stress test was normal. Sean and I had decided we would indeed go through with the pelvic x-ray that the hospital was recommending and fretting profusely about. The results are as follows….
Average Japanese woman’s pelvic opening = 11 cm
My pelvic opening = 13.2 cm
Babies head size = 9.5 cm
…that’s nearly 4 cm of extra room folks. Not that I’m surprised. Thanks mom for passing those good ‘ol European child bearing hips on to me! So that insanity is now dealt with.
The sonogram went fine and determined the following…
-baby weight: approx. 4169 grams (approx. 9.1 lbs)
So on to the internal exam. This is where I sit in this really quite comfortable examination chair that is like a dentist chair for pelvic exams. Lifts and separates one could say. To the point where my shins are parallel with the ceiling, knees are about 2.5 feet apart, my back is at about a 45 degree angle to the floor and my head is about 6 feet off the floor. I always have to try to stifle a giggle when the doc walks in and says “ok, please relax”. It’s just such a ridiculous request in that position. Anyways, I’m as used to this as earthquakes by now and just stare out the window during the process. Except this time. My doc had decided without consulting with me that was going to strip my membranes. And just dives right in and does it. For the uninitiated stripping the membranes is a process where by the doctor inserts his finger into the cervix opening and separates the wall of the uterus from the amniotic sac. It’s mother fucking painful. Especially when you don’t know it’s coming. So naturally I tried to get out of the chair. Over the head rest. I was so stunned I couldn’t say anything. He was happy to ask me to relax again and told me he was just trying to stimulate natural labor. Fucker. We’re gonna have a little talk about this tomorrow. I’m not up for a third strike. Plus, I need to trust this guy. Good grief. So we finish up the appointment with me feeling like I’m in shock, I couldn’t even tell Eiko. [Gomenasai Eiko! I just couldn’t find the words!] So Eiko and I go out and get groceries, go out for ice cream do some other shopping. I was very happy to get home, climb into bed and wait for Sean to get home so I could have my little meltdown. And meltdown I did. It felt great.
So tomorrow at 4 pm I get admitted into the hospital, I have my little chat with the doctor and they keep my under observation until the morning. On Friday morning they start my Oxytocin drip at 8:30 am and hopefully by Mother’s Day the newest O’Flanagan will be snuggled in our arms.
My appointment was a mixed bag of emotions, results and events. I was going to call this post “Strike Two” as my doctor made his second big mistake with me but I’ve since put his indiscretion behind me (yes I will elaborate on this later).
Eiko picked me up and we were in hospital at about 9:45 am. Huge lineups, extra chairs were set out and it was hot as Hell in there. I got in pretty quickly and got my blood pressure, pee test and weight check over with. My blood pressure was initially a little on the high side but it was ok the second time around. Non stress test was normal. Sean and I had decided we would indeed go through with the pelvic x-ray that the hospital was recommending and fretting profusely about. The results are as follows….
Average Japanese woman’s pelvic opening = 11 cm
My pelvic opening = 13.2 cm
Babies head size = 9.5 cm
…that’s nearly 4 cm of extra room folks. Not that I’m surprised. Thanks mom for passing those good ‘ol European child bearing hips on to me! So that insanity is now dealt with.
The sonogram went fine and determined the following…
-baby weight: approx. 4169 grams (approx. 9.1 lbs)
So on to the internal exam. This is where I sit in this really quite comfortable examination chair that is like a dentist chair for pelvic exams. Lifts and separates one could say. To the point where my shins are parallel with the ceiling, knees are about 2.5 feet apart, my back is at about a 45 degree angle to the floor and my head is about 6 feet off the floor. I always have to try to stifle a giggle when the doc walks in and says “ok, please relax”. It’s just such a ridiculous request in that position. Anyways, I’m as used to this as earthquakes by now and just stare out the window during the process. Except this time. My doc had decided without consulting with me that was going to strip my membranes. And just dives right in and does it. For the uninitiated stripping the membranes is a process where by the doctor inserts his finger into the cervix opening and separates the wall of the uterus from the amniotic sac. It’s mother fucking painful. Especially when you don’t know it’s coming. So naturally I tried to get out of the chair. Over the head rest. I was so stunned I couldn’t say anything. He was happy to ask me to relax again and told me he was just trying to stimulate natural labor. Fucker. We’re gonna have a little talk about this tomorrow. I’m not up for a third strike. Plus, I need to trust this guy. Good grief. So we finish up the appointment with me feeling like I’m in shock, I couldn’t even tell Eiko. [Gomenasai Eiko! I just couldn’t find the words!] So Eiko and I go out and get groceries, go out for ice cream do some other shopping. I was very happy to get home, climb into bed and wait for Sean to get home so I could have my little meltdown. And meltdown I did. It felt great.
So tomorrow at 4 pm I get admitted into the hospital, I have my little chat with the doctor and they keep my under observation until the morning. On Friday morning they start my Oxytocin drip at 8:30 am and hopefully by Mother’s Day the newest O’Flanagan will be snuggled in our arms.
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Advice
We’ve been getting all sorts of advice since we started this journey to parenthood. Most of it has been really great, some frustrating, some ridiculous, and some even rude. But for some reason over the past 7 days we’ve got some real gems including my all time favorite words of encouragement in French. I’m posting all for the betterment of humankind!
“For the first couple of weeks after you have your baby don't get dressed - stay in your housecoat (Sean, this only applies to Nancy!). This helps people who come to visit realize that you are recuperating and that they should keep their visit short.” Dayle Craig
“Don’t slip in her amniotic fluid.” Patricia O’Flanagan
“If you have a choice between getting stitches or having the kid pulled out by one of those vacuum things…get the stitches. You’ll heal but you don’t want your poor child to have one of those awful bumps on its head for the rest of its life.” Petronella van Herpt (otherwise known as my mom)
“Lâche pas la patate!” translates to “Don’t let go of the potato!” Ghislain Demers
“Sex induces pregnancy” Kajsa Beck via Josh Ullery to Sean on the phone
“For the first couple of weeks after you have your baby don't get dressed - stay in your housecoat (Sean, this only applies to Nancy!). This helps people who come to visit realize that you are recuperating and that they should keep their visit short.” Dayle Craig
“Don’t slip in her amniotic fluid.” Patricia O’Flanagan
“If you have a choice between getting stitches or having the kid pulled out by one of those vacuum things…get the stitches. You’ll heal but you don’t want your poor child to have one of those awful bumps on its head for the rest of its life.” Petronella van Herpt (otherwise known as my mom)
“Lâche pas la patate!” translates to “Don’t let go of the potato!” Ghislain Demers
“Sex induces pregnancy” Kajsa Beck via Josh Ullery to Sean on the phone
Thursday, May 04, 2006
“Best before date”
Now that we’re officially “overdue” I'm changing my outlook to “we haven’t reached our best before date yet”. We know we’re going to induce before May 17th and it just sounds so much more positive!
As far as progress goes…on Wednesday I started having this feeling that the lower half of my body was being subjected to twice as much gravity as the rest of me. I’m feeling some serious downward pressure and I literally feel like I’m dragging my ass around with me everywhere I go! Yesterday afternoon I started feeling very sharp and localized tightening at different points around my belly. I’ve definitely not felt anything like that before. Hopefully all this build up leads to a trip to the hospital soon!
As far as progress goes…on Wednesday I started having this feeling that the lower half of my body was being subjected to twice as much gravity as the rest of me. I’m feeling some serious downward pressure and I literally feel like I’m dragging my ass around with me everywhere I go! Yesterday afternoon I started feeling very sharp and localized tightening at different points around my belly. I’ve definitely not felt anything like that before. Hopefully all this build up leads to a trip to the hospital soon!
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
May 2 Doc appointment
Yes, I know I wasn’t supposed to have a doctor’s appointment on Tuesday. But I got a call at around 11 am from my doctor to ask me if I was coming in and I said “no” because he had given me the choice of Tuesday or Friday this week and I chose Friday. The conversation went something like this…
Doc: “I’m sorry, I forgot Friday is a holiday. Can you come in today?”
Me: “Ok, but I need to have a shower and arrange a ride to the hospital so I can’t be there before 12:30.”
Doc: “No problem, I'm here all day just let me know when you can come by.”
Insert rant here:
I have to say that I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that hospitals here are closed everyday after 5pm, Sundays and holidays. This is complicated by the fact that doctors work out of hospitals and not their own office and that service is on a first come, first served basis.
So I picked up my list of friends to call in an emergency or when the “time” comes and started dialing. I left lots of messages and headed for the shower. I had a nice long hot one. Even shaved my legs. I got a hold of Eiko once I was all clean and moisturized and she said she’d pick me up at 1:30 so we could be at the hospital by 2. So I did the dishes and putzed around for a bit, wrote a note to Sean saying I wasn’t in labor and already at the hospital etc.
We get to the hospital and the doc makes his first real mistake he’s made with me the whole time we’ve known him. He hands me an “advised letter of consent” nicely and officially drawn up in very good English for a pelvic x-ray and induction. Wow, what a shocker. I could literally hear the iron gates of my defenses slamming down all around me. I had anticipated the topic of induction would come up but I didn’t think I was going to have the x-ray conversation again and I certainly didn’t think I’d be asked to sign any sort of letter of consent for either procedure. I was needless to say, “visibly agitated” but I can’t tell you how happy I was to have Eiko there. After all kinds of discussion in Japanese and English I headed in for my appointment. Got weighed, got my blood pressure taken (how it wasn’t thru the roof I’ll never know), tinkled in the cup and then headed for the physical part of the exam. All the while I’m letting off these huge sighs and the doc finally put his hand on my shoulder and said it’s ok, I’m sorry for upsetting you, we’ll talk about this as much as you want later…after your non-stress test! Well, it’s actually the Kid’s non-stress test not mine. The kid was totally unstressed while I sat in the monitoring room with my notebook propped up on my belly frantically writing questions about the letter and its contents.
Afterwards Eiko, the doc and I went over my questions. It turns out he personally doesn’t think I need an x-ray to determine if the baby is too large to fit thru my pelvis. But it is his hospital’s policy to do one if the baby reaches a certain size or if an induction is required. This is an unforeseen circumstance that Sean and I had no way of knowing was in the future for us. You simply can’t ask every possible question at the outset. On the topic of the x-ray I did grill the doctor on the associated risks, the hospital’s role in taking responsibility for the risks, what level/time/exposure of x-ray was being suggested and what proven side effects have been documented. I told him again that such a procedure would never be considered in North America given my size, family history, the baby’s current approximate weight and our health. I also told him it wasn’t even suggested women get dental x-rays when they are pregnant just to be safe. And that generally I was uncomfortable with his hospital’s policy and any form of x-ray that included my pelvis and our unborn child’s head. He told me he had no problem if I refused the x-ray but the risks associated with doing so would fall on our shoulders. It didn’t occur to me at the time but when I got home and discussed it with Sean we were left wondering if this is an insurance issue for the hospital. Perhaps if they don’t tick that “pelvic x-ray” box off in our file and something goes wrong then the hospital is on the hook. This seems highly likely given this culture’s love affair with being over-prepared. Another question we’ll have to ask. The doctor assured me that the x-ray was very low level and that it posed no risk to the baby or myself. Japan has been doing this procedure for well over 30 years and they have recorded no side effects thus far. He showed me the x-ray from another patient and he explained that it was very faint because they just need to see a shadow of the baby’s skull, shoulders and my pelvis for their purposes. We’re pretty much on the level on the topic of induction. They would want to induce me if the baby is not born before May 17th and they recommend using an oxytocin drip which we’re both fine with (I hugely oppose the production and use of synthetic hormones but this is one of those cases where I’ve chosen to cave). Both issues of x-ray and induction will be totally abandoned if the baby decides to make it’s way to the outside world on it’s own. We wrapped up with deciding I would come in on Saturday, May 6 for another non-stress test and then the following Tuesday for a regular appointment. On Tuesday we’ll give the doctor our decision on the x-ray and induction. So I left the hospital feeling a bit anxious but I was satisfied that all of my questions had been answered. I did have an overwhelming desire to talk to Sean and I knew he wouldn’t be home for work yet so Eiko and I did a bit of groceries and then headed home.
The lighter side to my day came after Eiko helped me carry the groceries upstairs. She left her car parked and running right outside the entrance to our building. Sure enough while she was on her way back down the stairs Sean rides up, recognizes her car and his first reaction is “Holy smokes, it’s go time”. Thoughts going through his head were “Is Nancy ok?”, “I’ve gotta wear this sweaty shirt to the hospital” and “My child’s first impression of me is going to be that I stink!” I stuck my head out the window to say good-bye to Eiko and witnessed the exchange between the two of them. I sure was grateful for that bit of comic relief at the end of such a stressful day!
Doc: “I’m sorry, I forgot Friday is a holiday. Can you come in today?”
Me: “Ok, but I need to have a shower and arrange a ride to the hospital so I can’t be there before 12:30.”
Doc: “No problem, I'm here all day just let me know when you can come by.”
Insert rant here:
I have to say that I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that hospitals here are closed everyday after 5pm, Sundays and holidays. This is complicated by the fact that doctors work out of hospitals and not their own office and that service is on a first come, first served basis.
So I picked up my list of friends to call in an emergency or when the “time” comes and started dialing. I left lots of messages and headed for the shower. I had a nice long hot one. Even shaved my legs. I got a hold of Eiko once I was all clean and moisturized and she said she’d pick me up at 1:30 so we could be at the hospital by 2. So I did the dishes and putzed around for a bit, wrote a note to Sean saying I wasn’t in labor and already at the hospital etc.
We get to the hospital and the doc makes his first real mistake he’s made with me the whole time we’ve known him. He hands me an “advised letter of consent” nicely and officially drawn up in very good English for a pelvic x-ray and induction. Wow, what a shocker. I could literally hear the iron gates of my defenses slamming down all around me. I had anticipated the topic of induction would come up but I didn’t think I was going to have the x-ray conversation again and I certainly didn’t think I’d be asked to sign any sort of letter of consent for either procedure. I was needless to say, “visibly agitated” but I can’t tell you how happy I was to have Eiko there. After all kinds of discussion in Japanese and English I headed in for my appointment. Got weighed, got my blood pressure taken (how it wasn’t thru the roof I’ll never know), tinkled in the cup and then headed for the physical part of the exam. All the while I’m letting off these huge sighs and the doc finally put his hand on my shoulder and said it’s ok, I’m sorry for upsetting you, we’ll talk about this as much as you want later…after your non-stress test! Well, it’s actually the Kid’s non-stress test not mine. The kid was totally unstressed while I sat in the monitoring room with my notebook propped up on my belly frantically writing questions about the letter and its contents.
Afterwards Eiko, the doc and I went over my questions. It turns out he personally doesn’t think I need an x-ray to determine if the baby is too large to fit thru my pelvis. But it is his hospital’s policy to do one if the baby reaches a certain size or if an induction is required. This is an unforeseen circumstance that Sean and I had no way of knowing was in the future for us. You simply can’t ask every possible question at the outset. On the topic of the x-ray I did grill the doctor on the associated risks, the hospital’s role in taking responsibility for the risks, what level/time/exposure of x-ray was being suggested and what proven side effects have been documented. I told him again that such a procedure would never be considered in North America given my size, family history, the baby’s current approximate weight and our health. I also told him it wasn’t even suggested women get dental x-rays when they are pregnant just to be safe. And that generally I was uncomfortable with his hospital’s policy and any form of x-ray that included my pelvis and our unborn child’s head. He told me he had no problem if I refused the x-ray but the risks associated with doing so would fall on our shoulders. It didn’t occur to me at the time but when I got home and discussed it with Sean we were left wondering if this is an insurance issue for the hospital. Perhaps if they don’t tick that “pelvic x-ray” box off in our file and something goes wrong then the hospital is on the hook. This seems highly likely given this culture’s love affair with being over-prepared. Another question we’ll have to ask. The doctor assured me that the x-ray was very low level and that it posed no risk to the baby or myself. Japan has been doing this procedure for well over 30 years and they have recorded no side effects thus far. He showed me the x-ray from another patient and he explained that it was very faint because they just need to see a shadow of the baby’s skull, shoulders and my pelvis for their purposes. We’re pretty much on the level on the topic of induction. They would want to induce me if the baby is not born before May 17th and they recommend using an oxytocin drip which we’re both fine with (I hugely oppose the production and use of synthetic hormones but this is one of those cases where I’ve chosen to cave). Both issues of x-ray and induction will be totally abandoned if the baby decides to make it’s way to the outside world on it’s own. We wrapped up with deciding I would come in on Saturday, May 6 for another non-stress test and then the following Tuesday for a regular appointment. On Tuesday we’ll give the doctor our decision on the x-ray and induction. So I left the hospital feeling a bit anxious but I was satisfied that all of my questions had been answered. I did have an overwhelming desire to talk to Sean and I knew he wouldn’t be home for work yet so Eiko and I did a bit of groceries and then headed home.
The lighter side to my day came after Eiko helped me carry the groceries upstairs. She left her car parked and running right outside the entrance to our building. Sure enough while she was on her way back down the stairs Sean rides up, recognizes her car and his first reaction is “Holy smokes, it’s go time”. Thoughts going through his head were “Is Nancy ok?”, “I’ve gotta wear this sweaty shirt to the hospital” and “My child’s first impression of me is going to be that I stink!” I stuck my head out the window to say good-bye to Eiko and witnessed the exchange between the two of them. I sure was grateful for that bit of comic relief at the end of such a stressful day!
Bye bye to the baby arrival countdown ticker!
I logged into my blog today to discover that the baby had been born without me even knowing it! The cute ticker that I normally have in the upper left corner announced that "I've arrived!". Friggin' nerve of the thing! I was wondering what would happen if I went past the due date.
So to sum up...the ticker ticked me off so it's gone, all is well and the baby is still on the inside!
So to sum up...the ticker ticked me off so it's gone, all is well and the baby is still on the inside!
Monday, May 01, 2006
Due tomorrow
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!
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!
“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!
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