The United States of America!

   This post is dedicated to our trip to America. Not much of a baby post, more of a life/family post.

Part 1. -To the Airport-
     Since we just moved to a location farther away from Tokyo, we had to travel about 2 hours to get to the city. We took the Shinkansen (aka Bullet Train) into Tokyo and stayed at Tomo's sister's apartment that night since our flight was too early the next day to make it in time from Nagano. The next morning we traveled the 1 1/2 hours to the airport. We got there nice and early so that we could have some down time and eat breakfast. But of course nothing ever goes as planned. We had trouble with customs regarding Jacet's nationality. Since we only had a U.S. Passport and no legitimate proof that he was Japanese, there would be a hard time getting him back into the country. So they had to make a tourist visa for him, which took about an hour. Because of that, we lost all of our relaxing time and had to go straight to boarding the plane. 

Bassinet on airplane

     The good thing about having an infant on a long flight is that, if requested, you get to sit in the bulk head seats with lots of leg room! Plus they provide an infant bassinet that connects to the wall. This made for a very easy flight...not counting the fact that even though Jacet slept pretty well, I did not because I was worried he couldn't breathe...

Part 2. -Arrival-

Grampa holding Jacet for the first time

      We arrived at JFK around 10am to be greeted by my family. Everyone was so excited! I could tell that they would rather greet the baby first rather than me but they all welcomed Tomo and I before Jacet stole the attention. He was a very happy baby and smiled for everyone.
 

Gramma holding Jacet for the first time

 The morning after we landed, I had a nice brunch with my sister and mom at a cute little local cafe. They make great sandwiches and breakfast burritos! That evening the extended family on my dad's side came over for some hot dogs and burgers and to meet the cute little baby. We weren't sure how he would react to so many people surrounding him since it's usually just the three of us, but he was so well behaved! He's such a happy baby.

The next day we drove to my grandparents' house so he could meet some of the other side of the family. My older brother, sister in law, and their 3 kids were there as well. Jacet was yet again so well behaved. Part of it was probably due to jet lag though now that I think about it...

Later on I had a nice relaxing lunch with some of my very good friends. We chatted and caught up on things and later went back to my parents house to see the baby. He was of course passed around and he was of course a happy little boy. Apart from feeding him, Tomo and Joseph (younger brother) took care of him most of the day so that I could relax and enjoy my time with my friends. It was such a good day and I wish I wasn't so far away so that we could have more like it!

Jacet the pimp!

Sister, Me, Mom, Jacet

Part 3. -The Yankee Game-
    
    We made a last minute decision to go to a Yankee Game and managed to get some cheap tickets. Of course the seats weren't that good but it all worked out. We decided to spend the day in the city, so my parents watched Jacet for the day. We met my sister and her co-worker for lunch and then walked around a little. It then decided to rain. We didn't have much to do so we went to the game a little early. We took some pictures around the stadium, bought some stadium food and drinks, and waited for the game to start. It was very exciting! ....until it started pouring, which led to a rain delay for about an hour. Our seats were worth the cheap price then because they were under the hanging and we didn't get wet. We decided to leave early since it was wet and miserable and I wanted to get home to Jacet. But yet again things just don't go as planned. We got to the train station and lo and behold we had just missed it. The next train wasn't for another hour, so even though we had planned to get back nice and early, fate just wouldn't have it.

Yankee Stadium

Tomo and Kuroda

Tomo and Ichiro

Part 4. -The Wedding-

   Next up is my cousin's wedding! Because the location was a few hours away from my family's home, we booked a hotel room for the night. We had special permission to bring Jacet to the reception so that the family on my mom's side could meet him. I was quite nervous about bringing him because of the loud music and I didn't want him to steal any attention from the bride and groom, but of course he was an angel. Of course he got a lot of attention, but he didn't take any away from the new married couple! It was a wonderful and beautiful wedding. I'm so glad that I had the chance to attend! That night, all three of us conked out for the night and slept very soundly after such an exhausting and fun-filled evening!

Part 5. -Boston-
     Then comes Boston. We stayed at my Aunt and cousin's home which we are very grateful for. Jace accompanied us and was watched by my Aunt and three cousins for the day while Tomo and I visited the city. It was a very hot day and we did a lot of walking around. We explored the waterfront area and ate at a nice Italian restaurant. Boston is such a nice city and we always have a good time visiting. It was just a short visit since we arrived late and needed to get back early, but it was worth it.

Part 6. -Returning to Japan-
 
   My parents drove us to LaGuardia airport in NY where we had a short flight to Chicago and then on to Tokyo. We arrived in Chicago about 20 minutes early, only to find out that our flight to Tokyo was delayed 4 hours...leaving us a total of 7 hours to wait! Using this extra time to our advantage, we decided to head out to the city and explore since neither of us had ever been there. It's a very nice city! We didn't have too much time to do or see a lot and didn't have anything planned, so most of the time was spent walking around trying to find a place to eat lunch. We found a nice Italian place in the Italian Village place and had some really good bread, salad, and pasta. Unfortunately, Jacet decided to get hungry and cranky and would not calm down so we had to pack up the food and leave. After that we just decided to head back to the airport.

After waiting awhile we finally boarded the plane. We had nice spacious seats again and the person next to us never showed up, giving us an extra seat! Jacet got his little bassinet again thankfully. We all slept a lot better on this flight, although I did wind up holding Jacet a lot because of turbulence. He was very good though and slept most of the flight. He must have been worn out from entertaining so many people!

We landed at Narita pretty late and only JUST made the last train back to Nagano. It was hectic and hot! Not to mention that the Shinkansen was completely full and so many people were standing even before we got on. Luckily two very nice people let us sit down since we had a baby, a stroller, a baby bag, a backpack, and 2 suitcases.

We finally made it back to our house around 11:30pm but because of jetlag, were not tired! Jacet conked right out though. 

And that wraps up the very wonderful trip to America! I am so so glad that my family and friends got to meet Jacet in person, and that I got the chance to relax. I hope we will be able to visit again next year!

Next up: Jacet's 3 month update!

New Town: Saku City

  In the last post I mentioned that we were moving again. Well, we did. We are all moved in to the new place. I somehow managed to unpack the whole house AND take care of an almost 3 month old in just about 2 days. I was quite proud of that!

The town (or city technically) that we moved to is called "Saku." It's much more countryside than where we were before, and much farther from Tokyo. It's not a bad little place. There are a lot of trees and parks, the sky is blue and clean, and I think we can see stars at night though I haven't checked. It doesn't get unbearably muggy like Tokyo and surrounding areas and it cools down most nights. The only bad points are that there are tons of bugs, especially dragonflies, there's not much to do, and they have very very strict and elaborate garbage separation rules...I'll talk about that later.

Living Room

Kitchen

As for our house, it's a cute little "tri-plex." Instead of a duplex, there are 3 houses connected. We're stuck in the middle. It's just a small 2 bedroom, 1 bath, kitchen, Living Room house, but it'll do. The two stories makes it feel more like a home than apartments do. The location is very convenient. It's within walking distance to a big park, a small park, convenience stores, and two shopping plaza/department stores. There are also quite a few restaurant nearby. Jacet and I have been taking nice morning walks with the stroller to explore the area. It's very relaxing.

But then there are the garbage rules. So so many, as you can see by this picture on the right. Practically everything
except food and papers get recycled. Plastic wrap, ramen containers, take-out containers, plastic wrappings and bags, milk cartons, aluminum foil etc. Oh but if its too dirty it goes with the trash. We have to use special garbage bags and I can't put garbage that's in a plastic shopping bag into the garbage...it has to be emptied from that plastic bag into the special garbage bag, and that plastic bag is then recycled. For example, the supermarket plastic bag that I put dirty diapers in cannot be thrown away, I have to empty the diapers into the trash bag and recycle the shopping bag. Does that make sense to everyone? It's just so much work and so many rules and exceptions, I don't know how I'll ever get it down. 

I wouldn't worry about it so much if not for the fact that if it looks wrong, they check the garbage. They then find out who's garbage it is and make them correct it. I know this because they've already made us re-do all of our garbage from before I knew about the rules completely...not a very pleasant experience.

But, all in all not a bad place to live for the next 6 months!

On a random final note: Tomo bought me a very nice and sharp ceramic knife! So excited to use it!

Moving Again...

    Yes you read that right. We are moving yet again. What was supposed to be a six month stay turned out to be a short 4 month stay in this town. We got a short 2 week notice about the move and I've got only 4 days to pack up EVERYTHING! On top of taking care of a (almost) 3 month old! Not to mention getting ready for our vacation to America, which is a short FOUR days after we move! It's going to be a busy busy week!

     Long story short, Tomo's store is moving to a bigger, better location and Tomo is not quite at the level required for management of the new store. So, we get sent to a different town that has a store that suits his level. In this case, we are moving to a much smaller town somewhere in the semi-countryside. We will be surrounded on all four sides by mountains and there were not very many housing options! We will be leaving out very nice, spacious apartment (if you haven't seen our current apartment, check out pictures HERE )  for a very cramped, small, but two story house-type apartment. Sort of like a duplex, except really small. I'm a little worried that we won't be able to fit all of our stuff! But we will probably only be staying in this new place until March, so we will have to put up with it. A good point: There are a lot of hot springs and ski slopes in the area! I don't really ski or snowboard, but Tomo does so at least he'll enjoy that.

Of course I will be taking pictures and sharing with everyone once we're settled in and probably after we get back from the states.

Quick Baby Update:

 Not much to update here. Poor baby has what's called a "Bohn's Nodule" on his gums, which is basically a keratin filled cyst that looks like a tooth and should disappear once the actual tooth comes in. So Jacet has been acting like he's teething already! Lots of drool, everything goes in the mouth, chew chew chew. He was a little cranky about it at first, but I think he's getting used to it since he has calmed down.

  He also had a clogged tear duct, which means that his eye basically wasn't able to drain the tears and they would dry up and get crusty around his eye. The doctor gave us some eye drops and it cleared up within a day!

    The little slow poke is finally starting to push his head and shoulders off the ground. While a lot of babies are starting to roll over from their tummy to back, this little guy shows no interest. He enjoys licking the mat too much! But I'm sure he'll get there in his own time. In the meantime, I'll just keep making him practice!
  

That's all for now. Just a quick boring update. He's starting to wake from his nap and I've got a ton of packing to do!

Until next time~~

2 months plus shots!

   I can't believe my baby boy is already 2 months old! Time is flying by! It's amazing to see how much he's changed since he was born, both physically and mentally. So here's an update so you all can experience his growth as well!

*Jacet from Day 1 to 8 weeks!*

I want to start by saying that taking care of a baby is a definite learning experience for us all. There are times where my patience is tried and times where I'm just so exhausted, but I have learned to put these things aside for the sake of my baby. 

I have learned that there are many "cranky" and "fussy" stages in a babies life. During specific growth spurt periods the baby will most likely be more fussy and cranky and also want to eat much more often. These growths spurts usually last about a week and they occur at about 3 weeks, 6 weeks, 9 weeks, and basically every 3 months. We went through the 6 week phase recently and honestly it wasn't so bad. He wasn't anymore fussy than usual, but he did eat a lot more often, almost every hour! 

Jacet is now 8 weeks and has been a lot fussier than normal. I was wondering if maybe it was another growth spurt and did some searching online. I came across this book called "The Wonder Weeks," which apparently explains the different phases and changes a baby goes through. I haven't read the book, but there is a chart that goes with it that outlines each week. It shows that 8 weeks is a "stormy" period. The website explained further that most babies go through a developmental milestone at this time. They are beginning to see designs and colors, and learning to reach out their hands to grab things. Since they are experiencing these changes they may feel overwhelmed and hence cranky and clingy. Well, Jacet has definitely been clingy and fussy! 

I also found this website which explains the book in more detail: http://www.whosthatmom.com/wonder-weeks-week-by-week/

So now I can be prepared for the rest of the "stormy" periods!

*all smiles!*

We had a bout of constipation around 7 weeks. He would wake up at night screaming when he tried to pass gas or have a bowel movement. I would move his legs in a bicycle motion which helped most of the time. I think that was caused by me drinking too much milk. I have cut bak a lot of dairy and while his gas isn't gone, it's definitely better. There were a few days where he had not pooped but was passing very smelly gas which had me worried. But then he EXPLODED after about 4 days. Thankfully it all stayed in the diaper. The next day he exploded again which did NOT stay in the diaper and I was fortunate to have had him on my lap at the time...while wearing the new shorts Tomo had bought for me just the day before! I managed to get them soaked and washed in time before the stain set in though! Can't even tell it happened.

DAILY ROUTINE:

This is mostly for my benefit so I can compare as he gets older, or reference to when I have other children :). But maybe some of you will like to see what we do during the day. 

It's basically a 3 or 3 1/2 hr cycle of eat, play, sleep. I let him sleep as long as he wants at night so our day doesn't always start at the same time, but here is a general breakdown:

*he loves his light up crab and Mr. Hippo!*

7:30 - wake up and eat 

8:00 - play

9:00 - nap (walk if weather permitting)

10:00 - wake up and eat. 

REPEAT
7:00pm- eat

8:00 - bath time 

8:30/9:00 -bedtime

11:00 - late night "dream feed"

4:00am - middle of the night feed (sometimes)

7:30 - wake up and do it all again

MILESTONE UPDATES:

I'm just going to make a list of new things that Jacet has started learning and doing recently. 

- he now smiles on purpose

- he coos and ahhs a lot

- has very good neck/head control

- he reaches out his arms to try to touch and grab things

- he's very good at grabbing hair
- starting to drool

- he found his thumb to suck on!

- he "stands" when you put him on his feet, with support of course

- he mostly sleeps through the night! 

2 MONTH STATS:

In Japan they do not do a 2 month check up. The next check-up we have is at 3 months, so these measurements were done by me and probably not totally accurate. 

Weight: about 11lb 11oz 

Length: about 23 in 

Head Circumference: about 15.7 in 

Poor baby got his first two shots today! Cried up a storm and sadly the nurses took him away from me just so the Dr could explain things too me, which he could've done beforehand! They always seem to do that, at birth they did, at his 1 month check-up they did, and now for his shots! That's one thing I don't like about the Japanese system. 

*a note on vaccines* apparently we have to pay for rotavirus, hep B, measles, and chicken pox. And it's not cheap! But the Dr. said that if we stay in Japan we do not need Hep B as it's not common here and most babies do not get the vaccine. There is also the BCG (I think it's for tuberculosis?) vaccine they do here but he recommends that if we stay in America, we don't need it.

As for me, I'm working on losing the rest of my pregnancy weight! It's going slower than expected but I'm trying to be patient. Priority is staying healthy so Jacet is healthy.

So I think that's about all that happened the past month! Stay tuned for next month's update, which will be after we return from our trip to America!

*sleepy-head*

1 Month!

  My baby boy has already turned 1 month old! Time really does fly by. He's gotten so big already and looking back at pictures from when he was born show such a big change!

Jacet and I both had our 1 month checkups this week. He now measures 53 cm (about 21 in) and weighs 4.5kg (about 9 lb 12oz). He's gained about 3.5 lbs in a month, which is very good and it puts me at ease to know that he's getting enough milk from me.  He is getting better at holding up his head and is starting to make noises besides grunts and squeaks. Soon he'll be making "ooh's" and "ah's!" 

  He's been more active and awake during the day, which is both nice and exhausting. During the night he sleeps for 3 hour stretches, which is surprisingly refreshing for me. I'm not as tired as I thought I would be.  He also recently went through a growth spurt where he would fuss and be cranky and eat often. That, thankfully, has passed for now! 

As for me, I'm still trying to breastfeed and we are slowly getting better at it. We have good days and bad days. I haven't lost all the pregnancy weight but now that I'm cleared for exercise maybe it'll come off quicker! I can't wait to start taking Jacet out for quick walks through the town and parks. We've been cooped up inside for far too long!

Overall I am healthy, and he is a healthy, chubby, adorable 1 month old. And he's all mine!

Next up: passport application and vaccines!

   

Life with Baby

I meant to post this a week ago but I got caught up in things and didn't get a chance. So rather than a 1 week birthday update, here's a 2 week birthday update!
Continuing from my birth story:

A WEEK AT THE HOSPITAL:
I mentioned way back in the beginning of my pregnancy that in Japan it's custom to stay in the hospital for a week after giving birth. It was actually a very beneficial stay and I'm glad they have that custom.

After birthing Jacet and cleaning him up and letting me hold him, they took him straight to the nursery. I would have preferred having him stay with me in my room so I could breastfeed and bond but apparently they don't do that the first night. The first night is meant for the rest and recovery of the mother. I was fine with that because I knew he was in good hands, I was just disappointed.

I believe I was the only one who gave birth that night and I was fortunate to get a very good private room. It was located right next to the bathroom and showers so it felt like they were my own, though they were shared. There were only about 4 or 5 others staying at the same time so it was very quiet and relaxing.

The first night was a little rough for me. I was in pain and bleeding of course. I couldn't sleep because I couldn't get comfortable AND because I was wondering how my baby was doing, not to mention the fact that the nurses came to check on me every hour...

The first day was very long. Tomo had told me that they were going to bring Jacet to me in the morning to spend the day, but he never came. I waited and wondered but thought maybe Tomo had gotten things mixed up. Nurses came and gave me a schedule of the week and checked up on my recovery, but no Jacet. Finally Tomo was able to visit after work and asked the nurses why they hadn't brought the baby. Apparently they thought they were supposed to wait for Tomo to come or something. I'm still not sure about what happened there, but they finally brought me my baby. I was only able to spend an hour with him and feel like I missed a lot of bonding time :(

The next day was a busy day on my schedule. I was to have an aroma therapy massage and a nice fancy lunch from the expensive hotel nearby. Plus this was the day Jacet would come to my room to stay for the rest of the week. So to make things short, Jacet arrived, the nice nurse explained to me how to make a bottle, how to clean and sterilize it, how to change his diaper, etc. I also got a lesson on breastfeeding, which I could start trying to do, but they wanted me to supplement with formula the first day or so until my milk started to come in. I then got my nice aroma therapy massage (only the legs) and the fancy lunch (which was very good).

The next few days were simply spent learning Jacet's behavior and habits and spending quality time together. Tomo's mom and sister came to visit and I was checked out of the hospital on Friday morning.

HOME WITH BABY:
Tomo's mother has been staying with us to help out with the cooking and cleaning around the house. She has been a great help and I really appreciate her being here. I'm learning new dinner menus, I'm able to sleep in and take naps (depending on Jacet), and she even helped me with breastfeeding when I was having trouble in the beginning. I don't know how ladies in the U.S. and other countries do all this only a day or two after giving birth!

It's been 2 weeks now and Jacet has been the perfect baby. He sleeps, eats, poops, and sleeps again. He only cries when I don't feed him quick enough, and only fusses a little occasionally. Tomo gives him a bath every night after work when he can and he (Jacet) actually likes it! He started off eating about every 3 hours but has recently been eating every 2 hrs during the day. At night he sleeps for 4 or 5 hours at a time so I get some decent sleep. We've both been working on our breastfeeding and are slowly getting the hang of it. Jacet eats like a champ and is definitely growing!

We both have a one month check up in May that I'm sure we'll both pass.

Both Tomo and I are extremely proud and happy to be blessed with this little angel. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect family.

Next update: One Month!

Now for pictures!

April 7, 2013: Birth Story

Well, my baby finally arrived!

BIRTH STORY:

We thought I would have to be induced due to high blood pressure and scheduled the induction for Tuesday, April 9 (my original due date). However, Jacet had other plans!

The day started out fairly normal. I woke up Tomo for work, went back to sleep, and woke up later to pass away a day of boring bed rest. When I went to the bathroom I noticed a little blood but thought nothing of it...maybe I should have! I had been feeling cramps for a few days but figured they were just part of the pregnancy discomforts. Well, the day passed with nothing out of the ordinary. I did laundry, I washed dishes, I cleaned the floor etc. I guess I was "nesting" a little, but mostly I just lied on the couch. The only slightly odd thing was that I wasn't hungry all day.

The day went on, Tomo called around lunch to check up on me, I took a nap, I put the laundry away. Tomo called again around 6:45 to ask if I was okay and I told him I was perfectly fine, just uncomfortable as usual. Well only about 15 minutes after that phone call I began feeling stronger "cramps" all around my abdomen. I thought maybe they were Braxton Hicks contractions but since I hadn't felt any of those throughout the pregnancy I really had no idea. They kept coming so I decide I better start timing them. I timed them for about 40 monites and Lo and behold, each contraction was about 10 minutes apart and lasting about 7-10 minutes. I called Tomo back (he was at work) and told him he better call the hospital because I thought these were real contractions.

After that everything happened so fast! He called the hospital and came to get me and my things by 8:00pm. We headed to the hospital but I decided I better eat something small since I knew first time labor could take a long time, but i also thought that it was probably a false alarm since it wasn't even past my due date! We stopped at the supermarket and bought some drinks and onigiri (rice balls). I called my mom and dad and told them the news on the way.

We arrived at the hospital around 9pm. I got checked at 9:30 and was 4cm dilated. The doctor (who spoke English thankfully) told me I would probably deliver the baby in the early morning of the next day. They hooked me up to the heart rate monitor and started trying to hook me up to the IV the GBS antivirus. My veins are very thin and they always have a hard time with the big IV needles. The head nurse came to check me again and whatever she did down there REALLY hurt. It actually made me get sick. So I threw up my little snack from before and started feeling really awful. The baby's heartbeat dropped then and I got hooked up to oxygen. Luckily by turning on my side they were able to get his heart rate back up.

The doctor came back to check on me around 10:15-10:30pm and I was 7cm! He was very surprised by how quick I was dilating. After that everything happened even faster. They quickly rolled me on the stretcher to the delivery room an propped me up in the delivery chair thing. The doctor broke my water around 10:45pm and after that the pain became so intense! I guess that's what they call the "ring of fire" lol. It hurt so bad that I actually told Tomo I wanted a C-section. Thank goodness that didn't happen lol. I was pretty tired out and delirious I suppose...the doctor then told me that the baby would be born around 11:30. Again, Jacet had other plans. By 11:00pm I was pushing! And after 4 hours of labor and 17 minutes of pushing my perfect little boy arrived, screaming his lungs out! They cut his cord and let me hold him a little while they stitched me up and before cleaning him up. I couldn't have asked for a better birthing experience.

Tomo was the best husband during this whole thing. He held my hand and encouraged me. I wasn't at all prepared for the pain, it was different from what I expected, but Tomo helped me try to breathe deeply and get through it all.

It was the best experience and I'm glad that I didn't have the option to take anything for the pain. It's such a rewarding feeling to get through the pain and seeing the beautiful end result.

The nurses recorded his first cry and took his footprints and took some pictures. They put it together in a little book roght then and there for me to take back to my room.

Since this post has become quite long, I'll split it up and write about the 5 day hospital stay later. Stay tuned!

(Picture explanations: 1- book cover, 2- footprints, 3- recorded cry and picture of Jacet inside the book, 4- family picture after birth, 5+6- Jacet right after birth)