My left arm hurts from carrying Akari all day. I'm told it'll get better once my muscles get used to toting the extra weight. It makes me happy that she's put on so much weight though, looking more and more like one of those pudgy babies in ads with the fat cheeks and plump limbs. She's more like a little person now too, complaining when I talk on the phone while she's trying to drop off to sleep, (Whoops! Sorry!) but she's mostly a good, quiet baby: alert and contentedly looking around once she wakes.

Doctor LJ is a lifesaver! The breastfeeding  community has saved my newbie mom butt a couple of times now. Nursing is really simple, but like anything, there are often problems starting out that only people with experience know about. The books I bought didn't adequately prepare me for engorgement when my milk came in (OUCH) or to deal with overactive letdown (very distressing to have Akari choking on her only food source). The only thing that bothers me about the community is how crazily gung-ho some of the members are, acting as though formula feeding moms are villains or fools.

Speaking of lifesavers, my iPhone is a wonder device. I can only get on the computer for a limited time now, but I can still check my email and friends page (and slowly tap out replies), play music, take pictures (and post them to Facebook).

Paid the hospital bill on Friday. The total? 1,010,110 yen. (About $10000.) I have insurance that should cover most of it, but that takes the  "most money NRG has ever spent at one time" prize. 

Akari's recently started to show colicky symptoms at night, and it's scary how angry and in pain she seems when she cries. I feel so helpless- she's not wet or hungry, and she gets so upset that it's almost impossible to soothe her. She just seems like a completely different baby from the one I care for the other 20 hours of the day. D: I've taken to researching colic soothing strategies and I'm hoping that cutting dairy out of my diet will help. (Some studies have shown that dairy sensitivity may be to blame for some colic striken babies- the proteins pass into breastmilk and irritate baby guts.) It's helpful to know that even if it continues, she'll likely only have colic until she's about 3 months old, but it's a small comfort when faced with an inconsolable baby at midnight. (T_T)