This is my second time trying to edit the text back into this entry, which screwed up because of LJapp the first time, and then the server died or something the next. :(
So I'll try to keep it short: As of her well baby check on Tuesday, Akari is 6800 g (15lbs) and 62 cm tall, which is smack-dab in the middle of the growth charts. :) There was some stiffness in her right hip joint though, so we did a follow-up check Wednesday as a precaution. They took an X-ray, which I'm still sort of worried about. Even adults use lead aprons, but her little ovaries got zapped for sure. :( The doctor said it was fine when we expressed our concerns; he said that babies in Niigata and Shiga prefecture routinely get hip X-rays as part of their well baby check.
Anyway, her hip joint looked fine in the X-ray, so we're just supposed to keep an eye on it. Troubles with the hip joints lead to problems standing or walking, but she likes to stand for a bit while leaning on somebody, totally on schedule with the milestones, so I'm thinking she'll be fine.
She also got her first vaccination on Thursday, which I'd been dreading. I don't know why they don't use normal syringe type needles here in Asia, but some of my HK relatives and my MIL still have their vaccination scars. Akari only cried a little. :'( They swabbed her arm with the live BCG (tuberculosis) vaccine, then pressed a pin pad into the area --hard-- twice. So far she's been sleeping longer than usual during the day, waking more at night, has a slight temperature and fusses to nurse far more than usual. But other than that she's her normal active, babbling and drooling self.
We're going to get her vaccinated in Canada too, while we're there. The Hib vaccine just became available here and is crazily expensive (7000 yen a pop, 4 shots required) and wait-listed, but is free in Canada combined with DTaP+Polio.
I'm sooo looking forward to going back and meeting my brand new niece! I've also been buying lots of different cloth diapers and getting them sent to my mom's house, so we can try what mamas in the West do! So expect to see more pictures of Akari's bum in cute attire in a few weeks! :D
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- Mood:
annoyed
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qwi_xux ), Prison Break, and Buffy: the Vampire Slayer. All of this is possible because of the wonders of the internet and my PS3, which enables me to watch whole seasons of downloaded shows on our TV as I walk the baby around the living room/hand her rattles/nurse on the sofa etc. New fandoms are so inspring. :DHowever, despite the possible plot lines brewing in the back of my head, nothing is DYING to be written, the way it was with Full Circle and Revolutionary. Akari sleeps well at night now (5-6 hours, nurse, 3 hours, nurse, final 1 or 2 hours of sleep before she's up for the day), which helps me feel rested like a normal person during the day. But the creative juices still don't seem to be flowing. So to try to get myself back in the writing mood, I've been reading fic again and I've volunteered to beta for someone in my oldest fandom (The Bartimaeus Trilogy). She's not in a desperate rush, and I figure I can look over her story and write out my comments whenever Akari sleeps. In practice, this is harder than I thought- writing this post took me quite a few hours, and I wonder if reading critically will be much easier.
Our typical day:
~6am: Akari wakes up bright eyed and smiley. So nice to see a silly baby grin first thing in the morning. Nurse, then go out to living room for first cloth diaper of the day. (We use disposables at night so she can sleep more soundly because they don't feel as wet.) I then do the laundry while she amuses herself- she has her longest "content by herself" stretches in the morning. She watches and/or tries to cram her rattle/cloth book in her mouth (She's discovered that her hands can be used for manipulating objects in the last couple of days.) as I hang the laundry and/or eat.
7:30 or so: She starts fussing. I hold her upright so she can suck her left thumb until she drops off. Put down sleeping baby and jump on the computer/dishes/finally eat etc.
8 am: She wakes up and we repeat the nurse, change, play, fuss, sleep process every 2 hours or so.
Anywhere between 7 pm and 10 pm: Bath, final nurse, bed. Sometimes she ends up on her long stretch of sleep when we weren't expecting it, so she pretty much sleeps through her bath. She still manages to find the nipple even when she's super drowsy though, and eats with her eyes shut. XD
Ok, I am posting this before I fall asleep on the keyboard! Blah. Tomorrow we are celebrating her 100 days of life (which was actually Tuesday, but tomorrow was more convenient) so I'm going to steam a tai fish and my MIL is bringing over osekihan (rice steamed with red beans and eaten with salt and black sesame seeds), customary dishes for celebration. So I'd better follow that parenting advice of "sleeping when the baby sleeps." :)
- Mood:
determined
Akari is three months old now, and still growing (6.1 kg or about 13 lbs) and developing so quickly. She loves having cooing conversations with people, which is sooo adorable. <3 In terms of physical milestones, she learned to turn onto her right side just two nights ago (but she can't turn back, which makes her shriek with frustration). It's become impossible to keep a blanket on her at night because as soon as she feels something on her legs, she kicks it off in her bowlegged, froggy way. And since she has insisted on being held upright for weeks now, her neck is a lot stronger than other babies her age:( Pics under here to save your f-list )
- Mood:
tired
- Mood:
rushed
Can I just say how awesome it is to be sleeping on a bed again? (^o^)/ Futons are comfortable, but beds are just so much easier to get in and out of. I don't even mind the annoying low water pressure of our shower- just because it's our shower.
( Pics and more rambling under here... )
- Mood:
relaxed
MY offspring, that is, while she sleeps in my lap. (Don't want to disturb her when she looks so content, although I have to get to the computer downstairs to reply the meme replies...)
( Under here... )
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- Location:Japan, T
Doctor LJ is a lifesaver! The
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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)
- Mood:
anxious
As promised, pics! She's finally settled into a schedule of sorts (up every 3 hours or so needing a diaper change, milk, and a bit of company), and I'm tapping this out at 5:34AM because she's just gone down and I may as well stay up til breakfast.
( Much cuteness (and a food pic, of course) under here )
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- Location:Japan, T
- Mood:
enthralled
Here's 明莉 (Akari) at long last! She was 2672 gm and 47.5 cm long at birth. She was born at 3:18AM on May 17th via emergency C-section, but she is healthy and alert (and still loves to suck her thumb!) and I am recovering just fine.
EDIT: sorry about your f-lists guys! The LJ app for iPhone screws up when it "restores previous draft" and no longer gives pic and cut options. Some of the following may be TMI, so I feel I should warn you to scroll by without reading if talk of nursing and/or surgery squicks you out. Sorry again- I'll see if I can fix the post and add photos via Safari, but I have no Internet access besides this thing, and I'm in pain, tired, and I have to feed a newborn in 3 hours or so, so forgive me if I can't, ok?
[Unknown LJ tag]
( Fixed! )
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- Location:35.646164, 139.598892
- Mood:
accomplished
Started having contractions every 10 minutes last night around 11, and we went to the hospital at 2am... but I was only dilated 1.5 cm. This was unchanged by 8am, so they sent us home. Just better to relax and eat and sleep that way (as if sleeping is possible when having regular contractions), not to mention cheaper, but it was such a letdown to have to walk out of there baby-less. The midwife said that some women are in early labour like this for THREE DAYS.
I was pretty crushed at first, but everybody's been working at keeping up my spirits, and I'm getting used to the regular doses of pain. My husband looks a lot better after getting some proper sleep, and I'm a lot better at breathing and staying relaxed through the contractions now. We're going to go for a walk later to try to speed things along, and now we know when to try to check in again: when the pain is three times as bad as now (even if contractions are still 10 minutes apart) or if the interval shortens to every 6 minutes.
*Sigh* Just wanted to keep you guys updated.
- Mood:
frustrated
EDIT: FALSE ALARM! I'm only one cm dilated, and the contractions are just Braxton Hicks that have become more painful. The doctor expects that I'll give birth within the next two or three days though. The anticipation is KILLING ME...
- Mood: anxious
Trying out posting via iPhone! Have been lying here for twenty minutes as this thing records the baby's heartbeat and movements. Her pulse speeds up everytime she moves to 150-something beats, but resting seems to be 130-something.
Ra for free wireless at my hospital! (^o^)/
Now to try and LJ cut this...
( Why won't this cut already? )*sigh* That's my baby.
At least she didn't turn her back to us this time, but that may be because she's running out of room. She hasn't changed her position for weeks, with her head in the lower left part of my tummy, her back curving up the right side, and her feet in my ribs. I can feel her every movement now, and it's usually visible from the outside too- bumps moving across my tummy and the whole thing quivering as she shifts. My mother-in-law gets quite excited about these little "shows," and I'm sad that my husband keeps missing them- he always looks over too late (if he's even around). Hopefully he'll get a chance this week- it's Golden Week so he gets a full week off. (^o^)/
It'll be nice to be home with him for a couple of days. Living at his parents is nice- his mom is such a great cook and she does all my laundry (including ironing!). Being in the family home means I always have someone to chat to, but I still miss being with my husband. When I told him this, he said I can't be samishii (lonely) because I always have the baby around. So I pointed out how she doesn't snuggle me- she just kicks me in the stomach sometimes (which, BTW, makes me barf into my mouth a little. The joys of motherhood.). Then I thought about it and added, "Well, at least she doesn't fart in bed!" (The joys of marriage.) XD
Anyway, she's passed the 37 week and 2500 gram mark, (5 lbs 8 ounces) so she's considered full term even if she's born now. It doesn't seem likely though- everything is proceeding normally, Braxton-Hicks contractions and all. Fun fact: 40% of first babies are delivered well after the due date. (T_T)
This is a pretty long edit, but after talking with my MIL last night, I figured I should be documenting this pregnancy a little more thoroughly. She's completely forgotten about the details of her own pregnancies because they were so long ago, so it'll be nice to have this blog of my experiences, hiccups and all. :)
- Location:35.646225, 139.599045
- Mood:
happy
The lady from the embassy was very sympathetic- this law is supposed to exclude all those token Canadians that can't even speak English/French and have no ties to Canada, not people like me. But the way it's written now is pretty clear.
So Canadians, please ask your friends and family to sign the petition. Get the word out that this new law needs to be looked at before they pass it. The amendment affects about 3 million Canadians, most of whom are conveniently overseas and can't do things like directly call the CIC. An addition to the law about proving connections to Canada would be enough to give us "non-token" Canadians a chance to get our rights back. I can send them copies of my report cards and transcripts to prove that I was educated from kindergarten to University in Canada. They can look at my SIN to see that I paid taxes and into the pension plan for years before I decided to go teach English in Japan.
*sigh* Well, I know it's been a while, but here's the latest baby pic. She's all blurry because she likes to keep her face tucked into the bottom left corner of the uterine wall, but you can see her closed eyes and open mouth. She weighs over 4 pounds and likes to move around in the evening when she can hear her dad's voice: *My husband talks* *I get an tiny elbow in the side* "Yow! Hey!" *I roll over to make her stop prodding me* *She starts poking the other side*
My little tormenter. XDI've been suffering from edema (swelling due to water retention) recently because of the pregnancy. It's been compressing the nerves in my arms, so at times they alternate between numbness and tingling and aching. I've had to take off my wedding ring. But otherwise everything is pretty normal. The car seat arrived yesterday, and we got four newborn sized diaper covers last week. (I'm going with washable diapers instead of disposable.) All that we have to do is get the baby bed before she arrives. Oh, and finish judging! hehe
- Mood:
disappointed
2. We are probably going to get a PS3 and RE5 today! My hubby is dying to play RE5. So we'll pick up the cheapest used PS3 we can find and be shooting zombies in a few hours. He says we have to play the game before the baby comes, because it'll be scared if it can see it. (Doncha love his reasons?)
3. Still haven't picked out kanji for the baby name, so we have to go tachiyomi (stand and read) baby name books at the bookstore this weekend, too.
4. Strollers are ridiculously overpriced in Japan. I don't know why Babies R Us here sells the SAME strollers as back home at a 300% price increase, but we're going to try to get ours through amazon.com and pay the extra shipping instead. It'll save us so much money if that works!
5. Had a talk with my boss yesterday. I am probably ineligible for Maternity leave because I became a part-time teacher, although he will check. (T_T) So I will go from terrible pay to zero pay just as our family gets bigger. Reproducing sure is expensive. My co-worker has given me some ideas about going to claim UI instead, but that means pretending to look for a job, so...
6. Maybe we shouldn't get that PS3. XD
- Mood:
bouncy
( Droolworthy pics under here... )
- Mood:
sick
( Pics 'n stuff under here... )
- Mood:
energetic
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