This past weekend I taught Shun the word slob (In English). Because he called me a neat freak. I am not really a neat freak (like for example I didn`t vacuum my floors this weekend- I did them last Wednesday though and mopped too!) although certain things have their own places. Where as Shun just leaves his crap everywhere and I pick up after him or tell him to put his stuff away over and over until he does. Shun leaves his clothes wherever he takes them off which could be anywhere from our bedroom to the bathroom to the computer room or in the living room. Yeah, literally WHEREVER he takes them off. It drives me insane but I got used to it and now just put everything in the washing basket.
The neat freak conversation came about when I was in the computer room (the back room of our apartment/spare room is where Shun has his desktop) and I was lying on the floor talking to him after he came home on Friday night from work and was talking about the cleaning I needed to do the next day because we had visitors coming for dinner last night. Then I noticed that while there was a bin literally less than 1m from his computer desk there was rubbish ON HIS DESK. So he told me I was a neatfreak and that he was going to clean up his stuff and when I asked him when he said eventually.
For those wanting to learn some Japanese- I translate the word だらしがない人 as slob and the word きれい好き as neatfreak.
The good thing about Shun is when he learns a new word in English he makes and effort to use it a lot in the next couple of days so that he remembers so this past weekend I have been called a neat freak on at least 5 different occasions.
I on the other hand when I learn a new word in Japanese promptly forget it 80% of the time.
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Remember the doctor/clinic I don`t really like? Well I ended up having to go back on Saturday to get the doctor to sign Noah`s Australian citizenship papers and photo. Shun rang Friday to ask and the doctor said fine and to come in the next day in the morning. So we got up, went in and one of the receptionists told us it was too busy and to come back at 6pm so we did. The doctor signed the papers etc etc and THEN said “I am going to charge you 5000yen for this ($65 dollars)” AFTER he signed them.
So glad I don`t have to go back there. We have found a new clinic and Noah will have his 3rd DPT shot there in a couple of weeks. Even Shun was pissed off and said the doctor was an idiot.
Oh and the nurse that visited a couple weeks back? Yeah well she rang me last week and went on and on about crap so Shun rang and told them to stop harrasing me. She said that next time she wanted to come she would ring him first and he said fine and to ring him if there is any issues but that if she decided to come to the apartment again that he couldn`t make me open the door to her and most likely I wouldn`t.
I think she was in a bit of a state of shock….
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Tomorrow I am off the Australian Embassy to apply for citizenship for Noah. I will have to go back again in about 3-4 weeks to pick it up and apply for his passport but I SHOULD be able to get the passport sent to us when it is done so hopefully it will just be 2 trips to the embassy (I could apply for his citizenship by mail but decided would be easier to just go)
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Does anyone use twitter? I have an account but I barely use it. I don`t know if I really see the point and to tell you the truth I am not very concise so it is hard to fit what I want to say in such a small character limit.
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Friday I hadn`t planned to do anything but on Thursday a new Japanese friend that lives up the road messaged me to say that the next day was going to be sunny and did I want to go to a community play centre (自動ホーム）with her and her son and meet up with another lady I know from baby sign class. Basically it was an event for people with babies under 1 year old and I swear there was like 70 babies and 70 mummies or daddies in one giant room. Quite nosiy actually. It was at a place a bit far from my apartment but I walked with the friend and it took us about 35 minutes (she lives 3 minute up the road from me)
Noah had fun and so did I and my Japanese is not as crap as I thought it was as everyone understood what I was trying to say (I use Japanese with Shun most of the time but he gets what I am saying even if I totally muck up the grammar and switch in English vocab) and I understood 95% of what was said to me.
A couple of the other mums plus my friend Miwa and I (and the bubs) went to a local bakery for lunch after. It is nice to have made some Japanese mummy friends in the area.
I did have one of the older volunteer helpers tell me that Noah`s toy giraffe looked like a foreign giraffe though!
I got to weigh Noah (7.6kg with clothes and nappy on) and measure his length (64.5cm I think?) and basically sit around on mats with other mummies while the kids played and earlier on in the class (meeting?) we did some “dancing” with the babies (I was feeding Noah at this time so didn`t get to do much “dancing”)
By the way, for those not in Japan, this event was completely free. These community centres have play areas set up and run by the city government- but they are almost always completely free.
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Mummy and me English class at my place went REALLY well last week. They are scheduled to come again next month and 2 of the students have asked if they can bring friends. I might end up having to separate the group in half since now I have 7 students and I am not really sure my place is big enough. I have said we will do one with the 7 people and see how it goes and if it is too many then we will either find another place to do the lesson (rent a room at the community centre for 500yen for 3 hours or so) or separate it into 2 groups. I am hoping to have another couple classes too- it is great money for not much time/effort on my part. The prep takes me an hour tops and they are here for an hour plus 30 minutes of regular chatting and some tea/coffee. Even if everyone only wants to do it once a month if I had one group each week it would be about $100 a week plus my other regular private lessons.
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Have been doing some research into baby led weaning (and also this article which got me started ) and think I might try a mix of that and the more traditional weaning approach (purees etc) and will see what he prefers. At the moment we are still giving him rice cereal once a day and it is going well- he likes to eat it and I have given him pureed apples once before too which he enjoyed.
Does anyone know WHY it is called weaning though? I see weaning as stopping breastfeeding which I have no intention of doing just yet- I see Noah`s start to eating as introducing solids
That said that I am concerned about the choking etc but I like the idea of Noah deciding for himself how much he wants to eat and for him to learn to feed himself (no matter how messy it is- me been a bit of a neat freak though will be investing in a big plastic mat to go under his highchair!). He already tries to grab for anything I am eating/drinking, has started to enjoy drinking from his sippy cup (water though, not breastmilk and he doesn`t drink much just enjoys putting it in his mouth more than anything so I give it to him while he is eating his rice cereal but on average drinks only 10-30ml a day). I was thinking of boiling (or baking) some carrots next week or the week after and trying a pureed version and then the next day trying some pieces to see what he prefers. He definitely likes to feed himself the rice cereal but misses his mouth more often than not the first time meaning rice cereal ends up all over him and very little ends up in his mouth- finger food pieces might bring him more luck!
From my post a couple of weeks back on solids I got some great advice and ideas but feel free to share your opinion on baby led weaning vs traditional weaning as well. I realize that if you do BLW (baby led weaning) strictly then it means no purees or spoon food (apart from cereal/yogurt) but I think I would prefer to do both as opposed to limiting myself (and Noah) to one.
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Some recent photos of the little koala munchkin…
In the food pictures I tend to think he takes more after Shun in the “slob” department than me in the “neat freak” department!!!
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I am just a twenty something Aussie girl living in Chiba, Japan with my Japanese husband trying to make sense of the crazy Japanese world we live in! We welcomed our first son in December 2009 (Noah) and a second son in January 2011, 2 months premature (Shion). I am working hard at raising them to be confident, bilingual, happy kids!
U does the exact same thing as Shun when I teach him a new English term! It means I have to be careful about what I teach him – I was called a nerd for weeks! (serves me right, I suppose!)
And I’m with you on the twitter thing – I have an account but I’ve never actually used it…
Love the last picture with the toes sticking out of legwarmers!
Never heard of BLW before! So much has changed even since Natsuki was this age. I usually started my girls on solids around 5 months. Like you I started with rice cereal and then slowly added different pureed fruits and veggies. After they ate I would nurse them right away so it was one meal every four hours or so with a nursing only feeding before bed. Around 8-9 months I started added actual rice into the veggie purees and giving cubed bananas etc. At 10 months since they were eating enough I started cutting out breastfeeding. I took away one feeding every two weeks, leaving the night feeding for last. By their first birthday they were totally weaned off breastmilk and eating only solids with maybe a bottle at night (my two middle children never took a bottle so they just got a cup of juice and a cracker). It worked really well! I’m a neatfreak though so I spoonfed them myself until well after their first birthday. My older two were one year apart and I could only handle so much chaos! I’m sure you’ll find something that works for you.
PS If you want Shun to stop dropping his clothes just anywhere, don’t wash them unless they’re in the washing basket. Once he runs out of clothes, he’ll figure it out!!!
I am/was interesting in BLW also but at the same time I am terrified of Misora choking so at the moment the closest I get to it is having the foods I make for her aren`t quite a fine puree but aren`t all that chunky either, and I do let her touch her food if she wants. I suppose it just sort of depends perhaps on what type of food you want to give them. I couldn`t see spinach being in any other way then a soggy mess if you were just going to give it but carrots could be possible.
I probably won`t be giving up BF for awhile. If Misora wants my milk I will give it to her, if she doesn`t well that will be that.
I have a book from the Le leche league “mothering your nursing toddler” or something like that (focuses on BF from around 6 months of age and up) but it has a larger section on weaning if you wish to borrow it.
Lots of Sarah`s!
Sarah 1: Shun uses the word “geek” a lot as I told him that is what otaku is! Haha! Glad to hear I am not the only one that has a twitter account but rarely uses it.
Sarah 2: I can`t believe your girls would go 4 hours between feeds- I am lucky if I can stretch Noah out to three hours during the day but on average he nurses every 2.5 hours (but will go LONG stretches at night without feeding)
With your first two daughters been so close in age did you give up breastfeeding your first daughter earlier? I was under the impression you can`t be pregnant and nursing but I am not sure (as in you can, but they advise against it? or something)
Definitley interesting to hear your experiences because firstly you are a mum of 4 (!) and it was a couple of years ago. I am not a fan of mess BUT with a bub I figure I have to get at least semi used to it. HAHA. So your girls ate 3 meals a day and nursed 4 times a day from 5-6 months? Or did they wake during the night to feed as well?
Oh and I put all his clothes in the wash even if they don`t need washing (like jeans) and then he gets frustrated that his jeans are in the wash. So that is why I encourage him to put away his own clothes IF they don`t need to be washed otherwise I was them ALL! That said he has just left for work and his pjs are on the kitchen table and what he wore yesterday is next to his beanbag in the computer room. So it will ALL go in the wash! HAHA.
Melanie- Haha at the spinach! So true!
I am in the same boat as you with BLW- worried about choking but also wanting Noah to be responsible for his own eating in that I don`t want to have to FORCE him to eat. Will definitely let you know how I go. I gave him a bit of watermelon to suck on yesterday at the in-laws and he wasn`t fussed on the texture but enjoyed sucking the juice out. Thinking I might get one of those net feeders? Do you know what I mean
I plan to breastfeed Noah til he is a year old- longer if weaning him off doesn`t work. I am not fussed but I would like him to be able to take a bottle of breastmilk if needed. Something we are still working towards as he hasn`t done it successfully since he was 2 months old. I am happy for him to continue nursing though…
Would love to borrow the book next time I see you- maybe at the picnic in mid June?
I absolutely LOVE the third to last pic- your little man has attitude!
Great to hear the classes are going well, too.
I’m afraid I’m the slob around here and I7m wearing down K’s neatfreakedness… I worry for the house’s sake….
Happy Monday!
color coordinated bumbo pic – fantastic.
Good luck with the solids. I’m a bit of a neat freak for that – I find it hard to let Ryu just take over with the spoon. Want him to actually get fed after all. And Marina and Shou can both feed themselves now so I guess I must have relenquished the spoon and fork with them at some stage…
Tehe neat freak!! Love the footless tights your little one is wearing!
I’m on Twitter, I think you know that already. I’m actually a bit addicted to it. It took me a while to ‘get it’ though.
And I did ‘baby led solids’- I think that’s a better name, yes?- with my daughter and she loves it. I did mush food till about 7 months, and finger foods ever since…
Yeah, I don’t like twitter much either! Too hard to follow what everyone is saying and like you I have lots to say
My partner is a neat-freak, but not a clean-freak. I am a clean-freak, but not a neat-freak, my house is in an organised but clean mess most of the time, because I don’t have time to keep up with it. For example, if I don’t wash up straight away, then I leave the dirty dishes and cutlery in an organised/sorted way on the sink until I get around to doing the, same with the clean washing I bring it, it stays on the couch in pile until I get a chance to fold and put away. But I always make sure the bathroom sink, toilet and shower are cleaned every week. I am working on becoming better at neatness, it’s something I’ve had to learn because my Mother didn’t teach me. Is your Mum a neat-freak too? Or are you just a freak? LOL just kidding
Oh yeah and too much information but..my boyfriend sometimes won’t shower for a few days and wears the same clothes, but I always shower once or sometimes twice a day.
I think the BLF is great, it helps the child develop a positive association with food and eating, rather than it being forced on them = A Happy Baby!
I totally know what you mean about the neat freak thing and slob thing. I don`t consider myself a neat freak but considering I only have one room to call my own, I want to keep it as clutter free as possible. My boyfriend has other opinions I guess. He`s always leaving stuff around but thankfully he does eventually clean it up… it would just be nice if it was a little more often!
Right now I`m of opposing views on the twitter thing… recently I`ve been so busy and haven`t had too much to say so twitter is perfect for me (and I can do it from my phone!) yet my blog remains silent.
At least my twitter is on my blog side panel it`s like a teeny-tiny blog update for my family but home. Haha!
I hate to admit this, but both my bf and I hate to clean. I try to keep the apartment as organized as I can but sometimes it gets the best of me. I’m trying to dedicate more time to it. We are both geeks just like your husband
I’m glad Shun said something to the nurse who keeps calling and that you found another clinic.
Noah’s leg warmers are so adorable!
Ahahahaha sometimes I think we are so much alike, with our lists and neatfreaking and then I remember we’re born the some day and that HAS to have SOMEthing to do with it XD
You haven’t seen slob, until you’ve lived with Tetsu. Seriously, when I came back from Canada there was money and paper and beer cans GLUED to the counter/table/sink from spilled drinks just left there to dry… ashes and garbage and bentou and dust bunnies and clothes on the ceiling..yea… Um, we are luckily a great match I suppose. Oddly enough I don’t really care about germs or things ACTUALLY being clean, I just want everything to LOOK perfect. XD
That’s great you found some Japanese friends nearby, and that you didn’t have any language barriers with them =) Great pics of Noah again too!! Did I mention I showed Tetsu the bowls vid and he thought it was the cutest thing ever? XD
As for weaning, I think self led sounds great. Missha’s always been a few months ahead of the “suggested age” but she never had any problems, and even now she eats just about anything in any size. I honestly, don’t read up and try to follow “how to’s” on baby-raising much… I just go with what works for me. Currently this leaves us at 3 meals a day (some of which she refuses straight up and gets nothing), quite a few bottles, and only boobies in the middle of the day (she now won’t fall asleep without a bottle, so she gets those before naps and at night too) She’s almost 10 months.
The End.
Coming in way late I know but I haven’t had a lot of free time the last few days and when I have had, I usually curled up in bed and had a nap, lol!
The baby led weaning sounds interesting – I haven’t heard of it before. Something else for me to think about I suppose!
Oh and yay for finding new friends!! I wish I could find a few more friends in my immediate area to hang out with sometimes. Someone young with kids would be nice…
I use twitter every day. I don’t ever write anything though. I just follow some really cool and interesting people whose tweets make me laugh and give me something to do while standing around waiting for crap here.
Just a note about the feeding net. Long ago I got one for Miyuki. She didn’t like it, and you would not believe how hard that thing is to clean. It also molds in about a day like so much stuff here. They aren’t all that expensive though so I guess you could try it and see. Noah might like it.
And yes, I had that “if it isn’t in the laundry basket it doesn’t get washed rule” too until I discovered that he would just wait and dump like a week’s worth of clothing (or more!) in at one time so I had a huge amount to do and you know what a pain laundry is here even when you stay on top of it. Now I just secretly fine him for leaving crap for me to clean up, meaning I steal money out of his wallet when he isn’t looking. (really I do)
Wow, Noah is beautiful… what a cute (drooly) grin he has!
I LOVE your story about yours and Shun’s conversation on the whole neat vs. slob issue. I tend to waver, but I am pretty much a neat freak too, in that I get stressed out when the place is a mess. I used to just hate clutter, but since I had children who pick things up off the floor and shove them in their mouths, I really try to be on top of proper cleaning too (my mother was not, and thinks this is why her children were never really poorly often..our strengthened immune systems from her dirt..). My husband wants to wash clothes EVERY time he wears them. I don’t get this. I can understand work clothes, of course undies, and in the summer yes, but jeans? After one wear? I like to put on a pair of worn once or twice “dirty” jeans, ha ha! Do I sound like a slob now..?
I did purees for Hannah. I used the Annabel Karmel book, and got her introduced to loads of different foods from the start. It worked for her. She liked to be fed. Luka, on the other hand, wants control. From the start (6 months) he was grabbing the spoon..so I started on the BLW, but like you want to, I mixed it with the purees too. His favourite was steamed broccoli. I found if I steamed it, it wasn’t too soft to break apart and be chokable. With most of the veg., if you don’t cook it for long, they can just nibble little bits off it. I thought about the net too, but I didn’t really want the hassle of washing it, and from Sherry’s comment, sounds like I thought!
The mother and baby classes sound great! What kind of things do you do with them? Very curious. It sounds like an avenue I wouldn’t mind pursuing! Must be similar to childrens lessons in that there are usually friends who want to come with, as opposed to private lessons. So you can keep your prices low, but still earn well. Good for you! You sound as if you have a lot on your plate! Don’t feel bad about being glad when Noah takes a nap!