Edamame-chan is definitely Edamame-kun…

A check up at the baby doctor today confirmed what I already suspected- Edamame-chan is a boy! “Kun” is a name often added to the end of a boys name here in Japan (or a shortened version of their name) so sometimes he will be referred to as Edamame-kun no doubt.

I knew this baby was a boy. I had a dream once and I was the mother of two boys in the dream- not that all my dreams come true or anything but that one felt pretty real. Shun is disappointed. We only plan to have two children and he would really have liked a girl. I would of loved a girl too but am happy with two boys as well- i think it is natural to feel a little disappointed when you end up with two of the same sex and only plan to have two kids but I am definitely not UNHAPPY with the outcome. Shun however is already planning a possible third child although I am not sure if that will ever happen (I only want two kids for various reasons, but of course this might change and well, Shun and I seem to have no problems falling pregnant!).

I haven`t uploaded today`s video ultrasound yet- the doctor pointed out the penis though at least 10 times but of course they can not say anymore that the baby is 100% one sex or the other although he said he was 99.9% sure and seriously said “chin chin” (word for penis in Japanese) numerous times to point it out. Kind of funny really!

I am 20 weeks along now (and 2 days)- half way through! It has gone by so fast- much faster than when I was pregnant with Noah. So far the pregnancy has been pretty textbook- the check up today showed the baby is growing right on schedule and I have gained 1.5kg so far this pregnancy (all in the last 4 weeks since my last appointment). It was the same with Noah- I didn`t gain much until the second half (in particular once I was put on medication for pre-term labour and told to “rest”) and I was more or less all belly in front. It is very similar this time and in the last 2 weeks I have started to look more pregnant as opposed to chubby.

I wasn`t supposed to have another appointment before going to Australia but doctor wants to see me one more time to go through the blood test results from today in case there is anything abnormal. They take my blood a lot here- I am not sure if it is standard or if it is because I am reusus negative (A- blood type). They pretty much take my blood everytime (last time once I moved to twice monthly appointments they only did it once a month still). Doctor is also slightly concerned that if my pre-term labour happens again that I will be in Australia (and have to make the flight home at almost 32 weeks) but I am not too worried. I have a great GP in Australia and if I am concerned at all I will go see her- plus I had no issues with blood pressure or anything when I was pregnant with Noah so I will check it fortnightly in Australia and hope there is no sudden raise in pressure as well.

All in all though baby is healthy, I am healthy so everything is good there.

Now if we could just agree on a name…..

********************************************************************************

We got Noah`s allergy test results back last week. He has no allergies to egg (white or yellow), peanuts, wheat, soba AND his milk allergy count was good meaning that he is already outgrowing the milk enzyme allergy (or whatever type of milk allergy he had/has) and doctor suggested we start introducing some dairy back into his diet by giving him the occasional spoonful or two of yogurt or by putting some cows milk in our cooking or with some cheese.

So a couple of days ago I made him some scrambled eggs with chives and a bit of cheese mixed in- HE LOVED IT! And he had no hives so I will continue to give him a bit of dairy here and there and continue to increase the amounts to see if he has a reaction. Doctor said that even if we have no reaction to keep on on soy formula until he is one at least before trying to introduce normal formula OR cow`s milk as primary drink which makes sense.

I am so happy that he could eat cheese! I gave him a bit of cheese by itself as well and he munched that down and was quickly hunting for some more.

Shun was home from work today (he wanted to come to baby doctor and he also had to go to the tax office so he took the whole day off- he ended up taking Noah to his Polio immunization this afternoon as well) and I took the chance to make some more food to freeze for Noah. He is eating a lot more “regular” type food now but a lot of the food I cook for Shun & I is still inappropriate for him so this is the last big batch I will make before Australia and hopefully by the time we get back he will be eating more regular people food and I will be able to give him whatever I prefer for our dinner.

He is really into feeding himself so I also try to have some “finger” foods on hand even if it is vegemite sandwiches or tortilla or some kind of fruit/vegetable stick he can feed himself (lately he loves mikan/mandarin and pumpkin pieces lately).

I made pumpkin rissotto, pasta bolagnase (I make this each time as it is definitely one of his favourites PLUS I stick a ton of veggies in the sauce like zucchini, celery, onion, leek, carrot and spinach), chicken and winter vegetable casserole, chicken and apple meatballs (finger food!), hummus (to put on his tortilla or carrot sticks), cous cous, a salmon dish, plain rice (to mix in with the casserole or with the salmon) lightly steamed apple, carrot and brocolli (finger food!), and a pureed a bunch of fruit to freeze in little cubes to mix and match with his morning porridge (He usually has porridge with fruit for breakfast and a piece of toast or some of my toast).

For a baby, he eats pretty well I think!!!!

He is such a messy eater though that finger food while we are out of the house is usually difficult unless it is relatively simple (like grapes, tortilla or carrot sticks). I tend to take pre-packaged stuff (which he is not so keen on) or a container with some defrosted food that I have made that I can spoon feed him.

I actually like making food for Noah- it is really hard to do when he is around though (with no one to watch him if I am in the kitchen) because of course having him underfoot is a no go and he is not so keep on been in his walker for more than 5-10 minutes at time as it limits where he can explore so it really has to be done when Shun is around. Now though I have definitely made enough to last us until Australia and if we do happen to run out I could do “make on the day” food for the last couple of days or some pre-packaged stuff.

***************************************************************

Nay arrives tomorrow with Leilah for a couple days stay in Chiba! Tomorrow we have no plans but Thursday we are meeting up with Sarah (who has the day off) and Ellie for a pot luck lunch at my place and then on Friday is Chiba Peanuts Playgroup Halloween party (with 13 mums and 13 kids scheduled to come!). So a busy couple of days ahead!!!

Quite a few busy days over the next couple of weeks actually- trying to catch up with a bunch of people before we head to Australia for 2 months and also fit in as many of my lessons as possible. Only 3 weeks til we leave now which is exciting- I am kind of dreading the flight to Australia but am hoping that Noah will sleep most of the way!! I just know that with people moving around the cabin and the hostesses with their carts etc will mean he will wake up a couple of times on the overnight flight and since we no longer breastfeed I am hoping he will still go back to sleep without milk in the basket as holding him the entire flight is not something I relish doing (especially with my expanding belly!) – That said, I know at least 3 others that will be on the same flight as me to Gold Coast (remember I am going to Melbourne for a wedding and James, his gf Shizuka and one or two other friends will be on that same flight and will also transfer at Gold Coast through to Melbourne) so if I really get stuck I will have some help!!

Noah`s 10 month letter will follow sometime later this week hopefully!

Also thank you to everyone who commented on my last post in regards to bilingualism- every comment was helpful and I am so grateful to have a lot of advice and input from others. One of the reasons that I love blogging!

Popularity: 9% [?]