Back in Chiba…

We are back in Chiba. I feel much more relaxed and am so thankful to Nay and her family for letting us stay with her for a week. Keep in mind that Japanese apartments in general are tiny and we had 3 adults and 2 toddlers and 1 baby all under one roof (of 65m2)…

Nay described it as a zoo. It was like that. But it was incredibly fun and so nice to not feel any aftershocks, not to have to worry too much about clean drinking water (water in Chiba and Tokyo was declared contaminated while I was away- they say it is better now. I am not taking any chances though and Noah & I are drinking bottled water- Shun too for the most part although the levels were only harmful for infants and possibly breastfeeding mothers).

The toddlers shared rooms (yes an almost 1 year old and a 15 month old) and it was a success for the most part. Let`s just say that I now know NOAH can sleep through anything I think Noah`s snores might have woken Leilah up sometimes as well. The kids got on well- Miss Leilah LOVED Shion and was really gentle with him and constantly trying to “share” things with him. Noah & Leilah also played well together although Noah, been the older one, did tend to take her toys and push her around a little. It was a lesson in sharing for him and also in saying sorry (he can`t say it yet but by the end of the week he was patting Leilah to say sorry when he did something wrong). We tended to have one of the toddlers sleeping for most of the day though (Leilah naps morning and afternoon and Noah has a big nap in the middle of the day) so stuck the house mainly apart from a day out to go meet achan which was incredibly fun. Her house was lovely and we ate a yummy BLT for lunch on fresh bread while the kids entertained themselves with the millions of toys and then a play out in the garden.

Shion is not a sleepy newborn anymore- he spends more and more time awake now but I have to say he definitely sleeps better in a noisy well lit room than at night (well at least usually)- I guess this has more to do with the way he spent his first 6 weeks though. He enjoyed been passed around for lots of cuddles and I know that Nay loved having a young bub in the house again. While in Shizuoka he smiled for the first time (yet to catch it on camera) and started pushing himself up while on his tummy. Nay caught it on film.

I really can`t thank Nay enough for taking us in. When I went to Shizuoka it had been 1 week 1 day since the earthquake/tsunami yet it felt like a lifetime. I was glued to facebook and the news for updates, constantly worried about aftershocks and panicking more and more about radiation and lack of food but I came back to Chiba feeling so much better- refreshed and ready to handle things here. At this stage I do not plan to go to Australia- the aftershocks are getting few and farther between, the water issue seems to be resolving (and we have about 45L at the moment and a lady downstairs came up today to tell me to come see her if we run low as she has heaps), the nuclear power plant in Fukushima seems to be less of a worry than a week ago and the shelves are getting restocked with food with only a few things hard to find.

While I loved Shizuoka and visiting Nay and her family it is nice to be back in our own place. And of course nice to see my husband.

Note: Some of these photos are from Nay`s camera. Thanks again for sharing!

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