We are in the process of trying to get him to understand “no”- I think he knows what “no” means but he certainly doesn`t follow. Things like biting, or when he tries to open the bin or pull the cords out (the cords for tv, laptop and dvd player are all near where our tv is- I put them back and under the table but he tries to climb in to pull them out and chew on them- I have made the space as small as possible but he still manages to try and get in). If I tell him “no” and do the sign for no he just laughs and of course keeps trying to do it. Any hints on getting him to understand or is he really still too young? I really want him to understand and to at least follow what I say a little before baby #2 arrives. We were trying to teach him also when we were with Rina the other day about touching softly and no hair pulling and if he lunged at her saying “No Noah. Be gentle”

House hunting has been put on hold for the time been. Credit card bills from Australia and trying to get a bit of money together for the trip back home and also paying the down payment for the hospital means our savings is going down a little and we don`t really want further money to be tied up in a down payment just yet so the plan is to keep passively looking but to not go do any actual house hunting unless something fab comes up- Shun still looks most days and flicks through the suumo magazine but more than likely we won`t start looking properly again until edamame-chan arrives. I realize it will be a long process but I had kind of hoped we would of moved by next July (when we have to pay 2 months rent as a gift to the landlord here if we want to continue living in this apartment) but it seems unlikely.

That said, if we found a place now and put down a downpayment and applied for loans we would be paying back a loan, and rent, until we moved in which DEFINITELY wouldn`t be until AFTER I got back from Australia so hence putting things on hold for a bit.

Less than 5 weeks now til I go back to Australia. I am so excited. I always get excited when I am going back but I think this time it is such a long stay and it will be Noah`s first “real” christmas (he was 6 days old last year and Shun worked that day!) and with my friends wedding and also a week planned up the Sunshine Coast there is just so much more to look forward to.

I spoke with my local oyako cafe  (Green Tulip) and they are willing to open up on a Sunday to hold Noah`s birthday party- I am so relieved as while our living/dining area is probably big enough for a party it will be so nice not to have to worry about preparing all the food or clearing up while more than 7 months pregnant when it comes time for the party in January- keep Jan 9th free everyone (You know who you are!). I will still make cake and decorations and also probably some food (they said that is fine- it is run by a hub/wife team and they are so nice an accomodating always!). I was worried they wouldn`t be able to do it because on their site it says up to 28 people for a party (but what they mean is they can only seat 28) and that they are closed Sunday`s but YAY that they are willing to host it for us.

Noah had blood drawn yesterday for an allergy test- he was not at all impressed with the blood test. Not that I blame him. We will get results in a week although they only tested him for food allergies and only for about six different things (milk, wheat, egg, soba and some others)…kind of disappointing really but it is a start and it will at least give me a percentage or number of exactly how allergic to milk products he is (and I think if the number is low then he is more likely to grow out of it right?) – I hope I can understand the results properly when the doctor tells me.

So a bit of an update. Finally.

But first, thank you to everyone who commented on my last post about house hunting. We went to look at some model houses last weekend. The kitchens in those places always make me so excited to have our own place- actual bench space, a real pantry, a dish washer and more. OH MY! We have not made any firm decisions or anything but we might end up buying land and building our own place… There is some land (2 different lots) available in Moto Yawata near Shun`s parents house (A 5 minute walk and a 15 or 20 minute walk- but by bike both are super close) which sound great. MIL is going to check them out for me and see if it is worth going to look at them. With Noah, it is hard to go look at everywhere we want to see and we have discussed with MIL the sorts of things we are looking for and don`t want. She is also a pretty good negotiator so nice to have someone like that on our side. Living in Moto Yawata would be ideal but we thought it would end up too expensive for us but maybe not…

So, Noah is crawling. But only backwards. He scoots around in circles forwards but when he is actually on all fours he only goes backwards. It is so cute because he is trying to move forward to get stuff but only can go backwards. Is it cruel that I put toys in front of him, just out of reach just so I can watch him crawl backwards and laugh? It is so cute though and I do encourage him and after a couple minutes put the toys within reach.

We might be over our recent sleep regression too. He woke up only once last night between 7:30pm and 6:00am (He woke up and fed at 4:00am)- I hope he is over it. It sure will make me a happier camper!!!

Noah also met his first cousin Rina chan

Chiba Peanuts Multicutural Playgroup met almost a month ago and we had lots of fun.

Father`s Day went well. Noah only tried to eat the present a couple of times. We went to Yakiniku (Shun`s favourite) and spent the day together. Shun`s friend Ishi joined us (he was over the night before to watch the soccer…and he just kind of stuck around. Not that I mind he is lovely to have around. Last time he stayed he vacuumed when he saw I was going to do it. What is not to love about a guy that vacuums?)

Noah still loves to read-

And chew on stuff

Just a final photo I took last night because I love his expression

We found out last week that it seems Noah has an allergy to dairy. The second time he ate yogurt he got very itchy and a bit blotchy and the third time he broke out in hives on one side of his face, ear and neck. It was the day after his final DPT immunization so when I rang the clinic they told me to bring him in as soon as possible in case it was a reaction to this. It seems though that the most likely cause is dairy or cow`s milk protein and we will hold off on giving any more diary now til he is tested at about age one. The doctor said to start him on tofu to see if we had any issues there and he had it for the third time this morning (mixed with banana this morning) and luckily no reaction so it looks as if soy products might be okay which is a relief because if he still has dairy issues after age one (a lot of children grow out of it) then he can at least drink soy milk, continue to eat tofu and have soy yogurt maybe (although I can`t seem to find soy yogurt in Japan?).

I have been very diligent about monitoring him for allergies since starting him on solid foods and so far dairy seems to be the only issues but the doctor advised to hold off on wheat til 9 months or so and of course stay away from the other high risk allergy foods like strawberries, tomatoes, seasame, nuts etc for as long as possible.

A lot of children with dairy allergies or cows milk protein allergy have reactions and issues before they even start on solid food (like blood or mucus in poo, lots of belly pain, or blood in spit up) but Noah had none of that so it seems his allergy might be mild. I am concerned that the dairy he receives through my breastmilk though might not be helping his eczema at all but when I tried to talk to the doctor about this he said it wasn`t an issue. I am still thinking I might eliminate dairy for a couple of weeks to see what happens though. I did eliminate for a week when his eczema first appeared but it seem to make no difference so I went back to eating dairy but now that I know he appears to have an allergy I should do it again. It might mean the end of ice coffees and chocolate for awhile. Not to mention cheese!