We live next to a park (like right next door!) and I have taken Noah for a walk through there a couple of times or for a sit on the grass but last week on a really nice sunny day when we had no other real plans I took him to play in the sandpit there for the first time. It is fenced off so luckily no cats or anything can get in and the sand, while a blackish colour (is there any other kind in Japan?) was quite clean (I thought!).
He LOVED it. At first he kept picking up the sand and then looking a bit shocked that it slipped through his fingers. I snapped some pictures on my phone. He only tried to eat it twice and I managed to stop him both times!
He is down for a nap at the moment. His night sleeping is a bit all over the place meaning I am getting very little sleep. I fed him twice last night (7:30pm then to bed then fed at 12:30 and 5am then up for the day at 6am) But he woke up two or three times before the first feed and needed to be re-settled (which luckily doesn`t usually take long) and I resettled him at least once between 12 and 5 too. He has decided 6am is his time to wake up now- much to my dismay. Actually I wouldn`t mind much if he wasn`t up so often….I am hoping it is just a sleep phase.
He had his 3rd DPT shot today and didn`t cry- in fact when the doctor took the needle out Noah gave the dr a big smile as if to say “thanks for taking that out”…. His eczema is flaring up a little bit again- I think it might be the weather but am not sure. I don`t think it is a particular food but it is hard to know. We have introduced yogurt about a week ago…he has only had it twice though. It could be dairy related though I guess- will have to monitor it.
I haven`t uploaded the photos yet but we went to meet our niece for the first time yesterday- Noah`s 1st cousin. Shun`s brother and his wife gave birth to their little girl on Saturday, 2 weeks early and she weighed in 2.6kg (5 pound something- so TINY!) – she was so small and cute with quite a bit of hair. I sadly didn`t get to hold her (which is a story for another time) but hopefully I will get a cuddle sometime soon. Oh and they named her Rina! So yes, I am now officially and aunt!
While my brother was here I organized for him and Gemma to go view some “Asa Geiko” or early morning sumo practice. I rang several stables before I found one that was comfortable having them view even though they did not understand Japanese. I couldn`t go in with them because you have to be quiet and with Noah I never know when he is going to have an “outburst”…
We went to Musashigawa-beya which was about a 10 minute walk from Uguisudani station on the Yamanote line. I rang the day before and they explained all the rules so that I could relay them to Paul & Gem. We walked there in the morning (after stopping at the koban to ask for directions), arriving just before 8:30am.
They thought it was brilliant!!! I saw the last bit of the practice when I came back with Noah and then we had our photo taken with one of the stables top sumo`s (whose name I do not know!)
The rest of the day was spent in Ueno and Akihabara before having a super early (granny time) dinner just after 5pm at a local izakaya.
It was so nice having my brother and Gem in Japan- I really miss them already. I think Noah misses the attention too (especially after the weekend where he had daddy on call all the time!) because he has been super clingy these last couple of days. Not sure if it is a stage or not…
One of my favourite photos of my brother and Noah while they were in Japan
On Sunday Noah turned 100 days old. In Australia this might not be seen as an important milestone but in Japan it certainly is.
Several weeks ago my MIL bought over a set of plates for Noah to use for this special day- they were more “modern” than the usual I imagine and his have little buses, trains and cars on them with blue trim. Quite quite actually but they are made from porcelain so we won`t be using them much since they could break but I guess they are more of a keepsake anyway. I was going to do the ceremony here at our house but in the end my brother and Gemma were going to be in town so MIL/FIL invited us there to do it and Shun`s brother, and his wife and grandma all joined us.
When a baby turns 100 days old (I have heard sometimes it is when they are 120 days old as well) you celebrate “okui- hajime” which means first food, or begin eating. Of course Noah is not quite ready for solid foods yet but we pretend fed him the special food which included baked sea bream (Tai) and rice steamed with beans (sekihan, common celebratory rice often prepared and eaten before starting a new stage in ones life like elementary school, university etc). MIL told me that often there would be pickled plum as well (umeboshi) but that she didn`t have any in the fridge even though she thought she had. HAHA.
A bit of research online showed that the fish represents happiness (hope the baby finds happiness), the pickled plum represents the hope that the baby will grow old and full of wrinkles and have a long life (like the pickled plum!) and the rice, as previously mentioned is often used at celebrations.. Apparently they also usually have a pebble served with the food (?) in the hope that the babies teeth will get strong so that they can eat anything including pebbles if need be.
Noah was in a good mood Sunday and while the photos don`t necessarily show it but he did try to “lick” the food when we tried to feed it to him. I used the special chopsticks that were given to us at him omiyamairi (first shrine visit) which are made from wood and a bit smaller than usual chopsticks.
Well, since it seems some of you don`t mind if I go on about Noah I thought I would post some more photos and a video of him smiling! Although you will have to sit through my singing voice to see it- haha!
I wish I had remembered to hold the camera the right way so that the video would be up the right way but oh well…Oh and when I looked at this I was like “God, my hands look HUGE in comparison to his head” – Noah likes been sung too and I guess he doesn`t care how my voice sounds it seems!
As you know Clare, a highschool friend from Australia stayed with us for a couple of days and it was sad to see her go yesterday. It was great having her around and she is just so easy going all the time.
I only managed to get a couple of photos with her and Noah- a couple when she was reading to him and another of the three of us the morning she left!
Noah is not looking at the camera at all though
Look at the slobber
Noah loves to just stare at Shun…
Shun was proud to see im in this outfit too (which came from Noah`s Nan, my mum)
Oh and for some reason in the last week Noah has been obsessed with his left hand- literally can stare at it for ages. I kind of wonder what is going through his head as he just sits and stares as it- maybe he is trying to figure out how to use it? (Although he is grabbing toys now so he knows how to use it) or whether he is just like “mmm, what does this do?”
Whenever he does it now (and when Clare was here) we would both go “Noah, left hand” whenever he did it. Even when he is in his pram he will pop it in the air to have a good stare! hehe
Shun has been working some crazy hours lately- he leaves every morning about 9am to start work at 10am and hasn`t been getting him most nights til after 12am, sometimes not until after 1am…The project he is working on is coming to an end and will be launched in less than 2 weeks now and I am looking forward to when it will be over (so is he!) although over the next two weekends he will also have work. This Saturday he will go in and then the following week he will be at work from Sunday night til Tuesday night- they will book him a business hotel in the same street as his work so that he can maybe catch a couple hours sleep and have a shower. I think it is a bit ridiculous and personally think that if the project had been better managed then this kind of thing wouldn`t happen but oh well.
I know this is the life of a Japanese salary man and I knew this when I married him- I knew there would be the occasional weekend work and late nights since it was like this on occasion in the years we lived together before we married. It is hard though because it means he sees Noah even less than usual and it means that it is just me and Noah most of the time. Not that he would get home in time to help with dinner or bathtime and sleeptime even if he did finish earlier but still it would mean I might be awake when he gets home so that I could have some adult conversation. I miss him.
Luckily this project has just another couple of weeks left and while Shun is scheduled to move on to another project after that it probably won`t get busy for a couple months meaning we will have a couple of months were we can spend the weekends together and also some nights were he will be home before I go to bed (although not before Noah does)…
Today, since the sun came out a little around lunch time, Noah and I headed out to a closeby 親子カフェ (parent/child cafe)…I have wanted to check it out since I walked past once when I was still pregnant. It is also where Noah & I are scheduled to go for our baby sign class next month (and if we like it then we can sign up for a six month course which would have a lesson once a month)…
I couldn`t believe how packed it was! I am glad I rang and asked whether there would be space because I doubt there would of been otherwise. It is not a very big place but it is a lovely little set up! Lots of kiddie chairs, kid friendly foods for those starting solids (like pureed fruit and tofu/cheese patties) and for older kids like mild curry rice. Plus the lunch sets for the mama`s were nice too! One of the waitresses was really lovely and I told her I was looking to make some Japanese mama friends that lived in the area and she introduced me to a couple of the other mums that were there. Everyone`s bubs were older than Noah but she suggested I try a baby massage class next month or in May because the babies would be a similar age to Noah…
After lunch Noah and I sat on the playmat and had a bit of a play- he enjoyed the interaction I think and the other kids enjoyed handing him things (well handing me things) and saying “hai doozo noah” (Here you go Noah)…kind of cute really! I will definitely be going back! It is nice to have somewhere like that so close by too- it is on my street about 1km away so an easy walk!
Since I am also hoping to pick up some private lessons OR possibly teaching a mama/baby english class I am going to ask next time whether they would be interested. They do an English book reading time once a month but I asked and it is not a native speaker that does it…I am looking for work where I can take Noah with me though of course and somewhere like that would be perfect!
I missed doing “Two for Tuesday” yesterday but I made an awesome beef stew today in the slow cooker (had a bit of a taste when I got home since it was already done. YUMMO! When I got off our floor when coming home I smelt something really nice and thought our neighbours must have been cooking but when I opened our door I realized it was coming from OUR apartment!) – I tweaked the recipe a little and added mushrooms instead of celery and carrot (since I didn`t have any in the fridge) and also I added a pack of gravox (approx 2 tablespoons I guess) and it turned out great. The recipe (apart from what I tweaked) is this one which I found here. I didn`t use as much meat either (it was like 1kg worth for 6 people, i used about half of that but I kept the vegetable amounts the same) but I kept the spices the same since we like flavoursome stew- the beef turned out so tender!
Well enough of my mid week ramblings I guess- Noah is about to stir from is nap anyway!
Another lovely weekend was had in which we met up with Sarah & Nay, attended a 2nd birthday party for Cassie`s daughter Nanami, and had a lovely bloggy girl catch-up on Monday with the girls (Sarah, Nay, Cassie, Melanie &Khea- although unfortunately Sarah, Ryohei & Sakura could not stay very long) and the kiddies. A few favourite photos from the weekend…
The birthday girl
Noah`s first birthday party ever
Opening presents- her first doll
Yummy yummy cheese fondue
What a difference 4.5 months makes- Noah & Sakura make friends with each other!
Grown-ups talk and the kiddies play
Noah meets Missha
The bubs try walking
Noah sitting with me
Was such a lovely weekend as I said but we were exhausted after it was over so today we just chilled out at home and caught up on some play time just the two of us (Noah & I) while mama (me) caught up on some laundry and some chill out time! The good news is that Noah has been a bit of a champion sleeper most nights this past week waking up only once usually during the night (anywhere between 1-4am)…He is bathed and fed and put to bed between 7:30pm an 8:30pm and then sleeps for 5-8 hours usually and then goes down for another couple hours- today he slept in until 8:30am (after a 4am wake up, change and feed) but that could of been because of the busy busy days we have had lately.
My friend Clare (bridesmaid from wedding) arrives from Australia Thursday morning and will be with us for one night before heading down to Kyoto and then back with us from Sunday for two more nights and then she is off on an adventure to England for a couple of years. She of course hasn`t met Noah yet but is excited to meet him and I am so excited to see her!!! We have been friends since the first day of highschool where we met when we were 12!
So tomorrow will be another day spent cleaning up, cooking up a storm (want to cook lasange and soup so that on Thursday and Friday nights I can just heat up food and perhaps make a salad- plus I meant to make brownies today but didn`t get to it so will try them tomorrow!) and making sure everything is ready for my next visitor!
My Aussie grandfather when he was alive was always referred to as “Poppy” by all of his grandchildren (and at that time there were 27 of us…now 29) and my dad decided that he also wanted to be a “Poppy” so that is what we call him in front of Noah…
Here are some photos from his brief stay with us in Chiba…
Shun also took a couple of photos of me and Noah yesterday- most of the time I am behind the camera so it was nice to get a couple of the two of us! Noah even has a faint smile on his face in this one
Oh, and this is a recent favourite- I gave him a mohawk and stuck him in his bumbo which for some reason he found hilarious…
Putting things in his mouth (mainly his hands but also toys) is a new thing and this is him trying to suck on “Tako Tako`s” nose….
He is definitely one of the most photographed children on the planet!!!
Last night Shun asked me if I would mind if he went snowboarding for the day on Saturday at the end of this month. I told him I would think about it… (It would mean he would leave the house early morning or maybe even drive overnight, and then not come back til very late Saturday night- it is with some work people)
Would it be unreasonable to say no and that I want him to stay here? The following weekend after that he has to work on the Saturday and we have known about that for awhile so it will just be Noah & I that day too.
I am thinking I will tell him that if he really wants to go then he should but if he feels like he could miss it then perhaps he should stay here. Shun is home late most nights and doesn`t get to see Noah awake much so I think he should want to stay home but I don`t want to force him to. I don`t want to be one of those people that says “no, you have to stay here and help me with the baby” because while he grumbles about getting up early he does get up when Noah gets up every second day so that I can get an extra hour of sleep (and I let him sleep on the alternative days) and on the weekends if I express milk he will feed Noah a bottle or two so that I can get a solid block of sleep. So really he is being helpful when he can be…
Last weekend Shun watched Noah so I could have a nap (for 2 hours) and after I woke up I told him he could go out if he wanted so he went to Pachinko with a friend for 2 hours so it is not like I make him stay home with us all weekend. I know if he didn`t have some free time it wouldn`t be fair since I get free-time at home while Noah is napping- even if during that time I usually have to prepare dinner and clean-up but he is still sleeping a lot at the moment so I get time to spend on the internet and watch tv as well. I also hope to start on his scrapbook next week- so I do get to do things I want to do.
I know if I ask him not to go he will not put up a fight at all, he will just say okay and tell the guys at work he can`t go- he is really easy going like that which Is why I don`t want to take advantage of his good nature. But is it wrong that I want to spend time together as a family on the weekends since we don`t get to do it much during the week…(even things like eating dinner together on the weekends make me happy as Shun is never home early enough during the week for us to eat together and now that the bub is here I am usually in bed by the time he gets home- even if I am still awake and reading)
In other news Noah and I had an eventful day- we went out by ourselves for the first time (up until now either Shun, or my mum, or both of them have been with us when we have gone into town or out)- all went well and I got to Loft and the grocery store and to pick up a frame that I had ordered. If I am buying nappies though I really can`t buy more than a day or two worth of food since there is only so much I can hang on the pram.
Then we got home, Noah sat in his bouncer while I cleaned up quickly and put the groceries away and then I fed him and then all of a sudden, before he was even finished, he started to spit up and cough so I sat him up and he vomitted about 300ml-400ml of milk which is probably three of his feeds. There was milk EVERYWHERE! All over the sofa, all over me, all over him, all over the blankets that he was wrapped in and all over the floor. Literally my jeans were soaked through to my undies!!! I quickly stripped his clothes and mopped him down and then my own, then rang the hospital to see if I should bring him in and they said yes and so I wrapped him up and just walked to the clinic with him in my arms. The doctor checked him over and said he was constipated from his cold (I didn`t even know this could happen?) and asked me if he had been pooing (and he had, as much as normal anyway) so they gave him an enema and I waited there for awhile while he pooed, then the doctor saw him again and then fed him a little again to see if he would be sick again but he wasn`t so we came home with some other medicine to help with his stomach apparently.
The doctor showed me Noah`s legs before the enema and tapped his tummy and showed me how to tell if he is constipated- I don`t really understand the legs thing. I think he was showing me that in a certain part they were a different colour which indicates constipation- does anyone know anything about this?
Noah didn`t even cry when they gave him the enema (or when he was sick earlier)- he just started to get grizzly while we were waiting to see the doctor again and rightfully so as he had thrown up all of his milk and was STARVING! We got home and I did his bath, fed him a little more and have put him down for the night now- just writing this up while the rice is cooking as all the prep for the beef and asparagus oyster sauce stirfry is ready- I just need to chuck it in the pan.
Noah James (aka Goma-chan!) arrived on Saturday 19th December 2009 at 10:52am Japan time an hour and ten minutes after we arrived at the birthing clinic. The kanji for Noah is 希明.
Weight: 3278grams
Length: 50cm
All is well and we were released from the clinic today. More photos can be found here and a birth story will follow soon! For now we are chilling at home and getting used to our new surroundings and lives!
At the in-laws yesterday FIL kindly scanned in some photos for me and put them on CD. I don`t have that many baby photos of myself here in Japan and I only have a couple of Shun when he was younger that his mum gave me but it was fun looking through them and I am glad I have them digitally now…
Will be interesting which of us Goma-chan takes after when he makes his arrival…
Here is baby Shun- I am not sure how old he is in this photo but this is the youngest photo I have of him.
Here is baby Lulu- doing a similar pose to Shun above- I think I look like a boy!
Oh and lets not forget siblings
My brother & I- eating iceblocks. I still think I look like a boy, oh and yeah my brother had white hair. he was born with it. Shun thinks this might mean Goma-chan has white hair- I told him I do not like his chances (he is also praying on blue eyes but that is unlikely also!)
Shun & his brother (Shun is the younger one, there is 5 years between them)
This is my favourite photo of Shun- I think it might have been near New Years which could explain the outfit.
Here is a favourite photo of mine, of me, from when I was younger as it shows 4 generations. Left to right is my grandmother, great grandmother, my mum & me. I was 10 months old when this was taken and it was my first trip to NZ. I learnt to walk while in NZ that first time….
Just a couple more-
How 80`s is this couch?
I liked dogs even then
Shun`s grandmother (Baba) did a lot of travelling and here is Shun in an outfit she bought back from Mongolia…Can`t wait to dress Goma-chan up in ridiculous outfits and take photos of him. Shame they don`t have this one anymore!
And lastly, check out the carpet WITH the couches in this photo- Gotta love the orange and brown!
Oh and nobody guessed at the random stuff that we could possibly bring home from the in-laws (see end of last post) but here is the answer anyway and actually it was not so random this time. We came home with 2 2L bottles of water (they worry that I drink tap water because we live in an apartment meaning it is tank water but I do not want to lug mineral water home or pay for it really- eventually we will get a purifier put on the tap but honestly water is water), 2 leeks, 2 pieces or sirloin steak, some mail and Shun`s mum made him a bento for today because we were eating there meaning I wouldn`t have leftovers to make him a bento for today (and there was no way I would make something from scratch!). Anyway it was all things I will use so YAY!!!!!!
Aussie girl with Japanese husband living in Chiba, Japan with a baby boy born December 2009. Just trying to make sense of the crazy Japanese and Aussie worlds she lives in...
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