Cherry Blossom Adventures

• Sometimes when I pick up Noah after his nap, or in the morning, when he has had enough sleep and wakes up happy he snuggles into my neck for a couple of secs and then flings his head back to smile or giggle at me. I am not sure I can express in words how happy this makes me. Sometimes how much I love my little koala munchkin leaves me speechless…
• Noah does not seem to be a fan of carrots. He must get that from me.
• He is starting to find other babies more interesting. Today at the doctors surgery a boy (a twin, his sister was close by) about a month older than Noah reached out to try to pull of Noah`s sock and Noah looked up, smiled at the boy and started babbling away.
• Noah is LOUD. Also, trying to shush an almost 6 month old is impossible…He is in a very happy squeeling stage that can be a bit embarrassing when in somewhat quiet places like doctors surgeries, Baby Gap, and on trains.
• A five year old at the doctors surgery came up to me and very shyly said “I am happy you speak to the baby in English. He is lucky. I like English class at kindy. When the baby starts talking maybe he can teach me some more English”- Cute, no? He was such a polite thing. His sister was lovely too- and she went through my handbag pulling everything out much to her mothers dismay (She was about 3 I guess and I keep a lot of toys in my handbag!)
• Noah seems to have perfected sitting and while not moving forward really when on his tummy he still moves around slowly like a snail without actually moving more than what looks to be a couple of centimeters.
• I am still really bad with money. I must review out budget, or lack there of.
• Twitter is growing on me.
• I bought all the baking ingredients I would need to make some basic sweets but have been tossing up too many ideas and have not ended up baking anything this week. Maybe tomorrow? The problem with baking is that Shun doesn`t really eat sweets so if I do bake something I will then end up eating all of it.
• Mummy brain is a real thing. I honestly thought it was a bit of a joke before having a baby but now sometimes I have to read something 10 times before I get what it means or before what I am reading actually sinks in. Sometimes it feels like my brain cells are disappearing faster than Japanese prime ministers (Last week saw the 6th in 5 years!)
• Baby signing is going well- I know about 30 signs and I am doing about 10 of them on a regular basis with Noah everyday at the moment with the hope to increase the signs each week.
• Rashie (Rash shirt/ UV swim shirt) is apparently not a common Aussie word like I thought. A FB status update from me bought up some questions when I thought it was a common word? Anyway, I bought Noah is first ever rashie today- bring on the water play this summer.
• Have been tossing up the idea of starting a new blog (but keeping this one going)- not sure if this will ever happen though.

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or which doctor, as the case may be.

Several weeks ago I wrote about an issue I was having with the city government town nurse and also the issues I was having with the clinic I had been going to when sick and where I had been taking Noah for his immunizations. I was unhappy with the clinic in general even before these issues came up so I was on the hunt for a new one.

Shun had already contacted a different clinic (one that was recommended to me by a Japanese friend in the area) and scheduled Noah`s next immunization but late last week I got another throat infection and I knew it wasn`t going to go away without antibiotics so I made an appointment for Saturday morning.

I had the same thing about 2.5 months ago and the doctor I went to said it was strep. I am not sure if it was or not though since they didn`t take a swab to test it or anything. It came back though so off to the doctors I went. This time to inspect the new clinic.

Overall I was very happy. Although I did have the song “Witch doctor” in my head the entire time.

Shun came with me and he had Noah in the carrier but he spent most of the time outside walking around because we didn`t want Noah to get sick from others in the waiting room (all kids by the way, I was the only adult patient- I guess they don`t see many adults either because when they called me in they called me by my surname then first name-chan as opposed to -san and then the receptionist yelled at the nurse- “no, no, m***-san, m***san” which was kind of funny.

The doctor I saw was very nice. He took a look at my throat and said “sugoi” (WOW!) and claimed it the worst throat infection he had ever seen. He even called in the other doctor, an older doctor (maybe in his late 50s), to have a look too. Kind of weird because it is not even the sorest throat I have had but anyway- It is pretty sore though and very red with white spots all over it (so gross!). Anyway they dosed me up on some drugs and said that since I had been sick a couple times since Noah was born that I might be lacking vitamins because I am breastfeeding so recommended I start taking some vitamins of mainly vitamin c and b. This is the second throat infection I have had and I have also had 2 or 3 colds?

The doctor asked if I had stopped eating because my throat was so sore and I said it took more than a sore throat to stop me eating. If only!!! I wish I was one of those people that when sick lost appetite and didn`t eat- I would be so skinny of that was the case! Instead I think I might even eat MORE when I am sick.

Both doctors seemed lovely, and the nurse on staff that day was a younger lady (not like the old nosy biddies at my other clinic!) and the receptionists seemed nice too. It was a pretty small place and packed on Sunday and I waited for 40 minutes to be seen. I had an appointment though and most others who arrived before me were still waiting when I left because those with appointments get seen first.

I think taking Noah there for his immunizations and eczema will be fine. And of course any other time he get sick or needs to see the doctor.

I was wondering though, what you used to get when you went to the doctors as a kid? We always got jelly beans. This clinic gives out stickers to the kids- INCLUDING keroppi stickers. I love keroppi!!! I kind of wanted to ask for some for myself…

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On Friday I had an unexpected visitor in the form of a city nurse. I am not exactly sure how it works but basically there are nurses that come and check babies usually before they are 2 months old and they are employed by the city.

I had a nurse visit when Noah was about 2 months old- she talked me through the immunization processes, dropped off some information and a note for Shun to read and weighed Noah to make sure he was getting big enough I guess. The one that came then was super nice and friendly and we had no issues at all.

The one on Friday however came to check on me and Noah to make sure we were coping okay and I get the feeling she was also checking that I wasn`t neglecting Noah. She arrived unannounced on Friday afternoon while Noah was napping.

At first I didn`t really think much of it- I thought perhaps there was supposed to be a second visit although I do remember telling the nurse that had come previously that next time it would be better if someone RANG before just showing up.

A couple of weeks back I had a 24 hour stomach bug and then a couple days after that I got a cold- the cold wasn`t that bad at first but got worse and I went to the doctors to get some meds in the hope it would knock it on its head. The doctor`s surgery on the day I went was packed, I didn`t have an appointment and it was so hot inside the waiting room. After 90 minutes I was still waiting to see a doctor and I felt like crap and just wanted to go home and lie down. I was getting stressed out from waiting so I went up to ask how much longer it would be and I got a bit dizzy and fainted (although it was a weird kind of faint because I could still hear all that was going on and I was aware of what was happening- not like other times I have fainted). I was holding Noah when this happened but I sort of crumpled downwards and Noah didn`t hit himself on anything. They took me to the back room and I waited a further 20 minutes or so before seeing the doctor.

I was pissed off by this time. I just wanted to go home and I was certain Noah was going to get sick now because we had been waiting so long in a room full of sick people and I was beginning to wish I hadn`t come at all. Anyway- I saw the doctor, he gave me some medicine, and I paid the bill and left.

Well someone at the clinic contacted the city nurse people and told them I was not coping with taking care of Noah. Apparently.

Yeah- there is no doctor patient confidentiality in this country. But that is a whole different story.

So yeah, the city nurse came.

She asked me all these questions about whether I was sleeping, whether I was okay taking care of Noah by myself and also some weird questions about who bathed him (I think she was hinting at the fact I might try to drown him if I was upset????) and what time Shun was coming home and whether he helped out. Also she commented that I probably didn`t have much support because I lived far from my family and asked whether Shun`s family was close and whether I had friends I could talk too.

Then get this, she asked me if I was taking my medication for depression and coping okay. So yeah, whoever rang from the clinic revealed my history with depression, knew I was on medication and told the city nurse people. Not that I hide this fact but seriously….

I suspect it was one of the nurses from my clinic- I doubt it was the doctor but still. At this point Noah woke up from his nap and he was happy as larry to see we had a visitor and was all smily and what not but he was due for a feed and I was so pissed off by this time I just wanted this lady to leave so I told her he was due for a feed (which was true) and stood up indicating that I wanted her to leave now.

She told me that someone from the clinic had contacted them and advised that they should come and check on me. Can you believe that? They said I had seemed stressed and also very tired.

Um yeah I was stressed when I was waiting at the clinic for almost 2 hours because I was sick, tired and looking after a baby. What do they expect?

Needless to say but we will be finding a new clinic to go to.

NOTE: I wanted to use much stronger language when writing this post but I try not to swear too much on my blog. But yeah, imagine that I was using the F word more than a couple times throughout! I was just sooooooooo angry and I still am. I realize that whoever called was concerned for me or for Noah but they should of spoken to me about it and asked if I wanted them to contact someone to come visit with me (I would of said no) but I am more pissed off about the fact that they just reveal any medical history they want and also that they thought I was neglecting Noah or that I wasn`t coping with raising him. The nurse also kept writing stuff down in her notebook and I do wonder what happens with those notes? She did say that he seemed very genki when she saw him- I am not sure what she expected?

I will not be letting any more city employee`s into my house either.

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Happy Children`s Day all!

I didn`t realize that Children`s Day was celebrated in a lot of different countries- it is of course on different days but it was interesting to read that Korea celebrates on the same day as Japan (Today, May 5) and that also June 1st is another date that pops up for a lot of different countries Children`s Day. Even Australia has one- they celebrate the universal Children`s Day on November 20! It is amazing what Wikipedia can teach you!

We didn`t do anything special for Noah`s first Children`s Day really since now Shun has the cold that I had late last week and over the weekend. Although we celebrated with Shun`s family just over a week ago by going out for lunch (and Noah received money from his grandparents and also gifts from BIL/SIL). Several weeks ago his great grandmother also came over the house with Jiji (grandad) to set up some Children`s Day Children`s Day statues (not sure what you would call them- symbols I guess) including the famous kabuto (helmet). These were things she bought for Shun & his brother when they were younger so they are over 30 years old. We can keep them out at the moment since Noah is not really mobile but next year I think we will just set them up at Shun`s parents house- or maybe here but in the other room so that I could keep a toddler from climbing over them!

We also bought and set up koinobori (flying carp) a couple of weeks ago- we hung them inside up until today since we are not technically supposed to hang anything off our balcony. Shun moved them outside though just for today.

It is a bit of a shame we couldn`t really spend the day outside today since the weather was awesome. Maybe next year we will have a kodomo no hi (this is what the day is called in Japanese) picnic or BBQ!

For those that don`t know Children`s Day (which was originally known as Boy`s Day since Japanese girls have hinamatsuri or Doll`s Festival in March- it was changed to Children`s Day after WW2) is a day in which we celebrate children`s happiness and respect their different personalities. It is the last day of the Golden Week holiday as well. We celebrated the day by cleaning up lots of Noah`s drool which is in abundance, STILL!

Thanks to everyone who responded with a comment on the last post also. Was interested to see what kinds of things were in your first posts, who commented and get to know more about why you blog! Was lovely to come home from our trip (which I will try and post about soon) and be able to read so many comments.

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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

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My brother Paul and his girlfriend Gemma arrived from Australia last Friday night and on the Saturday we headed out of town to Hakone for the day. This was my first time to go and I had wanted to go for ages so was glad for the opportunity- it was a little tough going with Noah still been so young but he was a trooper all day!

We left just after 8am and by the time we got home it was already after 8pm so it was a LONG day! It was lots of fun though.

We caught the shinkansen from Tokyo station to Odawara station where we bought our Hakone Free Passes (which allows you to use all of the buses/trains/gondolas/pirate boats/cable cars. Yes, we caught ALL of those things as well as the shinkansen on Saturday!!!

We went from Odawara station to Hakone Yumoto station and then we hopped on a bus which took us to Moto-Hakone where we could see Lake Ashi and also part of Hakone Shrine. Sometimes you can see a view of Mt Fuji from there but unfortunately the day was too cloudy for this and we didn`t actually see Mt Fuji at all (much to Gemma`s disappointment- but I have since heard she has seen Geisha/Maiko  in Kyoto so all is right again with her!!!)…Oh it was also FREEZING! About 1 degree although I think it may have been about 0 degrees at another point in the day!!

You can see part of Hakone Shrine in the background- the red torii (gate) is in the water.

Next we caught a pirate boat across Lake Ashi to Togendai port. It was such a cold and cloudy day that we stayed inside the boat but Paul & Gem went up the top of the boat to get a better look!!! At Togendai before we headed up the mountain (?) on the ropeway we grabbed some lunch- by this stage Noah had had enough of the carrier anyway so it was good to get him out so he could have a bit of a break. I much prefer him in a pram but I knew we would be on and off buses/trains and what not all day that the carrier seemed better- I think he may still be a little small for the ergo though (and he hates the infant insert) so later on in the day i swapped him to another carrier (that criss crosses across my back)- while I said he was a trooper all day, and he was, he was pretty much grumpy, hungry or sleeping the whole time!

He was happy at lunch time though

We didn`t eat onsen tamago (black eggs cooked in sulpher water) in case anyone is wondering- though we did see a sign advertising curry that had the eggs with it! haha

We hopped on the ropeway after lunch and headed towards Owakudani- sometimes known as the great boiling valley (due to his volcanic nature)! I have been to Rotarua in NZ which has similar sulfurous water and areas and I can safely say that Rotarua smells MUCH more than Owakudani! It was really pretty though (although sooooo cold!)- there is a nature trail near there apparently but we skipped it.

We continued on the ropeway, then switched to a cable car which took us to Gora. We stopped in Gora and had a quick look around at the little shops/stalls- we tried some of the taste tests that they had out. Let me say Gem and even my brother in some cases (which is totally weird since he is so picky!) were much more game to try the things on offer than I was. I fed Noah and changed him in a little rest stop which I think may have been for people waiting for taxi`s but it was deserted and well, Hakone was short on “baby” rooms! HAHA!

From Gora we took the train (kind of like a country train that winds through the mountain) back down and stopped at Chukoku no mori stop to see the Open Air Museum! This was probably my favourite part of the day- I loved how they had set it up and it is was great to see how they had incorporated art with nature. I would love to take Noah back when he is older (and can play on some of the exhibits designed for children!). There was also some galleries within the museum including work by Picasso & Henry Moore.

They also had a foot spa (with hot spring water) but we were all so exhausted by then and knew if we didn`t start heading for home we would be so late! Would love to have spent more time there!

There is heaps more to see and do in Hakone than we got to do- in fact it would make a great weekend getaway as the area is quite famous for onsen (hot springs!) and it would be lovely to explore some more as there is also some lovely gardens and parks as well as other museums. We grabbed bento`s for dinner at Tokyo station on our way home since there was no way I was cooking after such a long day!!!

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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.

More photos are in the set here.

Still to come in blog catch-up- Our trip to Hakone!

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I recently read an article about generation Y women in Australia who are “embarrassed” to breastfeed in public and find it uncomfortable. I believe in free choice and if someone choose not to feed in public I would not be offended in anyway in the same way that I would not be offended if they choose to feed their bub in public but this did get me thinking about my attitude towards feeding in public. The article is here if anyone wants to read it.

I had always thought I would be much more comfortable doing it in Australia as I had thought it would be more acceptable there but to tell you the truth since Noah was born I have had no issues feeding in public here in Japan, when the need arose. In fact, I have fed Noah in starbucks, on a train platform (this was an emergency, I probably wouldn`t have done this but we hopped on the wrong train and it was well past the time we should of been home and he was starving so I topped him up for 5 minutes while waiting for the train), in restaurants, on a park bench, at friends houses and more and honestly have not thought twice about doing this. If I am close to a baby room then I will usually go there. I have not fed on a train but if I had a seat and it was a long train ride (ie, shinkansen or even to the otherside of Tokyo) then I would probably do it. I would cover up (I have a breastfeeding cover) but the truth is I cover up not over my own embarrassment but because I do not want to offend anyone and well, I have never seen a Japanese woman feed in public so while nobody has ever said anything to me directly I figure covering up would be the polite thing to do.

Has anyone here had issues with feeding their babies in public? What about in Australia or other countries? I am curious to hear others experiences. The only time I have had a negative response was in a cafe at the Edo Museum in Ryogoku when I fed in a cafe there- nobody said anything to me directly but an elderly couple stared at me a lot and spoke about the fact I was feeding Noah although not directly to me. Shun was with me then actually and said he was surprised that anyone even noticed since I had covered Noah up to feed him.

In my own home no matter who is around I feed Noah as I would normally. If they are male friends I usually say “Im going to feed Noah now” and then if the choose to move out of eyesight that is their choice, actually I would probably say this no matter who was around just so that they could choose whether to stay within eyesight or not.

In someone else`s home I will feed him as well but usually I will ask if they want me to cover up (especially if they are Japanese)- at my in-laws house I feed Noah and I don`t use a breastfeeding cover (I used to but honestly it was too hot for Noah as they keep their heater on all the time) but I put a little towel near his face so no-one can see anything and I always say “I am going to feed him now” so that if BIL, MIL, FIL or anyone doesn`t want to see anything they know not to look.

Recently I fed him at my student`s house and I put a cover on but he got so hot so I asked her if she minded if I took the cover off and she said it was fine. When I first started teaching her she was still breastfeeding her baby and she always covered up and I figured that was her choice although I would not have been at all offended if she choose not to. While I feed in public I do look for a baby room whenever possible because I don`t actually like having to cover him up to feed (as he doesn`t like it and it makes us both hot) but I will of course cover him if I do feed in a cafe/restaurant/park etc…

I know that my feelings (ie, okay to breastfeed in public) are not felt by all but I think it is a personal choice. Just like breastfeeding vs formula debate. While I breastfeed I definitely wouldn`t look down on someone who formula fed their child especially seeing as I maintained throughout my pregnancy that if breastfeeding didn`t work for Noah & I that I wouldn`t beat myself up about it…

There are laws in Australia to prevent places from discriminating against breastfeeding mothers- they are state based (to the best of my knowledge anyway) and apparently Western Australia does not have these laws and their was an outrage last year when a breastfeeding mother was asked to leave a hotel restaurant because she was feeding her 7 month old in public. Does anyone know if Japan has any laws like this? Could I be asked to leave a restaurant if I fed Noah? What about if I fed him without a cover? Does this make a difference?

Does seeing mothers breastfeed in public offend you? What is your opinion on this issue?

I know that this topic can cause some debate but I ask that any comments you make be kept in a friendly context (although I have absolutely no problem with people saying they wouldn`t feed in public or would prefer not to see others feed in public- just be nice about it!)- I am interested in hearing others experiences, thoughts etc…

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Probably going to be ranty in places and a lot to do with Japan…

• People I don`t know think it is okay to touch my child- when it isn`t.
• People feel like they can push around me just because I have a pram- sure if you are lined up before me I don`t expect you to give up your place in line BUT if I am lined up in front of you that means I should go first. In particular when lining up to get on the train- if I lined up first that means when the train doors open you should WAIT for me to get on, even if I have a pram.
• In the last week I have had at least 10 people tell me that Noah is so “white” and also that his eyes are so “wide/bright”…
• Noah likes being sung to- even if it is just about me washing the plates or hanging out the washing so that he will sit and watch me without wanting to be held. I just sing what I am doing to a kiddy tune…
• Little Einstein movies are odd- plus I am not quite sure why people thought they made babies into genius`s because in one of them a puppet puts glitter into a bowl and then drinks it…Oh and there is also a kid in one of them with the worst haircut I have ever seen. A cross between a bowl cut (with a triangle cut out of his fringe) and a crewcut…
• No matter how much coffee I drink it seems to make no difference to Noah`s sleep. Although I have not had more than 3 in one day since he was born…but still.
• Noah seems much happier at home and a lot more smiley when he is in his own comfort zone.
• Unless I tell Shun to actually change Noah`s nappy he won`t think to do it himself.
• Noah likes to pull off while feeding and smile at me as if to say “Mama, arn`t boobies great?”
• Noah is not laughing yet but he squeals with delight sometime…
• People actually stop in the street as I walk towards them when they see me coming with the pram (and Noah is facing me) and turn around as I pass to get a look at him. Sometimes they say “Ahh, netteiru” (“Ahh, he`s sleeping”) as if that is the most disappointing thing to happen to them all day. It is starting to freak me out a little…
• Noah can not decide what thumb/hand he likes to suck on yet but he seems to suck his left thumb more. Sometimes he can`t get it in his mouth though and ends up sucking the sides of his hands.

What have been some of your mama observations?

Oh and because he is cute- I will leave you with a photo.

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On Monday (11th) we took Noah to do his Omiyamairi, or first visit to a Shinto shrine. He isn`t quite a month old yet but I wanted to do it while my mum was still here and before it got even colder in late January or February (although Monday was freezing anyway!). Traditionally baby boys were taken on their 31st day of life and baby girls were taken on the 32nd day of life- it is done so that they are introduced to the shrine and to the Shinto gods.

My MIL bought Noah (although traditionally it is the maternal grandparents that would buy the outfit) a white outfit to wear for the occasion. It was very girly but the shop assistant had assured her that the same outfits were worn buy boys and girls. It reminded me a lot of christening outfits. Some babies are dressed in kimono instead but I told her not to bother shalling out that much money for an outfit he would only wear once (although I guess the white outfit would of been expensive too)

Since it was a public holiday the shrine was pretty busy- there were others there getting blessings too but we didn`t see any other babies getting blessed. We had an appointment at 12pm and went in with about 40 other people. They read out Noah`s name, our names, his date of birth and our address- Shun also went up to bow to the Shinto priest on our behalf. Noah slept through the entire thing except when they banged the drums when he woke up with a start (both times!)- we also got some gifts for Noah from the shrine including chopsticks to use when we give his first solid food (not quite sure how you can use chopsticks to eat rice cereal but oh well), some sweets, a couple of good luck charms and an ema (wish card?) to write our hopes for Noah.

Afterwards we took some photos outside the shrine (the shrine where we did it is near Shun`s parents place and the shrine they visit each new year and for other events- we do not know of any local shrines near our apartment so we choose to go there as Shun also did his omiyamairi there and so did his brother) and then went to a local Chinese restaurant for lunch (in which the waitresses gushed over Noah and his cute gaijinness and also on how “small” he is- I did not tell them he was less than a month old!)

Photos from the day (more in the album here at flickr)

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