Too hot

Shosei has been sleeping so much these days.  Instead of having 20 to 30 minute naps, he is having 1 and a half hour naps!  Is this a growth spurt sign?  Or does he just like to sleep, like his mom does?

I caught him fallen asleep with his burp towel in his mouth.  He was sucking it so much, I could hear the saliva go through his mouth.  After he fell asleep, I had to take a picture. 

Summer time

Shosei with his barley tea and fan--getting ready for summer heat.

Shosei had his first taste of barley tea last week.  (Mugi-cha) Too bad he can't drink it iced yet.  That is how one might drink barley tea on a hot summer day in Japan.  At first, he was wondering what this brown liquid was doing in his bottle, but after a while, he got used to the bitter taste and got to drinking down about 20 ml.  Instead of giving him the whole bottle, I thought it was better to have him get used to the taste.

Cherries!

Yamagata cherries

Today, we had a lovely sandwich party with my good friend and her boyfriend.  Her parents gave us a very nice gift of Japanese cherries Yamagata prefecture.  Yamagata prefecture is well known for their cherries this time of the year. 

6 months

Yesterday, June 20th, Shosei turned 6 months old.  Last week, he did his first roll over and now does it proudly.  He like to roll from his back to his right side onto his tummy.  At 6 months, he conveys so much character and it is a real delight for us to see his growth everyday. 

Likes:  He likes it when we blow in his face, he likes to be held, he likes it when we thrill him by lifting him up high.  He likes his stroller rides, he likes it when we clap our hands, he likes toys that play music. 
Dislikes: He doesn't like to be left alone in the room, he doesn't like to play by himself very much( for a long time), he doesn't like to be spooked(even when we don't mean to)

 What puts him to sleep: Watching me hang the laundry outside or watching me fold the laundry inside, chanting in a low voice while rocking him. 

Things he is interested in: our cellphones, the tv remote control

Talents: Giggling out loud and making us laugh even more.

Happy 6 months, Shosei! Let's start on baby food soon! Rice porridge first! 

birth mark

I have a small, oval shaped birth mark on my right elbow.  It's not perfectly oval.   I've stared at it, wondering what it looks like, like how you might stare at white clouds in the sky and day dream what the clouds look like.  If I pinch at the skin to make the mark appear smaller, it kind of looks like pac-man with a very small mouth.  If I stretch the skin, it looks like a simple speech bubble. 

After Shosei was born, we discovered a fascinating shaped birth mark on the underside of his left thigh.  At first glance, I thought it looked like a crab.  Then after staring at it from different angles, it looked like various things.  The last thought I had this morning was that it looked like as if someone stamped Shosei's skin with a dense brush with light brown ink and also left a sprinkling on top it. 

The photo is not the best, but what does it look like to you? 

Hospital

I took Shosei to the hospital, one block away from our home and got him checked by a pediatrician who also specializes in allergies.  Shosei developed some sort of red rashes and spots on his tummy and arms some weeks ago and I have been applying him with some prescribed creams to reduce the redness and dryness as well.  It's cleared up pretty good.  The doctor suggested I get his blood taken to see if he has any food allergies before I start him up on his baby food. 

After the nurse called our name, the nurse came out and told me she would have to take Shosei in, without me.  I was thinking, "What? Why?" She explained while the baby is getting their blood drawn, it's possible that the baby will move away from the needle and stretch towards mom and that could be dangerous for the baby.  But I insisted I watch and they let me in.  Like I was the expert, I explained to her that Shosei doesn't yet have that awareness which Mommy is a safe haven.  He let himself be bundled up tightly in a towel, and one nurse got on the bed with him and secured him with her arms and upper body weight.  The other nurse securely fastened the tourniquet around his upper arm and tapped his blood vein to get it to pop up a bit under the skin.  Now, I've worked briefly as phlebotomist(blood drawer) and I was practically brainwashed over and over on the importance of wearing latex gloves before working on a patient.  Doctors and nurses, whoever that draws your blood do not habitually wear latex gloves or any kind of protection in most Japanese hospitals.  I was taken aback when I got my blood drawn for the first time in Japan several years ago.  I was practically grossed out.  If your skin on your hands or fingers is cracked or injured and has some sort of opening in your skin, and then you make contact with the opening on the patient's arm or hand, well, duh, blood is exchanged, right?  That's the end of the story. 
I watched my son writhe and cry and scream and sweat profusely as the doctors and nurses surrounded him with their somewhat soothing voices(but a little annoying to me) and heavy arms and that tiny needle.  Oh, but the worst was when the nurse would take the needle out half way and just like a 'saw', she would saw it out, in and out, in and out, trying to pinpoint the vein under the skin.  Shosei's arm is chubby and his vein is so small and it bounces around under the skin, making it so difficult for the needle to tap into the vein.  I swear the 'in and out' seemed to be so painful for Shosei.  It would be for any adult, too!  'In and out'. 'In and out' The poor skin cells in Shosei's arm is getting sawed up!  'Stop, for crying out loud!' I wanted to say!  'This isn't how I learned to draw blood!' 'Wear your gloves, at least!'

But I kept my mouth shut and let them do the work.  They had let me in to watch them anyway.  I felt like I had to stay out of the way.  After 6 pokes total, 2 times in both arms and once in both hands, and a sweat drenched baby, they gave up and said to come back next week.  

'Not!' 'No way!', was what I immediately thought.  But I really wanted to know if he had any food allergies and this seemed to be the only way, so I went one week later and they got the blood on the 3rd try.  I also have to add another note.  I thought I learned not to poke your arm at the same time for the second try.  Shosei was poked twice in both arms!  He had a purple spot in one arm for one week, not for one day, which the doctor initially said he would have.  Oh, the pain he had to endure!  I held him a lot and cooed him and soothed him as much as I could that day.

Roll over, roll over!

Smiling at the camera before the deed

Ooof!

Umph, ungh, sigh-

My right arm is stuck, Mommy!, but I think I rolled over pretty good!

Today, Shosei demonstrated his first roll over from his back to his tummy!  Amazing!  He is currently 4 days short from being 6 months.  I was so happy, I was patting him from head to toe and expressing my happiness with my voice, my smile, and my eye contact.  He knew he had done something great and did it 2 more times after I put him onto his back.  I kept on repeating 'Roll over, roll over!', like a chant and prior to this day, I had been saying that whenever we would practice rolling over from his back to his side with my help.  Somehow, the excess weight he was lugging on his butt and thighs let him roll over today for the first time!  Babies' first times are so precious and memorable, aren't they? 

Self Introduction Part 2

 I became a mom on December 20, 2010.  It's been 6 months and it has been one crazy roller coaster ride.  Some days, my stomach sank with anxiety, on another day, my chest expanded with thrill and love for my son.  On D-Day, I was extremely exhausted like I had never felt before in my life.  I almost let the feeling of regret towards my son creep into my mind for giving me so much pain and agony from the delivery.  I gave no tears of joy when he showed up.  I didn't have that sort of emotion in me at all.  It was strange.  I thought I was supposed to have that emotional wave.  I felt like I was missing that emotion in my heart.  I was wondering, "Who is this little bundle of wiggling, wailing mass?"  But in the end, I was just so grateful that he had come out safely after 11 hours of stomach-wrenching labor.  I was also thankful for my husband staying with me all through out the labor and how he massaged my back and he even let me squeeze his hand in a painful, steel-like grip every time a wave of contraction would wash over me. 

I was and still am very grateful that my mother had come to Japan to help out before and after my son was born.  We went out and ate lots of great food before he was born.  My mother cooked for us everyday.  I was glad that she ate Japanese food that she can't eat while she lives in the U.S. and I got to eat lots of food that I normally never buy.  The night before I checked in the hospital, the 3 of us enjoyed a couple of hours of karaoke.  I suppose my son was ready to get out of his tiny and dark, watery cave after hearing me sing a couple of songs out of tune.

I am in the 6 month of motherhood and I've had its challenges, but it hasn't even started; I should remind myself that.  My son is growing rapidly and beautifully.  I can't imagine life without him now. My heart is filled with motherly love and I tell him that as a daily basis.  I also sing English songs with him whenever he is awake and alert.  He seems to like the ABC song a lot.  I sang it often when I was still pregnant with him last year.  Maybe he remembers it from then.

Self Introduction

Hello,
My name is Stellan Shosei.  I just started this blog today and would like to simply introduce myself. 

I live in Tokyo with my Daddy and Mommy.  I am almost 6 months old.  Pretty soon, Mommy will starting me on my baby food.  I can't wait!  I'm pretty sure Mommy is excited, too. 

I like to rub my face on Mommy and Daddy's shoulders and leave slob and snot on their shoulders.  I like to play with things that make scrunchy sounds, and I like to pull and touch things that are so unimportant to other adult humans, like my baby chair belt.   I like it when my Daddy playfully growls at me like a tiger.  I laugh and giggle a lot, then.  I was born in the year of the tiger, by the way.  I think I like to be thrilled.

I don't like it when I am left alone in a room during the day time.  I don't like having to look at my Mommy's back when she walks away from me.  Once, she walked away from me, out of the room, while facing me, and I didn't cry!  

Someday, I will be able to speak English and Japanese and Chinese.  I'll do my best to be trilingual. On some occasion, my Mommy will post in Japanese.  If you can read it, that's great!  One of these days, I'd like to say hi to you and be held and played by you, if I haven't already.  Of course, my Mommy has to know you beforehand. 

It's the rainy season here in Japan now.  My Mommy is not looking forward to the humid and wet weather.   I like my walks outdoors in my stroller.  I know I will enjoy the outdoors in any kind of weather. 

Well, got to go. And I mean, go.  I think I'll let my Mommy sing the song, "This is the way we change our diaper...early in the afternoon."