Hospital life

T was born in the early hours of Monday morning last week, and we stayed in the hospital until Friday. A stay of 4 or 5 days is the norm here, and people are usually quite shocked to hear how quickly you go home again in the UK. In fact, a lot of older people here still think a week is the usual length of time to stay in hospital, and consider 4 days to be rather short...

The new expanded Monkey family, 12 hours in

I had T (and K) at a small ob/gyn, not a general hospital. I had a private room (with washbasin, fridge, TV and DVD player) where I laboured before going to the delivery room. After T was born I rested in the delivery room for an hour or so before walking back to my room, where I spent most of the next few days.

Big brother cuddles

For the first day and night T stayed in the nursery and was brought to me when he wanted to feed. From the second day he was in my room with me, but the nurses and midwives often reminded me that I could leave him with them anytime if I needed a rest, or if I wanted to take a shower. Each morning the cleaning lady came in and cleaned the room, and brought me fresh pyjamas.

H, K and my parents came in to visit every afternoon, and several friends dropped by too. There weren't that many women in the hospital at the time I was there, so the staff always had time for a chat too if I had any concerns.

T was rather jaundiced and it was recommended that he have some UV light treatment. Usually that requires going back to the nursery and lying under a special lamp with a mask on to protect the eyes, but they just happened to have a new piece of equipment there on demonstration loan. This provided light from below and a naked T was fitted into the special cover-cum-pyjamas with just his head sticking out. This meant that he could stay in the room with me and didn't have to wear an eye mask.

His levels had improved by Friday and were even better again on Saturday when we went back to have them checked again. Tomorrow we'll be going back for a check-up again.

Now a big issue at hospitals is always the food, right? Before I went into hospital with K, I had heard that this clinic put a lot of emphasis on traditional, Japanese food. Now most of what I cook and eat at home is typical Japanese home cooking, but even so I was a bit worried that there was going to be a lot of oily fish, natto (fermented soybeans) and the like...

In fact, the food was fantastic, and so it was again this time! Here's what I had for dinner on the first night, along with a little 'congratulations' flower arrangement...

...and here's a typical lunch:

There was natto for breakfast one day, but H was there then, so he ate it :-)

Lots of people, Japanese and not, have asked me if I wouldn't have preferred to have given birth back in the UK. It's true that it would have been nice to at least have had the option of some pain-relief, and alternatives to the feet-in-the-stirrups delivery table, but overall I really liked the whole hospital experience here. Nice environment, lovely staff, delicious food... it was like a little holiday, with no cooking or housework to do. Oh, and did I mention the complementary aromatherapy foot massage?

No imminent arrivals...

Tomorrow is my due date, but it doesn't look like baby will be showing up quite yet. I had a check-up this morning and the doctor told me I'm about 2cm dilated. That sounds quite impressive, except for the fact that he's been telling me that for 2 weeks now!

And now we learn that our more reliably scheduled arrivals won't be getting here tomorrow either! Mum and Dad's flight from Heathrow to Tokyo has been cancelled... Apparently, so many people cancelled their tickets that the airline called off the flight. Boo! Now they'll be arriving on Sunday instead, so let's hope baby hangs on until then...

That'll give me time to draw the raffle too! There's still time to enter, go on, you know you want to!

One week to go...

...until the raffle to win 25 fat quarters of lovely Japanese fabric. Thank you so much to all the people who have already donated to the earthquake relief fund and entered the raffle. There are still tickets available though, so have a look here if you are interested. Jo has put together a Master List of all the raffle and auctions going on, which you can see here, there are lots of wonderful things you could win so please do check it out.

And less than a week to go until The Arrivals! Mum and Dad will be getting here on the 25th (Friday), which also just so happens to be this baby's due date. I wonder who will make an appearance first? When I was expecting K, Mum and Dad arrived 3 days before his due date, but he didn't bother to join us until about 10 days after it. Even then he was in no hurry; the birth was induced, which only seemed to result in an extra-long labour as the baby still hadn't dropped down into position. Hopefully this baby will make an appearance before the doctor wants to induce, but ideally not until Mum and Dad are here to look after K...

H took some pictures of me at the park on K's birthday, 2 weeks ago. From the front it's not too shocking...


...but side-on you get the full, watermelon-up-the-jumper effect:


At that time I was having a lot of pain in my lower back and hips, but I'm very glad to report that that has improved somewhat. It's not as painful as before, and the type of pain has changed too. I still feel it every time I walk or move in any way really, and turning over in bed can be excruciating, but at least H isn't finding me sitting on the kitchen floor in tears anymore...

Apart from that (!), I'm feeling fine. The doctor told me that I was about 2cm dilated 10 days ago which prompted a slight panic, but he said the same again on Wednesday so maybe I can relax a little. When I was expecting K I was walking for an hour every day, but this time I'm getting no exercise at all and I can feel the difference. Just going upstairs leaves me feeling quite tired out, so I'm not sure how prepared I am for the task of giving birth!

feeling the baby move, a few days ago


Dr K checks on my baby...

...and his!

At least now I am starting to feel somewhat prepared. This week I did my last private lessons and finished off the transcription work I had, and from now on there is nothing marked on the calendar at all. K is now on spring break from pre-school too, so we don't even have to get up at a particular time. H has brought all the baby stuff down from the loft and is getting it all cleaned up, and I have washed and sorted all the old clothes and bought a few new bits and pieces. I finally packed a hospital bag for me, and a bag for K in case he has to go to H's parents at short notice. The hospital admittance form has been filled in, the cot is set up and I've even managed to make something for the new baby!

OK, so it's only a couple of squares of material with a bit of crinkly plastic in the middle and some little ribbon loops around the outside, but I made it and it is finished. Which is more than I can say for the blanket I'm crocheting, so we'll move swiftly on...

All that's left to do now is get ready for Mum and Dad to arrive, which basically means housework. Oh joy. I'm torn between 'must get everything clean and tidy before they get here' and 'they'll need something to do once they're here, right?'. I know that they wouldn't want me to be worrying about housework on their behalf, but, on the other hand, they don't know quite how bad it is and I don't really want them to either. At the very least I must go through the cupboards and throw out food which expired before K was born, and sew the buttons on the pyjamas that Mum helped me make (everything finished except for, yup, the buttons) in summer 2008...

Ups and Downs

It's been quite a good week for Getting Things Done, but with a few annoyances thrown in too. Nothing too bad though, don't worry :-)

Ups (featuring way too many italics)

• All 3 of us went to the dentist for a check-up on Monday (first time for K) and no-one needed any work done. Yes, even me!
• On Tuesday I made an impromptu stop at the fabric shop and found some knit fabric on sale. Despite Japan being heaven for super-cute quilting-weight printed cotton, I rarely see material suitable for clothing. And here I found pre-cut pieces (160cm square or bigger) for 300 yen each. I bought 4. No idea what I'm going to do with them, but...
• I managed to find the time to decorate a couple of T-shirts for K's birthday (which was yesterday; more on that another day...)
• As today was the first Sunday in almost 2 months when I didn't have to get up before 7am to go to work, I put in a Lie-In Request. H got up with K at 7.45, and I went back to sleep until I woke up again naturally - at 11.50! Eek. Thanks H :-)

Downs

• Lower-back pain, which seems to now have transformed into somewhere-inside-my-left-hip pain. I know that I've been really lucky to get this far through 2 pregnancies with no back pain, but that is little comfort when putting any weight on my left leg hurts so much. I'm glad that it held off until I'd finished work, but so much for March being the month of doing enjoyable things. Instead I'm just trying to avoid anything that involves getting off the sofa. Sympathetic advice from the doctor at my check-up on Wednesday? 'It'll get better when you give birth'. Right. Thanks.
• At the shopping centre the other day, a little girl (but not that little, maybe around 6) pointed me out to her mother as 'strange'. As in 'Look at that funny woman Mummy'. Is it cos I is white? Or because I appear to have a watermelon stuffed up my jumper? Or because I was hobbling along like someone expecting a telegram from the Queen? Maybe a combination of all 3...

It's time to...

Yes, once again Rae from Made by Rae and Dana from Made are dedicating a whole month to all kinds of crafty goodness for the little men in our lives. Actually, the month is already half-way through and there have already been lots of great tutorials for trousers, bags and more, round-ups of cool fabrics for boys and lots of generous giveaways which you have, well, missed. Sorry. But there's still a lot more to come, so pop over and have a look. And if this is all news to you, you probably missed Celebrate The Boy last year too, so don't forget to look through the archives while you're there...

Last year I got quite into it all, but this time the extent of my boy-celebrating seems to be limited to preparing to give birth to one. I would like to make something for K's birthday too (which is Saturday) but we'll see how that goes. The pile of crochet squares is slowly growing - I've made 23. Thanks to ridiculously early trains to work, I made 2 this morning before 9am! Unfortunately the pattern calls for 64...

I made the same blanket for K and was horribly behind then too. I remember that I took some shortcuts so I had a look at his blanket today; not 64 squares, not even 49, but a mere 36. Then I just sewed them together and crocheted round and round the edge of the whole thing until I ran out of wool. Add that to the fact that I was stitching together those 36 squares while in hospital having just given birth, and I don't feel quite so behind schedule after all...

One month to go!

Can you believe that I only have another month until my due date? Where have the last 8+ months gone? This pregnancy seem to have just flown by. I suppose it's a common refrain from women having a second or subsequent child - the older kid(s) keep you so busy that you don't have time to focus on the new arrival. Still, I do feel a bit sorry for him (I did tell you it was a 'him', right?), neglected before he's even been born...

Touch wood, this pregnancy has gone very smoothly so far. Very little morning sickness and no real problems with backache or other common pregnancy ailments. Compared to when I was expecting K, I have been having less leg cramps at night but more heartburn, but really I'm feeling fine. I have to remember not to eat or drink anything after about 9pm though, or I can't lie down in bed without feeling sick...

My doctor here is very big on walking, and recommends a brisk, daily, 60 minute walk throughout pregnancy, or at least in the final month. When I was expecting K, I was out there in all weathers, clocking up some major mileage. It's surprising how far you can get in an hour at a good pace; I remember meeting a friend in the centre of town on a snowy February day and giving him a real shock when I told him I'd walked there. Of course this time, I haven't walked a step, apart from 15 minutes to the nearest station to go to work on Sundays. On the other hand, the other big thing at the doctor here is weight gain. They are Very Strict and declare that no-one should gain more than 10 kg. The first time around I was very careful with my diet, walked my socks off and was constantly nagged by the midwives, finally reaching D-Day just the right side of the magical 10 kg. This time I've just carried on as normal, with no special attention to diet or exercise, and heard something from the doctor last week that I never thought I would hear - 'No problem at all with weight gain'. Wow. It rivals the other 'Never to be heard from a doctor' quote of a month or so ago - 'It's definitely a boy, no mistake'.

With just a month to go, I suppose I should be starting to prepare for this little one's arrival... A couple of weeks ago I did manage to go to one ante-natal class, for women at at least 30 weeks, where the midwife said she assumed we'd all packed our hospital bags, and got everything set up for the baby. I struggled not to laugh out loud. I've tended to think 'oh, we've got everything we need already', but I suppose I should dig out K's old baby clothes and wash them. And it occurred to me that we don't have anywhere to put things for the new baby, so we did go out and buy a chest of drawers on Saturday. That's a good start, right?

In theory I should have a little more time soon (assuming the baby doesn't come too early of course...), as I'm finishing work this week. University classes have already finished for this academic year and I handed in all the final paperwork last week. The 2 group classes that I run will meet with me for the last time this week and then Vivian will take over from March for 6 months. My little side-job of kids interviews has been wearing me out recently (yesterday I interviewed about 140 children, with 30 minutes for lunch and no other break), but there's only one more to go. I do have a couple of private students that I'll keep meeting with until I go into hospital, but that's just sitting around and chatting really. Oh, and I'm still working on those transcriptions too...

If I do find some time I'd like to fit in some walking, and Making Stuff! The baby blanket I'm crocheting (you know, the one I bought wool for extra early so as to have plenty of time to complete it) is far, far behind schedule. I'd like to sew a couple of things for the baby too (plus it's K's birthday soon and I'd like to make something for him...), but we'll see. Must write more blog posts too! Actually, I blame Lisa for my lack of free time, for lending me lots of good books at New Year's...

Busy days...

After all the inactivity of the New Year, things seem to be going non-stop now (as you can see by the lack of recent blog posts...). K is back at pre-school and H and I are back to work as usual. Actually, I'm working more than usual. I'm doing some work for a friend's research, transcribing interviews with Asian EFL students. I can only do it when I have some peace and quiet, which translates to 'when K is asleep'. Unfortunately that is also prime blog/crochet/laze in front of the TV time, but I can't do it all at once...

I'm also doing kids' interview tests for ECC again this year. Starting last week, I'll be spending every Sunday in January and February (and a couple of Saturdays) doing English speaking tests with kids ranging in age from 3 to 15, generally about 100 a day! They can be quite enjoyable really, but there is a lot of travelling involved. Last week I 'only' had to go to Matsue and Izumo, leaving home by 6.30am on both Saturday and Sunday. This Sunday is a 'late' start, leaving home just after 7, but the following week I'm supposed to be getting the 6:01 train from the main-line station. Unfortunately there are no trains or buses to get me to the station at that time in the morning, and I can't see H being terribly enthusiastic about getting up to take me. Seriously considering going the day before and staying overnight...

Oh yeah, and being 31 weeks pregnant, that can be a job in itself sometimes! H took the day off to take care of K on Wednesday while I was working, and then took him out in the afternoon so I had a couple of hours all to myself at home, a very rare event. I didn't know what to do: transcriptions? blog? lesson plans? TV and crochet? In the end, I fell asleep on the sofa...

22 weeks and counting

Somehow I'm already more than half-way through this pregnancy. How did that happen? By the Japanese way of counting, I'm 5 and a half months pregnant. Did you know that in Japan the length of a pregnancy is measured differently than, well, anywhere else I suppose?

When I first heard that a pregnancy is considered to be 10 months long in Japan, I couldn't help thinking 'Here we go again, Japan always has to be different!'. But actually I now have to say that it makes sense. From the start of the last period, a full-term pregnancy lasts 40 weeks, so that's exactly 10 28-day cycles or lunar months. Quite logical really, don't you think?

People here sometimes ask me about antenatal care in the UK and I have to answer that I have no idea; I've only ever been pregnant in Japan! I do think that we have more ultrasounds here though. Barring any complications, I'll be expected to see the doctor once a month from the 3rd to 6th month, every other week from the 7th to 9th month and weekly from then until the birth, with a scan at every single visit. So far, H hasn't come with me to any of the check-ups but the nurse records the scans so that I can bring them home to show him. When I was expecting K, I had a video tape but this time they put it on a USB drive - that's progress for you...

Another difference is that pregnancy and childbirth is not covered financially by the public health system here. But worry not! Although it varies from place to place, local government reimburses most of the costs. When I had K, I had to pay at each doctor's visit (though nothing too extortionate) and then, when he was born, the city paid me a lump sum which comfortably covered the hospital bill for the delivery and the 6 days I stayed there. This time around, things have gotten more generous! When I registered the pregnancy at the city hall I was given vouchers for 14 free doctor visits, which should be plenty. Apparently the lump sum paid out at birth has gone up too, although the city's budget for the next fiscal year is looking pretty tight and it may be reduced a bit again from April. As my due date is March 25th, the woman telling me all this recommended that I don't go too overdue. I'm not sure exactly what she thinks I can do about it if I do...

Baby blankets

When I was expecting K, I crocheted a blanket for him. Well, to be honest, I made all the squares while I was pregnant, started sewing them together when I was in the hospital and finally got it all finished when K was almost 2 months old. There's even photographic evidence; K at 6 weeks old, enjoying his bouncy chair and his view of the garden, while I crochet...


I thought I'd taken a photo of the completed blanket but I suppose, in those pre-blog days, it never occurred to me that I'd want a picture of a blanket! Here it is in action though, when K was 2 months old. Look how little he is!

The blanket has had a lot of use and now I'd like to make one for the new baby. This time though, I'm determined to get it finished before the baby arrives! I realise that this means that I should probably have called in at the wool shop on my way home from that first doctor's visit. I thought about just making all the white squares first and then doing the coloured ones later, when I know if it's a boy or a girl, but then I got scared that they wouldn't have the same wool anymore. So at the weekend I bought some white and yellow wool and managed to find the pattern I used 3 years ago (I'm quite proud of that).

I now have 5 calendar months until baby is due to arrive. Any bets on when the blanket will be finished?

The mystery revealed...

The Top Secret sewing project turns out to be a tote bag which I gave to Lisa yesterday for her birthday.

***** Happy Birthday Lisa! *****

The bag ended up a bit bigger and a bit more granny-ish than I had imagined, but overall I was pleased with it. I used French seams for a lovely neat finish without a lining, and I used the triple stitch setting on my machine for the first time. In other words, I found out what a triple stitch was and then was very pleased to see that my machine had it!

The triple stitching makes it really strong, but does use a lot of thread; hence the quick trip to the shop on Tuesday afternoon. If I hadn't run out of thread I would have finished it in 2 days. For the sort of thing which is usually described as a 2 hour project, that's pretty good going for me...

And in the Diane Modelling The Bag shot, you get the added bonus of some Almost 5 Months Pregnant belly. It looks really big from that angle, but most of the time it's not that noticeable yet...

Dog Day

You know how every year is represented by one of the animals of the Chinese zodiac, right? Did you know that every day, and even every hour of the day*, is also allocated one of those 12 animals?

It's not something that comes up very often in life in Japan, but there is one exception - dog days during the 5th month of pregnancy. Since dogs are seen to give birth easily, it's a tradition to visit a shrine to be blessed and to pray for a smooth pregnancy and easy labour on that day. Dogs days and all the rest aren't noted in calendars and diaries here but the clinic kindly marked them on the 'pregnancy calendar' they gave me, along with dates of classes, when certain tests would be performed and that all-important due date.

Anyway, last Friday was that day so H, K and I went over to our local shrine (about 2 minutes walk away, even at K's pace) where the priest (H's uncle) performed a simple ceremony for us. At large, popular shrines these blessings are done in groups but in our case it was just us, so my name was included in the blessing. Although the priest's prayers are in Japanese, they are said in such a strange, chanting way, often using archaic or highly formal language, that it is virtually impossible to understand, and it's quite funny when you suddenly notice your name in there.



At the end of the ceremony, which only took about 15 minutes, I was given a good-luck charm for pregnancy and childbirth, and a wooden tablet to place in the little shrine we have in our home. I had also taken a hara-obi, a belly band, to have blessed. Traditional ones are very long and wrap around you sash-like, but mine just fastens at the back with Velcro :-)

I'm now supposed to wear this everyday to keep the bump warm and offer support. With K, I think I wore it for a few months, and then couldn't be bothered anymore... Keeping your stomach warm is a really big thing in Japan, and more so than ever when you're pregnant. You won't find pregnant young women in cropped tops, low-rise trousers and bare bumps here! Last time I did look into why, and I did find one small, non-essential but medically-sound, reason why it was a good idea. Now I can't quite remember what it was, but I suppose I will wear it again, at least until I get fed up with it...

*It's actually every-block-of-2-hours-within-a-24-hour-period, but that wouldn't have made such a catchy question...