Little Cat

Merry Christmas!

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 18:20:18 -0500

Hope your day is going as wonderfully as mine is. I love my family.

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Getting Ready for Christmas....

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:26:00 -0500

Hi Everybody! Sorry for disappearing for awhile, but since my sweet baby sleeps 9-10 hours a night, she rarely naps and I can never seem to type well while wearing her in her Baby Bjorn unless she's sleeping. And when I can put her down to sleep in her bassinet, blogging usually isn't the first thing on my list - it's washing my face!
Her personality's really starting to emerge now - what a little character! She laughs now, and seems to have a mischievous streak. Last night I was irked and scolding the dog for something, and Chiyo started to laugh at the poor dog's torment. Today she is three months old, and weighs about 15 lbs. I can't believe how fast she's growing. Here she is in her newest set of photos!

Chiyo1

Chiyo3

Chiyo2

I'm really enjoying being a mom, especially since she started sleeping through the night! It's weird how much I've changed since her birth though. I used to be self-conscious and a bit of a prude, but now I just whip out my boob in a crowded Starbucks to feed her without feeling the slightest hint of shame. At that moment, we were having coffee with a couple of our childless friends who nearly swallowed their tongues with shock, but I really didn't care. Very strange.
We are spending Christmas at home this year with my mom. It's going to be quiet, as my brother and his wife are in Mexico waiting for her Permanent Residence to be approved, my sister, brother-in-law and little nephew will be with BIL's family and not arrive at our house until Boxing Day, and mom's partner is in Trinidad. I'm hoping to make some new traditions for my little Chiyo.

We started going to church for the first time since we moved to the new city, and we're really enjoying it. It's a very small Japanese United Church with a median age of probably 70, so when we slunk in 43 minutes late last week, everyone was so excited to see a young family with a baby, they welcomed us heartily, put our names in the newsletter, and brought us plates of sushi and manju. We loved it, and can't wait to go back! Nearly everyone is nisei or sansei, with only one other ijyusha like my husband, so people were enjoying practicing their Japanese with Dog too.
Oh, someone's little hazel eyes just popped open! Better run!

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Enjoying Time With Cousins...

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:49:25 -0500

Our nephews Yosuke and Yusuke are visiting from Japan, along with my sister-in-law. We're having lots of fun together. Chiyo's almost 8 weeks old!

Cousins

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More Baby Photos....

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:39:49 -0500

I'm really enjoying being a mother; it's better than I was expecting! Thankfully, Chiyo's started sleeping through the night, and it certainly makes a big difference in my outlook! We had a great visit with my in-laws, and have since hosted our friend Yonezawa-san, who will be coming back to stay with us again in two weeks once he's toured Peru. On Saturday, we are expecting my sister-in-law, Yuka, and her two boys, Yosuke and Yusuke. They are 9 and 11, and very, very fun! I can't wait until they arrive. It's great to have a house where people can come and stay - somewhere other than our sofa!

Since Chiyo's almost 7 weeks old and my body has mostly recovered from labour, I'm going to start Pilates. I'm also hoping to join some other activity so that I don't die of loneliness since I still don't know many people in our new city. I'm sure that will come, but it takes more effort to make friends once you've had a baby, and I've got major issues with getting out of the house before Chiyo pukes/needs to be changed/is hungry again. :-). It's also getting colder and winter is clearly on the way.

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Motherhood is Turning Me Into Such a Sap.

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:56:36 -0400

Holy crap. I was just sitting here staring at Chiyo's chubby cheeks, and I quite literally felt that my heart was in danger of exploding from too much love. Disgusting, huh? I guess this is what happens when you have a baby. My in-laws are visiting from Japan, and they caught me crying with joy. Since my Japanese sucks, I don't think they got the whole "I'm overwhelmed with love for the baby" thing, and my mother-in-law immediately tried to send me for a nap. Hey, I'll take it!

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My Little ChiCat

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 14:26:49 -0400

Chiyo (MicroCat) and I

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Chiyo at 3 Weeks

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:21:58 -0400

Smiling Chiyo

Quick update:
- Breastfeeding still hurts like hell. I've seen 9 people about it, and the newest theory is that Chiyo's tongue-tied, meaning that we need to have her assessed by someone else. I'm getting desperate!
- She's gaining weight well, and is currently at 9 lbs 14 oz! My goodness! She's getting enough milk, but she needs to nurse for more than an hour at a time to get it, leaving us both frustrated.
- Dog and I are crazy about her; I actually think she gets cuter each day. She even smiles now!

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Day 8

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:00:29 -0400

I'll tell you the truth: being a new mother is a crazy trip! Chiyo and I have just come back from two days at my sister's house because Dog, being a Japanese workaholic, felt compelled to accept bookings a few days after the birth of our baby. At this point, I can look after the baby or myself, but not both. I was looking after the baby, and pushed myself too far, setting back my own recovery, so we went to visit my beautiful and amazing sister who whizzed around like a superhero simultaneously caring for me, my little Chi-chan, and her active one-year old. I just stared at her with my mouth open - how did she become such an amazing mom in so little time? I only hope I can do that too someday.

Chiyo has come down with a bit of diaper rash, so my sister Monkey and I were washing her bum after every poop (and there are A LOT of them!), and drying her with the cool setting on a hairdryer before putting a diaper back on her. We were all standing in the living room drying her bare bum when the little one dropped an explosive liquid poo, narrowly missing my nephew's head and landing inside a fan, which flung the poo everywhere! Monkey and I just about fell over from laughing so hard, and I nearly tore out my stitches. Thankfully, breast milk poos are not stinky or that hard to clean up, and I've learned to dry her in a more safe spot. There, my first poo story! I have a feeling that more will be forthcoming.

I really, really love this baby - she's strong and resilient, and makes the cutest little sounds when she sleeps. She looks like a little bird. As I write this, she's asleep on my chest, skin to skin and I've just realized that I've been leaking sticky milk all down her little body! She didn't even seem to mind. (Basically, everything is now covered in milk - the bed, my clothes, my body, the breastfeeding pillow, EVERYTHING). I even leaked on the dog as I was walking by her. It's a weird feeling, but I'm supposed to be walking around topless to allow my nipples to heal, as Chi-chan's done a number on them and they hurt terribly. It's a strange feeling to not really have full ownership of your own body, but I want to give her the best of everything, including myself.

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She's Here!

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:24:42 -0400

After a grueling 19 hours of labour, our baby arrived on September 17th at 6:34 am. We came home from the hospital the next day, and every day since then has been wrought with emotion as my hormones level out. We're both completely entranced by this small creature, and I can tell you honestly that I've never loved anything this much. However, it's been a very difficult few days - I have a lot of stitches that really hurt and keep me confined to one floor, breastfeeding is not really working yet and I'm using a breast pump every two hours around the clock, in addition to her feedings every three hours, and I cry my eyes out at least five times a day as I question my ability to properly mother such a perfect and angelic creature. I'm trying to remember to be gentle with myself, and to take advantage of the great support network I have around me. Dog has been amazing - he's an even more awesome dad than I anticipated, and he's taking great care of me too.

We named the baby Chiyo Ghislaine - Chiyo being Japanese for "eternal" and Ghislaine being Old French for "promise", and she was born at a very healthy 8 lbs 6 oz, or 3795 grams! So far, she looks a lot like Dog, and also exactly like me as a baby with darker eyes and hair.

Oh, she's waking up. Expect more updates soon!

Chiyo1

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Is this baby ever coming out?

nobody@vox.com(Little Cat) — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:05:30 -0400

Well, the baby's due to arrive any time (technically, on Monday), but I don't think it's going to happen then. In fact, I haven't even been able to bring myself to pack my bag for the hospital, I don't know why. My normally sweet husband Dog has been making me furious by hiding in his office and refusing to communicate, and while I too am tired of my own emotional outbursts and constant need for affirmation, I'm nine months pregnant with his baby and a prisoner of my own body and I deserve a little extra patience and gentleness, don't I? (Well, he's probably giving me a little extra - I need a lot!)

Now that the itchiness is under control, it's just the waiting that is driving me insane. I experience every single emotion about a thousand times a day, and after much soul-searching, I've realized that I'm as ready as I can be to become a mother, and that most of the learning will come once she is born. I intend to do my best, and hope to avoid judging myself too harshly. I just want to get the experience started, and meet this little person already. At the same time, I'm worried about the labour.

I know I only write about this pregnancy now, but it's all I can think about! Probably things will deteriorate further after she's born - all about puke, poop and cracked nipples.

In good news, I met one of my second cousins in my midwife's office. I haven't seen her in a decade, and was shocked to discover that we use the same midwife, live 2 streets apart, and are both pregnant and due within a month of each other. This is extremely exciting for me, as I haven't made many friends in this new city since the move in July, and I have very few pregnant friends or friends with children! Instant playdate partner!

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