2012.

With only a few more hours left of 2012 (in Japan anyway) I thought I would take some time to reflect on the past year.

If I'm being 100% honest, I'm actually here killing time until midnight so that I can ring in the new year and then head to bed.  With only a month and a half left until the Bean makes his appearance, Shin and I thought it best that I forgo the celebrations and spend the night in. Before he headed off to work we enjoyed the o-setchi that the in-laws sent, ate some 'long-life' soba and watched the New Year episode of the NEW Iron Chef Japan.

Oh yes, after 13 years Kitchen Stadium has been reopened! Minus Chairman Kaga but pretty damn good all the same.

But I digress.

That's us sorted in the lucky food department for another year.

Aside from procreation and all of the adventures that followed, we've obtained walls, I've tried to fill some pretty damn big shoes, and we've celebrated two milestones - one of them being our first wedding anniversary.

After almost two years of living in our open plan hipster apartment we decided that it was time to add some walls to our life. Aside from cutting back on both of our commutes, we had become tired of sleeping in a bed that smelled of what we cooked for dinner. As well, the strange office-type room at the front of our place really was a waste of space.

At the end of March we became proud sublettees of four rooms versus one (we never really counted the office / coat throwing room). And once we replaced our giant IKEA furniture with pieces that are more 'wall-appropriate', we settled in with just enough space for one more.

One of the reasons we moved was for me to be closer to my new job. Stepping into the Converse of the founders of Imagine Language Studio was / is no mean feat. Luckily they have been an incredible support all the way from jolly old England. Of course, with the Bean on his way, it will be up to the newest addition to the Imagine family to fill my stretched out motorcycle boots until I return from maternity leave Hopefully sporting some footwear more along the lines of fabulous rather than functional.

Up next was the 15 year anniversary of Boogiewalk (Shin's bar)! We celebrated with a Maker's Mark cake supplied by the ever amazing Sugar Fairy, a bottle of tequila supplied by her husband, and the possible conception of the Bean.

Although who can be sure after all of that tequila.

 
I guess from that point 2012 has been an open book for the Hiranos. We'd like to thank all of the people that take time out of their busy day to check out what has been going on with us and the Bean. And we wish our friends and family from near and far a VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR and an awesome 2013!

xo The Hiranos

Size Matters.

To start with, I hope that everyone had a lovely Christmas and Santa was good to you.

The madness that occurs in the lead up to any major holiday tends to cause extra curricular activities to take a back seat. As such I haven't been around much in December, but now that work is all wrapped up and Christmas all unwrapped I am back, with much 'Bean-ness' to share.

Visit number 6, 30th week of pregnancy:

We were at our regular doctors appointment, which take place every two weeks now, and as the doc was measuring my belly a disconcerting look came across her face. Bracing myself for a lecture, which admittedly I deserve, she measured again and didn't say anything.

Cue the million things that could be wrong to start flying through my brain.

She proceed to get the Doppler out (regular at every visit) and took time to explain the difference between the 'woosh' sound of the umbilical chord and the 'wump' sound of The Bean's actual heartbeat. Surprisingly, they sound quite similar. She declared the heartbeat regular and started slathering my belly in goop for the ultrasound.

But nothing about the face she pulled earlier.

Ultrasounds are done at pretty much every prenatal check-up in Japan. Friends that have given birth in Canada and England told me that they only get two or three. Definitely a plus on the side of having a baby in Japan; I could watch The Bean scooting around in there all day if given the chance.
A few times the doc has tried to do a 3D scan for us. I have seen other peoples pictures of these and they are amazing, you can see such detail. Needless to say, I want one.

At our last visit she flipped the switch to try and get a 3D picture for us and started to giggle. The Bean was up front and center mugging for the camera, but he was so close that the image was something like you'd get when a kid mashes their face against the window in a passing car. No 3D pic at that visit. My desire to get just one good pic of The Bean in utero is not because we don't have any pictures but they are generally of random body parts or a little on the abstract side.

This is his femur.

This is his...well your guess is as good as mine.

At this visit our ultrasound seemed to be going on longer than usual. The doctor was taking a lot of measurements, after each one she would show us the body part she measured and tell us the size. No comments that anything was out of the norm so I just sat back and enjoyed the show.

She finished up the ultrasound, printed our random body part picture and the midwife cleaned the goop off my belly. We then proceeded to our regular Q&A with the doctor. Usually, I have a short list of questions for her to answer and then we're done. This time she started us off:

"How many grams did you weigh when you were born?"

Good question. And one that I am sure I can't answer in kilograms, let alone grams. Although I am a child of the metric system my mother was not so she always told my sister and I our birth weight in pounds.

"I think I weighed about 8 pounds." At which point we all busted out our calculators: 8 pounds = 3628 grams.

So it turns out that The Bean is measuring a 'tad' on the big side. The doctor was quick to point out that her prognosis was based on the averages for Japanese babies and declared that he must be "Canadian size."

I have always hoped that our son would get his stature from my gene pool, but I was kind of thinking that it would happen during a growth spurt in his teens. For the purpose of being born, I was definitely hoping that he would be 'Japanese size'.

Shin was sitting behind me and as I turned around to give him a look of panic I quickly changed my mind. There he was with a look of absolute pride on his face. Obviously the news of our 'bigger than average' boy affected him differently than it had me. So I squeezed his knee and turned back around, hitting our doctor with the full force of my fear. To which she responded by patting me on the knee.

Visit number 7, 32nd week of pregnancy:

The Bean, face forward (looking a bit like The Joker from Batman), weighing in at 2468 grams (5.4 pounds) and we still have 7.5 weeks to go.

Eek.


 

Sleep.

I've never really been any good at sleep. For most people it's not a skill that needs to be practiced, but for me there's a whole line-up of things I should do in order to procure those much sought after ZZZs.

My bedroom has to be soundproof, lightproof and the temperature between 24 and 27 - no matter the season. I need a fairly hard mattress and my pajamas and blankets must not constrict my movements in anyway. I'm a thrasher so the above is fairly difficult. Finally, I always sleep better if I have a long bath before bed and chamomile tea never hurts.

Divas of the world, look out! There's a new princess in town.

Achieving the aforementioned sleep situation is next to impossible and I have long since given up trying.  I have all sorts of 'Sleepy Time' teas, ear plugs of every shape and size and quite the collection of eye masks that for the most part go unused. Luckily, I don't actually need much sleep. Five or six hours a night with a night of 8 hours or so every couple of weeks and I'm golden.

Needless to say, pregnancy hasn't helped my sleep situation at all.

The First Trimester

Way back in the days of morning sickness and doctor advised bed rest, I actually got more sleep than at any other time in my life. For the first time I experienced sleeping twelve hours straight, waking up to eat (and / or vomit) and then heading back to bed for more. I cat napped whenever possible, including curled up on the floor at work. I spent the majority of my nine day holiday in August in bed.

Sleep-o-rama.

During my three month hibernation I was also dreaming like a pro. I don't even know if you could describe what was going on in my head dreams.

It was like television on LSD.

I was reading the series A Song of Ice and Fire during the day and at night I would replay the scenes again in my sleep. George R. R. Martin meets Hunter S. Thompson. Honestly, it was a bit too much.

The Second Trimester

As soon as the morning sickness passed I had energy to spare.

Mountains of it.

Of course, with all that energy my old sleeping habits resurfaced but with a twist. I would head to bed at around midnight and sleep dream free for a few hours. At around 3:00 or 4:00 I would wake up.

STARVING.

Yogurt, fruit, a sandwich, leftovers from dinner, scrambled eggs, pancakes - it didn't matter what was on the menu, but there was no way I could even consider falling back to sleep until I had fed the beast.

Somewhere at around 6:00 I would slip into a gluttonous coma until my alarm went off and it was time for breakfast.

This went on for weeks, until one night I woke up in my crumb infested bed and found that the urge to binge had been replaced by a new sensation...

The Third Trimester

Or what I like to call, the months of pee.

Seriously, all I do is pee. If I even look at a glass of water I have to run to the bathroom. And don't get me started on the topic of laughing or sneezing.

For some reason I seem to be able to control the urge during the day but at night it's a whole other story. At the moment my record for late night toilet trips has maxed out at nine in one night. That doesn't leave a lot of time for sleeping.

The Bean is growing by leaps and bounds these days. For a while there I am fairly sure he was trying out for the Olympic trampoline team and using m bladder to practice.

I wonder if he'll compete for Japan or Canada?

At an ultrasound we had a few weeks ago he had made the shift to a head down position. Ahhh, the days of bladder abuse would now be behind me. Heck no!

He is now resting comfortably, using said bladder as a pillow.

I realized that through all these wonky sleeping antics that I am getting closer and closer to the time when it won't be my bladder, or cravings, or nutty dreams that are robbing me of my slumber. In about nine short weeks it'll be The Bean himself that'll keep me from dueling with the sandman.

And I can't freakin' wait!

In the meantime, the rest of our little family is doing double duty and sleeping for two. Thanks guys. xo xo xo

 

The Twelve Days of Christmas.

In the spirit of the season...

On the first day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
A kick that made me go pee.
 
On the second day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee. 

On the third day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the fourth day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the fifth day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
FIIIVE HOURS OF HEARTBURN!
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the sixth day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Six new stretch marks,
FIIIVE HOURS OF HEARTBURN!
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the seventh day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Seven sleepless nights,
six new stretch marks,
FIIIVE HOURS OF HEARTBURN!
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the eighth day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Eight hours of nesting,
seven sleepless nights,
six new stretch marks,
FIIIVE HOURS OF HEARTBURN!
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the ninth day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Nine foods for craving,
eight hours of nesting,
seven sleepless nights,
six new stretch marks,
FIIIVE HOURS OF HEARTBURN!
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the tenth day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Ten swollen fingers,
nine foods for craving,
eight hours of nesting,
seven sleepless nights,
six new stretch marks,
FIIIVE HOURS OF HEARTBURN!
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the eleventh day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Eleven more weeks of waiting,
ten swollen fingers,
nine foods for craving,
eight hours of nesting,
seven sleepless nights,
six new stretch marks,
FIIIVE HOURS OF HEARTBURN!
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
and a kick that made me go pee.

On the twelfth day of Christmas my wee Bean gave to me:
Twelve pounds to lose,
eleven more weeks of waiting,
ten swollen fingers,
nine foods for craving,
eight hours of nesting,
seven sleepless nights,
six new stretch marks,
FIIIVE HOURS OF HEARTBURN!
Four stinky burps,
three varicose veins,
two widened feet,
AND A KIIICK THAAAT MADE ME GO PEEEE.

Just in case you were wondering, the nine foods are / were: tomatoes, iced tea with lemon, peanut butter and banana sandwiches, milk (which in general I don't really like), Rocky Road ice cream, hot dogs with relish, applesauce, oatmeal, and fried chicken dipped in maple syrup (but that only happened twice).