Labour Beads.

Upon discovering that I was carrying the Bean, I purchased the standard first time mom pregnancy books, downloaded a couple of apps to my phone and joined a February 2013 online pregnancy forum.

What can I say? I like to be well informed.

The books have armed me with loads useful and paranoia inciting information. The apps keep track of how many weeks I have left until the Bean arrives (like I'd forget!) and supply me with terrifying fruit references approximating the size of our baby. A few weeks ago he was about the size of a pineapple and now he's a watermelon. The image of giving birth to either of those forms of produce scares me to death - can't they just use centimeters and grams? Finally, the forum has let me see a side of humanity that I had no idea existed.

The phenomenon that happens when you let over 1000 hormonal pregnant woman loose on the Internet.

Terrifying.

They bully each other. They call each other names that have caused even moi to blush. They mercilessly complain about their husbands and mother-in-laws. And they are obsessed with talking about personal grooming - WAY too much information. But, if you can sift through the raging hormones, occasionally this band of crazies comes out with some useful tidbits.

I learned that balled up tin foil will keep a cat from sleeping in the crib. Of course you have to take it out when baby arrives.

I learned that crumbling oatmeal in your bath relives itchy baby belly.

I learned about, and subsequently became obsessed with, Petunia Pickle Bottom designer diaper bags.

And I learned about labour beads.

Labour beads symbolize wishes from friends and family for the mother and baby during birth. Depending on the number of beads, the mother makes a bracelet or necklace to wear while she is in labour to keep the thoughts of their loved ones with them. I'd never heard of this before, but I fell in love with the idea and requested that it be part of my baby shower.

All of the guests that came to my shower brought a bead and labour message for the Bean and I. There were also beads from those that couldn't be there and I ended up with quite a collection. It was so interesting to see what everyone chose! A gorgeous orange bead brought all the way from Scotland because it's my favourite colour. A butterfly bead symbolizing the Aztec warrior mother goddess, Itzpapalotl. A super cool black bead engraved with a silver dragon (quite similar to the dragon that I am 'engraved' with). Each one as unique as the person that gifted it. Initially I was worried that I wouldn't be able to remember who gave me each bead, but as it turns out I've had no problems.

Will test that out during labour and see how it goes.

Shin and I also bought a bead to add to the string. He choose one made of green tigers eye as it is said to protect the person who wears it. It is also helpful in reestablishing harmony in our lives. I selected a red goldstone for the vitality and energy that it is said to bring.

I am usually not the kind of person that buys into this sort of thing. I just really like the idea of having something from people that are special to me close by while I'm bringing our child into the world.

I have just one more thing to share today. Of all the messages I recieved along with a bead my absolute favourite is the one I got from my sister-in-law's ten year old son...

Yep. That pretty much says it all.





.

The Shower.

The company was fabulous.

The food was scrumptious.

The decorations were 'baby-chic'.

The gifts were meaningful.

And the games were educational.

Yesterday was my baby shower, and it was perfect.

Baby showers are not traditionally done in Japan. Not unless you have a wonderful friend willing to host one for you. From the day that I told her I was pregnant, The Sugar Fairy has been talking baby shower. Back in December we finally managed to pin down a date and then the rest was up to her.

I have a small group of fabulous girlfriends, which is unfortunately getting smaller by the year, that were of course on the invite list and I thought it would be nice to have my in-laws (sister, mother and niece) join in the fun as well.

Perfect!

The afternoon started off with scrumptious food supplied by The Sugar Fairy. To my surprise, all of my pregnancy cravings were present, including peanut butter & banana finger sandwiches and fried chicken with maple syrup for dipping.

One of the many amazing things about eating at The Fairy's house, is that she makes EVERYTHING from scratch, even peppermint patties.

Perfect!

While relaxing with our goodies I took some time to take in the new baby-chic decor at The Fairy's house. The Lady Donna and Lady Jane were put in charge of jazzing up the place for the party. A congratulations banner just pour moi, a clothesline of onsies hanging in the sun. and the pièce de résistance a triple-layer diaper cake with matching "Mum to Be" badge. Loved the boyish, yet sophisticated colour palette!

 

Perfect!

 



Next up was the opening of cards with messages and Labour Beads from friends near and far. I'm going to skip over the beads for now (and let your filthy minds stew for a couple of days) and keep on truckin' over to the onsies hanging in the sun.

A little over two and a half years ago we held a baby shower for a friend of ours from England at which we decorated onsies for her little one. A fun and meaningful little enterprise brought back for my shower with a twist.

Twelve months in a year and twelve onsies for the Bean to model. Each of us selected a month from his first year and not only decorated the shirt but wrote a personal message to be opened at the time of wearing. The eight of us at the shower selected from the months that had not already been taken by friends that either couldn't make it due to previous engagements, or distance. You'll have to agree that England and Australia are just a tad far to be traveling just for a baby shower, but thank you ladies for your fabulous shirts and wishes!

 

 Twelve months of cute.

 

Perfect!

 

On top of Labour Beads, one-of-a-kind onsies and a year of secret messages there were presents galore spoiling the Bean and myself.

 

By the time the shirts were back on the line, presents had been opened, and The Fairy's AMAZING chocolate cake with salted caramel icing was devoured, it was already dark. We bade farewell to a couple of guests and the games began!

 

As previously mentioned, my circle of friends is shrinking as the years go on. But that didn't stop the fabulous Mrs. Price, currently tucked away in Stratford-upon-Avon, from putting her stamp on the shower-tastic day.

 

We started off with a very educational quiz (amazingly translated by The Fairy). I learned that in 2012 the top name for boys in Canada was Carter and in Japan it was Hiroto (luckily we didn't select either of those for the Bean). I learned that there is a baby born somewhere in the world every three seconds. I learned that nine million babies will be born on the Bean's due date. AND I learned that babies go through an average of 8 to 12 diapers per day...guess we should think about buying a package or two. That diaper cake isn't going to last very long!

 

After that we settled in for a bit of silliness involving modeling clay. The timer was set for three minutes and the lovely shower-ettes were given the challenge of creating a likeness of the Bean.

 



The clay baby line-up.

First place went to The Fairy with the pink baby. I liked that he had ears and an 'outie' belly button. Runner up was the Lady Jane with the purple baby - the only person that thought to give the Bean genitalia.

PERFECT!

 

Thank you ladies from the Bean, Shin and I - you all really outdid yourselves! 

Ma big ole belly.

Pre-pregnancy my belly and I had a love / hate relationship. It loved food and I hated my belly for that particular weakness.

This has partially changed in recent months.

My belly still loves food, perhaps more than ever, but I am now very much in love with 'ma big ole belly'.

And I'm not the only one.

For starters, Mikan can't get enough of my belly. In the past she had a number of places where she would flake out at the end of a long day of naps and eating. However, these days the second I sit down she is all over me. Her favourite place to perch is on the top of my belly but, as you can imagine, it is crazy uncomfortable. So we usually wrestle until she finds a position that suits her.

The Bean doesn't put up with this for very long. Perhaps it's the weight of a ten pound cat crowding him, or maybe he and Mikan have already started battling for territory. Whatever the reason, he usually waits about five minutes and then he starts in with the kicks and punches. Of course Mikan retaliates in kind.

She bit my belly about two minutes after the above picture was taken. I am sure she was tired of being pummeled in the chin.

For the amount of time Mikan spends trying to get close to my belly, Shin spends as much time trying to avoid it. Don't get me wrong, he loves my belly but it often seems to appear where it's not wanted.

In the kitchen while making dinner, the belly is there.

In the supermarket in front of the cart, the belly is there.

On the sidewalk on the way to the convenience store, the belly is there.

Shin is constantly asking how my belly manages to be just within range of his elbows. I certainly don't mean for it to be, but it's just so...big. When Shin isn't being bombarded by my belly he likes to watch the Bean shuffling around, practicing for his next K1 fight.

When I first started to feel the squirming in my belly, I have to be honest, it was rather freaky. Now it's a part of everyday life and Shin and I both find it fascinating. The Bean is most active after dinner when we are chilling on the sofa - his poking and shuffling around causes my belling to contort into all kids of strange shapes. Shin's favourite is when I've been resting on my side and then stand up and my belly is all lopsided and pointing out to the left or right.

Family time, love it!

There are only five more weeks left until 'B-Day' (Bean-Day / Baby-Day / Birth-Day) and recently I've been thinking that 'ma big ole belly' can't possible get any bigger. At our most recent appointment with the baby doc, the Bean weighed in at just over six pounds (about 2800 grams). In my 'professional' opinion that's him just about cooked, but the doctor says he'll gain weight right up until the end.

Making 'ma big old belly' even bigger.

Eeek!

Shopping.

Six weeks to go.

Eeek!

Over the Christmas and New Year holidays we realized that there isn't much time until the Bean makes his arrival. As such, we decided that there are a few 'essentials' that we should think about picking up.

Like clothes.

And diapers.

Maybe some crib sheets.

Pretty much everything to be honest.

Since my pregnancy was announced friends and family members have been giving us baby gifts. Cute clothes from my sis. A crocheted Yoda hat from The Sugar Fairy. A crib from my sister-in-law. Bibs, a soft toy and cash from my mom. The list goes on, but we hadn't actually bought anything ourselves.Time to put that cash to some good use.

Enter the New Year sales.

The New Year sales in Japan are like the Black Friday / Boxing Day sales at home. In a word, mental. Although I like a bargain as much as the next person, I generally avoid shopping from January 1st until about the 5th.

And that's just the outside of the shop.

Of course, now that I'm as big as a bus and waddling at a snail's pace it is obviously time to break tradition and hit the sales.

In order to save our sanity, Shin and I decided to do all of our shopping over two days. One before New Year at Ikea where we wanted to pick up crib sheets other sleeping stuff, and one after New Year to pick up clothes and other essentials.

With a plan like that, what could possibly go wrong?

Well...

I made plans to meet up with a friend at Ikea a few days after Christmas. In Osaka there is a free shuttle bus that leaves from two locations in the city. She had planned to go from the one closest to her apartment, and I from the one closest to me. But the freakin' bus never showed up. No sign. No notice on the website. No damn bus.

And my friend was due to arrive at Ikea in 20 minutes.

So, I waddle-jogged to the subway and headed to the other bus stop. Needless to say, by the time I actually met up with her at Ikea (well over an hour later), I was one sweaty, foul tempered pregnant woman that needed to be fed.

Once lunch was had, things began to look up. I was able to get everything on my list and it worked out perfectly when Shin arrived an hour late to pick us up in the in-laws car.

Crib sheets, nightlight and baby sleeping bags Mikan approved.

Also, you'll notice that everything is displayed on the floor. We still haven't set up the crib as it is guaranteed that the second we do Mikan will have found herself a new bed.

Aside from the bus fiasco, we were pretty pleased with ourselves and began to psych ourselves up for shopping with the crazies.

Side note: after a full day of shopping and racing between the train, subway and bus I slept until 12:00 the next day (minus seven or eight pee breaks). Ya hoo!

Every New Year Shin closes his bar for a few days and we take a mini-vacation. Two years ago we hit the hot springs and tea farms in Kyushu, and last year we went skiing with friends. This year was to be no exception - except that instead of doing something relaxing and fun we were staying at home and shopping.

Hmmm...

The morning of January 3rd arrived. We had the in-laws car, were armed The List and Shin had 9 hours of sleep under his belt.

With preparations like that, what could possibly go wrong?

Well...

Akachan Hompo is one of the most famous baby shops in these parts. They carry everything for little ones from clothes, to strollers, to gift baskets to detergent and bath soap. We were sure that we'd hit a goldmine in sales there! As we pulled up we were even more encouraged by the free parking (for New Year sales only) signs.

When we got inside the place was practically deserted - explaining how we were able to get a parking spot at the front door. Perhaps my memories of sale madness had become exaggerated over time. However, as we consulted The List and began our mission we realized that many of the things we had set out for were not there, not cute, or not on sale.

Stop number one of the day: shopping fail.

Not ones to be discouraged we hopped back in the car and headed to stop number two: Toys / Babies R Us.

The particular store that we'd decided to grace with our yen is located in a huge shopping center, and as we neared the entrance to the parking garage the reality of New Year shopping hit us full force. 30 minutes later we were parked and on our way.

The place was heaving!

Before taking this bull by the horns some nourishment was required and our restaurant choice was made for us after inspecting the length of the line in front of each place. 35 minutes later we placed our orders at the Hawaiian burger shop.

Refuelled and refreshed off we went and as we headed down the escalator to Toys R Us the sound of children in a spending frenzy became deafening.

We waded through the throngs of little people, pockets stuffed with New Year money,  to the Babies R Us section at the back of the store. It was much less crowded but again fairly disappointing.

Shin and I couldn't understand what was going on. Two shops, both famous for their absolute babiness but without the items we were looking for.

We finally got lucky and found a set of storage tubs (that nicely match our crib sheets) then waited in line for 20 minutes to pay. After that we wandered around to some clothing stores and picked up some sleepers, onsies and adorable socks.

The Bean will no longer be naked.

We had been shopping / waiting in line for most of the day by the time we headed back to the car, yet half of The List hadn't been crossed off. Time to give up?

Not us.

But honestly, I was absolutely exhausted and Shin was on his 3rd coffee of the afternoon.

With one last burst of energy we headed to a giant Babies R Us near our old apartment. We had been there a few times to buy presents for babies of friends and remembered it having tonnes of stuff.

Baby heaven.

Thank god.

We picked up everything on our list, and of course a couple of extras that couldn't be resisted due to their absolute cuteness. One of the things on our list was something warm to bundle the Bean in for the trip from the hospital home (compliments of his Nanny in Canada).

I have a serious weakness for hats and hoods with ears.

With the car trunk packed full, we headed home feeling satisfied that even though everything hasn't yet been washed and put away, the Bean can make his entrance anytime now and we're ready for him.

As we dumped everything on the floor in front of our unassembled crib we realized that we need a place to store things.

Perhaps it is time to get the screwdriver out...