Monday, October 31, 2011

First Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays, so i really can't wait until Shinryu is old enough to dress up and go trick-or-treating.  That won't be for a while, but looks like he'S already in the spirit with theses expression action shots!  =)
What was that noise?  Did you hear that?

Aahh!!  What is that thing?


Never mind. It's just my own hand.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Getting along with baby

So far we have been mostly ok with the new addition to our family. A bit sleep starved, perhaps, but overall joyous and wonderful.  Trying to get Shinryu onto a regular schedule is certainly a challenge. I keep telling myself that this is only week two, so i shouldn't feel rushed.   But then again, being exhausted at work isn't good either, so the sooner the better.


Ulala and Shinryu taking a break after feeding.

Shinryu and i getting some work done (or maybe it's just Facebook).




Seinfeld's hilarious take on babies:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0UYURjw-Ms

I will, of course, blog about other stuff again... eventually.  =)

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Sleeping, Eating, and the other stuff

Still haven't quite figured out a sleep schedule, but that may take a while. I worked all day Saturday so Friday night we took fixed shifts and that worked out fairly well.  He wasn't too troublesome that night or last night. Just fussy about where he sleeps. He also eats (breast milk usually, bottle if i'm on duty) almost every time he wakes up. I was starting to think this was too much, but Ulala reassures me that he is eating just a little at each feeding.  She actually wishes he would eat more at once. I have to keep reminding myself that he is just a few days old and this is a huge adjustment for him as well.

And he makes the cutest scrunched up face when is getting ready to cry. Then his cry (i think it'S the I-need-a-diaper-change cry) sounds very much like a shrill version of The Count on Sesame Street.  Waaah-ha-ha-haa   waaah-ha-ha-haa.  Too funny.

And of course, more pics:

Asleep in my lap again.

Sunrise this morning from our balcony.

Resting after his bath. 

Friday, October 21, 2011

One Week Old

Shinryu is one week old this evening!

Asleep on my lap and his nursing pillow during my shift last night.

One of rare awake-but-not-crying moments.

Shinryu and i on the sofa this morning. 

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Up All Night

Well, after my last post you might assume that we had a perfect little sleeping angel. Not so, i discovered, as he howled his way through the night and into the morning. We went through the checklist (hungry? wet? too hot? needs cuddling? etc...) but to no avail. He would sleep in little fits and starts and cry everytime he awoke. Ulala dealt with it mostly since i had to work today (only a couple lessons, thankfully), but it's not like i could sleep through it, and i helped as much as i could.  So we were all pretty tired today.

When i got home after work he was sleeping. Mami had brought us a nursing pillow this morning, like the ones they had a at the hospital. Perfect! He loves being cuddled up against a warm body, where he can hear me or his mom's heartbeat and breathing. He has been quietly sleeping on my lap with the nursing pillow for a few hours now, while i have done some e-mailing and watched Weird Science (just as terrible as i remember it!).

Ulala and Shinryu also had some visitors today from her family.  Grandpa Shinichi, Uncle Kazuki, and Aunt Azusa.

Pics from today. Notice how he is sleeping in all of them - when he is awake people rarely think to take pictures!:







Classified  -  "Up All Night"  





Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Day 5 - Homecoming!

    Shinryu came home today!  I ran some final errands in the morning and stocked the fridge with veggies and  other food for the next couple of days. Then i went over to St Barnabas Hospital around 1:30. Beautiful sunny day!  I met Ulala's parents in the waiting room and we worked our way through the process of checking out and paying.  Then the nurse did a final check and we put little Shinryu in his ErgoBaby carrier and i walked home while the rest of them took a taxi.  We only live a 10 minute walk away so i insisted that i walk, regardless of whether they took a taxi or a car or whatever. It's a short, easy walk and i actually beat them home.  No car seat, no driving. That's a rule i won't break unless it's a a real emergency.
   When we all got home, Ulala's father hung out for a brief time before heading back to work. Ulala had to breastfeed and that was a family awkward moment they decided to avoid for now.  Ulala's step-mom stayed, though, and helped us set up the bottle sanitizer and make sure we had everything we needed. She'll be back to help a few times over the next couple weeks, until my mom arrives from Canada. And i have a light day tomorrow and Friday off, so i'll mostly be home as well.
   Then i cooked a big healthy dinner and we watched part of The Princess Bride - still one of my all-time favorite movies - while the little one napped.  I've been on an '80s kick lately. A couple weeks ago we watched Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Ghostbusters. Then i made Ulala watch Sixteen Candles, because she had never seen it. And last night i re-watched Back to the Future for about the millionth time. "Roads? Where we're going we don't need roads!"

The hibiscus on the balcony bloomed this morning. Two blooms, like it knew.

Baby Shinryu's first venture outside!

Gifts from friends and family, flowers from Hana-Matsuri,
and decorations by me, because what else is a fretting father to do as 
he waits? Drink wine? Yeah, i did a lot of that, too...

Mochi with anko in the shape of a sea bream. 
Sea bream in Japanese is "tai" and "congratulations" is "omedetai", 
so this is a common play on words on happy occasions. 

The name scroll from Shinryu's grandparents. Very cute. And apparently there is a hollow space in the bottom of the roll into which we can put his umbilical cord, if we are so inclined.  Why is it that in almost every culture birth and babies leads to a proliferation of very odd (and vaguely gross) traditions?

The dinner i made for Ulala and i.  Note all the very healthy vegetables!

Shinryu sleeping in his crib for the first time. 

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Day 4

Just a few quick pics from today.  They come home tomorrow and i've got the house just about ready. Decorated the windows and hung a banner and bought a whole lot of flowers, etc.  Don't know how i'm ever going to sleep tonight!



Monday, October 17, 2011

Day 3

Ulala and Shinryu come home on Wednesday!  Just two more sleeps! Actually today was our due date, and today is my cousin Arlan's birthday, so that would have been cool, but obviously he came a bit early.

Today i ran all over town trying to get all the errands done that i needed to do or might need to do in the near future, so i can avoid (as much as possible) having to be away after they come home.  Overkill, maybe, but i am REALLY looking forward to them coming home.

Today's pictures:

The garden just down the road from the maternity hospital

Shinryu sleeping (he sleeps a lot, which is great)

Ulala and Shinryu

He does this thing where he half-wakes, looks side to side, and then dozes off again. Adorable!

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Day 2 (still not quite 48 hours old yet)

Today (sunday), we had more visitors.  In the early afternoon, Emi and Diane came by and then in the late afternoon, Peter and Yuki dropped in to say hello.  Shinryu was very well behaved the whole time.  He's a real sweety and loves being held by people.  He doesn't seem to mind the noise of the visiting room.  Ulala is still getting used to her duties - she keeps checking the board to see when is her next feeding or checkup.  They keep her fairly busy at the hospital, which i guess is good, because it is mostly useful training and help. After our visit, Peter, Yuki, and i got some Indian food at Indo Tiger and then they came over to our place to see the crib hang out a bit. 
 I'm still really looking forward to Ulala and Shinryu coming home. The house feels quite empty without them. But i am keeping busy myself; cleaning and reading and prepping. Today i cleaned the shower and kitchen floor. Tomorrow i'll wash all the windows and start decorating for the homecoming. 

Ulala and the baby mobile

オス!

neener neener!

Emi and Ulala

What you lookin' at? Where's my milk?

Saturday, October 15, 2011

One day old

I spent the better part of the afternoon at the hospital visiting Ulala and little Shinryu. He was mostly quiet. He loves being held, which works out quite well because i love holding him!

A few more pictures from our visit at the hospital today:


There are tiny little joints and toe bones in there! So small!

My son and I

Banzai!


Friday, October 14, 2011

Welcome to the world, my son!

Our son was born at 7:44pm Osaka time today (Oct 14th).  Weighing 2.9 kg at birth, and with all ten fingers and all ten tiny toes, little Shinryu Andrew entered the world after a mercifully short labour. We arrived at the hospital at 5:20pm and ten minutes later Ulala's water broke!  She's a trooper, my wife.  Amazing!  Both baby boy and mother are resting and doing well and i can go back to see them again tomorrow afternoon.    

Let the adventure begin!








Symian is: a proud new father!
Currently Reading: Dr Spock's Baby and Child Care
Currently Listening: The Morning Stream (podcast)
Kanji of the Day: 進龍/しんりゅう/Shinryu


Monday, October 10, 2011

Naoko&Mitsu's Wedding

This past Sunday we had the privilege and honor of attending our friends Naoko and Mitsu's wedding in Osaka. I have been to more than a few weddings and they have (almost) all been wonderful, but this one was truly amazing. It was like what you often see movie-makers attempt to convey in their films, full of funky fun and spontaneity and so so much joy.  But it was so much better than any movie because it was our good friends and we got to be part of their amazing day. Congratulations to Naoko and Mitsu!
P.S. I tried really hard to narrow down the pictures for posting here, but there were just too many! =)