OMG

I am having a serious case of OMG! OMG 8 months already! Seriously???? My little Tuna is not so tiny anymore!!! She moves around, she pulls herself up. And she knows what she wants! On that subject... she wants 3 things... Mommy. Mommy and Mommy. And swimming too. But swimming with mommy. I desperately need a double of myself just so I can go to the washroom and shower.

So as I said, it's not always all about mommy! It also often all about swimming! We are talking 2-3 hours everyday (sometimes even more). She loves water! And I love that she loves water! I somehow dread our summer trip just because we wont have access to a pool on a daily basis. And no pool time = a grumpy baby who will not be tired enough to sleep.

And that brings me to my next subject!!! Sleeping! Ha! Sleeping what's that! Can someone please reassure me! She will sleep one day right? And to think that I thought all baby sleep through the night at around 6 weeks. I was a fool. We are still up many many many many times a night... with an early get up time between 4 am and 630 am. As much as she loves water and swimming, she hates bed and sleeping. I swear she breaks up in hives when she sees her bed! (ok that might be slightly exaggerated, but you get the picture)

Oh but I love her so much! She is such a happy content baby! She gives lots of snuggles and she laugh tons.

Now just to keep everyone up to date, there are a few exciting event coming up in our life :-) This is my last post before I start my new serie of On the road posts.  Next week, we are leaving for Asia! There will be a few pre-trip post such as "what to pack for baby".

Then we are off to the Philippines and Japan. Yeah! When we come back, I will be starting my PHD. Then in early October (yes on the same weekend) I will be flying to France for 2 days to give a conference at the university of Loraine and will be back in time for my mom's wedding! Crazy! I know! And then off course, later that month we will be celebrating Hudson's first year and Halloween! Ouf! I'm already tired just thinking about it!!!!

 

Senbazuru for Hudson Part II

Hudson with Ayumi's bird.

I announced a few weeks back that we were going to Asia! And indeed we are! This will be extremely exciting for all of us. Hudson will get to meet her great-grandmother and many of her great-aunts, great-uncles and cousins. She will also get to spend some times with her grand-parents and aunt. The second part of the trip will be very different. My husband, my daughter and I will be flying over to Japan for a two weeks holiday (finally our honey moon) .

It will be my fourth time in Japan and the second time for my husband. I am so excited to be able to bring him to all the cool places (mostly restaurants) I have discovered through all my travel there. We will be staying with Ayumi for a week and then we are of to FTO (Osaka) for a week!

I am so thrilled to be bringing my daughter there! Through out the pregnancy, I use to bribe her in staying put with the likes of "I can't wait for you to come out so I can show you Osaka"

But more importantly, during this trip, we will be making our way to Hiroshima to deposit the 1000 paper cranes folded following my MC at the Children Peace Memorial. (We are keeping Ayumi's bird and the 1000 birds I folded during the pregnancy wishing for a healthy Hudson. When she is older, she can decide if she wants to bring them there).

Hudson with the birds that will be going to Hiroshima

Now who's up for a little anecdote? As some of you might be aware, the monument in Hiroshima was built in memory of Sadako (you can click on the link for the full story). Well I just recently found out that Sadako died on October 25th (yes! that was Hudson's due date) after spending 8 months fighting leukemia. It is during that time she folded her paper cranes. It hits close to home, as I remember spending my whole pregnancy (roughly 7-8 months) folding my paper cranes hoping with all my heart that Hudson would make it to term and be healthy. Sadako's prayer were not answered, but mine were. And it is with a very heavy heart that I will be going to her monument, to surrender the birds.

Off course, you will be able to follow all of our On the road adventure as I will up date through this blog. Also, don't forget to "like" my facebook page, to make sure you don't miss a beat.

Children Peace Memorial in Hiroshima

To my dear cat Ucchi

Today should have been a happy post about Hudson being 7 months. I had lot's a great things to talk about such as how she started eating food, and made a mess at a Sushi restaurant (yes, Hudson had her first maki-avocado roll). But that will have to wait. Today, instead, I would like to talk to you about Ucchi, my cat. Ucchi died last night at 11:25. Ucchi was sick. She was not eating and she was not drinking. Ucchi left us 2 weeks ago to go live with Marie. Everything was going well until two days ago when she started throwing up and stopped eating and drinking. I am heart broken. I was heart broken to see her go away. I am even more heart broken now.

A few years ago, after buying our house, Tristan and I drove down to the Human Society in Toronto wanting to pick up their two oldest cats (because no one ever wants older cats). Unfortunately on that day, they would only let us adopt one. We had to pick between Bean and Soho. We took Bean (Subachan) because not only was she older but she had already been at the facility for just over two years. But we made a promise to come back for Soho. Time passed and we forgot about it until almost a year later we got a phone call from one of the volunteer there. She asked us to come and pick up Soho (Ucchi) ASAP if we still wanted her. I thought it was really odd that we would receive this phone call. Anyway, the next day we drove the 2 hours back and forth and picked up a cat that looked nothing like the cat we had once considered. She was almost lethargic. Lifeless. We brought her home with very little expectation and gave her lots of love. It took her a LONG time to adjust. In a way, she never really fully adjusted. Yet she was the cuddliest cat I had ever met. Through out the painful miscarriage months, she never left my side. During my bedrest pregnancy, she never left my side. She was not the perfect cat but she loved us. As I sent her away with my sister, I was heart broken that we could not be the perfect family. And as I write this, I am heart broken that I cannot give her all the love she gave me in her hard time. I am afraid. I am afraid she will die alone. Because, no one deserves to die alone. Please keep her in your thoughts.

I wrote this post yesterday evening. Last night, Marie went to the emergency vet at around 11 pm. BY then it was already too late. We opted to have her be put down as oppose to let her suffer. There was nothing else that could be done. She did not die alone, She was with my sister as they euthanized her. She will be buried in our garden. We have yet to decide which plan we should plant over her.   

Will my car seat survive?

As we are getting closer to our 6 weeks trip to Asia, I am starting to find out how complicated traveling with a baby can be. I have to admit, it is very fortunate that I LOVE planning, because we could have been in for some major surprises!!! If you are planing on flying with your baby this summer make sure to read on!

Most airline company will let you gatecheck your car seat. But not Air Canada. With Air Canada you have to check in your car seat. They will gladly let you know that it is free and more convenient (yes, it does not count towards your luggage allowance). End of story, right? Sure, if you trust that you will get to your destination and be handed back your car seat on a golden plateau. But the reality is this :

You don't have to go very far into the video to see what happens to the car seat. After researching it a bit more, I found out that 1. Airline will not to responsibility for your car seat (No liability if damaged) 2. There is no guarantee that your car seat will make your flight (same as luggage) 3. In many cases, the car seat ends up being crushed by other luggage which results in visible or non-visible damage which leads to number 4. Even if your car seat comes back looking fine, there is no way to tell if it really is (hairline fracture....) in other words, checking a car seat = a crash car seat. 

And here's another bad news for you... even if you gatecheck it, there is no guarantee it will be treated fairly. Off course, most people don't care. I mean, if the seat looks ok, it's good enough... ... ...

So what to do then? Well you do have option. Some people will rent a car seat once they reach their destination (but even there do you really know where the car seat has been?) Other people will purchase a car seat upon arrival (very common if you are off to visit family). Some people will decide to buy a One-time car seat and use it for the purpose of that trip only. If you decide to do so, your best bet is to keep the car seat it the original box (as this will offer the most protection). Another option is for you to buy a seat for your baby, in which case they will be able to ride in their car seat (but beware, certain airline have restriction of which car seat).

So here it is... as for us, we are still debating which way to go. As it stands, we are looking in possibly buying a new car seat to bring and leave behind. But only time will tell us!

To find out more, visit this link for great information about flying with children

My teething baby is no shinobi da kedo...

So Tuna is teething. I know, old news... But that's my point!! How long does a baby need to be teething??? Drool, crankiness... swollen gum, fever... The poor thing won't sleep. And here I am, with a baby in my arm. Helpless in the middle of the night. And then it hits me! I think : "There's has to be an up side to having a teething baby!" So I search... I look around... and there it is! The silver lining. I have a baby that won't sleep and over 40 episodes of Naruto to catch up on! BINGO! And so I did. The last 3 nights, I caught up on nearly 9 months of Naruto. Thanks to my poor little teething baby who will only sleep in my arm, I had a good excuse to sit in my lazy boy for hours at a time. And so I watched, and watched and watched. Oh the excitement! To make things better, there were very little fillers!

So now I am all caught up in the serie. We are back in fillers but I must admit, I had chills running down my back at the end of the last main arc episode. Anyone else did? You probably don't watch. Hum... I guess we could compare it to the chills you get every time team Canada scores in an Olympic goal medal hockey game. Yep. That bad. Oh and did I mentioned I cried too. Now I don't want to spoil it... but you know.... when N and K meet. Yep. I cried. And I am sure you would have too if you had been watching this anime for the past 8 years like I do.

So... now what do I do. Well... what else... It has been decided, Hudson's Halloween costume for next year will be Naruto ;-) Since her favorite toy is her fox, there could not be a better choice... but now, what should Tristan and I dress as? Jiraiya? The 4th? Kakashi? Tsunade Sama? Temari? Personally I am leaning towards the 4th for TJ and Temari for me (well, we do have the same hair cut). But who knows ;-) Stay tune to find out!

And if you are wondering. Tuna`s first birthday party will be a Halloween costume party. ;-)

Did I mention Halloween is in 6 months!!!!!

The big 6

What a road is has been so far. A road I have traveled on days and nights, time after time again. Tuna is 6 months today! That is not a small feat. To those of us who have been here for many years already, six months almost seems insignificant but in Tuna's life, 6 months is everything. 6 months ago, she could barely keep her eyes open and now, 6 months later, she can barely keep them close! Six months ago, I had to carefully hold her head every time I picked her up! Now she is one little stubborn girl who bangs her head like a rock star! 6 months ago, Tuna use to poo in her diaper! Well now, she still does. (Ok that hasn't changed) But what has, is that mommy can now change her diapers with one hand and her eyes closed! That too is no small feat! In 6 months, Tuna learned to smile, to laugh, to sit, to reach, to hold, to scream, to pull, to roll, to say "ba". In the last six months, what have you achieved? Her learning curve makes me feel so.... unproductive sometimes! But I too have learn a few things in the course of the last six months! I learned that you don't need sleep, you don't need hot meals, you don't need your hands, baby doesn't care if you hurt your back or if you have a tendinitis, you don't need shower or clean cloth : All you need is love! But seriously, though.... I really wished I could have a daily shower and not smell like spit up everyday. Maybe in the next six months! Who knows!!! 

So Tuna is six months today! What does this mean. Well to her, nothing probably! But I though it would be nice to mention it! Tuna is growing and healthy so why not celebrate it! Not everyone has this luck! And that too is no small feat! Everyday she amazes me! How such a tiny little person can take so much space in a room, so much room in my life. She truly amazes me, days after days... she finds that water bottles are funny and beards are scary! She thinks that mommy's arm are for napping and beds are for playing. She thinks Suba is Suba and Uchi is Suba! Everyday she amazes herself. Yes, I believe she does.... You can already see in her eyes, that "I did it" spark of pride! She knows what she wants and makes sure we do too. 

So Tuna is six months today! To many, many, many more six months! 

How about a world record?

Wouldn't it be great for your baby to be part of a world record? Well here is your chance! Join us for the Great cloth diaper change!!! Next Saturday, people from around the world, will, at the same time, change their babies cloth diaper! Last year, a world record was establish, this year let's try to beat it! Now let's say you don't cloth diaper.... well that's fine too! You can arrive with your baby in a disposable and you can borrow or buy a cloth diaper to change your baby into! See, it's simple! 

For more information, here is the official website. The great cloth diaper change

If you live in my area, we will be meeting at Holly United Church in Barrie at 12pm. You can register here on the facebook group.  For our location to count towards the record, we need at least 25 people... well right now we are short of 4 people. If you do not live in my area, check the Great cloth diaper web site, they have an location finder! From Canada, to the USA but also in Japan, Germany and France....

 Here are the rules :

Guinness General Evidence Guidelines (Requirements)
GUIDELINES FOR PARTICIPATION
Each participant must be paired with one child 39 inches or shorter. Each child must be changed into a cloth, reusable diaper that can be purchased online, at a brick & mortar store, or is offered through a diaper service. It doesn’t
matter what diaper type a child arrives in. At the sound of a loud start signal, all participants must remove their child’s existing
diaper and properly put on a 100% reusable cloth diaper. At the signal to start: Each participant should hold the clean diaper they will change the baby into high in
the air (the photographer should take ―before‖ shots). Each participant should change their child’s diaper (no photographs or video should
be taken during this time). When the diaper change is complete (this is not a race, the timekeeper can
determine when all the changes have happened), each participant should hold their
freshly changed child in the air (the photographer should take ―after‖ shots). Any participant who does not completely or properly complete the task must be
deducted from the total.

 

 

The mysterious tooth

Once upon a time, in a little lakefront village, in central Ontario, lived a little girl who was toothless. For many weeks already, she had been feeling the pressure of growing teeth. Yet, day after day, there was nothing to show. Burning red cheeks, drooling like a waterfall, chewing like a chipmunks, the little girl was slowly turning into a cranky little monster. When night time came, she would wriggle in pain and only find comfort in mommy's arms. Mom became so sleep deprived that one morning, after a long sleepless night, she backed up her husband's car right into her own car. Still no teeth came.

Until one day, as she strolled around the neighborhood and ran into her next door neighbor. They started chating and before mom could say anything, the neighbor noticed that the little girl was cutting two teeth. Mom was perplex. Even though she checked every morning, she could no see anything. So she rushed home, washed her hand and once more looked for the teeth. She could see nothing.

Perhaps her neighbor had been wrong...

Later that day, still bothered by the mysterious tooth, she made her way to the neighbor and kindly asked her to show her the tooth! The neighbor who had 5 kids, gladly pointed out to the two little bumps. There they were! Not visible yet, but on their way! Mom had a sight of relief! Perhaps, soon she would be able to sleep again! Just as she was hit by that wave of hope, her neighbor explained that unfortunately, there was no sure way of knowing how soon they would fully appear. Mom was heart broken!

And so the story ends.... for now... 

In other news, I would like to welcome all my new friends who are joining us through the blog hop!  If you would like to join and gain new follower, visit :

      

First Time Mom

A few years back I was writing a post about FTO, now here's one about FTM ;-)

In less than 2 weeks, Tuna will be 6 months. I just can't beleive it. She's grown so much is so little time. But let's keep that for another post. Today I wanted to go over a quick little list of First time mom expectations, decisions and plans. You know, the : I would never do that with my child! So in all honesty, here it is!

I would never!

I would never use a pacifier! Well on the second night, still at the hospital, I caved in and asked for a pacifier for Tuna. She refused it. 5 months later, I am still trying to convinced her to use one. She won't! I really wished she did! It would make my life so much easier. Instead she uses me as a pacifier. Yep! Karma!

I would never bedshare! It is way too dangerous. Well it is. But somedays it's the only way I get any sleep at all. So we do.

   

I really don't need!

I really don't need a stroller. Well Hudson is 5 months, she doubled her birth weight and we still don't have a stroller. We are babywearing 100% of the time. She loves it. I love it. And it makes my life so much easier. We have a nice hiking type back pack for her and a Boba. Although some days I will admit, I wished I had a jogging stroller so I can go run with her. But that's about it.

I really don't need help at home. I didn't need help. A newborn sleeps a lot so I had enough time to do everything. Breastfeeding is efficient but makes any over night help useless. Cloth diaper take a big 5 minutes of my time 4 times a week. The rest is just the normal housework. Everything doesn't always get done. My husband has to help, but at the end of the day all is good. I was also expecting the worst since I had a c-section, but there too, my recovery was as fast as that of a normal delivery.

I plan to!

I plan to speak french to my daughter! I did. I do! And I plan on keeping doing it! But unfortunately, Daddy is not as eager to speak Tagalog to Tuna ;-(

I plan to get back in shape as quickly as possible after the baby is born. Well I did go back to the gym at 4 weeks after birth (c-section) and I am happy to say I have diligently been working out and I am down 72 lbs already! So many people had told me I would not be able to find the time...... well.... 

I plan on moving the baby to her own room when she is 2 months old. Wow! Did I really think that??? Because, in my mind, all babies sleep through the night by the time they are 2 months. Sure! So here we are. Tuna will be 6 months soon, she still sleeps in our room and some nights in our bed. So when are we planning to make that move? Well, as of now we are thinking, maybe close to a year. Maybe later. Who knows. 

I plan on bringing the baby swimming as soon as possible. Well we did not end up going "as soon as possible" but we surely made up for it by going "as much as possible".

I plan on cloth diapering my baby. I said it. I am, doing it. And I love it. My only regret was to be talked out of cloth diapering a newborn as to avoid the extra work. Well turns out cloth diapering is less work (I know weird isn't it!) and a lot more fun.   

I could go on and on about all the misconception I encountered as I was pregnant. Off course these would be different for anyone.

One last thing, before I go. We are now on facebook! So follow us at The Things I find On the way

Let's get physical!

Tuna is 5 months! She can sit on her own! She still face plants once in a while but she is getting more sturdy every day! Tuna is 5 months! And teething! Not fun! Not fun at all! And to make matter worst, Tuna has a stomach bug. Not fun x 2! I have never changed so many diapers in a day. My cloth diapers are being tested to the max! So far we have to clear winners.... Applecheeks and Motherease! We've also had casualties...... and we've had bullseye hit (Me being the bullseye).

Tuna is miserable... poor little thing. But she still enjoys her tri-weekly trip to the pool. She loves the water, and I think she also loves the extra attention she gets there from mommy, from daddy... and from the staff. ;-)

But I have to admit, mommy feels a little awkward on Sundays... Tuna's swimming lesson is currently being taught by a student of mine a few years back. I have to say, he is doing a great job! And I am really proud of him. But does it ever feel awkward to be in the pool... in your bathing suit... with one of your grade 9 student... So for the last two weeks, grand-ma and daddy took turn to go. Next week, I shall overcome the awkwardness and go myself!

This week, we added to our schedule, mommy and baby fitness class+ parenting workshop at the local YMCA. This morning was our first class. It was great. Against all odds I really enjoyed myself! We started with a little fitness assessment, then a workout and some playtime for the kiddos. I think this type of play-dates fit my lifestyle better. I am not much of a let's sit down and drink coffee type of girl. Working out with my daughter is a lot more fun ;-) And I think it's a great way to introduce physical activity from an early age! Good habits should start early!