I'm living large in my 6 month clothes

Even though I'm only six weeks...

A serious thank you to everyone who gave us newborn outfits. We really enjoyed and appreciated the array of cute clothes. I'm sorry to have to report that we have officially buried that stage of Taiyo's life as a relic in our rear view mirror.

We have now entered the nebulous and confusing world of "3-6" months, which seems to cover whole lot of range depending what particular article of clothing you happen be staring at. As you can see from the picture above, Taiyo is having no problem fitting into some 6 month year old clothing, but we find some 3 month marked outfits to be far too large.

Its a brave new world, but Taiyo is too busy looking good to sweat the fever.

タイトル：僕は6ヶ月向けのお洋服で大きく生きてるよ

まだ生後６週間なのに・・・

僕に新生児のお洋服をくれた皆さんありがとうございました。僕もパパもママも、沢山のかわいいお洋服を十分に楽しましていただき、とても感謝しています。誠に残念ながら、全ての新生児服はお蔵行きとなってしまいました。

僕は既に不可解で不明瞭な３～６ヶ月服を着るようになっています。なぜ不可解かと言うと、服によって大きさが全然違うからです。写真でご覧のように、僕は6ヶ月のお洋服さえぴったりで着れちゃいます。でも、どういうわけかある“3ヶ月服”は、大きすぎたりするのです。

そんなわけですが、僕は“かっこよくなる”ために大忙しです。

Let the reading begin!!!

I'll be the first to admit that Taiyo doesn't have a clue what I'm saying when it comes to the books we have. But he is now beginning to take an interest in the pictures - especially those with bright multi-colored scenes. We are starting on some classics such as "Where the Wild Things are" as well as some new books that I've never seen before.

His eyes light up when a page with particular contrast is turned and he sometimes just watches me read the words for a minute or so before turning back to the next picture that unfolds. I"m as spell bound watching him as he is watching the book.

We'll be reading War in Peace from tomorrow.

P.S. Our camera broke but luckily, our video camcorder takes pictures, albeit at a lower quality. We'll treat ourselves to a late Christmas gift and take care of that little problem.

Merry Christmas

From Taiyo, his mamma and his pappa. I hope everyone takes a break to breathe it all in between now and the new year.

Holidays are coming

We are starting to enjoy the holidays. This will be the only year in which Taiyo has less interest than us in what is under the tree. We've been told that next year it will be the wrapping paper and the year after that, what's inside...

Focusing in and making friends

Yesterday a friend of Yoshiko's and her 6 month year old stopped by for a visit. I wasn't there but looking back over some of the pictures, it was really interesting to see a 6 week and a 6 month side by side.

Head size was similar, but the 6 month year old had a lot more leg and arms to go around.

You can see from the shot above that Taiyo is getting bigger around the cheeks but although its harder to tell, we think his arms and legs are also starting to lengthen.

Next month's pediatrician visit will reveal all.

Going back to work and missing out on the day's development is not very fun. Luckily when I get home, I've got plenty a few hours to enjoy before we go to bed, so I'm not missing out entirely.

Happy 1 month

On Friday, I turned one month old. I spent the day partying with mama.
I partied so hard, I had to wear several different outfits.

All my stuffed animals came and made me this great card.

In the afternoon, I took mama to visit my kibishii (strict) pediatrician. I now weigh 10 pounds and 6 ounces. I am also much taller and doing very well.

Papa came home later that night and we listened music and hung out.
I had fun day.

金曜日に、僕は1ヶ月の誕生日を迎えました。僕は一日中、ママとお祝いをして過ごしました。
少しはしゃぎ過ぎたせいか、何回もお着替えをしなくてはなりませんでした。

僕のいつも遊んでいるぬいぐるみ達がやってきて、この素敵なカードを作ってくれました。

午後には1ヶ月検診のため、ママを厳しい小児科の先生のところへ連れて行ってあげました。僕は今、4706gになりました。それに背もたくさん伸びて、とても健康だそうです。

夜にはパパが帰ってきて、一緒に音楽を聴いて過ごしました。
とても楽しい一日でした。

4 amazing weeks

And like that he was 4 weeks old and days away from his first month.

I can't exactly say we're feeling like pros at this point but we're getting better and Taiyo is learning more about us. He knows that Mom likes to relax with him while Dad enjoys bouncing him around. He knows when bath time rolls around and anticipates the routines.

At 4 weeks I really feel like a rhythm is setting in for us and we are running with our new roles together. It is amazing how much has happened in so short a period of time.

I get to feel time pass through him in a way I've long forgotten.

Tracking

今日から日本語でもブログを書きます。いろいろ間違えるかもしれないですが、日本の方も見てると聞きましたので、頑張ります。

At 27 days, Taiyo is really tracking movement with his eyes. For the first few weeks, he was often not aware of things around him. But now he will notice movement passing across his field of vision and often orient on that movement.

His favorite thing to track is Momma, which he does with a steady penetrating gaze. But he will also lock onto other things and follow them around the room for short periods before losing interest in favor of other intruiging sights in his surroundings.

I am reminded of how becoming a visual creature is a slow and steady process with many different levels along the way. I can remember when he first began to really stare at things in front of him. He does that for hours now...

生後２７日の太陽は動くものをよく目で追います。最初の数週間の間、太陽が周りの物にあまり気付かなかったです。でも、最近から何か目の前で動くとそれを見つめるんです。

一番好きな見つめるものは、もちろんママです。でも、興味を失う前に他の物も暫く見つめます。

人間にとって視覚が大切で、それが少しずつ発達するかを考えさせられます。初めて太陽が目の前の物を見つめるようになったことを覚えてますが、今ではもっと長くできるようになりました。

I'm Back and I'm Big

Taiyo got an infection and had to go into the hospital last week. Luckily we all got to be together and spent each day hanging out.

All of the drama was complete by 4:00 a.m. the first night and the entire week simply consisted of him getting regular doses of antibiotics and eating. He certainly did not have any appetite problems and has gained great weight over the week.

In some ways, the whole experience was positive because we learned a lot from the nice nurses who all fell in love with him and were falling over each other to offer their advice and assistance. We also learned some good lessons about the health care system and when and how we have to manage them.

All this is behind us now and we are back home and happy. Taiyo is regularly smiling to stimulus and interacting more each day. Although we will probaby be gun-shy for a few weeks, he is the model of health and a very happy baby.

Regular updates should resume here in the days to come.

Where's Taiyo?

You may be wondering why things have gone quiet here the past few days. We've had some medical issues we are working through that is keeping us all away from the computer.

Rest assured everyone is fine and we'll be back to normal and updating here again hopefully by this weekend.

Growing child - evolving relationships

One thing that is clear is how easy it is for parents to slowly gravitate their relationships towards others with children. This is something I've always heard about - how old friendships can suffer when one friend has a child and the priorities and interests are suddenly so different.

As I've considered this subject the last few days, I've realized that it is my responsibility to find opportunities not to try to preserve my old friendships as they were before but to really evolve them to relate to and include Taiyo.

It will be up to me to ensure that Taiyo benefits from all the wonderful things my friendships have meant to me over the years.

I want to thank all my friends who have stopped by to meet Taiyo and who have contacted us to hear all about him. I hope to do what I can to bring him into your world instead of expecting you to exclusively enter his.

First Tree

Another in a string of excellent achievements, Taiyo picks out his preferred Christmas tree with a sleepy yawn. His Great Grandpa concurred with his selection and the deal was struck.

Happy 2 week birthday!

We celebrated on Wednesday at 12:07 p.m. with a birthday "burp".

Hard nights easy days

Last night was probably the toughest for Yoshiko and Taiyo so far.

As a father and a husband, I want nothing more than to be able to take concrete action to make my family happy and content. Watching my son cry out or my wife battle through the discomforts of breast feeding and not being able to make things better is a hard pill to swallow.

It is difficult to come to terms that I can provide only so much comfort to their struggles and cannot always "make things right". I must content myself with being ready for whatever little chances reveal themselves and steel myself for the reality that there will be long moments we will all bear together.

Luckily, day comes and Taiyo soaks up his namesake with great enthusiasm and contentment.

Stepping out

We've been taking longer and longer walks each day. Partly it is a daily aspect of Yoshiko's recovery from giving birth, but it also serves as a great way to introduce Taiyo to the neighborhood. Stern Grove is just across the street from us, providing a ready-made forest to explore.

When we want to indulge a bit, we have taken to walking to the local coffee shop for a quick pop-in. We're still a little wary about exposing him to crowded places but we enjoy all the big smiles we get from our fellow pedestrians.

Babies hold all the cards when it comes to smiles.

Taking it easy

A word about myself for tonight.

I have to say that the pace of life with Taiyo each day is a real joy. There are so many little things filling each moment that at times it can feel busy and rushed. But then there are the long afternoon hours when I can find no fault at all in settling down for a little nap with him.

These are really sweet moments for myself. I am able to tap back into the ease of life that is so often forgotten in the hustle of our lives. I see this as another way Taiyo is teaching me each day.

In the sling of things

We've slowly been making our way out into the real world day by day. First we went around the block but yesterday we tackled a bigger task - the cliff walk.

For those of you in the San Francisco area that don't know about it, this is a fabulous walk and highly recommended. They've just re-worked the first half mile and opened up the views a bit more. Taiyo slept most of the way but did peek out now and again from his sling at the big world.

Here is some info about the hike.

Today is his eleventh day. Things I notice that are different include his ability to now grab at what he's interested in and take firm hold. He got a fist full of Yoshiko's hair and her shirt on a second occasion. He is mostly interested in grabbing a very specific thing that he reveres - I bet you can guess what that is.

His vision is definitely improving and he's watching things at greater distances with a keen interest. I'm not sure how far 11 day olds are supposed to see but I'd wager he's bringing up the average.

Life in the Womb??? I'll take the bed!!!

Needless to say, the warm cozy feeling of the womb is being slowly replaced by the urge to stretch out and take over the place.

Taiyo has grown in the last few days to be very comfortable out in the open with free space around him. This has combined with a sharp increase in his level of awareness for the environment around him.

Don't bother this kid unless you've got some OJ and the paper.

Cool Baby Clothes

Here in the US, we have so some nice baby clothes. But other then than the equivalent of the old man's undershirt, American inner-baby-wear is sorely behind some of the other G8 nations of the world.

Take Japan for example, the country of my beautiful wife. They have got baby undergarments down cold. Taiyo has come to enjoy the bath time ritual we do every night, where we end with dressing him up in his sleeping outfit. Among several layers, he always dons his "Baby Yukata" underneath.

This 100% cotton beauty has all the fine lines of the gear you'd spot out on a hot August night during the summer festivals.

We try to give him a few minutes each night to soak up his own dashing good looks when he slips on these cold beauties.

Plenty to be thankful for

As I reflect, I'm thankful for this beautiful son of mine that has been born. I'm thankful for the chance to take care of him and love him each day.

Taiyo on the other hand, is thankful today for the hairdryer...an integral part of each changing session.

Happy Birthday

One week come and gone. No baby had a better week than this one.

Congratulations on reaching one week old Taiyo and thank you to my beautiful wife for delivering this joy into my life.

Seeing with Clarity

Taiyo's eyes have taken a noticeable advancement in their ability to focus on the objects in front of him. On several occasions today, he gazed with a deeper and more penetrating expression than I had seen previously. He also is locking onto the objects in front of his face, drinking them in for long moments at a time. This seems like a road marker in his journey from a creature of sound and touch to a create of sight.

In the picture above, he ponder the inner depths of his existential modern art mobile.

Today I went out to do big grocery shopping for the first time since he was born. It felt very strange sitting in the car driving through the world. Although it had only been a few days since before he was born, it felt like a lifetime. I had to take a few minutes to really orient myself to life beyond the world Taiyo and Yoshiko had been sharing with me. I was happy to get home.

Big Day Out

We're exhausted.

Today Taiyo had his big day out, as we traveled back into the wide world for his first Pediatrician checkup. He got high marks all around for every possible aspect of health and well-being (thus furthering his legend amongst his adoring parents).

This was all on the heels of a blood test, where he charmed the socks off the nurse who has the sorry job of stabbing baby after baby in the foot and squeezing. Imagine how fun it must be to be the harbinger of suffering for the infantile masses. By the end of watching him stare at her with his boundless gaze (as she squeezed blood from his foot no less!), she had melted and was vowing to name her first born after him, hoping for our permission to do so even if it was girl... Next was a trip to the store for a few goods and then finally back home again.

For day 6, the big change I notice is he is now gaining command and control of his own arms and hands. With regularity now, he rubs his face and sucks at his fingers where just yesterday he was flailing them about with far less dexterity. This also leads him to all sorts of various poses where he drapes the back of his hand across his eyes with a flash of drama.

We fall over ourselves with praise and adoration with each innocent flex and bend. But damn is it cute!

The second big aspect of his daily evolution is the increase of his trust. He is now beginning to understand and trust us much more. He has grown in his awareness of our touch, our sound, and he no longer is as anxious about letting us in close. Case in point...


The final thing to say today is that it is clear that just as he was born on November the 15th, so too was I as the father really born that day. He is changing so fast every day...but so are we! Taiyo and I have spent the last 45 minutes lying here listening to music with our eyes half shut, drowsily idling away the last of evening while Yoshiko takes a little time for herself.

As I lay here, I realize I can't remember the last time I sat down and listened quietly to music in my house without doing anything else - no computer, no studying, no anything but just music and peace. This is the new me that he has revealed. I like it.

You look good enough to eat!

The bath complete, an exhausted mom and dad descend down to feast in triumph while Taiyo slumbers, plotting his revenge.

We are winding things down for the day wondering what kind of night we'll be in for. Luckily we are both relatively well rested today and should be ready to take on whatever he cooks up in revenge for the battle they will remember as "the grand war of ducks and sponges."

First Bath Completed

A battle not without historically epic moments nor without several heroes (or villains depending on who's story you believe).

Sun Bathing

As day 4 comes to an end and day 5 is beginning, Taiyo is becoming more and more comfortable in the open air. Today he's having his first sunbathing adventure to take advantage of the great weather.

He also slept through the entire night, with Yoshiko having to WAKE HIM UP to feed him a couple times. We all slept very well. Dare to dream it continues?

Life outside the womb

Taiyo's third day and beginning of his fourth brought with it a clear change in his comfort with being outside the womb. This took the form of a sharp increase in his waving of his arms around, either when sleeping or awake.

In the first couple of days, I noticed the classic "surprise!" gestures but he definitely was most comfortable swaddled tightly. When left out in the open, he would mostly hold his arms still and close to his body.

But today he began to often hold up the hands for long periods of time, either touching the things close to him or waving his arms in wild circles.

Mom comes into focus

If the second night was all about breast feeding, the third night was the realization of just who is on the giving end of that relationship.

Taiyo is steadily moving into a mode where his entire attention is now on Yoshiko during those periods. He now stares at her with a steady, piercing gaze. I feel like each minute he is associating the relationship between the visual Yoshiko and all the other aspects of her that he already knew.

They are developing a synchronization with each other and an anticipation of movement. The speed of that connection is astonishing.

For those of you worried about whether anyone is getting any rest or not, you can see that at least 2 out of the 3 enjoyed some down-time. The photographer wasn't nearly as fortunate.

Chaos Ensues

It took us exactly 1 hour for our perfectly arranged changing table that we spent days and days getting just right to descend into this...Sink or swim baby!!!

Going Home

At long last and after what feels like a lifetime, we head home from the hospital. It took exactly 30 seconds before Taiyo was out cold in the seat.

Awareness Dawns

Last night was filled with Taiyo becoming aware of the awesome mighty glory that is breast feeding. We spent a large chunk of the night with him demanding either to feed or be as close to the source as possible.

It was incredible to see that awareness grow in him slowly but surely as the day progressed. I had read how he would slowly begin to associate this with the good life back in the womb. Sure enough, he has seen the light. Thankfully, the object of his desire also has a nice ability to entirely incapacitate him, leaving him in a state of bliss and peaceful slumber.

Here is a picture of him just after completing a marathon feeding session.

Arrival

Yoshiko battled for 50+ hours from 2 a.m. Monday morning until 12:07 on Wednesday, November 15th. I can't say enough about the courage and strength that she displayed.

At long last our son is here. I've already been up and down with so many different emotions I could fill a book. But the main feeling I want to capture is the peerless love I feel for this life.

I was always excited, always looking forward to his arrival. But I wasn't ready for the love that sweeps new parents off their feet. Today it hit me hard.

He's beautiful and perfect and already changing and growing. I'll try to do my best to capture his moments and my feelings here as we go forward together.

Welcome to our world, Taiyo-kun.

Little-B Pending

Welcome everyone. We are all awaiting the arrival of Little-B, who plans to make his grand entrance in a few more days. We can only gaze upon his sonic features for now but you can be sure much will come in the months ahead.