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.