On Saturday Kiyomi's parents came up to visit and hang out with their Grandson. Their first I would add. Kiyomi's Mom seems very pleased and I know that she really wants to help. Kiyomi of course, is quite independent. I'll let them butt heads and I'll stay out of it as much as possible :) 


Here they are with Joji on the sofa we got in the autumn of this year.

Not long after this, he started to cry and Mrs Yabe got her first chance to feed him. Kiyomi and I were wandering around the neighbors, in a Japanese tradition to let them know we had a child and apologize for any noise. They're all really nice people and everyone was really understanding. Its strange for many people to hear of a custom where you head around to the neighbours and do this I would guess... but maybe I have been here too long and do agree that iti is the polite thing to do. 

Chilling at Home

Well Joji is at home, and he's chilling... well when he isn't crying :) Generally things have been okay. It was pretty tough at first, but we're starting to get a little bit of a rhythm down to the day. Even was able to get Kiyomi to head out for a walk yesterday. She got to have an hour or more to herself heading to the library and some shopping. I think that it did her some good for sure.


Here is a picture of Joji chilling at home.

Some Flowers For Mom

My folks asked to bring some flowers to Kiyomi at the hospital... but they were pretty strict with what you can bring in and out. So waited until Kiyomi was home to get her some flowers. Actually where I live there a are a lot of flowershops in the area. I think this is because we are not too far from the Tokyo flower market. I would say though that as a general rule there are a lot of flower shops in Tokyo anyway. Could be because of the Japanese art of ikebana? hmmm... not sure. Anyhow... here are the flowers I got from the nice guy near my house!

The Big Day

Man… so this was kind of a stressful time for Kiyomi and I. Joji was about two weeks late and we both were waiting for the little guy to pop out so we could say hello to the world.


After a check up around the due date Kioymi's Doctor told her that she should report to the hospital on Tuesday February the 2nd to be induced if there were no signs of labour. Well… as things are want to do, no sign of Joji until that point. So we reported to the hospital as we were instructed. We got there a little before 9AM and checked in. Once Kiyomi was settled in the Room I went back to work as there was LOTS to do, and really wasn't supposed to be there for visiting hours. More importantly Kiyomi had a bunch of test that needed to be done and I would just come back once she was finished.

I came back to the hospital in the late afternoon, once things had settled down and all the tests had been completed.It turned out that they thought if Kiyomi was induced it would be too long and be too stressful on Joji. As Kiyomi had no signs of labour at this point they expected and induced labour could take two days. Which sounded like it would be dangerous on Kiyomi and Joji as he was late already.


Therefore a cesarean section was the best option. I have to admit that I was pretty nervous, but knew from my reading that this was pretty much the standard thing to do in this situation. Even so, words, and study are often not enough comfort in this situation.


I then went home at the end of visiting hours and was asked to report to the hospital around noon as there wouldn't be a window for surgery until the mid afternoon. I said I'd be there around 10AM. After a restless night, I was up and getting ready to leave the house at 9AM when Kiyomi called to tell me that she would probably be going to surgery at 10AM. I was shocked, and worried and a bit pissed off as this isn't what we were told. I know that this is a scary time, it was really important for me to be there before she went in. I hauled ass, and got to the hospital (one of those rare days when all trains connected) in record time and was there about ten minutes before 10. Luckily Kiyomi was still there. I really didn't want her to face surgery without seeing me, and me without seeing her. Thankfully the doctors were wrong, and we had about an hour to hang out and talk about things before she was taken away in a gurney to the operating room.

Then I waited.
In this spot.

A bit grim, but I managed to stay calm until they brought Joji out. I was surprisingly calm at this point. When joji came out he was with Nurse Tanaka who was super sweet and really helpful. Here's how he looked when I first saw him.

A very very vocal ltitle dude at this point, and was really crying quite passionately. I was enchanted… despite the noise. I have to say I didn't understand what the hospital wanted me to do at this point, but Tanaka san was pretty good and explain. We went… cleaned up Joji… weighed him (3.988 - birth time at 11:44am) and I got to hold him for the first time.

(Thanks to Tanka san again for taking this photo)

After all this I went back to Kiyomi's room to wait for her to come out of post-op. This is where I got nervous and would have to say that this is one of the most stressful times I've had in my life. I was truly worried for her. She came out from surgery, and was fairly lucid. I got a call from her parents right as she was wheeled in. Was pretty happy to tell them everyone was okay. The bad news was that Kiyomi wouldn't be able to visit him, the hospital keeps the newborns in a nursery with strict access. Plus with the anesthetic she wasn't able to stand or hold him.


I did however manage to visit Joji a couple of times that day, running back down to show Kiyomi the photos of him (there were about two hundred in the first two days, I won't bore you with them - unless you come over for tea). I really didn't want her to get any poor spirits after what must have been one of the most traumatic things in her life.


The next day, with her parents in tow... we all went up to visit Joji. Here's Kiyomi for the first time with our lovely little guy.

For the duration of the next week Kiyomi and Joji were in the hospital. During this time Kiyomi was able to make huge strides in her recovery, receive a bunch of "baby training" Her recovery after the operation was fast and she was even walking the very next day. I was (and still am) proud of her grit. Happy to say, that after a week of running to the hospital and work I'm on paternity leave and both Kiyomi and Joji are back home now.

Not Waiting any more...

For the those who don't know ... Kiyomi and I aren't waiting any more. Joji is here, and certainly has announced himself to the world. Well at least to our world. Definitely a change. Had a very different Friday night than usual, and I expect that I won't be out at Muse either tonight. So here is the run down on the little guy... Joji entered the world on February 3rd at 11:44. Weight... a svelte 3.988kg, and I believe about 53cm. Not a small kid by any stretch of the imagination.  


Without any further delay… here he is Joji himself:

Say Hi to Joji. Joji say hi to everyone.


Kiyomi is doing well, and I'll give a more in-depth account of the day. Can't do more right now, as he's getting our attention.