31 January 2009

Get Your Kicks...

As of yesterday the baby has begun kicking! What a truly odd sensation it is. It feels kind of like gas, but much more sudden and less diffuse. Any mothers out there know what I'm talking about? I'm really enjoying it now, but I can imagine it'll get old once the baby gets a bit stronger and really starts putting some leg in it. For the moment, however, I'm on Cloud Nine!


What a kicking baby may look like (not my stomach)

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26 January 2009

The Dog Days of Pregnancy


This Sunday Sho-chan and his mother and I went to Nakayama-dera to get my pregnancy belt (腹帯). It's supposed to protect the stomach while you are pregnant and help you have a safe and easy delivery (安産). You are supposed to begin wearing it on the Day of the Dog in your fifth month. Why the Day of the Dog you ask? Because dogs have many babies safely and easily and you can get a little bit of the dog's good luck by begining to wear the belt on their day.

Nakayama-dera is famous for its pregnancy belts, so there were a whole lot of pregnant ladies there, as well as many couples with tiny babies coming for their "thank you" visits after having a safe delivery.
Here are some photos:


This is Me and Shochan with our freshly purchases belt (it's hard to see because of the light, but the white thing I'm holding is an envelope with the belt, a lucky charm, a thank-you candle and some other things.


This is me with Sho-chan's mother. She is a very sweet lady and a good mother-in-law (and only about 4'11")


After we got the belt, we had lunch together at the noodle-shop in the temple. In the shop there was a pigeon that had somehow wandered inside.

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