Category: Our Child
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What’s in a Name?
Quite a few people have asked me where Mayuki’s name came from, and Japanese names work a bit differently from Western ones, so I think it might be worth explaining here. Japanese law only allows people to have two names, a given name and a family name. The family name is determined by the name…
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The Happy Event
Last night, our daughter was born. Mayuki (Ma-yu-ki) was about 2800 grammes, and mother and baby are doing well. Yesterday morning, Yuriko’s waters broke. We weren’t sure that that was what it was, because the amount of liquid was fairly small, but after checking the leaflet from the clinic, we decided that it would be…
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A Parents’ and Teachers’ Guide to Bilingualism
I’ve been reading a lot of books about bilingual education, and this is the latest. Actually, I’ve read three, and the other two are both recommended in the back of this one, which is quite encouraging. They all have distinctly different approaches, but they also all agree on two points. First, raising your child bilingual…
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Clinically Speaking
Another clinic visit, another chance to spend twenty minutes listening to Yudetamago’s heartbeat (which is fun, especially as she was being lively and moving round), and more blurry ultrasound pictures which we are assured are a face. But no sign that she’s getting ready to be born yet. I think she might need a bit…
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Once More Unto the Clinic, My Friends
We had another obstetrician’s appointment this morning, so we walked over, because Yuriko needs the exercise. One of things she was told during the appointment was that she needed even more exercise, so I will have to encourage her more strongly to get out and walk over the next few weeks. On the whole, things…
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Caring for Your Baby and Young Child
Or, as I like to think of it, “Paranoid Parents’ Problem Primer”. Seven hundred pages of things that could go horribly wrong with your child. OK, it’s not quite as bad as that. The first chapters are all about normal development, and thus much less paranoia-inducing. They do talk about the things that can go…
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Back to the Clinic
We were at the clinic again today, for the “Final Period Check-up”, so we must be entering the final stretch. This involved a blood test, to make sure that Yuriko isn’t anaemic, and the non-stress test. The non-stress test involves recording the pressure in the womb and the baby’s heartbeat for twenty minutes, to make…
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Catching Up
I’ve let the blog slip a bit this week (book reports get written in advance, in case you hadn’t guessed), but today I have a bit of space, so this entry will be a quick overview of what we’ve been up to. On Monday, we had another appointment at the clinic, and got to see…
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Ante-Natal Class
Yesterday we had another antenatal class, this one at the clinic where Yuriko will be giving birth. As a result, it had a very different focus from the ones provided by the city. It had almost nothing to say about post-birth child rearing, focusing on the final stages of pregnancy and the birth itself. I…
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Ultrasound Pictures
We had another trip to the obstetrician today. Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any serious problems. Yuriko just has to get more exercise, and walk quickly. So I should probably go walking with her. This, of course, is to build up her endurance ready for giving birth. The doctor would like her to walk…