My little girl turned three this month (goodbye terrible twos, hello terrible threes!) and that meant that it was time for another trip to the local health office for a well-child visit. Here in Nagoya, as far as I can tell, it is required to bring your child to the municipal health office for their 3 month, 18 month, and 3 year well-child appointments.
It's generally expected for all people in Japan, children and adults, to get a health check done once a year. My husband had one done recently at his office (most offices and schools hold mandatory health checks once a year for their employees or students). His blood pressure was high and so he was required to take a couple hours off to go to a meeting about how to manage one's blood pressure through a healthy diet and exercise. I've been asked by friends if I've had MY yearly health check done yet (I haven't), but I just tell them I'm not accustomed to going to the doctor unless I'm sick. In America it's just too expensive to visit the doctor unless you have a problem or are at risk for something :P.
Anywho, so I put Taran in his trusty baby carrier, buckled Clara into her bike seat, and off we went. It went fairly smoothly, even though it was 1 pm in the afternoon (Clara's nap time). We biked to the North Ward Office (Basically the branch of City Hall that serves North Nagoya) and took the elevator up to the Public Health Office. The office was full of feisty three year olds and their moms, a couple dads were there too, and since it was, as I said, prime nap time, not all the children were happy to be there. We got a number, and then I handed over the paperwork I had received in the mail a couple weeks ago. It was all in Japanese, but I got the gist of it, and was able to fill out the health surveys with only a little help from my husband (he's way better at Japanese than me, but I'm getting better :P). I then got a cup for Clara to pee in. I was surprised that they expected three year olds to pee in a cup, and was even more surprised at the number of moms who came out of the bathroom with those little cups full. As for me, I couldn't even get Clara into the bathroom stall, let alone get her to pee in that cup... But the staff said it was okay if I couldn't get a sample. They said if I wanted a sample done (I don't), I could get her to pee in a cup at home and bring it in at a later date (no thanks..). Once that was done we waited for our turn in the waiting area. It was a pretty big room so Clara was able to run around a bit with the other kids, so waiting wasn't so bad.
First up was the dentist. Clara screamed while he looked in her mouth, but he said that her teeth looked fine and she was free (I was a little worried about her teeth because even though she brushes everyday she doesn't let me help her, but it turns out they were ok, phew!). I had the option of getting a flouride treatment done but I had forgotten to bring the payment with me (it was about 800 yen), so we had to skip it for now (I can always take her in at a later date for that if I want). Up next was the developmental specialist. She showed Clara some books and pictures, asked for her name (which she did in English when I told her we only speak English at home), to which Clara replied, "No!" (typical three year old...) and then asked her age, also met with an emphatic "No!". The specialist just chuckled and when I said it was her nap time she said she understood, and asked if she knows her name and age and can say it at home (she can). She said everything seemed fine and we were off again, this time to the examination room. They asked me to strip her down to her underwear, which made Clara think it was bath time (unfortunately, no...) and once she saw the doctor she recognized that he was a doctor and started bawling. He checked her heart, looked in her mouth while she screamed, and then said she looked fine and told her bye bye. Once she heard bye bye she knew it was over and happily said bye bye through her little tears, and then we were off to our final destination, the nutritionist. By the way, all of these professionals were in the same area, but in separate rooms. The nutritionist asked me if she regularly gets protein and calcium in her diet (she does) and noted that I had written on her survey her reluctance to eat vegetables. She said that it was normal at that age for kids to be a bit picky but encouraged me to try harder to incorporate veggies into her food. Nothing like a health check to make one feel like a bad parent, eh?
After all was said and done I took Clara for an ice cream cone which she happily and sleepily ate (she seriously almost nodded off mid lick. It was funny to watch).
So that's what a health check is like for a three year old. Clara did well, I thought, aside from a couple short screaming episodes, but they were over quickly, and the staff seemed pretty used to it.
Clara is getting to be such a big girl now, and next month she's starting preschool! I'm going to write about that in my next post. Until then!
Saturday, August 27, 2016
Tuesday, April 12, 2016
Visit to the US Consulate in Osaka and more
Sorry for the long wait (Again). I can't believe Taran is over four months old now. He's a big, healthy boy, and he loves to smile and roll over. His big sister Clara is a sweetheart who loves to give him hugs and kisses (though mommy often has to remind her to be more gentle since her hugs can be a bit, well, enthusiastic).
When Taran was about two months old we decided to make an appointment at the consulate to apply for his passport, report of birth abroad, and social security number. The consulate website was very organized and told us basically everything we needed to know and had all the links to the applications on one page for easy access. We printed and filled out the three applications, and then checked the list of necessary ID's, documents, etc. that we needed to bring. We brought our passports, the three applications (passport, report of birth, social security number) with copies of each, a certified copy of our marriage certificate that we had brought with us from the US, along with a copy (if you're not married but want dad's name on the birth certificate the consulate asks you to bring some kind of proof of relationship, like emails or something), a certified copy of the birth certificate (which Braden requested from the local ward office, I think it cost him a couple hundred yen), and a translation of the birth certificate. The consulate website had a simple English template you could fill out with information from the birth certificate. It didn't need to be done professionally and didn't require much Japanese skill at all, since it basically required information you would already know, like the birth date, time, place, parent's names, etc. The website also said to bring a large envelope (the specific type and dimensions are on the site) which we actually forgot. The staff at the consulate seemed used to that oversight though, because they just asked Braden to go to a convenience store next door to buy it and come back. Security seemed used to it to. Braden said that when he approached security to leave the building they were like, "Going to buy an envelope?" They let Braden leave and come back in without waiting in line and we got the envelope to the secretary without much trouble.
But let me back up a little. So our appointment was in the morning, and I was reluctant to wake up super early to catch the shinkansen (Both Clara and I are not morning people) so I booked a hotel near the consulate for the night before. So the day before the appointment we took the shinkansen to Osaka and checked into our hotel. (We live in Nagoya, and although there is a US consulate here, it is very small and no longer provides citizenship services. Darn it all.) The next morning we checked out and walked about ten minutes to the consulate. We waited in a short line in front of the building and had our ID's checked and left our water bottles in a little bin they had by the door (apparently the same no liquid rule when going through airport security applies to the consulate as well). After that we entered the building and had our bags and electronics checked (including cell phones) and walked through a metal detector. Then we showed our IDs again and got badges and were directed to take the elevator up a few flights.
We got off the elevator and entered a small office area with a counter and customer windows. There was a big sign directing people to window three but there was no one on the other side. We waited a few minutes before we started noticing people getting helped a few windows down so we got in line behind them and asked if we were in the right window. We were. (They really should've covered up the other sign. It was a tad confusing.) The secretary was Japanese (actually all the staff and security up to this point seemed Japanese. The security guards didn't speak English very well. The secretary did well enough, though it was a bit hard to understand her through the glass...). She asked for our paperwork and we handed it all over. There was one part of the application of report of birth abroad that we had not filled out completely (it wanted to know all the states we had ever lived in and what months, but I honestly couldn't remember what months I had moved in or out in some instances). The secretary said we had to put something there, so I made as good a guess as I could and finished the application. There was also a section that asked about previous marriages and included a field that said: "If you have never been married, write 'none'", or something to that affect. Well, seeing as how I am currently married (and thus I can't really say I've never been married) I decided that 'no' wasn't the right answer and left that field blank, but then the secretary said that it was referring to marriages before my current one, and told me to write 'none'. A little confusing, but oh well. Then she asked for our envelope, which we had forgotten, but like I wrote above, that was resolved quickly. Lastly, we had to pay. At first I was worried that they wouldn't accept a credit card and I had forgotten to bring cash with us, but as it turned out credit cards were okay. There was a list of prices on the wall, and online too, I think, and at first we thought it would amount to almost $300 for everything (the social security application is free, but the sign said that a report of birth was about $200 and it was another $100 or so for passport) but in the end we were only charged about $200. Maybe they waive the passport fee if you're also getting a report of birth? I actually don't know. I should've asked.
So after that we had to wait. Clara, unfortunately, had a cold. She had a bad runny nose, a slight fever, and was REALLY cranky. We tried as hard as we could to comfort her and entertain her but it was really hard. There was even a bin of toys in the room but Clara didn't want to play with them since there were a couple other kids playing with them and she was feeling shy. After about a half hour of waiting (which feels a lot longer when you've got a cranky toddler. Taran, thankfully, was asleep in his baby carrier) we were called over to another window where an American asked us to raise our right hand and we swore that everything we had written was true (Okay, so technically I guessed on some of the months we moved from one state to another when I was younger, but don't tell on me, k? Haha). The woman who witnessed our oath then checked our papers one last time, looked at Taran to make sure he wasn't a doll and we weren't trying to create a false identity for some future mischief, (At least I think that's what she was doing when she looked at him XD), then she said everything looked good and we should receive Taran's documents in the mail in a few weeks.
By the time we were leaving Clara was crying in earnest and I really wanted to get out of there. As we were getting into the elevator another mom in the office who was getting her kids' passports renewed stopped me and told us that we were doing a great job and that it gets easier. I thought it was a really nice gesture on her part and it really cheered me up after a stressful morning.
So we left the embassy and were getting ready to go to the station to take the shinkansen home when a fellow American walks out, complaining and cursing about his difficulties in renewing something or other, and then he gestured at the long line of Japanese people waiting to get into the consulate to apply for visas and loudly told us that he hoped America would stop letting f***ing immigrants in. I almost pointed out to him that the five of us standing there (the four in my family and him) were currently immigrants in another country, but decided it wasn't worth it. He walked with us a ways to the station, complaining all the while, before finally bidding us farewell to stop at a convenience store. I wasn't sad to see him go. I, for one, think it's great to live in a world where people are able to travel and visit, or even live, in other countries relatively easily (compared to, you know, the days when going to another country meant risking your life on the open seas and probably never seeing your homeland again). I really love Japan, and I love my home country too, and the people that are in both places. It seems like a lot of people these days have a very 'us vs them' attitude when it comes to immigration, and while I do consider myself an American, I consider myself a human being first and foremost. Anywho, sorry for the short political blurb...
We got all of Taran's documents, as promised, with the passport and report of birth coming first and the Social Security card coming a little later. The report of birth form sure is fancy, I gotta say. They reaaally don't wanna make it easy to forge one of those things. Just looking at it is like looking at one of those "Magic Eye" stereogram images that look 3-D if you stare at them long enough.
Well, I'm gonna finish this up for now, since Clara just woke up from her nap. I only have free time on those lucky days when she and Taran nap at the same time, but most of the time I end up taking a nap too! Oh well :P.
When Taran was about two months old we decided to make an appointment at the consulate to apply for his passport, report of birth abroad, and social security number. The consulate website was very organized and told us basically everything we needed to know and had all the links to the applications on one page for easy access. We printed and filled out the three applications, and then checked the list of necessary ID's, documents, etc. that we needed to bring. We brought our passports, the three applications (passport, report of birth, social security number) with copies of each, a certified copy of our marriage certificate that we had brought with us from the US, along with a copy (if you're not married but want dad's name on the birth certificate the consulate asks you to bring some kind of proof of relationship, like emails or something), a certified copy of the birth certificate (which Braden requested from the local ward office, I think it cost him a couple hundred yen), and a translation of the birth certificate. The consulate website had a simple English template you could fill out with information from the birth certificate. It didn't need to be done professionally and didn't require much Japanese skill at all, since it basically required information you would already know, like the birth date, time, place, parent's names, etc. The website also said to bring a large envelope (the specific type and dimensions are on the site) which we actually forgot. The staff at the consulate seemed used to that oversight though, because they just asked Braden to go to a convenience store next door to buy it and come back. Security seemed used to it to. Braden said that when he approached security to leave the building they were like, "Going to buy an envelope?" They let Braden leave and come back in without waiting in line and we got the envelope to the secretary without much trouble.
But let me back up a little. So our appointment was in the morning, and I was reluctant to wake up super early to catch the shinkansen (Both Clara and I are not morning people) so I booked a hotel near the consulate for the night before. So the day before the appointment we took the shinkansen to Osaka and checked into our hotel. (We live in Nagoya, and although there is a US consulate here, it is very small and no longer provides citizenship services. Darn it all.) The next morning we checked out and walked about ten minutes to the consulate. We waited in a short line in front of the building and had our ID's checked and left our water bottles in a little bin they had by the door (apparently the same no liquid rule when going through airport security applies to the consulate as well). After that we entered the building and had our bags and electronics checked (including cell phones) and walked through a metal detector. Then we showed our IDs again and got badges and were directed to take the elevator up a few flights.
We got off the elevator and entered a small office area with a counter and customer windows. There was a big sign directing people to window three but there was no one on the other side. We waited a few minutes before we started noticing people getting helped a few windows down so we got in line behind them and asked if we were in the right window. We were. (They really should've covered up the other sign. It was a tad confusing.) The secretary was Japanese (actually all the staff and security up to this point seemed Japanese. The security guards didn't speak English very well. The secretary did well enough, though it was a bit hard to understand her through the glass...). She asked for our paperwork and we handed it all over. There was one part of the application of report of birth abroad that we had not filled out completely (it wanted to know all the states we had ever lived in and what months, but I honestly couldn't remember what months I had moved in or out in some instances). The secretary said we had to put something there, so I made as good a guess as I could and finished the application. There was also a section that asked about previous marriages and included a field that said: "If you have never been married, write 'none'", or something to that affect. Well, seeing as how I am currently married (and thus I can't really say I've never been married) I decided that 'no' wasn't the right answer and left that field blank, but then the secretary said that it was referring to marriages before my current one, and told me to write 'none'. A little confusing, but oh well. Then she asked for our envelope, which we had forgotten, but like I wrote above, that was resolved quickly. Lastly, we had to pay. At first I was worried that they wouldn't accept a credit card and I had forgotten to bring cash with us, but as it turned out credit cards were okay. There was a list of prices on the wall, and online too, I think, and at first we thought it would amount to almost $300 for everything (the social security application is free, but the sign said that a report of birth was about $200 and it was another $100 or so for passport) but in the end we were only charged about $200. Maybe they waive the passport fee if you're also getting a report of birth? I actually don't know. I should've asked.
So after that we had to wait. Clara, unfortunately, had a cold. She had a bad runny nose, a slight fever, and was REALLY cranky. We tried as hard as we could to comfort her and entertain her but it was really hard. There was even a bin of toys in the room but Clara didn't want to play with them since there were a couple other kids playing with them and she was feeling shy. After about a half hour of waiting (which feels a lot longer when you've got a cranky toddler. Taran, thankfully, was asleep in his baby carrier) we were called over to another window where an American asked us to raise our right hand and we swore that everything we had written was true (Okay, so technically I guessed on some of the months we moved from one state to another when I was younger, but don't tell on me, k? Haha). The woman who witnessed our oath then checked our papers one last time, looked at Taran to make sure he wasn't a doll and we weren't trying to create a false identity for some future mischief, (At least I think that's what she was doing when she looked at him XD), then she said everything looked good and we should receive Taran's documents in the mail in a few weeks.
By the time we were leaving Clara was crying in earnest and I really wanted to get out of there. As we were getting into the elevator another mom in the office who was getting her kids' passports renewed stopped me and told us that we were doing a great job and that it gets easier. I thought it was a really nice gesture on her part and it really cheered me up after a stressful morning.
So we left the embassy and were getting ready to go to the station to take the shinkansen home when a fellow American walks out, complaining and cursing about his difficulties in renewing something or other, and then he gestured at the long line of Japanese people waiting to get into the consulate to apply for visas and loudly told us that he hoped America would stop letting f***ing immigrants in. I almost pointed out to him that the five of us standing there (the four in my family and him) were currently immigrants in another country, but decided it wasn't worth it. He walked with us a ways to the station, complaining all the while, before finally bidding us farewell to stop at a convenience store. I wasn't sad to see him go. I, for one, think it's great to live in a world where people are able to travel and visit, or even live, in other countries relatively easily (compared to, you know, the days when going to another country meant risking your life on the open seas and probably never seeing your homeland again). I really love Japan, and I love my home country too, and the people that are in both places. It seems like a lot of people these days have a very 'us vs them' attitude when it comes to immigration, and while I do consider myself an American, I consider myself a human being first and foremost. Anywho, sorry for the short political blurb...
We got all of Taran's documents, as promised, with the passport and report of birth coming first and the Social Security card coming a little later. The report of birth form sure is fancy, I gotta say. They reaaally don't wanna make it easy to forge one of those things. Just looking at it is like looking at one of those "Magic Eye" stereogram images that look 3-D if you stare at them long enough.
Well, I'm gonna finish this up for now, since Clara just woke up from her nap. I only have free time on those lucky days when she and Taran nap at the same time, but most of the time I end up taking a nap too! Oh well :P.
Thursday, January 14, 2016
Postnatal care and 1 month baby check up in Japan
Hello all! Sorry for the long absence from the blog. Having a newborn and a toddler is busy work. Thankfully I have a very supportive husband who is a really good daddy. Clara loves it when her daddy comes home from work and gives her piggyback rides around the house and reads to her while mommy feeds the baby. I know a lot of Japanese moms whose husbands work until very late almost every day and they only get to play with their kids on weekends or holidays, and I'm really glad that Braden gets off work relatively early every day and can help me out at home.
So little Taran is almost two months old now! He had his one month appointment at Kaseki hospital (the same one I gave birth in) the day after Christmas. But before I talk about the actual appointment I want to talk a little bit about how that first month went.
The day I was released from the hospital Braden went to the local Ward office (Nagoya is a big city, so it is split up into "wards" and each ward has its own ward office. It's basically city hall for that part of the city). At the ward office Braden turned in the baby's birth form from the hospital and registered the baby as a resident of the city of Nagoya. He also applied for more child allowance from the government and enrolled the baby in the national health insurance program (Basic health care for children in Japan is free. The national health insurance pays 75% of health cost for all individuals, and then children get a special card that entitles them to coverage for the other 25%). Someone at our church had also given us a brochure from the city of Nagoya about a program for new moms that lets you hire a housekeeper from the city to help you with chores for up to 80 hours worth of work, which can be used until the baby is 6 months old. Braden inquired about the service while at the ward office, and they told him that he should have applied two weeks in advance (the English brochure had not mentioned this) and that they would not be able to send any helpers for a couple of weeks. Braden then explained that in two weeks his mother was coming and I wouldn't need helpers then, I needed help NOW, since I was still in pain from the surgery and had no one at home to help me (not for two more weeks anyway). They told Braden they would see what they could do, and, bless their hearts, they pulled some strings and got someone to come the VERY NEXT DAY. I gotta hand it to this city, they know how to treat new moms. The helpers were all very nice, though they were all older ladies who did seem to feel the need to offer me "advice" on occasion (I suppose that was to be expected...). Just little things like, "don't you have a blanket for his crib?" (which, nowadays, at least in the US, is very much discouraged, since it is said to increase the risk of accidental suffocation...), and "is bread all she's gonna eat?" (In reference to me giving Clara a peanut butter sandwich for lunch). Aside from this slight annoyance, I was very happy with my helpers, and they really were lifesavers (I say 'they' because three different ladies alternated days that they came to help. Perhaps because we requested the service last minute). Later that week Braden went to the local immigration office and applied for Taran's resident card and visa. It took several hours total to get all of Taran's paperwork done, and we have yet to do the American side of things, like getting his passport, social security card, and report of birth abroad, but all in all it went smoothly.
I breastfed Clara until she was a year old, and I knew I wanted to breastfeed Taran too, so while I was in the hospital I went to the nursing room every couple of hours to feed him. I mentioned this in my last post, but the nurses didn't wake me at night to feed him, and also fed him formula if he cried in the nursery (unless it was close to feeding time, in which case they would just call me down). As a result, my milk supply was rather low when we ended our stay at the hospital. The nurses were generally supportive of breastfeeding, and were always available in the nursing room to help the new moms, but they didn't seem too concerned with my lack of milk. This is probably because I had told them that I breastfed my daughter and so they may have guessed I could figure things out on my own, but I wonder how it would've been if I were a first time mom. I guess I'll never know. When I gave birth to Clara in the US I had also had a problem with a low milk supply (the nursery at the hospital in the US had also given Clara formula to drink) and my Dr. had recommended I use a breast pump to increase my supply and had prescribed one for me, making it free to rent for several weeks. I didn't think Kaseki hospital could rent me a pump, and I couldn't even find double electric pumps on Japan Amazon or Yahoo. There were single electric pumps, but they cost two to three times as much as a double electric pump in the US, so I didn't buy one. But I had seen small breast pumps in the local department store, so I asked Braden to get me one. At first I continued to supplement Taran's feedings with formula and I pumped between feedings to increase my supply. Then I started to cut back on Taran's formula and breastfed him more frequently. Within a couple of weeks Taran was off the formula completely. Around that time I got a call from the city saying they were going to send a midwife over for a home visit (The midwife at the hospital had mentioned this to me, I think it's standard procedure in Japan). The midwife came over, weighed Taran (his weight was great) and then let me know when his next health check would be, gave me info about immunizations, and then gave me a survey about postpartum depression. The visit was short and sweet and she said Taran looked healthy.
Now to the one month health appointment. I was also scheduled to have my post natal appointment the same day. Braden stayed on the 2nd floor with Taran and a room full of other babies and parents, and then I went to the 1st floor and had my cervix checked, got a blood draw, and then a flu shot. The Dr. said my body seemed to be healing nicely and told me I could return to my normal routine. I wasn't in too much pain anymore at this point, though I was still taking ibuprofen fairly regularly (I'm not anymore). After my visit I went upstairs, but the babies were all still waiting for the pediatrician. Taran was hungry and I asked if I could feed him, and for some odd reason the nurses told me to wait, even though it was another hour before the pediatrician finally saw him. I was really frustrated at this point, since Taran had been screaming much of the time and I didn't see any reason why I couldn't feed him. The pediatrician looked over him quickly, said he looked normal, filled out some paperwork, and by that time poor Taran had actually cried himself to sleep. I felt so bad for the poor little guy. In total we were at the hospital for three hours, much longer than I had anticipated. There were quite a few babies there getting checked, I wonder why they didn't stagger the appointments a least a little instead of having us all come in at once. It was one of the few instances where I was unhappy with the staff at Kaseki (in this case I suppose the ones in charge of scheduling should be to blame).
My awesome mother in law came to visit us over the Christmas holiday and it was a joy to have her here. Clara loved the extra attention and I had someone to help with diaper changes and dishes while I continued to recover from the c-section. We did go out with friends a couple of times, and it was the most activity I'd had since the birth, so it was a bit tiring, but still fun.
Taran will be getting his first immunizations soon, and we'll also be taking him to the American Consulate in Osaka for his American paperwork next month sometime. Braden's going to take some time off work so we can visit some friends too. I'll try to remember to take pictures!
So little Taran is almost two months old now! He had his one month appointment at Kaseki hospital (the same one I gave birth in) the day after Christmas. But before I talk about the actual appointment I want to talk a little bit about how that first month went.
The day I was released from the hospital Braden went to the local Ward office (Nagoya is a big city, so it is split up into "wards" and each ward has its own ward office. It's basically city hall for that part of the city). At the ward office Braden turned in the baby's birth form from the hospital and registered the baby as a resident of the city of Nagoya. He also applied for more child allowance from the government and enrolled the baby in the national health insurance program (Basic health care for children in Japan is free. The national health insurance pays 75% of health cost for all individuals, and then children get a special card that entitles them to coverage for the other 25%). Someone at our church had also given us a brochure from the city of Nagoya about a program for new moms that lets you hire a housekeeper from the city to help you with chores for up to 80 hours worth of work, which can be used until the baby is 6 months old. Braden inquired about the service while at the ward office, and they told him that he should have applied two weeks in advance (the English brochure had not mentioned this) and that they would not be able to send any helpers for a couple of weeks. Braden then explained that in two weeks his mother was coming and I wouldn't need helpers then, I needed help NOW, since I was still in pain from the surgery and had no one at home to help me (not for two more weeks anyway). They told Braden they would see what they could do, and, bless their hearts, they pulled some strings and got someone to come the VERY NEXT DAY. I gotta hand it to this city, they know how to treat new moms. The helpers were all very nice, though they were all older ladies who did seem to feel the need to offer me "advice" on occasion (I suppose that was to be expected...). Just little things like, "don't you have a blanket for his crib?" (which, nowadays, at least in the US, is very much discouraged, since it is said to increase the risk of accidental suffocation...), and "is bread all she's gonna eat?" (In reference to me giving Clara a peanut butter sandwich for lunch). Aside from this slight annoyance, I was very happy with my helpers, and they really were lifesavers (I say 'they' because three different ladies alternated days that they came to help. Perhaps because we requested the service last minute). Later that week Braden went to the local immigration office and applied for Taran's resident card and visa. It took several hours total to get all of Taran's paperwork done, and we have yet to do the American side of things, like getting his passport, social security card, and report of birth abroad, but all in all it went smoothly.
I breastfed Clara until she was a year old, and I knew I wanted to breastfeed Taran too, so while I was in the hospital I went to the nursing room every couple of hours to feed him. I mentioned this in my last post, but the nurses didn't wake me at night to feed him, and also fed him formula if he cried in the nursery (unless it was close to feeding time, in which case they would just call me down). As a result, my milk supply was rather low when we ended our stay at the hospital. The nurses were generally supportive of breastfeeding, and were always available in the nursing room to help the new moms, but they didn't seem too concerned with my lack of milk. This is probably because I had told them that I breastfed my daughter and so they may have guessed I could figure things out on my own, but I wonder how it would've been if I were a first time mom. I guess I'll never know. When I gave birth to Clara in the US I had also had a problem with a low milk supply (the nursery at the hospital in the US had also given Clara formula to drink) and my Dr. had recommended I use a breast pump to increase my supply and had prescribed one for me, making it free to rent for several weeks. I didn't think Kaseki hospital could rent me a pump, and I couldn't even find double electric pumps on Japan Amazon or Yahoo. There were single electric pumps, but they cost two to three times as much as a double electric pump in the US, so I didn't buy one. But I had seen small breast pumps in the local department store, so I asked Braden to get me one. At first I continued to supplement Taran's feedings with formula and I pumped between feedings to increase my supply. Then I started to cut back on Taran's formula and breastfed him more frequently. Within a couple of weeks Taran was off the formula completely. Around that time I got a call from the city saying they were going to send a midwife over for a home visit (The midwife at the hospital had mentioned this to me, I think it's standard procedure in Japan). The midwife came over, weighed Taran (his weight was great) and then let me know when his next health check would be, gave me info about immunizations, and then gave me a survey about postpartum depression. The visit was short and sweet and she said Taran looked healthy.
Now to the one month health appointment. I was also scheduled to have my post natal appointment the same day. Braden stayed on the 2nd floor with Taran and a room full of other babies and parents, and then I went to the 1st floor and had my cervix checked, got a blood draw, and then a flu shot. The Dr. said my body seemed to be healing nicely and told me I could return to my normal routine. I wasn't in too much pain anymore at this point, though I was still taking ibuprofen fairly regularly (I'm not anymore). After my visit I went upstairs, but the babies were all still waiting for the pediatrician. Taran was hungry and I asked if I could feed him, and for some odd reason the nurses told me to wait, even though it was another hour before the pediatrician finally saw him. I was really frustrated at this point, since Taran had been screaming much of the time and I didn't see any reason why I couldn't feed him. The pediatrician looked over him quickly, said he looked normal, filled out some paperwork, and by that time poor Taran had actually cried himself to sleep. I felt so bad for the poor little guy. In total we were at the hospital for three hours, much longer than I had anticipated. There were quite a few babies there getting checked, I wonder why they didn't stagger the appointments a least a little instead of having us all come in at once. It was one of the few instances where I was unhappy with the staff at Kaseki (in this case I suppose the ones in charge of scheduling should be to blame).
My awesome mother in law came to visit us over the Christmas holiday and it was a joy to have her here. Clara loved the extra attention and I had someone to help with diaper changes and dishes while I continued to recover from the c-section. We did go out with friends a couple of times, and it was the most activity I'd had since the birth, so it was a bit tiring, but still fun.
Taran will be getting his first immunizations soon, and we'll also be taking him to the American Consulate in Osaka for his American paperwork next month sometime. Braden's going to take some time off work so we can visit some friends too. I'll try to remember to take pictures!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)