Week 36: preparations

If one has not been around babies much (which is to say, if one has not been in a caretaking role), one really has no idea just what exactly a baby needs. I don't mean that in the way of "Holy crap, this baby needs so much stuff!" so much as I mean "Holy crap, this baby needs stuff and I don't know where to start." Fortunately, plenty of people are willing to offer up handy-dandy lists of the absolute essentials, though upon reading these lists, one might well start exclaiming about the amount of stuff required. Which will lead one onward to lists that insist don't really need all that much and frugality is possible. And these lists will bring about the realization that this is starting to get out of control.

In short, the past couple weeks have been seeing a lot of Geordie's hard-earned money go towards baby things. Of course, the bigger items were bigger purchases - the crib, the changing table, and the mattress/bedding set - and we managed to get them for fair prices. The only thing I felt was really over-priced was the mattress/bedding set, mostly because it includes a pillow, comforter, and coverlet, none of which we'll need for several months. We will use them eventually, so it all evens out in the end. Plus, I actually liked the design on this set.

A nice, simple, brightly colored (but not too garish) geometric pattern. Just what I wanted! I tend to shy away from cutesy animal patterns, no matter what the color scheme is. I don't even much like inanimate objects (like planes and trains for boys, or bows and hearts for girls). Simple geometrics attract my eye, so that's what we've been buying. When Lucky's old enough to pick out her own bedding, she can have what she wants. Until then, I'm buying stuff I can stand to look at. Same thing goes for the color scheme.

The finished product! It wasn't my first choice, but it looks nice enough, and I like the storage space underneath. None of the furniture matches, unfortunately, but it's not like we can decorate properly anyway. The walls are concrete, so we can't hang anything, and we used cream-colored curtains that I'd had in the Moriya apartment. But it's a room, and it's comfy, and that's what's important!

We ended up getting the crib from Babies R' Us, but the changing table is from IKEA. I read a lot of pros and cons about having a changing table, and I decided that this was one of our essentials. Also, from what I read, a lot of people chose to forgo changing tables because it was more convenient to change diapers in whatever room of the house they were in, either on a couch, a bed, or the floor. Well, we don't have a couch, there's no way I'm changing poopy diapers on my bed, and I'll skip the floor because I like being able to use my back. Also, it takes about 10 seconds to get from one end of the apartment to another, so it's not like I'm going out of my way to get to it. Also, it doubles as a dresser. The closets are stuffed full of non-baby items, so we'd have no place to put baby clothes if not for this.

Speaking of baby clothes, I doubt there's a set of parents in the world that can resist doing a little bit of browsing and buying, even when other people are all to eager to purchase things for baby. In particular, a certain expecting grandmother who finds something irresistble whenever she pops into a store's baby department! Because of that, Geordie and I have been pretty discriminating in our choice of baby clothes and accessories. And given the kind of stuff we buy, the cashiers at Babies R' Us probably think we're having a boy.

For example, the socks we picked out:

Geordie liked the dinosaur motif. Me, I like the middle pair in the bottom row. Stripes are awesome. Geordie also spotted this onesie and refused to consider not buying it:

Really, who could resist? This t-shirt too:

And cute goes way beyond color scheme, you know. I love this little hat and mittens combo:

I admit, I can't help but mentally giggle at the sight of those little ears. The hooded bath towels were fun to go through too, and we decided on two of them. The first was easy; we knew we were going to get it as soon as we saw it. The second one was a toss-up - it or the strawberry. A close one, but the strawberry lost out.

I seriously cannot wait to put these to use! And probably take far more photos than are required.

We also bought a few more onesies, a couple blue and a few yellow-patterned ones as well. The pinks were just too . . . pink. But, we did end up buying one pink thing, and it's one of my favorites of what we got. It is pink and has hearts and it makes me think of neapolitan ice cream:

I just hope it fits her for winter! I'm worried it might be too big - in which case, I hope it fits her for next winter!

And that's pretty much all the shopping we've done now, as far as clothes are concerned. We'll wait to see what size she is before buying more - and also to see the haul Gramma Joyce brings with her when she arrives! We've also gotten all of the other essential baby items we'll probably need - diaper bag and other various diapering supplies for the changing table, a bassinet for nights in our room for the first couple months, washclothes, and various other boring things like that.

I can hardly believe it myself, but we may be ready for Lucky's arrival! Supply-wise, that is. Mentally, it's still a bit of a free-for-all. Especially since a week has passed since I first started writing this post and we're now at WEEK 37 and Lucky could make an appearance at any time. Any day now.

I need to go organize some baby things . . .

Week 35: 6.5 lbs = big baby?

Starting this week, I'll be going to the hospital for regular check-ups every week. Judging from this week's visit, September is going to be one hell of a month.

So, every week, I have an ultrasound. That's standard policy for Japanese obstetrics. It's been nice, actually, to see Lucky's progressive growth each time, and she's usually pretty active during the scans, like she knows she's being watched. Ever since we left the Shoji Clinic, though, I've enjoyed ultrasounds a little less, because every single one has included the comment, "That's a big baby. No, really. A BIG baby."

At 28 weeks, Lucky's estimated weight was 3 pounds. At 31 weeks, it was about 4.5 pounds. Two weeks later, it was around 5.7 pounds. And now, at 35 weeks, it's 6.5 pounds. According to American averages, Lucky's in about the 70th percentile. According to Japanese standards, she's practically Godzilla. That's supposing that the ultrasounds are all correct in these estimates - because that's all they are. The doctor takes some measurements on the ultrasound, and the machine spits out an estimate based on that. Ultrasounds have been known to be up to a pound off, in either direction. Which, hey, means there could be a chance that Lucky really is Godzilla-sized!

The doctor at this week's visit immediately asked about glucose testing. Now, I understand the concern about Gestational Diabetes. I do, really. I just don't think it's the issue here. There's been no sugar in my urine. My two prior glucose tests came back with healthy levels. Lucky's growth has been a fairly steady (and normal) half a pound per week. I'm no doctor, but that doesn't seem particularly disastrous to me. Everything about Lucky looks fine - placenta is healthy, amniotic fluid is at a good level, heartbeat is strong, and my cervix shows no signs of premature labor.

So what's the issue? Standarization is the issue. Japanese babies generally don't weigh more than 7 pounds at birth - 6 lbs 10 oz is the national average compared to America's average of about 8 pounds at birth. (note: if Lucky continues with the pound per fortnight growth, she'll weigh only slightly more than the American average) It could be argued that this is a natural occurence amongst the Japanese; it could also be argued that it's a result of Japanese doctors telling their pregnant patients to not gain any weight during pregnancy. A simple search online will produce a number of research papers and articles regarding a rising rate of low birthweight infants in Japan, starting in the 1980's. The conclusion for most of these papers/articles is that the cause is the mother's weight before and during pregnancy.

I'm not going to lay judgment on that. I'm nobody's doctor, and I'm not going to tell anyone how to handle their pregnancy. But I don't like being judged to a standard that has nothing to do with me and doesn't fit me anyway. And I don't appreciate the suggestion that Lucky is "big" because my body is doing something wrong when - up to this point - there has been no such indication. GD is usually diagnosed halfway through pregnancy; my glucose test at 26 weeks came back negative. I'd be much happier if the doctors just admitted that the thought of delivering a larger baby than they're used to makes them nervous. Fine, I accept that. Don't go blaming my body for it.

As for my weight, I've been happy with it, for the most part. I've gained about 14 pounds with this pregnancy, which is about as much as I'd like to gain. I was told by the Shoji Clinic to try not to gain any weight, but they never berated me for my weight gain. I've actually only gained about 4 pounds since week 20, so I doubt very much that it's contributed to Lucky's size. I think both she and I are developing at a good, natural rate.

But, as I said, I'm no doctor, and maybe I'm wrong about the GD. Better to be safe than sorry, yes? I'll have another glucose test next week to make sure, and we'll determine where to go from there. I am, however, becoming less convinced that the doctors are going to let me go to term. I wouldn't be too surprised if Lucky makes her appearance in September rather than October. We'll just have to wait and see.


And because I mentioned actual research done into this topic, here are a few links. There's much more out there, but these were the ones I found the most interesting.

• parenting blog about an article about pregnant Japanese women and dieting
• the article that blog refers to
• a research paper on low birthweight among Japanese infants
• an excellent blog about a mixed-race couple and their birthing experience in Japan