‘Tis the third day yet her BCG twice-stamped skin is still swollen. 🙁 The mark of 18 (!!) needles. 🙁 All other vaccinations were on her thighs and only single needle at that save for BCG that has to be on the left arm and stamped. Supposedly this is to avoid keloid formation/scarring of the injection site. Hopefully it really doesn’t leave her a lifetime mark like the ones I and my brothers have.
This by the way is the stamp. From Wikipedia.
Early yesterday morning (the earliest appointment Yui and I had together so far at 8:45), the whole family went to the children’s health clinic floor in the Ward office (Japan equivalent of the city hall) for the required 4~5 months checkup.
We actually also have the required (and free!) regular well baby checkups – first week, one month, 3 to 4 months, 6 to 7 months, 9 to 10 months, 1 year old, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 years old – which can be done in private hospitals and clinics. These, on top of course of the vaccination schedules which of course doesn’t necessarily coincide with the scheduled checkups.
But the government’s health department also required regular checkups on top of the ones above that will be done by the government health personnel. Guess this is the government’s way of ensuring that their baby citizens are taken cared of well. Quite impressive isn’t it?
We actually thought we’d be the only ones there, similar to the personal visit we had from the ward office midwife when Yui was just five weeks old. Hence we were surprised to see a lot of babies with their families. Turned out they’ve called all the 4~5 month old babies in the area for the required checkup and organised a checkup system that’s quite reminiscent of company checkups.
The group is only supposed to be for 4~5 month old babies and only in our area at that. And yet there was quite a number of babies. Far cry from my first assignment here in Japan some ten years ago when I haven’t seen a single pregnant woman.
When we came to the room to have Yui’s statistics measured, I hesitated a bit when I put down Yui on one of the cots. She was still sleeping and I was wary that she’d cry a lot (like most of the babies there!) when I had to strip off her clothes since I’d be waking her up and the room is a bit cold (I was wearing a coat yet I was just comfortable with the temperature). But when she woke up, the first thing she saw were the drawings of Pooh Bear and Doraemon and Hello Kitty and a smile spread and stayed on her face even when I was taking off her clothes. After the body measurements, we had to wait a bit for our turn for one of the doctors to check on Yui and so to keep Yui warm (yes she still has no clothes on!) I put her again in her oversized bunting.
Her oversized bunting (oversized so that she can hopefully wear it again next winter. But since she’s already 65cm at barely 5 months when supposedly 60cm clothes are up to 6month old babies, I’m not sure if this will still fit her next winter).
Anyway I digress. While we waited, Yui just calmly looked at all the screaming and wailing babies and looked curiously at the wall drawings as well; making me decide that it’s high time to put up drawings by yui’s crib as well. Meanwhile, we are thankful the check with the doctor went smoothly and Atsushi and I were again very proud to see Yui propping up herself strongly when the doctor had her on her tummy.
We also had lectures on how to take care of our older baby, first solids (recommended at five months) and teething basics & care.
After the checkup we went to a mall to look for posters that I can stick on the wall by Yui’s crib. But we had difficulty looking for hello kitty posters nor pooh bear posters. So we decided to buy this one instead and have the colouring time as bonding time as well, yet another opportunity to tell Yui a story.
I would have to delegate the drawing from scratch to Atsushi. 😀 😀
Yui had her first vaccination today (or rather, yesterday since it’s 2am now). With some hoped-for travels in the near future in mind, we decided to have our daughter be vaccinated per both US and Japanese standards. Below is the list of recommended vaccines by CDC US and the timing with which they need to be administered.
Japan and US are same except that BCG is required in Japan and that RV, HepA and B and Varicella are not required. Since said four vaccines are not required here, they are not given for free, but for a fee.
RV (which would protect Yui against rotavirus) costs a whopping 13,000yen per shot whilst HepB (yep this is against Hepa B) costs 5,500yen per shot. Both vaccines needs to be administered three times. Ouch yes. But it’s for Yui’s sake so we have to go for it.
With advise from the doctor and with consideration on the Japanese recommended timing of immunizations, we decided to have her DPT (against Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus), Polio (speaks for itself) and BCG (against Tuberculosis) vaccinations on her third month, all free.
So thankfully yesterday afternoon, Yui only had to endure three injections since RV is taken orally (whew!) – PCV (against pneumococcal bacteria that causes pneumonia, meningitis), Hib (against haemophilus influenzae type b which causes meningitis) and HepB.
Yui looked so ready for her vaccine shots.
But oh how she screamed in pain. 🙁
Her band-aids are so cute though!!
Us adults also had our influenza vaccine but our band-aid is the usual boring one. I want a Hello Kitty one too! 😀 And I’ve a mind to copy my daughter with the screaming – my vaccine hurt too! Hehe.
Thankfully Yui didn’t fuss much after her immunization. She just slept to pass off the pain.
Her pedia’s clinic is near Motomachi hence Mayumi and I dropped by to look for fleece/down jacket for Yui which her Dad had asked me to buy for her to use at home. The traditional Gap jacket solved the jacket hunt.
Shopped some other clothes and a pair of boots (for Yui) besides. But this is my favorite purchase in this afternoon’s shopping. Our little miss would look so fashionable (and warm) in this cute poncho.
If Yui is a bit older, this can actually be considered as her reward for the afternoon’s pain. 🙂
on jaundice / yellow skin
I wasn’t able to hold my baby in my arms yesterday. And for the whole day, I just contented myself with looking at her few pictures, wondering, worrying if she’s ok.
About mid morning yesterday, the hospital’s paediatrician dropped by my room and informed me Yui have yellow skin/jaundice and that her bilirubin is high. So they will subject her to photo treatment wherein she will be subjected to UV rays the whole day. I haven’t read about what jaundice on newborns mean so I asked the doctor if it’s detrimental to her health. He assured me it’s usually treated. But I lingered on the “usually”. He said he’ll tell me the results by the morrow.
I searched the Internet and the references I got were pretty worrisome. That if left unmitigated, it could lead to cerebral palsy or brain damage. Hubs and Okasan assured me however this is pretty normal. That hubs had it as well when he was a newborn and was himself subjected to the same UV rays (like father like daughter huh hehe). And the book I have here with me, Stoppard’s The New Baby Care Book, also affirms that physiological jaundice/yellow skin is pretty normal for newborns, is not a disease and usually occurs around the baby’s 3rd day of life, disappearing around the first week of life.
(segue: for my hospital stint, I brought two books – Book 3 Part 2 of the Song of Ice and Fire series and this baby care book. During labor, I tried to distract myself with the fantasy series but addicted as I am with the book, it wasn’t enough to distract me from the pain. When I woke up after a long sleep after the operation, I saw the baby care book on my bedside table, placed by my husband for my easy access. I took the hint. 😀 )
The yellow colour is actually brought about by the presence of bilirubin, the yellow pigment part of the broken-down-primitive-red-blood cells.
Per some references I read however, if the bilirubin is quite high, even when it’s really just physiological jaundice, it is normal practice to treat it, one treatment of which is subjecting baby to UV rays (if in the hospital) or sunlight (if at home).
We saw her in the nursery in the evening and my heart constricted seeing her alone on a special case, eyes covered for protection against the UV.
The worrywart in me prevailed however and hence was only able to sleep for less than two hours. Come morning when one of my OB visited me, I asked about my baby who has been photo treated and if there has been any word. Like the others, he assured me as well that it’s nothing to worry about and that it’s usual phenomena specially for Asians.
True enough, come 11am, my baby was brought to me! Cleared and sunburned. For three days I’ve been trying to lie on my side but couldn’t do it because my stitch is still painful. Even 30min before Yui was laid beside me, I still can’t do it. But when my baby was already placed beside me, without even realising it, I was already lying on my side cooing to Yui. The things babies can make you do. 🙂
I sang her some songs which eventually made her drift to sleep. Curiously, she fell asleep around the time I was singing the song that Mama used to sing to my brothers to make them sleep and which i sang to my brothers as well when it was my turn to lull them to sleep. When I realised what I was doing, well, suffice it to say that there was watering somewhere in the face and a voice cracking.
Precious moments.
on milestones
Finally after four days, my shadow, the IV drip stand is finally gone! Hand is swollen though from all the different drip medicines I’ve been having. Yes that’s not a leg. That’s an arm in each photo.
The IV was finally removed after having had cleared all the necessary tests for one who underwent a CS operation (email me for questions hehe). And with the IV drip shadow gone, I’m now allowed to breastfeed Yui. Alas, I’m not quite successful with it yet. Will try again at 9pm and at 12mn.
When we got back to my room, the dinner that awaited me took us all by surprise.
The one with the roofed sea bream fish and sticky rice is a congratulatory for me for having had cleared all the milestones for my cesarian operation (pain, tests, medicine, food, and loo tests besides). Of course I ate with gusto. The fish is SO good! Hubs reminisced how after the operation I had to start from liquid food then semi liquid food then almost normal food and then a feast. Yey!
I’m one day ahead of sched. Supposedly I’d only be breastfeeding tomorrow. I wonder if they’d discharge me earlier than planned which is on the 26th yet. Let’s see.
We usually order my pre-natal vitamins online as we find it cheaper. One bottle only costs us less than 50% of how it costs in Akachan Honpo or Babys R Us. (A bottle costs around 2500yen in the mall whereas online, we just had it at 1001yen.)
The thing is though, like all of the other Amazon deliveries we’ve had, the size of the box doesn’t seem to be proportional in size to that of the delivered item. Look!
Even though I’m only the recipient, it makes me feel guilty to receive such a big box for a purchase that’s quite small. Comparing with the deliveries we’ve had with Rakuten, Rakuten packaging seems more proportional.
And mind you, the disproportional size is consistent whether we order from Amazon US or Japan.
This is a simple call to Amazon to be please more responsible with their carbon footprint and be a bit more earth-friendly.
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This by the way is the prenatal vitamins I’m taking; two tablets a day which gives me 400mcg of folic acid, 155mg calcium, B vitamins, iron and vitamin D. Am taking separate calcium supplement though since it’s not everyday that I take my milk and even when I have one, it’s still below the RDA for pregnant women.
Baked onion! I’m DEFINITELY not an onion fan. Expect that onions would be one that’s left uneaten on my plate. But not this one. The inside is so soft and sooo sweet like a fruit. And no odour AT ALL.
It’s healthy to boot!