A Very Ren Christmas

Christmas came and went at our house on the 27th, with everyone except my sister there, plus Hiroko's mom. Most of the gifts between adults were handed out at the Christmas celebration at my sister's, so the remaining gifts were for myself, Hiroko, and Ren. Especially Ren! There are a lot of pics in a set here, which include:

• Santa Joe handing out gifts

• Beautiful pictures of the intricate child's kimono which Yasuko brought for Ren
• I purchased a Dr. Seuss compendium for Ren, and a set of books including The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The picture set includes pictures of Yasuko and Hiroko reading the latter.

Every year we also get a set of stockings from my mom (hung by the staircase with care) and this year she included a stocking for Ren, packed with delightful baby's toys. Mr. Lion, who had already been lamenting the lack of gifts for him, immediately decided these were meant for him and has been playing with them ever since. He hasn't come to bed for the last two nights, opting to stay in the nursery crib and play with the toys in the crib, as you can see in the attached picture. I haven't the heart to tell him they're meant for Ren, so I think I'll let him keep "his" toys.

Health update: We've been on two more doctor's visits in the last two nights. Hiroko is very very ripe, and everything is proceeding well. I really think the baby's due almost immediately. In fact, last night we thought for a while Hiroko was in labor before it died down. Next time you see me, I'll probably have a kid!

Surprise Gift

Perhaps the best gifts of all are surprises. I'd just like to post a quick note that I got a hand-knitted blanket in a gift bag, with card, from my co-worker Mary Ellen. How cool is that? Attention world: Mary Ellen is a sweet lady.

Picture to follow.

Name and Nursery!!

Big news here. Ren now has a middle name! It's a tradition within the SGI to ask the current and long standing president, Daisaku Ikeda, to provide a name for your child. This we did about a month back, along with a letter. Today is an auspicious day, because we recieved a beautiful reply. It includes a letter from President Ikeda's secretary, along with a beautiful drawing of Ren's new middle name in Kanji, written and stamped by Ikeda himself (I'll post a picture later).

Ren's new middle name: Akiko. It means "cheerful" and "brightness/sunny". Think of akiko like akarui, which directly translates as bright. The first kanji is aki, made up of the symbols for "sun" and "moon", and the second ko for "girl". Hiroko says it's appropriate because it describes me, so it should apply to her.

It's an auspicious time for it to come, because it's the day before my family rolls in to celebrate the season. This is our first gift!

Also, we are done setting up the nursery. In all, we have the great crib and rocking chair from my parents, the changing table, the mobile from Hiroko's mom, and all the gifts and necessities provided from friends and family. I tried to take some pictures, but it's a relatively small room packed with stuff, so it's a bit difficult, but I think you'll be able to envision it. Check out the picture set here.

Yasuko's Arrival

I know it's been a long time since I've blogged. Sorry.

On Wednesday, Hiroko's mom, Yaasuko, arrived. She'll be with us for a month helping to raise Ren. This is great! Everything is in place now for Ren's arrival.

The last couple days have been a frenzy of activity. I would have thought after the long plane flight Yasuko would have been exhausted, but she was so excited to see us that we got started right away. We exchanged a lot of gifts, mostly for Ren. Yasuko brought a great mobile for the nursery, and some baby-sized chanting beads. In this picture, you can see that we've lined up the beads on Hiroko's belly so Ren can get to chanting right away. (They're upside-down, of course, because so is Ren). There were lots of other photos, which you can see here.

Yesterday after shopping for more baby necessities, Hiroko and Yasuko spent a great deal of time arranging the nursery, and I'll have pictures soon. I also worked and shopped, and after that everybody was pretty much exhausted.

I have tons and tons of more stuff to blog about (when I have the time and energy) but mostly it's about me, so you'll find it on my own blog.

Health Update: We went to the doctor again yesterday, and the physical therapist the day before that. Everything is back on track. Hiroko's still in pain, but it's less, and all the exercising she's doing (sometimes with my help) appears to be making a difference. We're certainly anxious about labor and potential post-birth consequences, but the doctors have told us to wait and see.

Preparing for Mom

All the work we've been doing to try to alleviate Hiroko's pain must be paying off, because she's reported very little bone pain today, and has been up and about like an active person. On the other hand, on Friday she fell while preparing a bath and bruised herself pretty badly. So we're watching for her. I'm glad to say that even with the bruise, things are getting back toward more normal and less scary.

On Wednesday, Hiroko's mother Yasuko arrives and I'll be glad that there will always be someone in the house. When Ren comes, she'll have two moms to take care of her, for a month. The picture here is the guest room we set up for Yasuko. This is Joe's old room. The bedding and paint are all new. It's a cozy little space in the basement.

From this picture you can see that poor Mr. Lion is under the impression that the changing table is a new bed for him. Won't he be disappointed when he finds out the truth!

Ultrasounds and Health Update

My Flickr problem has gone away, and I have full control again...so here are the ultrasounds! As you can tell by squinting at these pictures, clearly Ren is beautiful, intelligent, and charismatic.

Yesterday we got to go see a physical therapist to try to do something about Hiroko's pain. The PT was full of great information about why this is happening. She was able to show us how to stretch and exercise Hiroko's joints to try to keep her in better alignment. We also got an elastic belt to try to hold everything into place.

Overall, despite all the help yesterday, Hiroko reported the pain was about the same. But the difference is noticeable to me--she is more alert and sounds happier to me. Also she reports the drugs are "fun", so there's that.

I don't know why I didn't think to mention it earlier, but due to the many surgeries Hiroko had when she was a kid, her right foot is noticeably smaller than her left (by about a full size) and her right leg is shorter! Knowing this, the pain makes a lot of sense to me. I imagine injecting myself with a hormone to loosen my joints, tying two bowling balls to my stomach, and strapping a board to my left foot. And then walking around like that for a couple months. Yeah, I think I'd hurt, too.

Health Update

After another 24 hours of watching my wife in constant, serious pain, today's early doctor's visit was reassuring. Our doc came highly recommended and has been great from the start, and she completely believed us and made it clear she wanted to help.

We were able to schedule a meeting this afternoon with a physical therapist (there was a more specific baby-related name for the doctor, but I can't remember). Our impression has been to not expect dramatic improvement, but a PT doc ought to be able to show us how to move Hiroko's body around somewhat while minimizing pain.

The doc also prescribed Tylenol with codeine. I was very surprised Hiroko could take it. So now my recommendation that Hiroko not drive has become a medical necessity. She so far reports that the codeine isn't masking the pain, just making her loopy.

I have to say I still feel good about the pregnancy, and confident everything will come out in the end. Of course, I'm not the one in pain, so maybe it's easier for me. With the driving and doctors and drugs, at least I feel like I can do something now. She's going to be some kid.