The end of attachment- Part 2

Now that it has been well over a week, I am happy to say that Pi is weaned- and not once has he asked for Mummy's milk. Even when my boobs were in his face. It is such a relief that he prefers to have 'moo moo juice' at night- he asks for it, and is excited by it.  After he is finished his milk, we lay down together for a long cuddle so he still has that closeness.

My body has dealt with it fairly well too. I was expecting the worst, but the hot flushes were minimal and the pain was bearable.

As soon as I finished the last feed, I made sure to drink some sage tea (A spoonful of dried sage leaves in a cup of hot water). Dried sage can be bought at your local supermarket in the herb section.



The next morning I woke up sore, but with the help of cabbage leaves in my bra it wasn't too bad. I found about 36hrs after the last feed I had a really sore blocked duct. Remembering that expressing a little is okay, I gradually worked out the blockage and by the next day it was much better.

Over the first three days, I had either a spoonful of sage mixed with peanut butter, or some sage tea twice a day. I found I only needed cabbage leaves that first day.

There was very, very, very minor leaking that first week (just a couple drops per day) and then it was all finished.

Now that the weaning is finished, I am glad that I did it. I do miss that special connection, but the cuddles that we have every night before he goes to sleep are just as lovely.

His dad is also happy that he gets to participate in the bedtime ritual a bit more too.

The end of attachment... Part 1

I have been putting off and putting off weaning Pi. There was always an excuse to delay weaning- wait until he finishes teething, wait until the end of next month, wait until he gets used to ichijihoiku (the three ours he goes to daycare on Wednesday mornings) wait until he turns two, wait until his cold is finished. In my heart I really didn't want to stop feeding him. The only real drivers to do it, were that he is getting older, and I want to get back on antibiotics (that I can't take when breastfeeding).

Lately, has has been refusing to let go of the boob at night. For a long time he always wanted a little bit longer, and then a bit longer again, but this last week it has been ridiculous. He would stay there all night if it were up to him. It figured it was due to one of two options, he either wanted lots of milk but there just wasn't very much left in the boobies, or he just liked it so much. After a particularly long session the other night when he refused to let go, I decided that it was probably a good time to try weaning him.

I intended to do it the next night, but I wanted our last nursing session to be something special and not him getting angry at me because I was trying to unlatch him. So I took a long time nursing him on Friday night, and then come Saturday I started. I really wanted to get him a 'weaning book' to get him used to the idea of no more milk, but as he was only on one feed a day I didn't want to make a big deal of it and make him realise what he is missing.

For the last few weeks we had been introducing a new part of the bedtime routine. After bath, but before Mummy's Milk, Daddy has been reading him a few books. It has been nice for his dad to spend a bit more time with him. Come Saturday night, I told Pichan that he would get special "moo moo juice" tonight, as Mummy didn't have enough milk (which is actually completely true- it has been just a few mouthfuls for weeks now) and that Mummy would still give him lots of nice cuddles while he drank. To my surprise, he was more than happy to have his Moo Moo juice. Not a word of protest, and after he finished he asked for more (I didn't give it to him though as I don't want him wetting through his nappy).

I was really surprised that he took it so well. I, on the other hand was an emotional mess. For me, feeding Pi has been such a beautiful thing. As the mother of a squirmy octopus the night time feeds have been a nice way to hold him and have lots of cuddles (mind you with those cuddles comes pulling, grabbing, pinching and slapping).

I will really miss it. Probably more than him. It was the last thing that I could do for him, that only I could do. However, the fact that he has taken it so well makes it that much easier.

It is early days yet, and he may suddenly remember about Mummy's milk and have a meltdown. However, I am hoping that the cuddles and the moo moo juice will be an equally good substitute.

こどもの森わんぱくらんど Kodomo no mori wanpaku nando- Children's forest naughty land.

Out of the back of Odawara there is a fantastic park called : こどもの森わんぱくらんど- Kodomo no mori wanpaku rando.

This place is huge.  It is on the Yokohama side of Hakone, and actually feel like you are already in among the mountains. It is a huge park surrounded by forest. There is a rope bridge, two trains (one that runs on the road, and one that runs on a track), lots of grassy areas, a big long grass forest path, a big rope skills obstacle course for the older kids, pony rides, feeding of goats and sheep at certain times, a splash river for kids to paddle in, and lots of playgrounds.


It was such a lovely day and quite hot, so Pi loved the splash river. If you think your kids might go in don't forget the towel and change of clothes.

He also had his very first pony ride at the park. They don't have an age restriction, but the child must be able to sit up by themselves. Parents aren't allowed in the enclosure, but we voiced our concerns and one of the workers walked next to him to make sure he didn't fall off (One worker is always leading the horse). Pi loved it. I think it was 300yen for the ride, which was quite short but worth it for the experience.
 

Pi also LOVED the train. While we were playing on a grassy field, we could see the 'road train'  (a train that runs on the road) come past every now and then, and every time it captured his attention. We promised him a ride, and the smile on his face was worth any cost. I think it was 300yen per adult. Children under school age are free. I think school age children were 100yen.




Pi also had fun on the various playgrounds, and just running around.

It was a really lovely day.

Entry to the park itself is free. Car parking was 510 per car. There aren't really any places to eat, but on the day we went there were a few food vans. On that day there was Yakisoba, crepes, pizza, and a Koko ichibanya curry van. If you have time, maybe bringing a bento is best. There are plenty of vending machines and toilets. Oh, and there is a camping ground attached too.




All up, I highly recommend it.

The links below are in Japanese. I recommend running translate through chrome.

Access to the park: http://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/public-i/park/wanpaku/park/wanpaku-access.html

About the park: http://www.city.odawara.kanagawa.jp/public-i/park/wanpaku/park/o-wanpaku.html

BCG scar- one year and a half on.

It has been about a year and a half since Pi had his BCG scar. It was done in January 2015.

The scar often gets comments when we go back to Australia, as it is unusual to have there. His scar looks white in the holes where the blisters where, but he is quite pink and blotchy around it. It's not super noticeable, but noticeable enough. 

I think he will always have a scar there, due to his sensitive skin, but at least he should be protected against TB.

Drop- Kohoku playgroup.

There is a great "jidoukan" (children's public play space) in Okurayama that is not too far from the station. On foot and carrying a little one (we know that takes twice the time as just doing anything by yourself), it takes about 5-10 minutes. I really like this place as there are parking spaces nearby. I used to pay for parking, but these days I park at Life Supermarket which is about a 5 minute walk away, and then go shopping at Life afterwards. Usually I only stay for an hour or so.

This play room is very large, larger than the Tsurumi Jidoukan (here is the post). It has a big back yard (though, it is often filled with mud most of the year) with a sandpit, and in summer they have minipools and buckets and hoses for the kids to have fun in.

Inside is very large, and filled with hand-made toys. There is a table for "mama goto" (playing house), dress up and book area. Lots of blocks and balls, wooden trains, a little wooden slide. It also has a piano (a big one) that the kids love to bash the hell out of (and are allowed to). There are all sorts of big foam blocks. At the very back in a sectioned off area is a play space for babies younger than 1 year old.

They also have a craft corner with crayons, glue, scissors and origami. Near that, they have a few fish tanks. They often let the kids feed the fish too. Pi loves watching the goldfish. They used to have turtles (terrapins) there, but they have since moved to the new satellite Drop which has opened up in Tsunashima. I haven't been there yet, as so far I haven't found parking, but I would like to go,

Drop is really multicultural. They print their event calendar in English, and once a month they have a "Multicultural Support Meeting". I have been there once, but it was conducted in Japanese- which is understandable, but I didn't find it super useful.

The mums at Drop are friendly. I have met quite a few that speak English too. One of the workers speaks a bit of English, and they are all really friendly.

This link has information about Drop: http://www.kohoku-drop.jp/publics/index/10/

From that link, download the PDF Guide under English for more information.

I highly recommend this play space if you are near.


 Okurayama station to the '*' is Drop


You can see the entrance to Drop, between the parking lot and the dry cleaners. Walk through the gate to get the the building behind. There is space the park your bicycle, or pram inside the gate.



The layout has changed since this photo was taken, but it gives an idea. It is larger than what you see here.

Swimming pools

As we have discovered, unsurprisingly, that Pi loves swimming I have been on the google search for pools in Yokohama. Unlike Australia, most leisure pools only open during the summer months: namely July and August.

I came across a wonderful list of Outdoor, and Indoor swimming pools in Yokohama.

Outdoor:

http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/lang/en/10/9-10-2.html

Indoor:

http://www.city.yokohama.lg.jp/lang/en/10/9-10-1.html

I have noticed that some of the links are broken, but for anyone else who is interested in a bit of summer fun, it should help get you started.

Pete's beach day

Husband had to work last Saturday, but in return he had Monday off in lieu so we all went to the beach while it wasn't crowded- and a sneaky breakfast at Bills in Kamakura before hand.

On a good day, from our place in Yokohama you can get to Kamakura/Enoshima in just over an hour. Which is about as much as Pi can stand in the car. We actually stayed overnight at a hotel in Fujisawa (another post on that will come), so it was only a 20 min drive the next morning to get to the beach.

We took Pete to the beach when he was about 4 months old. He enjoyed it about as much as he enjoyed looking at the curtain, or sticking his hands in his mouth- which is to say a fair amount, but young babies enjoy everything about the same amount.

This was the first time he really went to the beach as a toddler, and he freaking loved it. He loves sandpits, and we were sure to bring all of his toys. Best of all, the water wasn't too cold so we could go swimming. We brought his swimming clothes, and my husbands, but I thought it would be too cold for me so I didn't bring mine. However, I borrowed a pair of Husbands shorts and went in like that.

Little Pi's face was just amazing. Squeals of delight as the water splashed up on him. He loved the waves, and went nuts when we took him into the water up to our waists. Unfortunately it was a bit too cold for him though, and while he had the biggest smile on his face, he was also shivering.

We took him back to the shore and out of the water, but every time we did he just ran straight back to the water. We ended up having to call his swimming session early as his little lips were turning blue. It was so much fun though, and he had such a great experience.


Here are some tips for beaching the in Kamakura/Enoshima area:

Park somewhere that has showers. It was a little expensive where we parked (400yen-600/hour), but they also had showers with hot water (for 300yen). It was so nice to wash off the sand and salt afterwards. It made it much easier to get baby into clean fresh clothes too,

Don't forget the sun protection. Sunscreen is a must, but also long sleeved rashies (rash vest, rash guards) and a hat (slip, slop, slap- for the Aussies). We bought Pi's rashie second hand online, and you can find many good ones on yahoo Auctions. Otherwise sport stores have them in the summer months. If you wanted to search online in Japanese they are called: ラッシュガード (Rash guards). His hat we bought from motherways; it has a legionaires flap that pulls down, and chin strap and a great brim.

Swimming nappies can be bought from drugstores, babystores and supermarkets in the summer months. We paid for a reusable cloth one, and it was well worth it. We bought ours from akachanhonpo.



We bought a pop-up sunshade too. Last year we had a sunshade, but it wasn't pop up, and was IMPOSSIBLE to put up on a super windy day. The tent was ripped in the end- due to a combination of wind and Husbands frustration. We bought our pop up tent from a camping store for 4000yen (including tax). It is GREAT! You can also buy them online, from sports stores, big department stores like Aeon, and even Ikea. I strongly recommend paying the money for a pop-up one. So much easier. Ours is only 1.8 kgs too.

Don't forget the sand toys :)