静香:母、姉、朝陽、私達でミュンヘンへ行きました。この旅行の目的はアメリカ大使館に朝陽のパスポートを申請することと、日本大使館に出生届を提出することでした。旅行に出発する朝まで小さい朝陽をつれてミュンヘンまで電車の旅が出来るかどうか迷っていたけれど、遅かれ早かれしなければいけない事だったので思い切って出かけました。

ミュンヘンは事前にインターネットで調べた天気予報通り寒かったので、朝陽の体調を一番に考え殆んどの時間をホテルの部屋で過ごしました。

It was a good trip, and Saya got to see some culture, including the Residenz (the old Bavarian palace) and the Pinkothek Museum of Fine Art. Of course, she slept through it all...  But you can see in the picture, she did get to see the big hall of portraits.

One of the best parts of the trip was the train ride. Again, I have to say Germany is pretty cool. They have a whole special room for traveling families on the train, with a changing table, room on the floor to play, and even some toys built into the walls. But best of all, it had walls to keep the noises out (in?) and allow us to breastfeed Saya and change her diaper easily. It really made the trip easy.
 

Chris: Saya has become one month old. I know, a month is nothing, but it is impressive when you think that is basically one month that nobody in the house has slept.

静香：お昼に助産婦さんによる最後の訪問がありました。その後初の1ヶ月検診へ。診察ではすべて順調だという事で安心しました。お腹の問題も生後3ヶ月までは続くだろうと言われそう直ぐにでも解決するものでもないみたいです。次回の検診では予防接種を受ける予定です。

そして今日はアメリカのパスポートも受け取りました。2週間ほど掛かると言われていたのでこんなに早く受け取ることが出来てビックリしました。

クリスが両親と話した際にオルゴールメリーを朝陽に買ってあげた方が良いとアドバイスを受けたので、早速買ってきました。と言っても私の母が朝陽に買ってくれたのですが･･･

Chris: Again with the cool German healthcare system. We went in for our mandatory 1-month (free) checkup at the pediatrician. The doctor was a nice fellow, and didn't complain too much about Saya pooping all over on of his blankets (that's what he gets for making her wait for 20 minutes naked under a heat-lamp!).

He tested all sorts of things I never thought of testing, including an ultrasound of her hip bones, and said that everything looks fine - so we have a healthy child on our hands. Let's hope she stays that way.

Also - as you can see in the picture, the new US passport for Saya arrived in the mail today. Look how excited she is about becoming a new US citizen! Now to teach her not to vote Republican. Gotta start early.

静香：初めておしゃぶりを使いました。これには賛否両論あるとは思います。実際私自信もあまり乗り気ではないのですが、上手く利用すれば子供のためにも親のためにもなる便利なものらしいです。使い心地の程はさやに聞いてみないと分からないのですが、私達にも未だ効果のほどは分かりません。

But it is not, sadly a complete panacea. There are good days and bad days with the pacifier. The big issue is that a sleeping baby tends to let the pacifier fall out of her mouth, and then when she wakes and it is not there... Well, *someone* has to get it for her... You get the idea.

1ヶ月児のお世話
Looking for advice!

静香：今週の火曜日で生後6週間になります。最近の朝陽は寝ているだけではなく起きている時間も増えてきました。しかし、ここで問題が･･･

親になりたての私達は朝陽が起きている時間に何をしてあげて良いのか分からないのです。声かけも歌を歌ってあげたりもしているものの、どうも直ぐに飽きてしまうようで仕舞いには泣き出してしまう始末。眠いのかと思い寝かせようとするとそれも嫌らしく号泣。1ヶ月児ってこんなものなんでしょうか？

こんな私達にいいアドバイスがある方はゲストブックへの書き込みよろしくお願いします（日本語も記入できます）。

Chris: So, we have gotten a lot of happy congratulations on the message board, but there is only so many times you can say "cute baby" before the thrill wears off... We understand.

Now we have a new idea. As you can see, Saya seems to think that we need some advice. There are like 4 generations of family from around the world looking at this site. We're hoping that you'll look at our message board and see what we are asking about - we have questions, we are hoping that you have answers!

To get there, just click on the "Guestbook and Message Board" link in the column to the right! We hope to see you there.

親知らず
Wisdom teeth.

静香：クリスが親知らずを抜きました。というより手術で取り出したと言った方が早いかもしれません。月曜日に手術してから未だ回復していない様子。金曜日に抜糸をするというけれどこんな状態で抜糸なんて出来るんだろうか?

この写真はクリスが保冷剤を腫れている箇所に当てながらオンラインゲームをしているところです。

Chris: Another journey into the German healthcare system - this time for me, instead of Saya/Shizuka. The pain was great, and they told me the wisdom tooth had to come out. I have been putting it off for years, and I guess I couldn't put it off any longer. but I wish I had...

The extraction was really difficult - bone saws were involved, and really creepy looking pliers. At one point when I was writhing around in pain, the doctor says "Just be quiet, the pain will be over in a few minutes!" Yea, thanks - that helps. But the worst is that it got infected afterwards, and I rolled around in bed with a 40 degree fever all night (I have no idea what that is in Fahrenheit, but it can't be good).

When I went in to the dentist the next day, they took one look at me and freaked out. My favorite was when I asked "Is everything OK?" and they looked at me like I was crazy and said "No, of course not!" That's German bedside manner for you. I both fear and respect the honesty.

But it is getting better now. Slowly. The picture is me with an icepack tied in a handkerchief - just like the cartoons. A little old-school medicine. Works, though.

抱っこ紐
The carrying cloth.

静香：今日は先週オーダーした抱っこ紐が届いた。こちらの抱っこ紐は幅70センチ長さ4メートルもある代物。これを抱っこする人の体に巻きつけて上手い具合に子供を固定して抱っこするのです。この紐でおんぶも可能。

使い心地は至って良いのですが、難点は布がかさばること。買った布地は少し厚すぎて夏使用するには少し暑すぎるかも知れません。少し薄めの布を自分で買って同じように使う事も可能だと思うので、もう少し暖かくなったら夏用の布でも選びに行こうと思います。

Chris: Yep - we bought some more stuff! In this case, a traditional carrying blanket. We had a cheap little baby-carrying thing, but we didn't like it much, and neither did Saya. But she seems to go for this, and it lets Shizuka get around without having to have a baby in her hands all the time.

Anyway, the books all say that this a great way to let the baby bond with mother, and most cultures have had something like this for a few thousand years, so you can't go wrong with that. We'll see how it works over the long run.

1ヶ月児のお世話: 第二ラウンド！
Looking for advice: Round 2!

静香：

Chris: OK - We got a lot of email about the last question (not so many responses in the discussion board, but lots in email). Thanks for all the input!

Now - we have another question:

What is a reasonable "bedtime" for a 2 month old baby? We are trying to train her on getting on a schedule, but we usually don't really bother trying to get her to a night-sleep until like 10:30. Then she wakes up at about 3:40 and again at 7:00. That seems like not enough sleep...

What do you think - we are thinking of trying to put her down at like 9:00 or even 8:30 - but then she will not get as many feedings... What do you elder-wisdom-bearing people think? How do we make sure she gets enough food, and still gets on a regular night-sleeping schedule? Maybe we can try putting her to bed at 8:30, and introduce another night feeding at midnight?

Have an answer for us? Then go to the message board, and give us an answer! (The link is on the left - click to get to the message board). As a special bonus, we'll even translate the Japanese/English, so everyone can see what other people suggest.