Thank you Lils!

This is a present that Lils got for Baby Brian! It's so colorful and fun to look at! :) THANK YOU for the cute toy that even other kids oohh and ahh over.

Quotes

"A baby is a small member of the home that makes love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, the bankroll smaller, the home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten & the future worth living for."


"A babe in the house is a wellspring of pleasure, a messenger of peace & love, a testing place for innocents on Earth, a link between angels and men."

More Photos

Milk Oh Milk

Yatta! I think my milk has started coming in! Whew!! PAINFUL stuff...but I'm so thankful because Brian seems to be so much happier and sleeps longer, which gives me more time to take care of myself (and the room...). Thanks so much for your prayers!

On Saturday Baby and I have a check up to make sure everything is well with us. Pray that it is!! :)

Thinking of you too and keeping you in my prayers.

Baby Brian

Yay, I've got a little time now! Here are some PHOTOS!! YAY!! People say he looks like Josh (but that's just because he looks Asian), but I think he looks more like me and my family (we look Asian too, especially when newborn). First photo he's just a few hours old. He was pretty clean and not too red or splotchy.

Photos taken just seconds before blogging.

Other info about a nasty delivery:
Well...I'll keep it brief as there really isn't much to say except PAINFUL! But definitely worth it (this last statement we'll have to see as time goes by...haha!)

Labor started at 9:00PM, June 5th. Josh and I went to the clinic a few hours later and decided to stay there even though I was only 4 cm dilated as there was comfy cushions, etc. I thought, YAY, it'll be born on my good friend Meg's birthday, June 6th!! I wrote her via phone and told her of the possibility. Heh heh...

Going from 4cm to 10cm was was more than tiring and discouraging. It was probably worse than torture (like some books have stated). I kept thinking, okay...it's all going to be over within 24 hours! But after hitting the 24 hour mark, I told Josh I wanted to have a C-section...or be shot!

So, yes...as I wouldn't be able to describe to you how it was I'll just tell you the last little interesting facts.

After 34 hours of having strong contraction after contraction, and only running on about 4 hours of sleep for the last two days, Brian Takeshi Tanaka was finally born, on June 7th, at 7:00AM! YAY!! He weighed 2900 grams and was incredibly active and healthy looking. The midwife was surprised to see such a healthy, active looking baby after such a long labor. I'm so thankful for that!

Now we're back at Love Hut (Hamano) till Saturday when we go home and invite Brian into our little homey room. :)

I just want to thank everyone for your prayers and words of encouragement as well as good counsel! I love you so much and wouldn't have been able to keep going if it wasn't for the thought that lots of people were praying for me.

Please keep us in your prayers! It seems like Brian is the kind of boy that wants LOTS to eat straight from the start and has been crying a lot throughout the night and a lot this morning too. He seems to be super hungry, but isn't getting enough. Pray that my milk comes flowing in (as much as that scares me...haha!!) so he can be able to eat LOTS and sleep LOTS so I can sleep too. :)

Next Monday I'll be going in for another check up, so if there's any more updates on my progress then I'll post here to let you all know.

As far as how I'm feeling...anxious and almost impatient for the delivery to start happening. I had two walks today and tomorrow I'll try and walk some more. Contractions aren't strong at all and are basically what I've been feeling the last two months.

Every time I go to the bathroom I check to see if the mucus plug came out, or if there's any signs of a water bag breaking...haha!! But, I'm always disapointed.

I guess it's not time yet...

Maybe in a few days?? Once something starts happening, I'll try and post it here.

Till then! (or sooner)

10 photos for 9th Month!

Whooohooo...Okay, all these photos speak for itself! Yes, I got around to taking "pregnancy photos" at the last stages of pregnancy! Whew, made it just in time! I'm 38 weeks here. :)
There were many other "good ones" but, I thought 10 was already overwhelming and "too much"!! I posted them in a random order. Tell me which ones you like. :) :) :)

3 cm dilated!

Yesterday I went for a check up and the midwife told me I was 3 cm dilated!!
"YOU CAN'T GO BACK TO TATEYAMA UNTIL YOU HAVE YOUR BABY!!" was what she told me. So, I am now in Hamano (15 minutes away from my midwife's clinic), waiting for stronger contractions to kick in. Apparently, I didn't even realize that I was going into the early stages of labor. Even now, nothing serious seems to be happening. It could be like this for a good few days if nothing picks up.
I went for a 30 minute walk today and contractions started coming a bit more, but both Josh and I decided that it won't be coming out any time today, so he went to work in Tokyo and will come home at midnight tonight.
So, maybe from tomorrow I'll start walking around and doing what I can to induce labor.
I go to the midwife on Monday again to see if anything has progressed.

I'll do my best to keep you posted if I'm at home and things are progressing...however, if things are progressing too fast, I'll end up mailing or calling you. :)

Wish me good luck and keep me in your prayers for the next couple of days. :) Pray it comes soon!! (Just not today!) Ha!

Ultrasound Expert!!

Haha!! Here's the ultrasound expert coming to the rescue! I drew purple over it to show you what's what.

Baby's face, and other place.

Ahhhh...I haven't been blogging...I know, I know, I know. I'm sure you are all plenty busy and haven't had time to check my blog anyway! Heh heh!

I thought I'd post the face and "other place" of my child. I hope he doesn't mind! haha!

Face First. It looks so clear to me! I hope it's clear to you! Josh said this is the only ultrasound photo that he can actually understand. Ha!

And...here's the "other place". His one leg is lying down, and the other is bent up so you can kind of see some what of his foot. The circled part is...ahem. Yes, that's right.

These photos were taken a few weeks ago, but I just haven't posted them. I've been real busy doing my best to lay down and rest! ha!

Last week the midwife said my baby was super low and so she assumed that it would be born within the next week. She said I should rest as much as possible. Basically, get up in the morning, eat my food, then lay down again, get up and do a little something, then lay down again, etc. etc.
So, I tried doing that to the best of my ability, however, I found myself in bed probably 3 times a day for 30 minutes. That was more than enough rest for me as I have so many things to do before this baby is born!

So, yesterday when I went for another check up she said that the baby lifted and may stay in the womb till the due date (which is June 13th or 18th)! Yay!! So, I'll do my best to keep up this...rest a little...work as much as possible before resting again. :) ha!

I've got a list of things I've got to do...mainly cleaning things, so I might not blog again till a little while later. I hope you don't mind.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could keep me in your prayers! I wrote up some prayer requests for you to take a look at! Thanks so much!

• That the baby will come out healthy and strong, and without complications.
  
• That the delivery will be quick and as painless as the Lord can make it; and that I won't tear or have any other problems during the delivery.
• For the Lord to give us (Josh, myself, and Leika) extra faith, strength, energy, and patience on that day.
  
• Against any fear or nervousness on my part.
• That I'll start labor at the right time when all the circumstances are right: that Josh is around or easily accessible, and when leika can travel to the clinic in time without difficulty (I asked her if she can come for her experience, Japanese speaking ability, and moral support).
• I'm most likely going to be staying at another home closer to the midwife at her request, so pray that I won't have to stay there for so long (I don't know what I'm going to do while I'm there!!).

Thank you so much!! I really need your prayers during this time!

Lots of love,

Jan