Chamber pot

Everyone left yesterday and now we are by ourselves for the first time in 6 months. But this time, we have Yuna outside of my womb. Recently, she learned to hold a binky; she can only do it when her hands are in the right place to the binky.




-New word of the day-
Chamber pot: A pot kept under a bed for urinal purpose at night. A myth is that there is a pot called the Bourdaloue, designed for a female. Bourdaloue was a French Catholic priest and gave long sermons. Thus, the female attendants would have their maids come and place the pot under neath of their dress to urinate so that they don't have to leave.
What a marvelous idea! Yet, wouldn't they be embarrassed with the sound of the pee which tells the surroundings that they were urinating in the middle of the lecture?! It might be good to have it by the bedside at night if you are very pregnant who can not even roll on the bed only with the condition of your most kind husband's agreement. Well, enough for that. Although I have to say the reason why my new word of the day was chamber pot was this.
My brother-in-law made a beautiful ceramic piece at school. It was so beautiful that my husband had to make fun of it. Hence, he called it a chamber pot.



Oh, Chris, we miss you!!

Week 5

May 23rd, 2011

After unloading dishes from a dish washer at 5:30 a.m., my mom went back to Japan. She had been helping with everything including massaging me and cooking whatever I request for a month. It made me want to be a pregnant again and deliver a baby so that I can be a baby to my mother once more. It is scary to be left alone with Yuna without my mom. Soon my mother-in-law and a brother-in-law also leave to Cairo. Then a real challenge and lots of learning start for us as new parents.



Yuna is already missing my mom and will miss the other family members here because they are so good to her. Like today, my mother-in-law held her for a long time while we were having FHE. Then my brother-in-law took a turn to hold her.



This is a proof of Yuna being a long baby. Yes, she does not even fit in his arms.


Things that I learned as a new mother today...



-A carry on car seat has a hook to connect to a shopping cart.

-My husband pushed her nose and said "Yes, she is asleep now." A new way to tell if she is in sleep.

For the first time

The first cry. (Apr. 19th)



Mei mei shiki (a naming ceremony, like Christening.) (Apr. 27th - It is usually held a week after the birth, however, it was a week and a day after the birth since she was in NICU.)



The first outing. We went to "Good Wood" to introduce American dinning to my mom. (Apr. 30th)





The first Lion King hold. (May 3rd)



Attending FHE for the first time. (May 3rd)




My father-in-law told me a good FHE refreshment; strawberries with sour cream and brown sugar. So here it is.



The first mother's day. (May 8th)


Love this four generation picture!



The first hold by Japanese grandpa.

2 Weeks

Yuna is now 2 weeks old. She weighs 7 lb 4 oz (2 oz + from the birth weight) and 21 inches long (2 inches +). She is eating, sleeping, and keeping both my husband and I awake during nights. Very healthy and happy baby. We had a doctor's check up today, and the doctor said that Yuna was 93% of the average height and predicted her height would beat mine. I always wanted more height so this was my dream-come-true moment for the day.

For those who had to face my major break down on Easter, I am so sorry to surprise you, but thank you for accepting, loving and caring.

Here are some random pictures of Yuna.



"Baba" brought her the first baby camel from Egypt. It matches with her a-day-younger cousin's.

Yuna(由奈) Ruth Tueller

Yuna (由奈） Ruth Tueller is a very brave, sweet, and definite little girl. She has been sleeping without mom nor dad since her birth. Not only nights, she has also been away from her parents for most of the day. Some days, she is even restricted to be held. She cannot be moved without her bunch of codes tangled around her body. She likes to be wrapped tight in a blanket. She likes a binky when it has some kind of flavor; we drop a few drops of formula milk or sugar water when she is fussy. She stretches her eyelids just like her dad; in other words, it looks like cat's smile. She cries as if she is in the NICU crying competition when she has a dirty diaper or she is simply hungry.

I cannot write these without my tears falling. I love her very much. I am happy to get up and make the way to the hospital, thinking what new things I can learn about her.

There was a moment that I felt parental responsibility for the first time. It was when a nurse called us and asked our consent for putting a pick in Yuna's system since most of her veins had been already used for IV pokes and gone bad.

Thanks to the surprising Thai food by wonderful aunts, I had energy to record this. Every night, I come back after 11 p.m., drag myself to bed, and set alarm in 3 hours for milk pumping. So I really appreciate all your support and love. With that note, I better go and get ready for another pumping.

Stop worrying about it! Do what we need to do.

Today was a beautiful service day. Our cherry blossoms bloomed fully and astonished my Japanese spirit as always.

Today, I cried for no reason. Well, being a pregnant is a good reason to cry for no reason. Then, I somehow pulled myself back up without my husband's help and stayed for the entire church time. Blessing was though that I found a new favorite hymn, which is "Because I have been given much." Yes, this became a theme song for my pregnancy although my pregnancy is about to end. It reminds me to look up and find someone who is in need of my help. It's not a big deal when my mom sees me in skype and calls me fat. (She does not mean to hurt me. That is how Asian people address their health concern about others.) This hymn gives me courage and patience to try to unclog the toilet, not to complain about different pains go through my body every 15 minutes, and be calm when the kids at work call me in F words or start kicking walls/people because I cannot play with them then.

Another good reminder was "stop worrying about things, but do what's good" spoken by Elder Bednar at the MTC last year. My VT companion who works at the MTC shared this. There are times when we don't know if a thought was from the Spirit or just what you think. Elder Bednar said stop worrying about it, but act. His points are 1. be a good boy, 2. be a good girl, 3. honor your covenant, and 4. keep the commandments. Then, we will notice if it was an inspiration from the Spirit or not when we look back in the future.

With that note, I would like to be a little more "good girl" for my lovely husband and a little baby to come.


(A pic was from my husband's birthday. He requested all-you-can-eat yakiniku restaurant.)

And, we cannot forget to have a birthday cake for him!!