Baby Fuuka

Baby Fuuka turned one month old on Monday, which meant Hiromi felt free to take her out of the house (she had explained earlier, by way of apology, that she would keep her indoors the first month). So they came for a visit to our house, and it was so much fun to see them.

From what we've been able to figure out, most new moms and babes don't leave the house for the first month. Someone comes and takes care of them. In Hiromi's case, her mother came to help with Ayumu and take care of them.

In Japan, when the babe is a month old, the mother's mother "presents" the babe at a Shinto shrine. But Hiromi explained that in Hokkaido, which has such a long, hard winter, babies aren't presented at the shrine until they are 100 days old. So even if they are born in late fall, they will be a bit more robust when they are taken for their big day at the shrine. Often photos are taken when a baby is 100 days old (we saw FABULOUS "100-day-old" pictures of Tomoko's boys in their house -- looking like little future emperors).

At just 30+ days, little Fuuka is adorable. Jack, Katie and Liv enjoyed holding her (they only had a glimpse of her earlier), and they were happy to see Ayumu and have him to play.

We also were impressed with Hiromi's sling. I think I mentioned earlier that the majority of parents here seem to use slings and baby carriers and not strollers. I can see that it now also makes sense not just for the subway, but for the snow. Fuuka was all wrapped up and cozy in the sling -- she didn't need a huge winter outfit on or anything, as she was just tucked under Hiromi's coat. John said it *almost* made you want to have another baby, just so you could use some of this cool Japanese baby gear. No worries. Almost isn't going to happen any time in our future! But it did make me laugh.