Omiyamairi

I went for my first shrine visit today at Umi Hachimangu. It is a very famous place for babies’ Omiyamairi because of the name. The location, Umi, is written 宇美, and is a homophone for 産み, which means “birth”. So it is a famous place for pregnant women to go to pray for the safe birth of their children and then to return with the child after it is born to be blessed.

It is tradition for the baby to be wrapped in a kimono during their shrine visit.

I got to meet my Ojiisan, grandfather, for the first time. He was very happy to see me, but was also quite emotionally restrained. While we were waiting for our turn, he would take long looks at me and touch my feet, hands, and stroke my cheek. I am his first grandchild. He has been waiting a long time to meet me, but I think it will take a while for us to get to know each other.

It was too bad that I couldn’t meet my Obaasan yet. She is in the hospital recovering after some serious surgery. But I have been a strong motivation and inspiration for her to get better as soon as possible and she is recovering at an impressive pace. She had surgery before I was born, but was determined to get well to see her grandson.

The shrine wasn’t very crowded when we got there, so there were only two parties for the blessing ceremony at the time. I was a very good boy and did not fuss at all during the ceremony, even when the priest started drumming. The ceremony was over quickly. But it must have felt longer for Mommy. She had to carry me and sit seiza, with her legs tucked under her. It could not have been comfortable.

Before I knew it, the ceremony was over.

As nice as the kimono was, I was happy to get it off. It was hot under all that material. It was also a bit cumbersome. I had a wardrobe malfunction while trying to get it off.

After changing into something more comfortable, we returned my rock. You see, the tradition at this shrine is that you leave a rock with your name on it when you visit for Omiyamairi. When a pregnant woman comes to be blessed, she can take a rock of the opposite gender that she is hoping for. It doesn’t guarantee that the baby will be the gender she wants, but it is just part of tradition.

December 6th, 2020

Busy day = busy night

With all the excitement and bustle of my photo shoot, my normal daily routine was thrown off. It was my first time going out and meeting new people. And it was a completely different environment and situation for me. I was a very good boy and behaved really well! Mommy and Daddy were very proud of me. But of course, all that good behavior came at a cost. My feeding schedule was off and I was very tired from the day’s activities. The busy day for me meant a busy night for Mommy and Daddy. I was pooped and a little more fussy than usual. That meant that I could not be put down to bed and pretty much had to be held the whole night.

Below are photos of me at 8, 10, 12, and then the next morning. It was a lot of sleep for me, but a lot of work for Mommy and Daddy.

Arm nook

Sometimes when I rest on Daddy’s chest I squirm my way into a comfortable position. That can be the cradle of his arm or his arm nook. Yes, that’s right, “arm nook”. Well, I don’t like the sound of “armpit”, so I choose to call it his “arm nook”. Anyway, it is really comfortable and my face fits right in it.

Oh yeah, that’s the stuff!

Mood Swings

It’s tough being a baby. There is so much going on in life, but I have so little control over anything. I can’t even control myself. My bodies has a mind of its own. I can’t control my hands or feet very well. I can’t even control my bodily functions.

And then there is my mood swings. There is nothing I can do to control how I feel or how I react to things. My mood swings are quite severe. I can be calm and peaceful and then all of a sudden I’m crying and fussing and I don’t know why. Then all of a sudden I’m back to peaceful and calm again. I don’t get it and I don’t like it. I feel bad for Mommy and Daddy because they have to try and deal with my mood swings. They are very understanding and know that I’m not doing it on purpose. I’m just a baby and doing my best.

  • 5:48 p.m.
  • 5:51 p.m.

First photo shoot

I had my first photo shoot today. No, I wasn’t scouted to be a baby model. Though, I understand how you could make that assumption. Actually, I’m nearly one month old and in Japan we go for our first shrine visit, or omiyamairi. These days, many families take photos in a studio before or after the shrine visit.

I showed up to my photo shoot in a great mood, but asleep. I remained asleep for about an hour and a half. The photographers were very understanding and were happy to wait and photograph other customers. Mommy and Daddy waited patiently, and checked out the other babies that came in for photos. They thought that I was the cutest, and not to mention the largest by far. It was obvious that the other babies were older than me, since the were able to hold their heads up and seemed to be taking photos for their 100th celebration, but I was as big if not bigger than them.

When I finally woke up, I was still in a stellar mood, but still a little drowsy. We got right to the photo shoot, despite my sleepy moody.

I know the video doesn’t look like much, but trust me we got some good shots. We pick up the photos in about two weeks.

All in all, it was a very pleasant experience. The photographers were very good at what they did and I was amazed that they could get a 30-day-old baby to take good pictures. They kept me happy and entertained, all while drawing my focus to the camera lens. Then they would duck or jump out of the way and snap some pictures. I know it sounds weird, but it really worked. We got some nice pictures!

I did not fuss at all during the process and was a really good boy. The actually photo shoot part of the photo shoot was very quick, maybe about 30 minutes from when I woke up. We did several sittings with different backdrops and then I was done. After that, Mommy and Daddy had to sit down and go through all the photos and choose the ones they wanted prints of. They didn’t need me for that part so I promptly went back to sleep.

So, please be patient for about two weeks and then I’ll show you the results of my first photo shoot. Here are a couple of screen grabs from the videos to tide you over.

Biting the hand

Sometimes I am so hungry that I am literally biting the hand that feeds me. Well, not really biting, more like gnawing. But the hand is Mommy’s hand and she’s the one literally feeding me. Hmmm. I should rethink my actions or I might be cut off.

While I was sleeping

A lot happens while I sleep. Apparently I do a lot weird things. I make weird noises, I make weird faces, and I make weird movements. There is a lot of weirdness going on. I would like to say that while doing all of this I am getting a restful sleep, but I’m not.

Old man noises while sleeping
Mouth twitching while sleeping
Opening eyes while sleeping
Flailing while sleeping

I never wake up the way I went to sleep.

  • What happened here?

Either I move or my blanket moves.

Or both sometimes.

Yep, a lot happens while I am sleeping.

Foaming at the mouth

Yep, that’s me foaming at the mouth. I’m not mad or anything. It is just something that I do. Oddly, I’m not like a typical baby who drools a lot or spits up from time to time. But I do foam at the mouth every once in a while, usually while I sleep. Don’t ask me why.

4 weeks, Piece of cake

I am 4 weeks old today! I feel like I’ve grown and developed a lot these 4 weeks. I heard people talk about how tough the world can be for a little baby, but I don’t think it is that hard. Sure, I sometimes cry like it is the end of the world over the littlest things. Sure, I have everything provided for me and am waited on hand and foot. Sure, it’s only been 4 short weeks. Despite all of that, I think I got this being a baby thing worked out. Piece of cake!

Beauty and the Beast

I am both a beauty and a beast. I’m not just talking about outward appearances. There are times when I am such an easy baby, conducting myself with beauty and grace. Then there are times where I am on a rampage set on upsetting the peace that has settled upon the land.

Nah, I’m just kidding. I’m never really that bad. I just wanted to make use of the “Beauty and the Beast” title of this post. But, in reality, my outward appearances do reflect the title of “Beauty and the Beast”. Okay, first, here is the “beauty”.

Absolutely precious, if I do say so myself. A perfect angel. So sweet and innocent.

Okay, now for the “beast”. Brace yourself. This is not going to be pretty!

Yikes! It’s hard to believe that it is the same face. Well, for all you doubters out there, we have rare footage of my transformation from beauty to beast.

Big eyes

Do I have big eyes or small eyes? It is hard to tell. Most of the time I think I have small eyes, but then every so often when I’m awake and very alert I have these big bright eyes. Compare my big eyes to my normal eyes.

Very different.

First stroller ride

I went out for my first stroller ride today. I think I liked it. I don’t really have much memory of it. I remember being a little uneasy when I was put in the stroller and then there was a lot of shaking. Before I knew it I was fast asleep. All the rumbling and shaking rocked me to sleep. I have a feeling that Mommy and Daddy will start using this trick a lot when I’m fussy. Hey, I don’t mind. I don’t really like being fussy, so anything that helps me calm down is fine with me.

Spiky hair

I was born with a full head of hair and I’m very proud of it. It makes me look more mature. I’m not even a month old and I have had a few hair style changes. You saw my antenna and salaryman look. This is my spiky look.

Grunting, posing, and rocking

Even when sleeping, or drowsy, I am very entertaining. I’m rarely ever completely still. I’m often making noises, moving my hands and feet, and like in this case rocking side to side, almost rolling over. All of this is unintentional. Imagine how much I’ll be able to move when I put my mind to it.

Midriff

This was not intentional. I did not mean to show my midriff. It is just that sometimes when I stretch while being held the snaps at the bottom of the clothes pop off and my clothes work their way up. I’m literally getting too big for my britches.

Mommy and Daddy purposefully held off on going on a newborn-baby-clothes-shopping spree, knowing that I’d be growing out of them in no time. It looks like they were right.

Camera angle

I’m starting to learn more about photography, especially camera angles. There are many unflattering camera angles that can really change the way you look. Did you know if you take a selfie from a low angle that it can make you look chubby? Here is my proof that camera angle can change how you look.

This camera angle makes my cheeks look so big and round that Daddy said I look like the Otafuku sauce logo. You be the judge.