Fujiiyama Mama

  Self-care is crucially important anytime and even more so while pregnant. Creating a new human and a brand new organ is exhausting but these are the seven Japanese things that have been instrumental in getting the job done: 1. MegRhythm Carbonated Leg Patches These are crucial. I still spend a lot of my time on my feet and anyone who's been to Japan knows you walk a LOT here. I've been walking a good 10,000-15,000 steps every day on average going to work and I'm on my feet moving around a lot too. Add the brutal summer heat and it's no wonder slapping these on my legs (and feet!) at the end of the day is a game changer. They are cooling, a little bit fizzy and make my legs feel like new again. 2. MegRhythm Steam Warm Eye Masks These may not be as critical as the leg patches but these are extremely helpful come nap or bedtime. My husband often stays up later than me and these are a very comfortable way to block out the light. I don't use them all the time because t...

With the discovery that I was pregnant, I knew I was about to begin one helluva ride. Being in a foreign country with a foreign language meant this was about to be a crash course in Japanese and the art of going with the flow. It started out easily enough; buying a pregnancy test. That was pretty straight forward and not unlike buying a test back in Canada. All I had to do was go to the pharmacy (kusuriya in Japanese) and pick one off the shelf. There were a few brands to choose from, and I picked up a little variety pack of all the different kinds. One helpful thing is that while the tests were Japanese, they all came with a set of English instructions. And like the tests back in Canada they were as straightforward as ‘one line means not pregnant, two lines means pregnant’. The next step was choosing a hospital to begin going to check ups and eventually give birth in. Yasu and I decided a hospital close by would be best since the checkups are very frequent here. Some hospitals or clin...

  It finally happened. After almost two years of living in Japan and being married, Yasu and I are about to begin an adventure of a lifetime; parenthood!   It started out like any other month when you’re trying to have a baby - the days lead up to your time of the month and you’re playing the “period or pregnant?!” game. The first month I played, my period was ten days late. Usually, I can set a watch to my body and I would faithfully get my “girl's day” every 26 days without question. So I was excited, nervous, eager and SURE I was pregnant. I wasn’t. Many negative tests later, my period finally came, along with crushing disappointment. For the next 7 months, my period would come on time, give or take a day or two. Every month I would sit on the toilet, pregnancy test at the ready the moment it was even a day late. Every month, I’d see only one line indicating “not pregnant”; then my period would come and I’d feel that wave of disappointment again. I‘d been using an app to tr...