E R I K A: June 2015

Haru's 5 months old!

5 months Friday, June 19, 2015

Haru just turned 5 months today and I'm really excited to start introducing him to foods! I let him drink soup and juice today. Maybe I'll start introducing him to solids by the time he's 5 ½ months old. Really excited!

Hi! I'm Haru! And I'm 5 months old today!

Haru's grumpy today so here's his 'I don't wanna take a picture' face!

Look mama! I can do this with my feet!

It's 'tradition' that I do this every month 'coz I wanted to put this on his Photobook I'm working on.. wanna see?

I'm making this on Shutterfly btw.

I actually got the idea of taking his pic monthly in numbers from Cheeserland! I'm sorry for copying you Cheesie! You're my 'momspiration' dakara! (Momspiration?! Lol.)

And as a 5 month anniversary gift I thought I'd get him a brand new stroller!

A Mickey Mouse stroller!

I bought Haru a new stroller 'coz the one's he's been using was a hand-me-down from a friend and it's kinda wobbly.. I thought Haru won't be safe riding it anymore.

I've been googling 'best strollers for babies' for days! And I couldn't decide on any. Until I saw this! I wanted to give Haru something Disney themed so I ordered this on Rakuten. This was a bit expensive so my wallet's going to be crying next month! But, 'It's better to spend money on something expensive but you really like rather than spend money on something cheap that you don't even like.' Lol. And isn't it cute?! It's Mickey Mouse and it's from Graco. One of the 'good' brands here in Japan. Most of their strollers are cute! They even have a My Melody stroller! Too bad Haru isn't a girl or else I would've bought this one! Lol.

And a 'Hello Kitty' one. めちゃ可愛い！

And their strollers are not as expensive unlike other brands in Japan. They won't go up to ￥50,000 and they have a variety of designs! So it's a good brand. Great investment!

Aaand that's it! I thought I'd blog about being a mom sometimes.. I've never posted about Haru when he's 1-4 months old. And I thought maybe I'd share he's milestones from now on. (◡‿◡✿)

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Haru's Photoshoot

family Tuesday, June 16, 2015

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♡晴輝のお宮参り♡ Haru's Omiyamairi

family Monday, June 15, 2015

Before anything else I'd like to tell you what Omiyamairi means..

お宮参り (Omiyamairi) is a shortened word for Hatsumiyamairi which means 'first shrine visit'. It's a ceremony which we bring our Japanese baby to the Shinto Shrine one month after birth (31 days for boys and 33 days for girls) or before the babies' 100th day. Modern japanese parents usually bring their babies before or on the baby's exact 100th day anniversary to celebrate Omiyamairi and お食い初め (Okuizome) which means, 'baby's first meal' together. They either eat somewhere or get their babies photo taken at the studio. We ate at a restaurant nearby after his Omiyamairi and made Haru drink his first soup 'coz we can't actually feed him yet. In tradition, (according to my husband) the mother of the father of the baby will be the one to carry the baby throughout the ceremony. Everyone has to wear formal clothes because it's a ceremony. The ceremony is how the Japanese welcome the baby into the community. The monk prays for the babies health and happiness. After the ceremony the monk will give the baby a wood with an Omamori (Talisman or Charm) inside which will be the babies very own and the baby will carry this throught the his/her life. The temple charged us ¥10,000 'coz it's our first baby and our first time. You get a discount for the 2nd baby. Lol.

Now onto my story~

We've finally given Haru a proper Omiyamairi and a not so proper Okuizome ceremony! Lol. At first I was worried 'coz Haru is already pass 100. (He's 148 days now. Lol.) And my biggest concern if it's still okay for Haru to undergo the ceremony. We asked Studio Alice first if it's still okay even though Haru is already (almost) 5 months and they told us it's fine. They said that 3-5 months is okay but they're not sure about 6 month olds 'coz they're not sure if the kimono will still fit. So we were able to rent a kimono for Haru for free as long as we get Haru's picture taken afterwards at Studio Alice. Lol.

The temple we've made reservations to also told as that it's okay even if Haru's (almost) 5 months old so what a relief! We celebrated his Omiyamairi and his not so proper Okuizome!

「 Kimono Haru used for the ceremony 」

Why do I keep saying that we didn't give Haru a proper Okuizome celebration?

It's 'coz we didn't order the traditional foods you're supposed to make or order during an Okuizome ceremony. Instead, we ordered hamburger, salads, tonkatsu and etc. Lol.

「 Haru's first sip of soup 」

「 Our Family Photo 」

The only photo I get to download for free on their site. Jeez..

My husband told me that it's totally fine even if we didn't undergo a proper Omiyamairi. He just wanted to go to the temple, pray for Haru and leave! He's not a traditional type of guy.. He just want to get things over with. I, on the other hand wanted to give him a proper ceremony. If it wasn't for the internet and my mother in law. We wouldn't be able to make this possible so thanks to my convincing skills and research that I was able to give Haru the ceremony he deserves! Lol.

Although my husband told me that most Japanese people don't do it anymore.. and unlike in the past.. they're not that strict as long as you pay money at the temple. They won't complain you giving your son a late Omiyamairi ceremony as long as you pay! He says.

But in my opinion, I guess it's between 3-5 months 'coz at 6 months the kimono might not fit the baby anymore..

Japanese culture is confusing sometimes. 'Coz it's very different from the Philippine culture that I'm accustomed to. But I absolutely love it! And I'm loving that I'm learning more and more about Japanese culture with the help of my new family.

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My Diet 2015

diet Friday, June 12, 2015

I thought I'd share how I lose weight in this blog to keep me updated on my progress so far. This will be so embarassing for me as I will reveal my weight and everything and I've been denial for so long.. I considered myself 'The Queen of Illusion' 'coz I look slim in pics but I look like a ~~giant~~ marshmallow in real life! Anyways, might aswell come clean and share everything!

I was fat all my life. When I started going on a diet (jogging everynight & eating healthy) 2-3 years ago my 'slimmest' weight was 63kg, And then, I had a boyfriend! Lol. Which is my husband now. This is where I started to forget my diet and started growing and growing until I weighed 70kg. (Idk bout you guys but I ALWAYS gain weight when I'm with someone.. HAHA!) I got pregnant at this time and then grew up to 83kg. By the time Haru was born and I was breastfeeding.. I wasn't dieting or anything but in fact I am being told to eat a lot so I can make more breast milk for baby! Even though I'm not dieting I dropped to 73kg! I thought breastfeeding was helping me lose weight so I thought oh, I'm breastfeeding.. I can eat everything and still lose weight.. ~~NOT~~! I started gaining weight again plus taking contraceptive pills which also helped with my weight gain. But I couldn't solely blame it on the pills 'coz I was eating a LOT too!

I then reached 80kg! 80 ~~fucking~~ kilos wtf! I'm obese! It was alarming for me but everytime I would start going on a diet I kept saying maybe tomorrow and the next day.. and another day pass and I'm still not dieting!!! It wasn't until we have to go to Studio Alice to have Haru's photo taken for his late お宮参り Omiyamairi (It's like Christening here in Japan) and we have to wear formal clothes for the ceremony and picture taking. I don't have any formal dresses but I have suits! So when I was trying on my suits and it won't fucking fit! I started crying and I was really dissapointed in myself because I let myself turn out this way. And I was really dissapointed because if I can't wear my suits, we can't give Haru a proper Omiyamairi and we can't have a family picture. So by, June 3 I started taking my diet seriously. I would eat one cup of rice in a little Japanese bowl and some meat and veggies. I wouldn't eat anything after.. no dinner nor supper. So basically, I'm only eating once a day.. by lunch time! I do get hungry but I drink lots of water to keep me full. I also drink green tea 5 times a day or more.. it's just a normal green tea, not a diet tea. I read that it also helps you lose weight. My workouts include cleaning the house, watching workout vids on youtube and doing it and I sometimes workout with Haru (I saw some mommy & baby workout tips on TV). I can't lie but I do eat snacks sometimes. Like, if I lose a kilo today I would eat some chips as a reward and I wouldn't eat chips until I lose weight again.

I set goals to help me lose weight. And today, June 12 I lost a total of 4kg. It wasn't what I was expecting as I was expecting to lose 5kg today. But I still managed to lose 4kg which is okay!

By June 30 I want to lose a total of 10 kg. I just need to lose 6 more kilos to finally lose a total of 10 kilos in a month. My goal 'for now' is to reach 60kg. And by the time I reached 60kg I'll have another goal which is 55kg.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention, my suits fits me now! Haru's Omiyamairi and picture taking will be on June 14. And I'm so happy I lost the weight.. now we can give him a proper Omiyamairi and a family picture! I've been going on and off on losing weight for so long. I can only wish I can maintain it 'coz I need to reach atleast 55kg-50kg so I can fit on a wedding dress! Me and my hubs are planning to have a wedding ceremony and I hope I lose the weight so we can celebrate! Will update my progress again to keep me motivated.

Posted this pic to keep me motivated 'coz I was only 65kg on this pic. This was a year ago.

HUHU.. Even 65kg is considered fat here but at the time I could fit into medium sized clothes!

So yeah,

GOODLUCK TO ME AND TO ALL THE GIRLS

WHO ARE ALSO ON A DIET!!!

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E R I K A

Haru's 5 months old!

Haru's Photoshoot

♡晴輝のお宮参り♡ Haru's Omiyamairi

My Diet 2015

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