Welcome home Tio Shiro-my baby album

my last pregnant night:) reading bedtime stories to the boys



The morning dawned a beautiful day, regular contractions had woken me up at 2 or 2:30, Kenji went back to sleep, I emailed people and tried to rest but just couldn't, then we called the midwife at 4:30 who lives an hour away and wanted to be sure not to miss the birth but..it would be a long day, my labor wasn't extremely painful, but it was long and I got tired, a few times I wasn't sure Tio was going to come this day at all! I was glad that I was at home and could do what I wanted and eat and drink to my heart's content. My contractions slowed and spread out in the afternoon when we thought he might be born soon...but my midwife had a few tricks up her sleeve and almost 16 hours from the start of my labor Tio Shiro was born at home, healthy and without complication. Thanks to all who prayed for a healthy, uncomplicated delivery...Thanks to God! We are very happy we had this chance to have Tio at home and for our wonderful midwife, who I have managed to communicate quite well with, despite our language and culture differences, thanks to Kenji of course! She has been like a doctor, nurse and mother who knows all about birthing and babies, wrapped up in one-the after birth care-she has been here on home visits 6 or 7 times since Tio was born- has been so helpful and reassuring. We've so appreciated the chance to work with someone who not only has the same goal in mind as we do, a natural birth and life, with as few artificial interventions and medicines as possible-but also is a very experienced professional-a first for sure. Here are many pictures from Tio's birth day and the days since....




our midwife, with the boys, she was there for the long haul!

morning walk...a good long walk, we met neighbors we hadn't met before and got grapes and onions from their cute little homestead, wish I would have taken pictures of their cute little cabin and organic gardens and orchard...







Waiting! A long labor, lots of people....


4:59 pm, The baby is here!!...ahhhh..mommy said,who thought the moment would never come.. daddy caught him and pulled him right up to my chest, and big brother Sage asked, is it a boy or a girl?? the long wondered question... and daddy felt...and said...it's another boy! We laughed then...

cutting the cord after I'd been holding him and delivered the placenta..he weighed 3226 gms(7lbs, 1 oz-not 11 like we first reported, our conversion was wrong:)) and was 50.6 cm long(19 in.)

Kenji's little sister Sayoko, who was there for the boys and her two little girls holding Tio.

Murakami-san, our midwife and Tio

The big brothers, very happy to see their new little brother and I'm sure glad that mommy quit screaming-you are getting more done when you are loud my midwife said...ahh! (by the way, they seemed to work through that fairly quickly and don't seem to be scarred for life, ha:)!)




Kenji's older sister, Makiko and family who came later that evening to say welcome to Tio...me on my futon on the floor in the living room, where I'd kneeled earlier to deliver Tio. I stayed there for one day then moved to our bedroom..this seemed to please Kai who likes things to be routine!






taking a nap together, one day old






2-3 days old




5 days old

one week





two weeks


Baba is here to help! playing with kids, doing loads and loads of laundry and cooking, thank you!


Oct. 9-when Kenji told one of the women here Tio's name she said did you take that from the novel, Southern Island Tio? No, we'd never heard of it, but Kenji lost no time going out to buy it, it's a children's novel, and has won some awards...fun, so here Kenji is reading it to Tio:).SO that brings me to Tio's name, I know people are wondering where we got it, as I've had questions...Kenji and I have to think of being able to say a name in both languages, with Sage and Kai we chose names that would be easy to say in Japanese-Sage has a Japanese equivelant-Seiji(different meaning, but close to the same sound, sounds like Sagey) and Kai is a Japanese word meaning ocean, used as a name in Hawaii where there are lots of Japanese, with Lucas we compromised and used a Japanese middle name-Yuta, and with Tio, we were thinking of Teo, from Theodore, I like short names and we liked the meaning, which is gift from God, however, Kenji thought it was pronounced like Tio(tee oh), and thought this was better for Japanese people, and also is the same pronounciation as some very good friends of ours last name, the Teoh's. They have been great and godly mentors and role models for us and they have three lovely boys that we would love our boys to grow up like as well. So it was decided! Shiro means literally fourth son in Japanese:) and with the Chinese characters Kenji chose to spell it, it means ambitious boy. Middle names are confusing to Japanese people as they don't use them, and their name order is the reverse of ours, last name, first name-so people don't know what to call our kids if they hear their middle names! But they figure it out eventually, and it's all their name so whatever! And that's the rest of the story!






Oct.10

Oct. 11


Oct 12



Oct.13
At two weeks Tio had gained a pound, and I know he's gained more since, I think we've been through several growth spurts since(you know, sleepless nights and endless hunger! oh, and fatter cheeks!)