|
|
|
by Hugh Cook |
|
Section 114 Entry 0001. Date: 2004 June 12 Saturday. (diary) (previous) (top) (bottom) (next) (topics) (contents) Words of wisdom received by e-mail today:- Free! And from a total stranger, too! (Isn't the Internet wonderful?) Q: Where can I buy some cow-heel?? Section 114 Entry 0002. Date: 2004 June 12 Saturday. (diary) (previous) (top) (bottom) (next) (topics) (contents) I got a real lesson in Japanese demographics today when I was sent out into the streets of our part of the city of Yokohama to price nappies (diapers) and baby milk (cans of) at the local home center and the nearest branch of the Don Quixote discount store. Well, at Don Quixote, they quite simply didn't have any cans of baby milk formula (unless I somehow misunderstood the response I got, in Japanese, to my Japanese-language question.) They did have nappies, but only a limited range. As for the home center, they only had nappies in "L" (meaning, naturally, "large") size, and only in one brand (Doh-ray-me.) Cans of baby milk? Again, no milk formula. But if you wanted stuff for dogs (or cats, come to that) well, hey, the home center had that kind of stuff by the yard, any amount of it, everything you need to feed and comfort your yuppy puppy. I understand the demographics in theory - the population is getting older and older, and, eventually, there won't be enough taxpayers left to keep the system afloat - but to see it reflected in the realities of the shopping aisles really brings it home to you. When I reported on the findings of my expedition, I was told, "Well, it looks like Akachan Honpo is the place, after all." Akachan Honpo being, as I've mentioned before, a big shop that specializes in baby stuff. I kind of get the feeling that having a baby here in Japan is a bit like venturing into some exotic hobby area, like raising tropical fish. You might be able to get much of what you need at the local shops, but, for your specialized needs, you really need to go to a special hobby shop. Anyway. So far, we've been able to buy enough nappies to keep us in business, and we go through quite a lot, as reflected by this sampling from Queen Cornucopia's schedule (she's a very well-documented baby):- 12:50 piddleBefore the child was born, I went along to an ante-natal class, the one class to which male partners were specifically invited. Us guys were challenged to think how many nappy changes a baby might need in a day. Ten? Twenty? Thirty? Forty? I thought I was more or less understanding what I was hearing (in Japanese), which seemed to be that there's nothing unusual about a baby needing ten nappy changes in a single day. But then I seemed to hear the woman lecturer saying that, hey, guys, a baby might actually go through as many as forty nappy changes a day, that's perfectly possible. And my mind boggled at that, and I thought, hey, I don't think I can be understanding this stuff properly. However ... although I haven't been keeping a count ... I'm now prepared to accept that one small baby might, conceivably, exercise its creative forces to the tune of forty nappies in a single day. Baby Cornucopia is definitely demonstrating increasing cunning when it comes to nappy changes. Initially, when she was a very small baby, she would, when wet, demand a nappy change by screaming like an apocalypse angel. Then she seemed to master the principle of economy of effort, and the protests diminished to more of a "poor me" whimper. Now, however, we're seeing what seems to be the evolution of a more intelligent strategy, an anticipatory strategy, in which the protests start immediately before a nappy change is needed, with the result that the anxious parent is likely to open up the surprise package ("What have we got this time?") only to discover a dry nappy. ("Well, it was a dry nappy.") The motivation for this behavior is, I think, that it's more comfortable to relieve yourself when not wearing a nappy. This is just a guess. I don't know from personal experience. Yet. But, on the shelves of my local supermarket, there are ample supplies of incontinence pants for the older section of this nation's aging population, suggesting that I might get a chance to find out for myself, one day. Section 114 Entry 0003. Date: 2004 June 19 Saturday. (diary) (previous) (top) (bottom) (next) (topics) (contents) At two months of age, baby Cornucopia seems to sometimes be saying her first proper word, which her parents (perhaps hallucinating) take to be "hello". (In English.) Her gestures are more mature. Her hands no longer merely open and close, but have started to articulate as if she might soon start using them for more than a pair of ineffectual pincers. She has lately acquired her first hobby, which is sucking her thumb. There are moments when, lying in her crib - at the moment, at night she sleeps on her baby futon on the floor, but at times during the day she spends time in her crib - she really seems the perfect baby. Smiling, arms waving excitedly at her circulating mobile, the mobile's music playing as the zany animals go round and round. I'm very happy to have such a wonderful daughter. |
|
|
|
|
|