24 Hours in Japan

Hubby's kuya has been living in the US for around ten years now but his family has not seen his place. Thus last year, they decided it was time to visit kuya. Ate and hubby proceeded to compose this "ambitious" itinerary of flying to Japan, then to Chicago, then to Florida for 2 weeks, then New York for four days, then California for four days, then Japan, then Manila. And oh, they thought it would be fun to stay in Japan for 24 hours before flying to Chicago.

I was anxious about the trip because we will be traveling with a fifteen-month old toddler who still drinks milk from a bottle, sans yaya, and the weather will be alternately cold and hot. Two words: "packing nightmare". Like a true-blue excited Mommy though, I shopped more for P's stuff and just bought Uniqlo heattech tops for me.

Let's goooo, Daddy! P was learning to walk at this time.

First stop: Japan!

We arrived at Narita then boarded the Narita Express to Tokyo. It was already around 5:00 P.M. when we arrived at our hotel, Shinjuku Washington Hotel. After freshening up a bit, we went out to have dinner at Fuunji. Before the trip, I gave hubby a list of recommended places to eat in Shinjuku, and he chose this ramen place.

Apparently, the place is really popular because there was a line outside. I thought it was not a bad-looking line but then (1) it was freezing; and (2) it turns out that the inside of the place was just a long counter and while you're eating, there's still a line behind you. See this post for more photos.

Inside, you punch in your order on this machine. They have the ramen we all know and tsukemen - which is also ramen but the noodles and soup are in separate bowls. Since I was carrying P (which would be the story of my life for this trip) and the place was cramped, I opted for the regular ramen.

 

Lined up in the cold for this.

Unlike the ramen I've tasted in Manila, the broth was really rich and thick. I found it a bit salty though. P liked it and just kept slurping the soup I gave him. I would have enjoyed it more if I was not carrying P hehe. After dinner, we felt so tired we just decided to go back to the hotel. 

Getting Ready to Wean from the Breast Pump

I think I am ready to wean myself from the breast pump at sixteen months post-partum. Note that I said "wean" and not "self-wean" because so far, P shows no signs of self-weaning. However, his demand for the boob is not as frequent as before.

I love breastfeeding despite the complications I had. Especially so that when we went abroad for three weeks a couple of weeks ago, direct latch proved to be so convenient and helpful. I usually breastfed P before take-off and he'd be asleep during the actual take-off and usually for the rest of the flight. I breastfed him when he got antsy during the shows at Disney World and Kennedy Space Center. Now at home, I breastfeed him after dinner and he falls asleep.

However, despite taking malunggay tablets, drinking malunggay tea and gorging on oatmeal cookies, my pumping output is beyond pitiful. I pump 3x at the office and I hardly come up with half an ounce. So it really makes no sense for me to lug my heavy pumping paraphernalia of parts and cooler with blue ice all the way to the office for half an ounce, or even lesser, a day.

Lest I get mastitis again, which I've read could still happen, my strategy is to drop a session this week, then another session next week. So I guess I won't be pumping on May 10 henceforth.

As for weaning P from the boob, I think I'll keep offering it if he still wants to. Again, I've noticed that he's not demanding more of it naman, and he falls asleep immediately after a few minutes, so I guess he wants it more for comfort rather than for sustenance.

Wish us luck.