March 28th, 2008

Here she is!

cocome_daughter.jpg

(Ready to face the world with fighting pose!)

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On Tuesday 18th of March, in the early hours of the morning, the baby decided to ‘knock on the door’ to let us know that she is ready to come out & face the world.

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With that, we got up quickly & changed from our PJs. The curious thing was that I was the first to get ready. I tried to maintain calm but I must admit, I did shout about ordering people:

“What ARE you doing!? There’s no time to brush hair or brush teeth!! COME ON! COME O-N!” I mean, it doesn’t take much time to put your trousers & then coat on, right??

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The good thing was, Lady Luck was on our side. Since it was way before the morning rush hour, the ride to the hospital was super smooth, with no traffic to stop our way. Honestly, thank Goodness it didn’t take long, because the labour pains were kicking in pretty fast during the ride & I was growing anxious by the minute. – I still shudder with the thought of what if this had happened during the day? The car ride could’ve easily have taken as long as an hour…! Or what if D or my father happened to be not by me? Who would’ve driven me in then??

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Once at the hospital, things were happening quickly, & at 9.28am, she was born – instantly filling the room with a fantastic cry. The nurses straight away commented on what good lungs she has!

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I got to hold her straight away. My first sight of her was a bit blurry what with my eyes gone all watery with emotion, but I could see that she was perfect in every sense & I was soooooo happy. I think I was muttering “thank you” repeatedly.
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cocome_daughter2.jpg

(She’s half-German, half-Japanese. But she’s definately inherited my Japanese almond-shaped eyes! The forehead & hair is D’s.)

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So, the name:

After a week of calling her “the baby”, we settled on naming her SAKURA. It means ‘cherry blossom’ in Japanese. But for the kanji symbol, rather than using the kanji for ‘cherry blossom’, we decided to spell it like this: 咲良, made up of two symbols, as it sits better with her European surname. Not only does the first kanji means ‘to blossom’, it also means ‘to smile’ in ancient Chinese. – May she be blessed with good smiling people surrounding her, herself always smiling. May she be as beautiful as the cherry blossom, that warms everyone’s hearts with messages of Spring’s arrival.

Posted in People I love

46 Comments »

  1. I’m delighted to be the first to wish Sakura a very warm welcome on her mother’s lovely blog. She is indeed perfect in every way! Congratulations to all of you!

    Comment by Astrid - March 28, 2008 6:13 pm

  2. hey tamami ,
    she looks beautiful just like you,

    congratulations to you , D and I . How is “I” with his new little sister.

    best wishes nikki

    Comment by nikki - March 28, 2008 6:30 pm

  3. Thank you Astrid!!!!!!
    ;) :) ;) :) ;) :) ;) :) ;) :) ;) :) ;) :) ;) :)

    Comment by Tamami - March 28, 2008 6:31 pm

  4. Hey Nikki! Thank you!!!!
    “I” is amazing with his new sister – soooo sweet with her, kissing & hugging. We try to involve him as much as possible, aswell as try to pour as much attention to him as before. Sakura sleeps a lot so it’s easy at the moment!
    – Hope to catch up with you next time you’re in Ldn, alright! xxx

    Comment by Tamami - March 28, 2008 6:36 pm

  5. Welcome, Sakura! You are a beautiful little girl.

    Comment by Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) - March 28, 2008 7:25 pm

  6. Oh my god, she’s here!!! ^_______________^

    Aww she’s adorable! Soooooooooo sweet………..

    I feel all emotional looking at her, she’s got so much hair for a newborn, I think when I was a baby I was BALD lol!

    I love her name, Sakura, it really becomes her :)

    Well now that you’ve had Sakura, all the more reason you have to take care of yourself during the tough first few months! Yes???

    With love, Grandmama Jan ;) lol

    Comment by Jan - March 28, 2008 7:53 pm

  7. sooo cute! her little asian eyes are so dark and pretty. Congrats :) hope you get some sleep in the coming weeks.

    Comment by amanda - March 28, 2008 7:57 pm

  8. Thanks Lydia, Jan & Amanda!!!!

    Comment by Tamami - March 29, 2008 12:26 am

  9. Congratulations to you and Dirk!!
    Sakura looks just like her mummy!
    She’s absolutely beautiful. I can’t wait to see her the next time I’m in London.
    Please take good care of yourself Tamami
    and congratulations again!!

    Comment by Akiko Ueda - March 29, 2008 10:02 am

  10. おめでとう！　Congratulations to you two.
    とてもかわいい桜ちゃん。Sakura-chan,　She looks so cute!! I like her name so much too.

    toyomi

    Comment by toyomi - March 29, 2008 7:07 pm

  11. I should have read your message more carefully( too happy to notice it). Sorry about wrong kanji spelling for Sakura.

    toyomi

    Comment by toyomi - March 29, 2008 8:54 pm

  12. helloooo aki-chan!
    thank you! (D tried several times to email you on the day, but it didn’t work or something like that, so sorry for the delay in letting you know.)
    Can’t wait to introduce you to our new daughter!!
    (and get introduced to yr new hubby!) xxx

    Comment by Tamami - March 29, 2008 9:59 pm

  13. Thank you Toyomi-san! (no worries about the mis-spelling!) We saw your message earlier tonight, & we told our guests about you & miyako-jima. They too agreed to want to be transported to your island like I. – Hope you are having a nice time there. Here in London, the weather has been awful…! rain, rain, rain with stormy wind.

    Comment by Tamami - March 29, 2008 10:05 pm

  14. What a beauty! Congratulations, good to hear that mother and daughter are both well. Enjoy!

    Comment by Mari - March 30, 2008 3:33 pm

  15. Hi Mari! Thank you very much!!! So far am very much enjoying being cocooned at home with this new creature. She sleeps well at night & very clear-cut with why she cries. So it’s been pretty easy-going so far! (fingers crossed it stays that way!)

    Comment by tamami - March 30, 2008 9:16 pm

  16. She is so beautiful. Congratulations. She came really early didn’t she. I was very surprised to get your text. I can’t wait to meet her. I’ll speak to you. Hopefully I can pop over soon. Hope you are well.

    Comment by Judy - March 31, 2008 12:50 am

  17. Congratulations Tamami-san, on your sweet little bundle of joy!!
    I just saw the above entry in my office this morning. (I really wanted to spread the news but since it was early in the morning not a single person was around.) She looks just adorable, and her name! 咲良…what a pretty name. “Otsukaresama-deshita.”

    Comment by Yu - March 31, 2008 5:38 am

  18. Hello there Judy! Yup, she was 3 weeks early. Got us in the surprise too! And you gotta come around! It’s Easter holiday next two week isn’t it? So, maybe during that period? Bring the boys, “I” would love to see them!
    .
    And hello to Yu!
    Thank you very much! ;) By the way, how did your Valentines’ dessert/ dish go? I’m curious! Let me know! xx

    Comment by tamami - March 31, 2008 11:31 am

  19. She’s just beautiful Tamami I guess she couldn’t wait to show the world those eyes! I took a week to choose my daughters name too, and she was also blessed with a powerful set of lungs! Many congratulations to you and your wonderful family.

    Comment by Laura - April 1, 2008 1:44 pm

  20. thanks Laura! Name: I found that it was more difficult to choose a girl’s name than a boy’s! Such a responsibility. I hope she grows to like her name!

    Comment by Tamami - April 1, 2008 2:33 pm

  21. Congratulations!!! She’s gorgeous – and what a lovely name! Glad to hear you’re both doing well. xxx

    Comment by Rachel - April 1, 2008 2:43 pm

  22. わーい！
    おめでとう！
    あの大きいおなかから出てきたんだネ。
    咲良ちゃん、かわいい～。
    すくすく健康に育ってね。

    Comment by ikuko - April 2, 2008 1:43 am

  23. Congratulations on the safe birth of your perfect little girl. She is such the sweetest thing! Wishing her a long, lucky and happy life.

    Love to you both

    Alex
    xx

    Comment by Alex - April 2, 2008 2:14 am

  24. Thank you Rachel! I’m glad you like the name. Hope you’re doing well! xx

    Ikuko-san, ありがとー！いくこさんのコメント読んでたらマーケットが非常に懐かしくなりましたよ。。。その節はいくこさんにごひいきしてもらったり、stop-byしてくれたり、クリスマスにお手伝いしてくれると言って下さったりと感謝、そして良い思い出です。９月／１０月に再活動するのでヨロシクです！

    Hello- Alex!!!
    Thank you very much! We’re slowly getting used to the new life! – I miss the market though!!

    Comment by tamami - April 2, 2008 10:13 am

  25. Congratulations, she’s beautiful. All the best. xxx

    Comment by barny - April 2, 2008 10:41 pm

  26. Hey Barney! thanks v. much! hope you’re doing well, & that you’re taking it easy amidst the busy times you’re having!

    Comment by tamami - April 3, 2008 1:53 pm

  27. Congrats Tamami, She is such a beautiful baby girl and such a lovely name .. I wish I can hold her and smell her .. I love the smell of new born baby .. she is such a pretty little girl.
    Congrats to you and your husband :D

    Comment by Yew Ming - April 9, 2008 2:54 pm

  28. Thank you very much Yew Ming! Ditto about loving the baby-smell. (that is, except for when they’ve soiled their nappy!) xx

    Comment by Tamami - April 9, 2008 5:04 pm

  29. tamamiさん

    遅くなりましたが、おめでとうございます！
    咲良ちゃん、ほんとうに可愛い、毎日成長していることでしょう。また写真載せてくださいね。
    tamamiさんも体調に気をつけてがんばってください。

    kx

    Comment by keiko - April 23, 2008 4:29 pm

  30. けいこさん
    有り難うございます！！
    ほんと、毎日成長してて持っていると重く感じる様になってきました。顔も生まれた時と比べてかわってきているみたい。
    かわると言えば、目の色がgrey/blueなので、目の色が茶色にかわってくれたらなーって思っています。話に聞くとどうやら目の色って六ヶ月目にかわるらしいから。。。
    txx

    Comment by tamami - April 23, 2008 9:25 pm

  31. she is gorgeous and what a lovely name!! Would love to come and see her soon :-)
    C x

    Comment by Claire - April 25, 2008 9:11 am

  32. Helllooo- Claire!!!!
    Sooo good to hear from you. Was thinking about how we haven’t seen each other in like ages. Please do hop around if you can. Is B’s nursery in the afternoon? Iss’s is.

    Comment by tamami - April 25, 2008 12:52 pm

  33. congratulations she’s so cute!
    I’m waiting for my 2nd baby i’m J-10, oh làlà!

    Comment by leonine - April 30, 2008 1:41 pm

  34. Hi! No, he’s in the morning so that bit doesn’t work! I’d be happy to pop in one morning though while he’s there though and then maybe we could get the boys together at half term?

    Comment by Claire - April 30, 2008 8:37 pm

  35. Helloooo Leonine, Thank you! And congratulations to you for the 2nd bebe. ^^
    I checked your blog link, and gosh, I so wish I can read French… instead I’m drooling over your food pics!
    .
    Hey Claire, I’ve sent you an email!

    Comment by tamami - May 1, 2008 12:47 am

  36. Congratulations!

    What a beautiful baby.

    Sakura is a nice name.

    Comment by Dawn - May 9, 2008 9:15 am

  37. Hi! Congratulation! she is so cute! I am working at Burdick chocolate and we have very nice baby favors that you personalized…

    Comment by ophelia yvon - May 14, 2008 5:44 pm

  38. Thank you Dawn & Ophelia! ^^

    Comment by tamami - May 14, 2008 6:07 pm

  39. sakura.. eagerly waited… as gentle, as beautiful as the flower of spring. Yet strong, bursting with colors and energy – mother nature’s loving gift to behold!

    Congratulations to both the parents and lil bro of their new addition to the family!

    Comment by pixen - June 3, 2008 7:40 pm

  40. Hello Pixen. How lovely. Thank you!!!

    Comment by tamami - June 3, 2008 9:21 pm

  41. Congratulations! What a lovely little girl.

    Comment by plum - June 10, 2008 1:04 am

  42. thank you plum!!

    Comment by tamami - June 10, 2008 2:36 pm

  43. Hi Tamami-
    Wow -Congratulations!!!!
    Sorry I’ve missed out for so long-
    Sakura is beautiful! I love that you named her for cherry blossoms- they are so beautiful and sweet- just as she is sure to be.
    I send you many blessings for long life and happiness for Sakura and for all of your family!
    xoxo
    Gabi

    Comment by Gabi - July 1, 2008 4:13 pm

  44. Hello- Gabi!!!
    Good to hear from you-. Thank you ^^

    Comment by tamami - July 1, 2008 11:54 pm

  45. Hi, I just wanted to tell you you’re baby is beautiful, and I absolutely love your blog, I have gone back to when you first started blogging and read everything, very interesting, I have always thought I would like to sell my baked goods but for now am content with just giving it out as gifts to friends and family, much success to you always, Diana

    Comment by Diana - January 9, 2009 12:39 am

  46. Hello Diana!
    Wow, thank you for reading my blog from the beginning!! That’s amazing! & very touching. Have fun baking lovely goods – it’ll taste extra special I’m sure when you’re baking for loved ones. ;-)

    Comment by tamami - January 9, 2009 1:06 am

 

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