Yesterday on Sunday, July 10th, Mio turned 100 days old! A baby’s 100th day is a milestone in several Asian cultures, and traditionally in Japan it’s celebrated with a ceremony called okuizome.
Excerpted from Wikipedia:
When a baby is 100 days old, Japanese families celebrate a weaning ceremony called ‘‘okuizome,’’ or first food. This ceremony traditionally involves a large shared meal prepared by the mother-in-law. The menu varies by region. Traditionally, a small pebble is placed on each plate and the adults symbolically bite down on it. This ritual is meant to wish the baby a life of abundant food without hunger as well as good strong teeth. While a father or grandfather may pretend to feed the baby solid food during these festivities, the baby is usually still drinking exclusive milk.
We did not have a formal okuizome ceremony, but Mio got to spend the day enjoying lots of time with loved ones! In the morning, we went over to Berkeley to have brunch with my dear friend Julianne, who happened to be in town! The last time we saw Juli, I was still pregnant, so this was her first time meeting baby Mio.
Later in the day, Mio’s grandparents (Dan’s parents) came over to have a celebratory lunch with Mio. Dan’s mother made and brought over some delicious sushi rolls! Mio couldn’t have any, of course, but we very much enjoyed the food on her behalf! 😉
Mio started to fall asleep, so we put her in her bouncer and she immediately woke up and started to cry when she realized she was no longer in anyone’s arms….
We feel so blessed and lucky that Mio is so healthy and she’s already given us so much joy in the past 100 days. In some cultures, the 100th Day is also celebrated as the one year mark since the baby came to exist in the womb. Sure enough, it was around this time last year that Mio started to develop within me — it’s amazing to see that only a year later, we have such a big, healthy 3-month old in our arms! I used to feel like the nine months of pregnancy was unbearably long (especially while I was experiencing it), but if you look at it from that perspective, it’s pretty incredible that a fully functional human can be created from nothing in a mere nine months! Life is truly a miracle.
Mio has already changed our lives forever in this short period of time, and we cannot wait to see how she continues to blossom and bring more joy to us as well as those around her.
“My heart is yours.
My spirit sings with love.
For you. My child.
You’ve grown yourself,
inside me.
Foot under my rib.
One became two.
At last you are here.
Sleeping on my chest.
Clutching my tangled hair in your hand.
Your dark eyes calm as a lake.
Your breathing making me safe.
You who gave birth to this mother.
A life. My child.
We gave birth to each other.
I kiss your face.
A million times a day.
I sit still and listen.
To the whisper of your wisdom.
To life, right now.
This is love, my love.”
— ULRICA