baby – The Haruna Home

Summer Announcements

July 11, 2023

Summer is here, and it has been eventful at the Haruna Home!

We spent much of spring in the garden planting and enjoying the good weather. We also traveled to the city twice so that my husband could do some vocal workshops, as well as meeting up with friends and relatives.

In April through June I was in the third trimester, so I spent the latter part of pregnancy taking daily walks and swimming in the public pool, all in the hopes of encouraging our second-born to make his way into our arms..

But, despite our efforts, he ended up being born at 41 weeks and 2 days.. well past his “due date”!

Our second son, Josiah, was born on June 30th.

We are so happy and grateful for the addition to our family!! I am currently taking it easy during postpartum recovery, but look forward to getting outdoors again soon as a family of four.

In Japan rainy season is now well underway, and the hum of the first cicadas can be heard – a signal that hotter days are yet to come. “Bugs” is also the theme of a unit that will be featured in Hiragana at Home, Part 2!

The Part 2 release of our home-education hiragana program for children is planned for sometime around mid-August, no later than August 22nd. If you already purchased the Hiragana at Home program at Gumroad, you will be able to download Part 2 from your downloads purchase page, as soon as the Part 2 download becomes available.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at our Instagram, theharunahome!

How has your summer been going so far?

Leave a comment below!

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Early Potty Training

July 19, 2022

When you talk about early potty training, there are often several negative responses.

You shouldn’t potty train early, you’ll harm your child.

You have to wait until toddlers show “signs of readiness” and are developmentally ready to train.

You can’t train a child before they can talk. Why force your child to potty train early?

There is no rush. It’s not a race to grow up.

And so on..

The truth is that there is NO one way or perfect timeline to potty train a child, and every child (and family) is different.

A child is not “better” or “worse” for starting potty training later or earlier. However, it is also incorrect that early training is harmful, forced, or reflects a parent’s desire to “rush” childhood milestones.

In fact, early potty training can be gentle, relaxed, fun, and have many benefits.

Our son started early potty training in January 2022 at 10 months of age.

Below we share our experiences with early potty training as parents still currently in the thick of raising a toddler: the method we are using, how it’s going so far, and answers to some questions about early training for those who might be interested in trying it with their child.

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Overseas Travel With An Infant

January 13, 2022

Overseas travel looks NOTHING like it did a few years ago. My husband and I are both seasoned travelers, having been to a combined total of more than 10 countries.

However due to the continually changing travel guidelines, under the pandemic that has stretched on for over 2 years, overseas travel has become a completely new experience.

There are still long queues, longer flights, and an array of pre-flight preparations to consider. Add to this extra regulations, unbelievable layovers, and the wildly unexpected, and you have today’s travel experience.

While single or married this might present its challenges, but add to the mix an infant, and everything has the potential to become just a little more overwhelming!

While traveling overseas with a baby does require more careful planning, it is manageable if you are willing to be flexible (and can deal with the possibility of temporary sleep deprivation – which most parents of infants are experts at already!).

Our most recent travels overseas took over 20.5 hours of flights and layovers from Japan to the U.S., and over 34.5 hours on return (that is not counting driving to and from the airports both ways!).

Based on our overseas travel experience, here are our tips for traveling with an infant overseas.

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Giving Birth at a Japanese Clinic

April 14, 2021

Our beautiful rainbow baby arrived to this world on March 11th!

Our birth experience was different from what we expected, but still overall positive. We chose to give birth at a clinic vs. a hospital, run by the doctor who was the care provider during my entire pregnancy.

The following is our birth story, about what it’s like to give birth in Japan and during the COVID pandemic.

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Japan’s Pregnancy Freebies: A How-To Guide

October 6, 2020

One of the most fun things about pregnancy is signing up for maternity and baby freebies.. and there are so many available in Japan!

Through signing up for free in-store point cards and online registrations, we were able to collect 25 free diapers of various sizes, as well as sample packs of baby wipes, cookies, soap, laundry detergent, toilet cleaning wipes, disposable nursing pads, lotion, supplements, and more!

Following are some of my favorite freebies that we signed up for so far on our pregnancy journey:

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We’re Expecting! – Pregnancy in Japan

September 24, 2020

We are happy to announce that the Haruna family is expecting a baby! The due date is March 10th, 2021.

This is our rainbow baby, a term that is used for a baby that is born after an infant or pregnancy loss. Before conceiving this child, we experienced 3 miscarriages, as well as secondary infertility, over the course of about 3 years.

Getting here has been a long, difficult road.. and pregnancy after loss can be so much harder than one with no previous losses. Add onto that the uncertainties of a pandemic, and it has the potential to be even more challenging.

Yet, I am so thankful that God has blessed us with this child, and slowly the excitement has been growing.

In addition to new medical restrictions due to the pandemic, there are also many differences between giving birth in Japan vs. the U.S. If you are pregnant in Japan or just interested in the process and differences, please read more below!

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