Baby gifts

I was looking at these teddy bears the other day and thought I'd snap a picture to see if anyone else thinks they're really weird. I call them the demonic teddy bears. No eyes, nose, clothing, except for a ribbon around the neck. The metalic plasticky one is particularly disturbing. I received them in the mail a few days after Grace was born from a former colleague of Sejin's. I was thinking I may try to embroider some eyes and nose and maybe even knit some clothes for them. They look so scary now.

The demonic bears got me thinking about all the baby gifts I received (and am still receiving) since Grace was born. I was surprised to get so many. The doorbell rang steady for a week. Mostly clothes. Some really nice ones too. The problem is, quite a bit of the clothing will fit her in the wrong season! She'll probably never wear some stuff. Some of the really small stuff she got she only wore a few times. Among the best gifts we received was a huge box of Pampers from my friends Ed and Joo. Also, my friend A got Grace a really nice bottle of luxury baby oil. We also got a nice warm baby blanket we used a lot. Oh yes, and the Aprica baby sling was good for the first couple of months. My sister sent some nice books. My mom made a bunch of stuff -- some really nice blankets that can't be grown out of!

But I don't blame people at all for buying ill-fitting and impractical baby clothes. It really is the thought that counts and I, myself, was a poor baby gift buyer. Thinking back, I was guilty of buying less than useful gifts. I would typically buy clothing, the cuter then better (not always the best choice), and I would buy it for the baby's current size. For example, for a baby's 1st birthday, I would go to Dongdaemun and ask for clothing that would fit a one-year-old. Now I know that is the worst thing to do! Always buy at least a size up and keep the season in mind. I've even bought silly things myself, things you buy because "it's just so cute!!" I'm cutting back on those purchases though. A baby can only wear so many headbands and ruffly socks. I don't know why I'm writing about this. I was just thinking about all the baby stuff I have.

In other news, Sejin and I posted Grace's pics on a couple of baby modeling websites and one of the sites contacted him requesting more pictures. But they want studio pictures. Too bad I don't have the 400 bucks to shell out for those! Perhaps we'll go to Igloo and do the 'self' photos. We've been meaning to for a while...

Too many cute things

When preparing for a baby, cuteness really shouldn't be a priority, but sometimes you just can't help it, especially when the stuff is affordable. I've been really good so far I think, considering all the cute kids' stuff there is out there.

Today Sejin picked up our crib sheet sets in Dongdaemun. We had them custom made because they're really hard to find here. One set consists of the matress cover, a top flat sheet, and bumper covers. When you go to Dongdaemun Shopping Town, you first have to find a seamstress (in the basement) who will sew for you, and tell her what you want. She'll tell you how much fabric you need to buy. One set requires about eight yards of fabric. Then you go shopping for the fabric, bring it back to her, and pick it up at the appointed time. All together, fabric + sewing, each set cost us 70,000 won, which I don't think is too bad to have custom made bedding. It's really cute fabric, too. I still have to wash it up and make the crib properly, but you get the idea:

Here is some other stuff I couldn't resist buying.

My doctor's appointment was good. I was told it's normal for me to be sore right now, so that's good; I like normal. I'm continuing to gain weight... so far over 30 pounds! Do I look impressed?

A quiet visit

Well, mom left two days ago after a pretty low-key three week visit. Now the place seems kind of empty, but I'll get used to it again.

Mom in Dongdaemun:

Unfortunately, mom and I didn't get to do a lot. We did a few little shopping trips on her first days here, but one Tuesday morning I had a setback that no one was expecting. I woke up that morning and it was painful to walk, so I knew something wasn't good. So that afternoon we went to the hospital to find out that the baby had dropped (not good at only 30 weeks). The doctor ordered me to stay in and rest. So that's what I did. But I felt really bad that mom was here all the way from Canada and all we could do was sit around my apartment. The good thing is that we both got some knitting done and my mom did a lot of baking and cooking, which I really appreciated.

Multidirectional scarf I sent home for my sister:

Baby cardigan (one year size):

Saartje's booties (maybe six month size?):
Cable baby hat (3 month size?):
My mom baked this pie in my little convection oven:
Another good thing about staying in was that I had time to think about what baby stuff I needed, and I ended up doing a lot of online shopping. I got some serious deals on gmarket...far cheaper than what I'd found even in Namdaemun. Onesies for 2,900 won, sleepers for 7,000. Stuff like that. I couldn't even find onesies in the baby malls in Namdaemun and the sleepers I saw there were 10,000 won and up (some over 20,000). So the baby stash has been growing and I haven't even gone that crazy, money-wise. My list of things to get is growing smaller, which puts my mind at ease.

Baby stuff is piling up. Still need to make a place for it all...

I washed up all the cute little onesies and sleepers:

Anyway, I had a follow-up appointment a week later and I guess the rest paid off because the baby had moved up a bit and things appeared to have improved. I'm still supposed to take it slow, but it was reassuring to hear that things looked good. I've only been working about 2 hours a day while making sure to take rests here and there between work, laundry, cooking, etc.

I also received lots of gifts from Canada, which came over in my mom's suitcase. My sister sent me lots of goodies and my mom made a bunch of stuff, including a quilt, an afghan, two very nice receiving blankets, and plush baby blocks. I didn't expect all that stuff! I'm hungry. Wish mom was still here to make lunch!

Namdaemun

Namdaemun is awesome. There is such a variety of things for sale at cheap prices, and even if you're not into shopping, just the atmosphere is great to be in. But I'm constantly surprised when I hear other foreigners say that they don't like Namdaemun, or that they've never been there.

I'll admit, the first time I went over six years ago, I was a little confused about the hype and wasn't overly impressed. I thought it was just full of ginseng in soju and knock-off bags. But you really need to go on a weekday when it's not so crazy, and you also need to be brave. For a long time, I never ventured into the buildings in Namdaemun. I just glanced into the stores on the ground floor. Don't be afraid to go into random buildings and go up stairways and escalators -- basically get lost.

The reason I write this is that yesterday I went to Namdaemun for the first time in quite a while. I used to only have time to go on weekends, and this is not a good time to visit Namdaemun, especially if you don't like crowds. So my friend Amira and I went yesterday around noon to check out the baby malls. I have been in the baby malls before, but never looked seriously because I wasn't expecting a baby! But yesterday I took more interest (although I didn't buy anything for baby) and helped my friend pick up some fantastic deals on some clothes for her son, Noah. The clothing there was half the price (or more) of the clothing we were looking at in Doota last week, and some of it was exactly the same.

Baby and kids' clothes here are cute. And they're affordable if you shop in places like Namdaemun. Forget Doota and Homeplus and definitely stay away from the big department stores. Hit the markets. I'm always amazed when I hear friends with kids saying they order their kid's clothes from abroad because the clothes are too expensive here, or they're not good. I had a co-worker once tell me that his wife only dresses their daughter in brand name clothes that she orders from the U.S. because they're better quality. Excuse me? I can't imagine ordering expensive baby Polo clothes for my kid, only to watch them spit up on them and then grow out of them in a matter of a couple of months. What a waste! I know I'll be hitting Namdaemun for all my baby clothes when the time comes.

To get to the baby malls, take exit 7 out of Hoehyeon Station (light blue line 4), go straight, and then turn left. Wander around. You will see big buildings with funny names like Mama Land or Happy Baby (I can't remember if those are the correct names, but they're similar to that). Go on in and look. Take the stairs and see what's on the other floors. For example, after wandering around the first floor of a baby mall yesterday, I decided to go up to the second floor just out of curiosity. I'm glad I did because hiding up stairs were tonnes of women's discount clothes, even maternity shops. My friend bought a gorgeous black suit for $60 (bargained the lady down from $90 -- don't forget to bargain)! There were all kinds of cool shops up there that I had no idea existed.

Mesa also has a baby clothes floor with good deals. Mesa also has good deals on women's clothes, and has some maternity shops. It is also near exit 7 of Hoehyeon Station. Just look up when you get out. It's the tallest building in the area. Yesterday I bought a bunch of flowy shirts there on sale for 5 and 10 bucks. I've found out that I really don't need to buy maternity shirts, especially with this year's fashion trends. The shirts I bought are roomy and comfortable with plenty of room left. I did look at actual maternity shirts, but they're humongous, I don't like them, and they're way more expensive because they're called "maternity" shirts. Take a look around Mesa first and second floor and you won't be disappointed. There's also a food court up on the 8th floor.

Also, Korean souvenirs and gifts. Most foreigners think that the best place for this is Insa-dong. Yes, Insa-dong is great, but a lot of the souvenirs there are overpriced, naturally, because it's a tourist zone. If you just wander around Namdaemun, you will see a lot of Korean souvenir shops. These places are all right, but where you want to go is the Korean Folk Art building, second floor. I can't give precise directions there because I always get lost wandering around Namdaemun, but what I do is just wander around, and look up for a big banner that says "Korean Folk Crafts" or something like that. Go in the building nearest that banner and go up to the second floor. It's a huge building full of the same stuff they sell in Insa-dong (phone charms, silk bags, boxes, Korean lamps, etc.), but for cheaper, and the salespeople there are more willing to bargain, especially if you're buying a bunch of gifts. I always go to this building to buy gifts before I go home to Canada for a vacation.

Anyway, I always have a good time in Namdaemun, and today I felt compelled to write about it. It was great to get back there on a Tuesday afternoon and take a leisurely look around. I just found this neat map of Namdaemun, which attempts to make it look easy to get around. Have fun with the map, but I still think it's best to go and wander. I also just found out that Mesa has a floor full of beads in the basement (I haven't even been to the basement!). Damn.

I actually have today to myself since I'm waiting for feedback on my sample unit I sent to the publishing company last night. Very, very late last night...I was too busy shopping in Namdaemun yesterday afternoon instead of doing my work. Yesterday evening I also had a CWIK (Career Women in Korea) meeting, which means I got home around 10pm, soaked my feet, caught up with Sejin, and started working around midnight. How silly is that?

By the way, if you're a career woman in Korea or are looking for a career, you should go to CWIK's monthly meetings. They usually meet the third Thursday of the month at the New Seoul Best Western Hotel. The meeting is in English, and both Korean and foreign women are welcome. The schedule is something like this: 6:45pm - networking, 7:30 - dinner, 8:15 guest speaker speaks, 8:45 Q&A, 9:00 - finish. It's a great place to meet other career women. If you want more info, email career_women_in_korea@yahoo.com.