Family records
Small days, honestly remembered.
These 18 entries keep the weather, the timing, the plans, the tiny victories and the mildly chaotic parts of our family life in Korea. Adapted stories keep their Korean source and date visible while private details stay private.
Need an answer rather than a diary entry? Open the practical guides, or return to the complete journal.
Newest first
All the little records
They are one family's memories, shared for company and context rather than turned into rules for everyone else.
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Family record
Inside a Korean Department-Store Baby Class
Our first Korean department-store baby class: funny photographs, a happily busy baby and the practical details that made the outing work.
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Family record
Singapore Rain with a Six-Month-Old
Rain, two naps and one flexible day in Singapore with a six-month-old: the family itinerary that improved when most of the plan disappeared.
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Family record
The Baby Passport Photo I Would Not Repeat
A home passport-photo shortcut looked wonderfully practical in 2024. Current Korean rules are exactly why I would not repeat it.
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Family record
The Teether I Could Put Down Without a Zip Bag
A provided five-month teether review, with the unglamorous detail I loved most: setting it down without finding another zip bag.
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Family record
The Stroller Photograph We Did Not Plan
One remote shutter, a tired baby and a stroller photograph we never planned: our warm little hour in a Korean self-photo studio.
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Family record
Three Hours of Fire Without Sleeping Outdoors
The glow of camping without the overnight: an autumn tent, a ready grill, one sleeping baby and three happy hours beside a fire.
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Family record
Thirteen Checks of the Baby Monitor
One autumn afternoon off by the Han River, one baby safely at home and roughly thirteen checks of the monitor anyway.
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Family record
Four Lines From an Ordinary October Week
Four lines from the fourth month of parenting: pleasant weather, a fast-growing baby and one tired parent trying to keep up.
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Family record
A Hundred-Day Celebration We Held at Home, Twice
Two families, two meals and one rented table: the warm, slightly exhausting weekend we celebrated our baby's first hundred days twice.
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Family record
We Booked a First-Birthday Venue at Two Months
The baby was only two months old, but the first-birthday date was already disappearing. This is how one quiet venue visit made the plan real.
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Family record
The Newborn Month I Had Already Forgotten
At one hundred days, the newborn month was already a blur. This is why an imperfect monthly growth log was still worth keeping.
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Family record
Eleven Days in a Korean Postpartum Care Centre
Everyone called the postpartum care centre heaven. Eleven days later, after booking short and extending, I finally understood why.
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Family record
We Arrived Late, and She Refused to Sleep
We arrived late, the baby chose feeding over sleeping, and two patient photographers gently found the newborn pictures anyway.
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Family record
The Baby Books That Required Two Adults to Sing
We bought the baby's first books on one trusted recommendation. The cheerful surprise was how much singing they expected from the parents.
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Family record
Two Outfits in One Hour: A Maternity Shoot
One hour, two tops and a camera remote: the simple self-service maternity shoot that looked like us because nobody else directed it.
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Family record
My Mother Ignored My Baby-Fair List
I brought a careful list to our second baby fair. My mother brought enthusiasm for tiny clothes, and her plan was much more persuasive.
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Family record
A Pink Carrier and the High Chair We Left
I brought a list to our first Korean baby fair. My mother found a pink carrier, my husband found a high chair, and the list did its best.
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Family record
Why My Parents Call Me Jelly GGumi
How a Korean prenatal nickname becomes a name: what kkum means, why families give a baby a taemyeong before birth, and how INa became Jelly GGumi.
