Logan's Baek-il Party

Today was Logan’s baek-il party.

In Korea, baek-il is a party to celebrate a child’s 100^th day of life. Historically, the infant mortality rate was very high, so families waited to officially celebrate the birth of a child until after the 100^th day.

A traditional baek-il party consists of a large feast with prayers and gift offerings to the samsin halmeoni “spirit grandmother” for watching over mom and baby. I’m not too certain whether we had a samsin halmeoni, but we did have my mother taking care of us for the first 4 weeks (thank you!). And if we did have a samsin halmeoni, she must’ve had a hard time keeping us safe because in Korea, moms and infants are supposed to stay indoors for the first 100 days to ward off any germs or sickness, but Logan and I have been traipsing around outside since he was 4 days old (and I've spent the past 3 months being chastised by random ajummas “middle-aged women” for my so-called lack of parenting skills).

Actually, I didn’t follow very many of the Korean postpartum customs. If I had, for the first 21 days after delivery I would’ve stayed in a sanhujoriwon “postpartum recovery center”, eaten seaweed soup 3 times daily (ok, this I did while in the hospital, but simply because it was the only thing they served), and abstained from all things deemed harmful like: short sleeves, cold foods/beverages, and showers!

So, Logan is now 100 days old! We decided on a very low-key celebration with just Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and Grandpa Lee, and our good friends Seon-hye and Il-Gyu. Logan got some new toys, clothes, and money (which will likely be spent at Toys R Us for Christmas^^). Ours wasn’t nearly as extravagant as a traditional baek-il party and we skipped most of the typical customs:

1.  We opted for a cake from the local bakery instead of baeksolgi (a very  dense steamed white rice cake with raisins & nuts)
 

almond cake from Paris  Baguette

 

2.   Rather than a lavish menu, we ate jokbal (pigs’ feet), fruit, and an assortment of snacks.



jokbal

our casual table spread



3.   Logan was not, I repeat not, photographed nude to serve as a record of his ‘manhood’. In deference to him and his future girlfriends, we decided on  photos of him in his hanbok (traditional formal wear for children and adults alike)



Logan donning his hanbok



Happy 100th day Logan! Mommy and Daddy love you to pieces ♥ ♥ ♥