Carter’s Baek Il (100th Day) Celebration

July was Carter’s 백일 “Baek Il” or “100 days”. In Korea, Baek Il or the 100th day after a child is born is commonly celebrated. From our baby shower, til wifey gave birth, to the first time my family sees Carter, and today… I’m glad I get to immortalize these memories and I get to share them with all of you.

Back in the day, Korea experienced all kinds of famine and diseases. It was common for newborns to get sick and the lack of medical information and development, as well as the extreme cold and humid seasons, made it hard for babies to recover and survive. 

In response to this inevitable situation, parents would keep their newborns at home for the first 100 days so that the babies would build their immunity and along with this, mothers can use this time to recover from childbirth. 

Once the baby surpasses the 100th day and remained healthy, they are now allowed to come out of the house and be “introduced” to the world. We take this time to meet with extended family and friends and have them be formally introduced to our child. 

Parents would celebrate during this time as it is believed that their child overcame a critical period and achieved a milestone. It is also believed that after this, the baby would grow up to live a long, healthy life. 

Back in the day, it would be common to make offerings to the Shaman Spirit of Childbirth for continuous protection. But now that we have more information about healthcare and help is readily available, it is less common to do such practice. 

The only tradition that we kept was to give out rice cakes. We have to give out 100 rice cakes to family, relatives, and friends on the 100th day of our child because it symbolizes a long, healthy, and thriving life for the child. And you know we ‘bout that for Carter, so we gave out as much as we can in our church. 

Along with this, we continue to celebrate the 100th day of our child as a commemoration of a milestone. 

Our Lowkey Baek Il Celebration 

We’re lucky that we are almost back to normal ever since the pandemic, so we had the opportunity to celebrate Carter’s Baek Il with our closest family. We wanted to keep it lowkey and celebrate at home, but my dad couldn’t leave the restaurant. So instead, we celebrated in our restaurant Seorabol Restaurant. 

Shout out to Made and Co Designs for the fantastic banners and cake topper!

Shout out to my sisters and brothers-in-law for helping out with this beautiful set-up so we can take great pictures and commemorate this milestone for Carter. We had rice cake and fruits to symbolize our wish for Carter to live a long and healthy life! 

Shout out to my dad for chopping up this awesome sashimi set, fruit cup-ups, and KBBQ!! Now ya’ll know where I got the skills??

I love the way we celebrated because it was simple and peaceful. With everything that’s going on and how fast time goes by, I liked how our family just hung out and bonded over good food. It was a time to remember culture, reminisce about the good old days, and create new core memories. The day was filled with laughter, love, and beer, nahmean?? 

To my family: 

To wifey, you are amazing. I can’t even imagine and put to words everything that you went through. All the changes in your body, the weight of carrying and nurturing our big boy, and the pains you had to go through to bring him to life. Even when you are recovering, you were still standing strong. 

To our family, I can’t help but feel blessed with all the support that you give us. Making us meals, assisting with and babysitting Carter, and generally just celebrating and journeying this life with us, I can’t help but think about how much love you guys are showering to Carter. I can’t thank you all enough. 

To Carter: 

If in the future, you get to see this, I want you to know that we love you. Your mom said she wishes for you to grow up knowing how and having the strength to stand back up after you fall, and I couldn’t agree more. No matter what though, we will always be at your back supporting you in everything that you do. 

It has been so surreal from our first day with you up until your hundredth day. From the moment we first held you, to the moment you reached and held our fingers, when you opened your eyes and started to look at us, when you first giggled, and when you first rolled around and held your body up. We are so proud of you. 

All the sleepless nights when you were crying or feeling fussy are worth it. We are so glad we have you in our lives because you make us better people, better parents, and better husband and wife. We have nothing but hopes that you grow up to be happy and healthy. 

Can’t wait for all the firsts that we are going to have together.

Posted By: Chef Chris Cho · In: Lifestyle