I Tried Cooking and Eating Abalone at 5 Months Pregnant (Day of the Dog)

It is a Japanese custom to perform a belt-blessing ceremony on the first Day of the Dog in the fifth month of pregnancy.

When I was pregnant with my eldest and second sons, I also went to pray for a safe delivery.
Since I have little knowledge of such events, I didn't know that I was supposed to 'prepare a maternity belt' for the safe delivery prayer, and I only found out when my mother-in-law sent me one while I was pregnant with my eldest son.
(I think it was written in Tamahiyo Club, but I had skipped over everything except the part about going to pray for a safe delivery.)

I have finally reached my fifth month of pregnancy, and my morning sickness has settled down a bit.
Today was the Day of the Dog, but due to my husband's work schedule, we decided to go for the safe delivery prayer at a later date.

By the way, have you ever heard the saying that 'if you eat a pair of abalone when you are five months pregnant, your child will be born with beautiful eyes'?
Abalone was a food I was completely unfamiliar with, but after hearing this, I ate it for the first time while pregnant with my eldest son.

This time, I should be in a prefecture known for delicious seafood, but I couldn't find a place to eat abalone, so I decided to order some and cook it myself.

Looking at the reviews, there were comments saying it was still moving and fresh, so I was nervous until I opened the package, worried that it might be too gross for me to touch.

Here is what arrived.

A firm, large abalone arrived.

It looked like it was moving a little, but I didn't let that bother me and was able to remove it from the shell.
It came with instructions, so I followed them and found it wasn't difficult at all, and it turned out delicious.

I wanted to focus on cooking while the kids weren't around, so I cooked and ate it at lunch.
It turned out so delicious that I thought about saving some for my husband, but it was so good that I kept snacking on it, and in the end, only about three pieces were left.

Since it's a luxury food, I probably won't ever cook it again in my life.

However, I had a new experience, and I'm already imagining 20 or 30 years from now, thinking how cool it would be if I could casually grill some abalone for my children when they get married and have their own kids. (Getting ahead of myself even though the baby is still in my belly.)