Urgh (Sorry, but I really need to vent...)

Preface: The twins' actual pediatrician called me today to talk about the appointment we had last week...

It drives me mad when the pediatricians at the twins' doctors office tell me that Baby-Led Weaning is not recommended, that I should start them on rice cereal pronto and not give finger foods until 8-9 months. Seriously...don't tell someone that something is bad until you've read about it and you *really* know what you're talking about. Otherwise it just pisses people off. Fine...you're a pediatrician and I get that. And you're worried about babies choking. Of course you are. So am I. But babies can choke on nearly anything--including RICE CEREAL! Especially if you put the spoon too far back into the baby's mouth... With BLW you have no fear of that because the babies are putting things into their own mouths...the FRONT of their mouths, because they can't reach the back and would have no idea how to do that anyway. Yes, I realize that Dovid will be able to go onto normal formula once he starts getting solid food, but honestly...my insurance is paying for his preemie formula (which he's doing great on) and it doesn't cover the regular stuff. Do I honestly want to have him on the regular stuff ($$'s coming out of my pocket) for any longer than I really have to??? Not a chance. Babies do *not* need to eat rice cereal. They do *not* need to eat mush at 6 months. Besides, do you really want your kids to eat stuff with a ton of preservatives? Not me.

Update: This is not meant to be an insult to anyone who feeds their baby with mushy baby food. It's the "norm" nowadays, and I support anyone who makes sure their baby gets fed *period*. :-) And I give big kudos to people who mush their own baby food. It's just as healthy as BLW, except in a different format.

What do I tell the pediatrician so that she'll listen to the fact that BLW is a GOOD option and something that she should be telling parents as an alternative to the recommendation for starting mushy stuff. Honestly...just because you're a doctor doesn't mean you know everything.

Baby-Led Weaning Question

fuentes from Life at 335 asked a great question in my comments, and I want to make sure it gets answered (for the both of us). :-)

She asks..."I gave Keelin banana pieces but when she picked it up she couldn't figure out where it went (it was in the palm of her hand), I think I made it too small. I am super worried about her choking, how big can you make the pieces????)"

I also experienced something like that, only it was more the fact that the banana pieces (when cut really thin like long french fries) broke apart and the twins had a really tough time picking up the broken pieces and getting them into their mouths. I would pick it up and hold it in my hand so that they had a better chance, but they still were having a tough time with it. I don't want to make the pieces *too* big around because of course I don't want them to choke on it, but then again, when Dovid finally got a piece into his mouth he was more licking it than anything else...and then spat it out cuz he had no idea what to do with it. lol Any thoughts??

Not Interested

I tried giving the twins banana pieces (Baby-Led Weaning style) and they just were not interested. They wouldn't even look at the banana in front of them. They would look anywhere else but down...and they didn't even try to touch it or anything. It was quite disappointing, but I guess it just means we have to keep trying! Any tips, Molly??

Pediatrician

The twins had their 6 month checkup today! Here's how we're doing for height and weight:

Chana

weight: 16 lb 10.9 oz (last month she was 15 lbs 1.3 oz...a gain of 1 lb 9.6 oz)
height: 26 in (last month 25 in...a gain of 1 in)
head circumference: 41.5 cm

In percentiles for her age, this means...

weight: 66%ile (last month 57%ile)
height: 62%ile (last month 50%ile)
hc: 16.6%ile

Dovid

weight: 15 lb 1.9 oz (last month 13 lbs 15.6 oz...a gain of 1 lb 2.3 oz)
height: 25.5 in (last month 24.75 in...a gain of .75 in)
head circumference: 42.5 cm

In percentiles for his age, this means...

weight: 12%ile (last month 11%ile)
height: 21%ile (last month 19%ile)
hc: 12.3%ile

Now we can see that the twins are growing! Chana is just gaining so much weight...and Dovid is just sorta gaining. lol He's just a little guy and plans to stay that way. It's also funny that Dovid has a bigger head, but he's in a lower percentile... In any case, it's all 100% on target and the doctors are really happy. They also say we can start solids, although the doctor we saw today doesn't know anything about Baby-Led Weaning and was warning me about choking and wasn't recommending it until 8 months. But I say she has no idea what she's talking about and plan to start it anyway...as long as Molly says it's ok! :-D

I'm a Movie Producer

Well, at least for the twins I am. I finally got out the video camera my mom bought us and caught the twins giggling on camera. Unfortunately every time they looked at me, they stopped laughing. I edited out those parts so all you see are the giggles. Basically, Dovid was cracking up at Chana making screetchy noises. So Chana is the one you hear screetching and Dovid is laughing...although I believe Chana gets in a few giggles too. Enjoy!!

Whoops!

I haven't posted in a while. It's almost time for the next episode of Biggest Loser (tomorrow). lol I gained a bit of weight over the weekend because of Rosh Hashana, but I didn't do *too* badly considering how much I ate plus desserts. mmmmm dessert... Anyway, I figured it's a Jewish holiday and I'm supposed to be happy and eat well. So I did. :-) Now I just have to get on the Wii Fit and lose it again. And make sure I don't do too badly during Sukkos... But if Dovid keeps trying to eat me, I may not have to lose any weight at all...he'll just eat it all off of me. lol He's being very clingy...always wanting me to hold him and not wanting to sit in a seat and just play. He's trying to grab my shirt and eat that too. Maybe he's just hungry? Well I'll go feed him then.

Biggest Loser

I am sooooooo happy that the newest season of The Biggest Loser has started!!! It's the only TV show I watch (aside from restarting my addiction to Days of our Lives). It's such a feel-good show, and I love watching all of the contestants lose tons of weight and become healthy. I also like it because it makes me feel better about myself and my weight loss. If you've noticed, I am one pound...that's it, just one pound away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Unfortunately I still have a crazy floppy belly with tons of extra skin, but I hope it will get somewhat better once I'm down to my ideal weight. I asked my hubby if my tummy used to look like that before I got pregnant, because I just plain forgot what it looked like. He said that it's extra skin was from the twins, and that my tummy wasn't as floppy before, which is what I thought. I just hope that it does start to look better once I'm closer to my ideal weight... *sigh* The things we women do to have children, including giving up our whole bodies, are just incredible.

Keep watching the weight ticker so you can see when I get past my pre-pregnancy weight and start to knock off more pounds. My next goal, once I get past 141, is to be less than I weighed at my first OB appointment. I had lost five pounds in first trimester, so I believe I weighed 136 at my first appointment with the doc. If I can weigh less than that when I go to see her for my yearly gyn appointment (Oct 8), I'll be ecstatic. At least I'll be *really* close.

25 Firsts

I am stealing this from Sarah R, Nancy, and Jenn.

"25 Firsts"

1. Who was your first prom date? I believe that was Ilya Gandelman. It was his Junior Prom and I was a sophomore.

2. Do you still talk to your first love? He's my facebook friend, but we don't actually communicate.

3. What was your first alcoholic drink? Manischewitz wine

4. What was your first job? I worked in the box office at the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra

5. What was your first car? 2006 Ford Focus

6. Who was the first person to text you today? I haven't received any text messages today.

7. Who was the first person you thought of this morning? Chana (she was crying)

8. Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Kelley

9. Where did you go on your first flight in a plane? I think Seattle, WA.

10. Who was your first best friend and do you still talk? Shira Kochman, and we send each other emails on facebook infrequently.

11. Where was your first sleepover? Shira Kochman's house

12. Who was the first person you talked to today? Shifra, my au pair

13. Whose wedding were you in for the first time? My sister's, and I was the maid-of honor.

14. What was the first thing you did this morning? Got dressed

15. What was the first concert you went to? My first concert I believe was Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers & Bill Cosby. (Yes, mom, I remember it...)

16. First tattoo? Don't have any, don't plan to get any.

17. First piercing? My ears and I was 14 (almost 15).

18. First foreign country you went to? Canada (lol)

19. First movie you remember seeing? An American Tail

20. What state did you first live in? New York

21. Who was your first room mate? I honestly don't remember her name. It was at Bucknell and she moved out after a few weeks. I think her last name was Rich...

22. When was your first detention? Never had one!

24. What is one thing you would learn, given the chance? To speak Hebrew fluently

25. Who will be the next person to post this? YOU WILL!

Last Installment of Pictures...For Now

You're welcome, WiseGuy & Nancy. I'm glad you guys enjoy my posts on random Jewish stuff. I absolutely love sharing. :-) For FET Accompli--I think my husband has been "the Kohen" for one pidyon ha-ben (and I believe it was many, many years ago...) It's usually an "older" man or a Rabbi that happens to also be a Kohen that would do one of the few pidyon ha-ben's that actually happen in this community. They are just SO rare!

Anyways, onto the last of my old pictures! These were all taken the day the twins came home from the hospital (March 25th). Funny thing about March 25th, if you've ever read Lord of the Rings, that's the day of the year when Frodo put The Ring into Mount Doom and it was totally destroyed. Being the nerd that I am, I was *so* hoping to have the babies that day. Oh well...anyways...

Here is Dovid, still lying in his teensy crib in the NICU

And now I've dressed him and picked him up. Wow, he is SO tiny!

Now he's all snuggled into his carseat. I'm in awe of how small he was...

Here is Shmuel holding Chana

And here's the whole family all ready to go home (YIPE!)

Dovid's Pillow

WiseGuy asked a question about what is written on the pillow that Dovid was lying on for his bris. It's the first few words of a pasuk in Bamidbar (Numbers 18:16). It says, ופדיו מבן חודש תפדה. "Oo-phe-doo-yav mee-ben cho-desh teeph-deh" This means "And those that are to be redeemed, from one month shall you redeem". This phrase actually has nothing to do with the bris. lol It has more to do with something called pidyon ha-ben, which means "redemption of the [first-born] son." A pidyon ha-ben is done on the 30th day after birth and there are several qualifications that need to occur in order to require this redemption.

1) The baby needs to be a first-born. If you had a girl first, no dice. If you had a miscarriage after 40 days of pregnancy, you're disqualified too.

2) The baby needs to be a boy. Once again, if you had a girl first, you don't need to do this.

3) The baby needs to be born the "natural way". If you had a C-Section, forget it. ;-)

4) The baby's father cannot be a Kohen or a Levi and the baby's mother cannot be a Bas-Kohen or Bas-Levi . (Bas-Kohen/Levi means that her dad was either a Kohen or a Levi.)

We were disqualified on all 4 counts. lol Chana was born first, so there goes the first two. They were born by C-Section, and Shmuel is a Kohen.

The actually ceremony is pretty simple. The father of the baby gives the Kohen present three coins to redeem his son from serving in the Beis HaMikdosh (May it be rebuilt soon!) That's basically it. lol They obviously use the same pillow for both bris ceremonies and pidyon ha-ben ceremonies in my shul.

Random note: As you'll see from the definitions of all these words on my side bar (and the link below), all Kohanim are Leviim, but not all Leviim are Kohanim

Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions

I've seen a lot of people posting about 9/11 today, but I don't have a very interesting story and I'd rather not bring up sad memories right before Shabbos. Maybe I'll talk about it next year...

Still More Pics and Other Stuff

A few thoughts for the day and then onto more pictures!

1) The tooth isn't chipped. It just feels that way, but the dentist says it looks fine.

2) The screen on my au pair's phone died. The one I just gave her 3 weeks ago and it doesn't work. Stupid phone...was brand new too. She didn't do anything to it, but the screen stopped working. Stupid T-Mobile says the phone isn't under warranty (even though it's only been used for 3 weeks) so she has to use an old one of ours. :-(

3) My hubby is sick. He's got a temperature and feels icky, so I've been playing Doctor Mom/Wife. Poor Shmuel. :-(

4) A note to Beh: I think Chana has dark blue eyes...maybe hazel? And her hair looks less gingy than it used to. It seems to be more of a light brown lately, but there's so little of it that it's difficult to tell.

Ok, now for pictures!!

This may have been the twins first bath at home (April 22), but they were already a month old so that would be a bit gross. lol Things were a bit crazy in April... Anyway, Chana obviously didn't mind her bath as much as Dovid did.

(Chana) This is fun! Can I do more of this?


(Dovid) I HATE THIS!!!

Well, maybe it's not *so* bad...

Ok, fine. Do what you gotta do.

Here are some random pictures from mid-April (going from newest to oldest)...

Love this bouncy seat!

Hmmm, this is comfy.

Yeah, not bad.

Well, it's so good I think I'll sing about it.

LAAAAA!!!

Hey, I'm trying to sleep here.

I like this swing.

Hmmmm...

Yep, it's a good swing.

These next few were all taken on the day of Dovid's bris, April 1st.

Here are Ron & Chana

I seriously could not find it in myself to smile. I was soooooo scared and I looked it.

This is my mother-in-law, my mother, Dovid and me. I think all of the women were pretty nervous, don't you think?

Here Dovid is being passed (by my mom) to the men's side for the...you know. Poor guy. :-(

That's it for now!! Last photos in this series will come in tomorrow's post.
Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions

Going Back in Time

Before we take a trip back to July in Baby Picture Land, a few things to note.

1) I went to the dentist today to have a tooth filled and I think he chipped it. Seriously it feels like there's a whole chip missing from that tooth and it's not comfortable. I'll call him tomorrow so he can take a look and fix it. Sheesh!

2) I found someone that I've been looking for for 9 years. He was a guide on my trip to Israel and I lost his email address practically as soon as I got back to the US. I did some fancy Googling (in Hebrew) and found him! Dang I'm good... If you want, I can post some neat Israel pictures in the future. For now, let's get to the babies!

First, is a picture of my mom holding both twins.

Next is Dovid

And finally both twins together.

And now back even further--to the end of April. The babies were just about one month and one week old.

Here are two pictures of my sister (Shira) holding Chana


Here is a picture of me with Chana

And here is one of me and both twins!

Just Chana

Just Dovid

And two pictures of both twins!

Coming up tomorrow--the twins' first baths and Dovid's bris...
Click HERE for more Hebrew & Yiddish word definitions

More Pictures!

I took a ton of photos off of my mother's digital camera, but I can't possibly post them all at once...there are just too many. So, I'll give you a taste today and then more of a taste tomorrow. Also, I'll go backwards in time so my sister-in-law can see the twinners most recent pictures first. :-) These were all taken on Sept 7th...and here we go!

Chana

"Bleh"

"Eh what?"

"Heeey"


Dovid

Grin

"Hi"

"Hug?"


Chana & Dovid

"Can I suck your thumb?"

"Mmmm thumb..."

"Can I touch your face?"

"Don't look!"

"I want to hold your arm"

"Dovid, what are you doing?"

"Whee!"

"I've got your arm again"

Giggle

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month

September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. One of my good blogger friends, Molly, has a two year old with Wilm's Tumor. I am re-posting this verbatim from her blog (so "my son" really means "her son") and encourage others to pass it along.

We need more research and solutions. Cancer patients of all ages deserve better than chemotherapy.

My son did five months of chemo that didn't even keep the cancer from growing back. From this chemo he ended up with nerve damage, causing him to be delayed in his gross motor development. At this point I think he has healed as well as he can from that and now it is just a matter of catching up and being out of the hospital to do so. He also risked heart damage from another chemo drug. His heart seems okay, thankfully, but many other kids who receive this drug cannot say the same.

His current regimen includes one drug that increases his risk of leukemia, one drug that can cause bladder bleeding (and was derived from mustard gas), and one that damages the kidney (remember that he only has one and not even a whole one) and can also cause hearing loss which is not much fun for anyone much less the child of musicians.

Kidney damage is no joke. He is on a low sodium and low potassium diet, which means a lot of foods that he might otherwise enjoy are off limits. Like no ketchup. He takes three blood pressure meds and a bicarbonate supplement as a result of the kidney damage.

I packed away clothes and brought out others and realized that my 2-year-old has not grown. Pretty sad. We knew that he'd slow down in his growth for the duration of his treatment, but the reality really hit when I realized that we didn't need to buy him ANYTHING for Fall. He is likely below average in height, which is another tough pill to swallow when you are two parents who are six feet and above.

I'm not telling you this because I want sympathy, per se. It isn't just that this is what weighs on my mind when other parents just have to think about play dates and kid classes and potty training. I want to share this because I hope that, after reading this and the stories of other families whose children are fighting cancer, you will agree that these kids deserve better.

Please share this with everyone you know, to increase awareness. Please take up this cause for my little guy and the others.

Approved!

Remember my Unemployment Angel? I called her today to check on the status of my claim, she went over the paperwork and approved it!!! My back-checks will be direct deposited tomorrow!!!!!!!! WHEEEEE!!!

MckLinky Blog Hop

This week's blog hop theme is baby pictures! So, I finally used my brand new camera and took some awesome pictures of the twins. It has a function where it can detect a smile, so I set it to do that and got a couple of good grins. Enjoy!

I've got your foot! ME FIRST! (A la Jacob & Esau)

Grin!

3 pictures of Chana



4 pictures of Dovid
Look, Ma! I can hold it myself (for about 2 seconds...)

Smile!

I'm conducting the imaginary choir...