Oh so different

asher at 3 months in Hilton Head over Labor Day Weekend in 2009

mayer at 6 weeks in Hilton Head over Labor Day Weekend in 2012

i love their differences!!!!
i realized that asher's face rounded out around 8/9 weeks.
it will be interesting to see if mayer does the same or if he stays this way.

mayer update

mayer is 7 weeks old

he weighs 14 whopping pounds and is approx 25 inches tall

in comparing him to asher... he is MUCH LARGER!!!!

asher was 14 pounds at 10 weeks and was only 22 inches at 10 weeks.

mayer is heavier and taller. WATCH OUT ASHER!

lots going on health wise...

mayer arrived with many more gi/reflux issues than asher. hopefully not like mommy....

it got so bad in the first three weeks that we had to enlist a gi specialist

the only good thing was that mayer was gaining rapidly and he wasnt spitting up

but this was a double edged sword.

because he wasnt spitting up the acid was irritating his esophagus and his stomach

we think we finally got his reflux under control through medications and probiotics and a very strict diet for mommy that has eliminated dairy, leafy greens and acidic foods (pretty much everything mommy loves...but doesnt love as much as mayer) 

however we quickly picked up on something else around week three or four

mayer has the same neurological condition that asher had...benign paraoxysmal torticollis (BPT).

(mayer right after an episode where he switched sides and was extremely curled)

to say i am totally bummed about this would be an understatement

the upside is that we already know what it is, know how to treat it and have another child that went through it and came out ok.

based on the support groups that i participate in online every kid handles this differently

we hope that mayer will outgrow it as quickly as asher did

after looking back at photos of asher we realized that he showed signs as early as three/four weeks old as well but we had no clue because we were first time parents and didnt realize his head tilt was not normal

ive been recording mayer's tils (where his entire body banana's to one side) for the past three weeks. we have not caught him during an "episode" however the past two times he has switched sides it occurred while he was swinging in he swing (movement triggers episodes, so he will no longer be able to swing). bummer. before we know it we will catch him during one of his episodes and i hope to be able to video it. he exhibits light sensitivity and body stiffness during his episode peak and then has a deep sleep following it (7-9 hours). 

we have his first neuro appointment sept 26. most likely we will have to go through the full gamut of testing to confirm his diagnosis. we will also be submitted to the carl watkins center so that we can begin county services for PT like we did last time (which proved extremely effective)

a lot of people ask... will he need a cranial band. as of now, NO. why? due to mayer's horrible reflux he sleeps on his stomach. if he were to sleep on his back we would most likely need a cranial band. why? when BPT babies lay on their back and they are tilted they are semi stuck in the same head position/tilt. this is what causes their head to develop in an uneven flatted shape because they are unable to move. when sleeping on his belly he is not "stuck" in one position. we are praying we wont need a cranial band. 

mayer is a happy baby. he started smiling around 5 weeks and now he mimics, coo's, laughs, talks and has fabulous eye contact.  he can lift his head up, loves to be held and have his tushy patted and nurses like a champ!

keep mayer in your prayers. we hope that this too will pass over the next 12 months like it did for asher.

Pics on the go

i think even those with fancy shmancy camers have the tendancy to resort to the camera phone, namely the iphone for on the go photos...we have caught a few really priceless smiles or memories with our iphone and i wanted to cherish these memories on the blog

snuggling with daddy on the floor in the family room, this happens all the time but those sweet moments are rarely captured

i surprised my great aunt estelle for lunch at le peep one day and she was so elated to have mayer there

he was 2 weeks old

already waving to the camera...

aunt eliza and uncle rich came to town to visit

uncle rich took asher to kids create at home depot while eliza and i went to starbucks

she got some sweet snuggles in with mayer

uncle rich and asher at home depot kids create...

they made a cork board with his name on it. super cute

snuggly bugs

listening intently to daddy's bed time story

the first day school in the 3s class at CJP

asher and ella enjoying jasons 30th brunch

while ella and asher were enjoying their food... their siblings harper and mayer were chillin in their car seats... rough life!

mayer the gangsta

mommy and mayer playing on the floor

baby boy smoochies

a special belgium waffle treat with mommy that included a whip cream and fruit smiley face!

asher's obsession... cars. lined up side by side, front to back, often grouped by type of car or color. 

 mayer the "man"

i picked up asher from school the second week mayer was home and took him on a date, just the two of us to carolina cafe. he selected a blue iced cupcake and i had a peanut butter and chocolate bar. we brought home mommy's leftovers for daddy. he devoured his cupcake.

funny story. i always try to empower him and give him independence. we needed a to-go bag for our leftover items and he was up to the challenge. he walked up to the counter by himself and said the following with very little prompting (mind you i was not sitting anywhere near the counter or the person he was talking to). he said "excuse me..(pause)... may I please have a bag for my snack?" the people behind the counter were shocked when they realized such a little guy was asking for this. it was way too cute and he was so very proud of himself. as we walked out the of the cafe they said "see you again soon, sweet boy!" i love manners and my outgoing child. 

mayer my stomach sleeper. this was nap time. he is drapped in the baby blanket that softa made for him to match his nursery. its gorgeous!!!!

"i didnt know golf would be this boring dad"

some of our first smirks and smiles...

and the photo that got so much attention, mayer in his tallit onesie.

my friends mom bought this for mayer and its from a shop in NYC. so cute.

....lots more to come....

Mayers Birth Announcement

before I was pregnant with Mayer i saw a birth announcement that i fell in love with

i had no clue where it came from but i knew i needed it...when the time came

once mayer arrived i kept looking at different sites for announcements but they were so restricting and left me feeling empty.

i kept mentally going back to the announcement i had seen and pinned on pinterest

i decided to ask my sweet neighbor miguel who is graphic designer to recreate my vision using the photo i had taken of mayer in the womb his softa made him.

this is the original photo...

my only input was the actual information, the photo and that i wanted to tie the womb colors into the wording on the announcement.

it turned out so much better than i had ever imagined.

love love love it!

Brothers

One random day we got silly.and sweet..

because that's what we do. love love love.

asher is an extremely proud big brother

so excited to be so close, but he was scared he was going to squish him

he watches his brother's every move and is extremely attentive and sensitive to his needs

he loves to kiss him on his forehead or head

pat him on the head or stroke his cheek gently 

and love on him, just the right amount

and by the looks of things, mayer is a-ok with it all

you can tell he already looks up to asher

and asher adores the attention and affection from his brother...

but even more so from the camera...

could he not be any more silly?

asher is very proud of his little brother.

he introduces him to everyone, tells anyone that will listen that his baby brother came out of his mommys tummy. everyone must know this upon greeting asher....

common things that he also blurts out (just like i used to do)

"do you have a question for me?"

"im getting bigger"

"my birthday is coming up in june"

for the record asher says these three things consecutively, back to back upon greeting most strangers... and he says them really fast. so unless you know he is saying them you are sitting there thinking uhhh, what? its humorous. he goes through this list with us (philip, bella, mayer and myself) almost nightly before bed and just recently added "i love you" before the three lines. kids are so funny.

asher also introduced his "baby, aka. lovey" to mayer. mayer has his very own baby (same color, just a bear head vs the hippo head). asher makes sure that mayer is holding or snuggled up to his little "baby" at all times. he will trek the entire house looking for mayer's "baby" to make sure he has it. 

mayer at 2 weeks old

check out the dimples in his cheeks!

his nose definitely is from his grandma sara (softa), eye shape is possibly his daddy as well as his clef chin....maybe blue eyes like momma??? and the lips are still to be determined. mayer is definitely a great mix or our family and we love that he is so different than asher!

this isnt the best photo but the boys facial expressions were priceless...

i cant even imagine what either of them are thinking...

love my two boys!!

The Real Deal - Brit Milah

due to the availability of a Mohel or lack-there-of, we had to do the actual circumcision and ceremony separate from the ceremony and naming. Dr. James (who happens to also be my OBGYN), is a certified reform mohel. his father actually started the reform mohel movement and he also happened to perform Asher's brit milah 3 years ago. not only did he do a fabulous job, but his bed side manner was so amazing i decided to switch to him as my obgyn....and frankly have never regretted that decision. he is fabulous. i would actually probably tell you he is the very best doctor i have ever seen. but this post isnt about him or how wonderful he is....the bottom line is, if we werent going to be able to do the naming and circumcision at once i was going to wait for dr. james to get home from the mountains later that day so that i could be sure i was comfortable with who was performing this procedure on my son.

only immediate family was present at our home at the time dr. james arrived.

6 pm and we were ready.

i actually watched this time around and found it particularly interesting. 

every mohel does it differently however dr. james performed the procedure just like a surgical procedure. 

you can see we were all gathering to observe the mitzvah...by the look on my face i can tell i was whincing...but watching...

he strapped mayers legs to this pillow that he brings with him and he gave him a local anesthetic to numb it so that he wouldnt feel much other than tugging. we also gave him several fingers dipped in wine to calm him and relax him (this is traditional in the jewish ceremony)

for extra love and support everyone held his hands/head to let him know we were there for him

all done!

dr. james, the rockstar mohel

after the ceremony and procedure were complete, asher said the hamotzi over the challah, asher was playing with his cousin brittan during the actual circumcision as we didn't want to traumatize him!

gave mayer a good job kiss  

the whole gang at the bris

i even jazzed up the table so that it didnt feel so sterile

dr. james' special bag that he brings with him to all brit milah's

and what jewish celebration or ceremony is without food....

we all joined together and had a festive meal as we celebrated mayer

 philip and i both agreed that we much prefered seperateing the two parts (naming and circumcision) vs doing it all at once with everyone present. b'sheret... it was meant to be.