Feeding Expectations

As a pediatrician, I've counseled hundreds of parents on introducing solids to their infant. Why is it that when we started Sara and Julian on cereal, I expected them to be like "OK, mom and dad put it in my mouth and I swallow it, no mess, no fuss." Boy was I wrong. One thing is for sure, I have a very steep learning curve when it comes to the theoretical things I know about taking care of babies and putting them into practice. I think that having kids should be a requirement for becoming a pediatrician. In hindsight, I'm sure that some of the parents I've couseled in the past think I'm a nut.I am a bit bothered by the consistency of the Beachnut cereal flakes that we are using. They seem to be filled with static-electricity goodness and stick to everything. It reminds me of how those iron flakes would stick to magnets....you know, the ones we played with in science class. Or those faces that you can put the mustache on with a magnetic pen.Sara and Julian helped me root for Syracuse last weekend. Here is the evidence.

To keep Courtney happy, here a couple of extra pictures of S and J.

-Erik

Daddy's Little Disease Vectors

Sara and Julian are currently in the middle of viral crud #2. At least they had a few days where they were relatively back to normal. They actually don't mind being sick...they just keep smiling and laughing, with the occassional cough or sneeze mixed in. On the contrary, Melissa and I aren't dealing with it so well. Melissa lost her voice yesterday in the middle of seeing patients, and I'm battling a wicked sore throat today. Neither of us has been sick the past few years, since all of my patients are newborns who have never left the hosptial, and Melissa doesn't see acute sick visits as a developmental pediatrician. Our immune systems have been given a rude awakening this past month.Sara is now rolling from back to front consistently. She especially likes to do it in the middle of the night, and then scream hysterically because she can't get back over. Julian mostly chews on his fingers, and we think that it might be the start of teething. Julian is also turning into quite the little flirt and has all the ladies at daycare wrapped around his little finger (it doesn't help that he wears a onesie that says "Ladies Man" on it....thanks Aunt Holly).

Melissa and I had our first night out since the babies were born last Thursday (I know it was Valentine's Day, but we don't fuel the Hallmark machine by celebrating Valentine's Day). For Christmas, I bought Melissa tickets to see Martin Sexton here in Rochester, which was coincidentally on Valentine's Day. What I didn't realize was how hard it would be to find a babysitter on Valentine's Day, but we cashed in some baby shower gifts from coworkers and went to the concert. We had a great time. Martin is a phenomenal singer, with at least 4 octaves in his range. You know he's good when John Mayer says that Martin is who he listens to for songwriting inspiration. We had a few cocktails, and waitied around after the show to get a limited edition poster signed by Martin. He spelled my name right (with a K) but spelled Melissa with 2 L's. I mean really, who spells Melissa with 2 L's.

4 Months!!!

I can't believe that Sara and Julian are now 4 months old. In many ways, it seems like years have gone by since they were born. At other times, I feel like I just woke up and yesterday was 10/7/07, and now its 2/14/08 and I really don't remember what happened in between. They are growing and developing well, and Melissa and I are really enjoying interacting with them.

Its amazing how early their little personalities develop and how different they really are.
Sara currently has the honor as the heaviest baby (14 lbs, 5 1/2 oz), or "chubalub" as we like to call her (she'll hate us for that). Julian weighs in at 13 lbs, 9oz. They are both 25.5 inches tall. They are both rolling front to back, and Sara has successfully rolled back to front a few times now. Julian hasn't even shown an interest, so we'll be registering him in a remedial rolling class soon.

We took them to the Strong National Museum of Play last weekend. Its a really cool place, and it is a shame that we won't be in Rochester when they are old enough to enjoy it. I avoided Sesame Street....for those of you who have heard Dave Chapelle's take on Sesame Street, it's a scary place (google it...its hilarious...I'll never look at Snuffy the same way). The miniature Wegman's is unbelievable, although I was quite upset that they conveniently left out the beer section.

Tela has been great with the babies, and she is getting used to less attention and more independent play. Unfortuantely, caring for her hair has proven to be difficult. I dropped her off at the groomer a while back, and got a phone call shortly after I left her. Apparently, she has a lot more poodle hair and not a lot of lab hair. Tight and curly. Well, she was quite matted, and the groomer informed us that she needs to be brushed at least once, if not twice a day to prevent mats from forming. I have enough time to brush her about once a month. Maybe I can hire one of the neighbor kids to brush her. We'll just have to accept the fact that she'll never look like a bear cub anymore....

And she'll look more like a gangly baby deer. I really can't believe it is the same dog. When Melissa went to pick her up at the groomer, she was like "Where's Tela?" And the groomer lady was like "uh...she's the dog that licking your hand and jumping on you."

Celebrity Look-Alike

Thanks to Chris for pointing out that Julian looks like our former president.

I think that Julian sort of looks like another famous historical figure, but Melissa won't let me put a light bulb in his mouth to compare.

That got me thinking......who does Sara resemble. In her current state of hairlessness, options are limited, and I refuse to compare her to Sinead O'Connor.

Rather, I'd like to compare Sara's very first picture to a pop culture icon. This was a 11 week ultrasound of Sara.

Lookout world!!!!!

I decided that it is time to get with the program and start a family blog. The purpose is really to help relatives and friends who live far away keep up on the growth and progress of Sara and Julian, who are now 4 months old. I'll throw in some humerous anecdotes about our life and how we are (not) managing day-to-day with twins, a 1-year-old puppy and work. Just to let you know, I'm not in a joking mood today after the awful performance by the Patriots in the Super Bowl and with both babies having respiratory infections and shots last Friday, we haven't been getting a lot of sleep.


Without further delay, let me introduce the key players:



Sara Katherine
Born 10/8/07 at 10:25 am. Birthweight 7lbs, 2oz.



Likes: Bees, singing, watching TV, thrill rides (aka playing airplane), jumping, the Grateful Dead, being licked by the dog, tummy time, bunnies, trying to roll over, eating her hands, looking at tye-died t-shirts, jungle activity mats, the ABC song

Dislikes: Being in the carseat, sleeping past 5:30 am, dirty diapers, loud noises, the vibrating feature on the bouncy seat, pacifiers, bumbo seats


Julian Peter
Born 10/8/07 at 10:26 am, Birthweight 6lbs, 10oz.



Likes: Monkeys, Phish, watching TV, the New England Patriots, smiling at nothing particular, being scared, being naked, standing, pacifiers, ceiling fans, passing gas, Evenflow exersaucers, bouncy chairs, getting tickled, showing off his dimples

Dislikes: Daytime naps, riding in the carseat, tummy time, wearing hats



Tela M.
Born 11/11/06, from just outside of Columbus, Ohio, now weighs 52 lbs




Likes: Chewing sticks, carrying socks around the house, the vet's office, doggie daycare, eating disgusting things that should not be eaten, snow, mud, water, running fast, Kong's with treats, walks with dad, pepperoni, wrestling, sitting on the furniture, red and green bell peppers, microwave popcorn

Dislikes: Wearing costumes, squirrels, being brushed, brocolli and carrots, toothpaste