We haves teefs!

The two bottom teeth have FINALLY cut through.

Nursing is about to get REALLY interesting.

Oh, and NS is rolling back to belly now too.

Yesterday I came into Jerusalem, stopped at the butcher to order a whole turkey to be picked up on Wednesday... Yeah, I have my Shabbat menu already planned. We're going to be between 8 and 11 people...

Then hung out at Malcha Mall until my doctor's appointment.

KFC just opened up (yay!) there. I priced family plans for Pelephone and Orange (we're probably going Orange) and almost kidnapped a child to prove a point.

The pet store in the mall has a huge plexiglass oval enclosure which for a price, allows small children to pet rabbits and parrots and parakeets. The enclosure is edged with a bench. One of the stores that faces this enclosure is a... not sure what to compare it to... Hallmark store meets Spencer's store... An obviously Orthodox women, also obviously from NY or NJ, sits her 3 year old daughter on the bench and says "Braindy, don't move. Mommy's just going into the store for a minute". And then walks into the store. Now, I was sitting near enough to the entrance of the store that I could tell, she was out of sight.

A minute goes by and then 2. And little Braindy gets bored, so she slides off the bench and goes to the store window to peruse the stuffed animals. Finally Mommy comes out, sees little Braindy isn't where SHE Left her, looks around and finally spots the little darling. Takes the kid's hand and says "Mommy was very worried. You weren't where she left you."

If little Braindy had been sitting where she was supposed to be when her mommy came to collect her, I would have given the woman a piece of my mind. Unfortunately she moved off too quickly for me to do so. I think she was aware that I was NOT pleased, as I was shooting her looks could kill glares and shaking my head.

Then off to the OB. He asked me how I was feeling and I told him rather directly, and he laughed. He gave me something for it and well, here's hoping. We heard the baby's heartbeat, which seemed to surprise the dr a tad. He said that often this early (early???) it tends to be hit and miss in being able to hear the heartbeat with the doppler. Sounded great :) I have to go for a CMV bloodtest again to make sure I STILL don't have it and I have to make an appointment to have an ultrasound of my liver and make an appt. with my liver dr. to compare the initial u/s and the new one. The OB also ordered a liver function test for me to take to the liver dr. The OB also spoke about genetic testing again... so I think after this baby is born Zach and I will have the testing done, so we'll have it already when/if we decide to have another.

Then to the nurse for blood pressure (117/67) weight (not telling, but I gained 3 kilo in the past 3 weeks) and urine (she said it was fine). She said my Rubella antibodies were WAY low and I'd need a booster after the baby is born. Great, another thing to add to my list.

OB wants to see me in 3 to 4 weeks. Nurse wants me back in 4 weeks. HOPEFULLY I'll be able to see the liver dr. in that time and have results back.

Fetal echo is Jan 23 and next big ultrasound is January 28.

After the appt. Zach picked me up and we looked at baby furniture. We saw a setup we liked and was reasonably priced. They didn't have the carriage/stroller I want and I got the impression from the saleswoman they they weren't going to. We forgot to price carseats though... I think on Wednesday I'm going to go back to Talpiot one last time and really look at what they have instead of speedglance. Also price carseats...

So Wednesday I'll go in with Zach (note: make sure he has a place in his car for me...) have the blood tests, make the appt. for an u/s, make the appt. with the liver dr., shop for Shabbat, go into Talpiot and take D1 to her dr's appt.

So I've been doing some fact-finding online regarding baby items since it's been a little while that I've been in the market for well.. baby items.

You know, 15 years is a freaking lifetime.

It was so much simpler then. The new crib regs had just come out, regarding the acceptable width between the slats. Disney Babies, Muppet Babies, Sesame Street Babies and Barney were just coming on to the market. Wooden Little People by Fisher Price were a thing of the past by then, it was all moving to plastic and the Little People weren't so little any more. The Weebles wobbled, but they too were larger.

Who would think to go to the internet to do research or order items? You went to your local (or not so local) baby furniture store and bought.

I remember the infant carrier/seat I had. It was a Graco. These things weren't yet car-seat legal so they were nice and lightweight, in order to get it to rock, you had to push it with hand or foot and I remember this model had a compartment in the back, just barely large enough for a diaper, babywipes and a drool rag. And I remember being thrilled to have that. I had 16 styles of wind-up baby swings to choose from. We ended up getting one with a bassinet and a seat. Unfortunately with the bassinet, the baby would end up scrunched up either at the top on her head or down at the bottom with her legs tucked up under her and her diapered tush up in the air.

Today, infant carriers double as car seats, so they weight a ton. If you want something to just sit your baby in, you have to get what they call a 'bouncer'. I've managed to find ONE company that still makes a wind-up baby swing.

Everything else comes battery operated. And I'm not just talking about the swings. Playpens, bouncers, swings, walkers... all come with bells and whistles like you wouldn't believe. 3 speed vibrate on everything. Remote control, so mama doesn't have to get off the couch. MP3 players for 7 hours of music. Lights that flash. And the kid (and parent) doesn't have to do a thing. And of course for the Jewish parents, it means going through all the toys just before Shabbat and removing batteries so the kid will have SOMETHING to play with.

Is it any wonder our preschools are handing out Ritalin at snacktime? Is it any wonder our kids are more demanding of 'amuse me NOW', why they have the attention span of a gnat?

Once upon a time, if a toddler wanted Big Bird to pop up from his yellow box, he had to press the yellow shape. For Oscar it was green. Ernie was orange. Nowadays, he just sits back and waits for it all to come to him.