Eight Days a Week

The end of a Jewish Boy's first week should really be the eighth day, as this is when the Bris (if you want to learn more about a Bris, just Google "Bris" and you'll see the Wikipedia entry) takes place. We had the festivities at our synagogue in Northbrook, Congregation Beth Shalom. Simon was fantastic during the whole day: he made one small peep during the procedure and was passed around to all of the guests and slept the whole time (perhaps it was the kosher wine he sipped on).







With Saba (Simon's grandpa Jay Miller).



The Mohel was terrific. Very nice guy, great sense of humor, but most importantly, an expert at circumcisions. I swear it was all over in about five seconds.



This is my favorite shot of the day. Our rabbi and many others said this was the most unique Bris they had attended as there were so many interested observers. In this photo there are six OB/GYNs who wanted to get a closer look at the technique (you may wonder why OB/GYNs would be so interested in circumcisions. Pediatricians cannot do these procedures in Illinois due to malpractice insurance; it must be performed by a surgeon).



It was very special to have Simon's three living great-grandparents in attendance. This is the first appearance on the blog of my grandma, Ilse Brauer (in the red coat). She's 91 and lives in Milwaukee. Simon's middle name is partly after Ilse's father, Dr. Oscar Meyer, who was a very successful orthopedic surgeon in Germany before being forced out during the Holocaust.





Not only can my grandma hold a baby, she can also tell Simon's mother whether she has food in her teeth or not.



And now that the whole food-in-teeth thing is out of the way...







You've seen Dr. Rim earlier in the blog, but in this photo we add Dr. Rim's husband, Chris, and Dr. Sogol Jahedi, an attending physician who was two years ahead of Rachel in the residency program.



After the Bris some family came over to our condo. Here's Simon with Nana (Jay's wife, Bobby).



This morning we took Simon back to the pediatrician, and he gained a whopping six ounces in four days! What a champ. The pediatrician said he looked perfect and wants to see us in a month.

Nana made this hat for Simon, and even though it's a tad too big right now, we wanted to try it out today in the cold weather.