Repost IV: Preparing the Mind

In life, we often have dreams of what the "perfect" day will look like. The perfect wedding, the perfect vacation, the perfect Shabbos table, the perfect child, the perfect spouse. 

Reality tends to bite hard in most cases, as we discover that perfection is a lot harder to come by than we thought, hoped, and planned for.

And so it is with brisses. Whether the caterer forgets a detail, an important family member gets stuck in traffic, the mohel comes an hour late (something I work very hard to avoid doing, btw!), or even if the circumcision itself doesn't come out perfectly... we have to always hope and pray for the best, but prepare for imperfection to be the reality.

Repost III: Setting Up For the Bris

Just to make clear: This is not advice on how to set up the celebratory meal and/or buffet

The original post on this subject can be found here.

While the link above will suffice, just remember these few tips.

If there is a ceremony (as opposed to a very private affair), the bris should be in a prominent place in the room

There should be good lighting, so the mohel can see what he is doing!

Every mohel needs a table to lay out his supplies. It should be larger than a TV table. A card table or most folding tables are adequate.

There either need to be one or two chairs available - for the Chair of Elijah (Kisei Eliyahu). If the chairs available are barstool height, there should be some kind of stepstool available for the Sandak to put his legs so he can easily hold the baby. 

It is also very helpful for a private room to be designated or arranged (if in a venue outside of the home) for the mohel to examine the baby before hand and afterwards, particularly if he intends to check the bandage before leaving. 

Repost II: Planning the Bris Celebration Party (Budgeting tips as well)

You may or may not have been to a bris before. People have brisses in every kind of venue, from a synagogue to a JCC, a country club party room to a restaurant, a relative's (or friend's) house to the home of the baby.

Sometimes I joke that "I won't do a bris in a church" (even though I'm being serious, but it sounds funny).

There are a number of other celebrations that come with the birth of a boy - such as a Kiddush on Shabbos in Shul, a Shalom Zachar, or a Brit Yitzchak. Those are mentioned here

Now we will focus solely on the The Bris Itself 

The link above (two lines up) goes into detail, but here are a few things you'll want to consider.

How Elaborate? It's a matter of taste, size of guest list, and - of course - budget. 

Repost I: Planning in Advance

 Since this website is in blog form, unless people search for what they are looking for, some of the early blog posts don't get much attention - though that's where much of the important stuff is!

You can always go here for the most important info preparing you for the bris and the ceremony:

http://www.mohelinsouthflorida.com/2015/01/the-basic-information-all-you-need-to.html

Over the coming weeks, I'll be posting things that have been written before, in a little bit more of an organized fashion, so newcomers can find things closer to the top of the blog roll.

FIRST TOPIC: PLANNING IN ADVANCE (this first appeared here, in the first blog post ever!):

It is edited from there to reflect things I've seen and experienced since this was first written. 

PLANNING AHEAD  <-- That link is to a similar discussion of this nature

 Sometimes it is helpful - BEFORE baby comes - to think things out, to decide who will do what once baby arrives. 

Purchases - Baby Supplies

     * Car Seat 

If you're going to have a hospital birth, you'll need a car seat for that ride home (with a home birth, you won't need one until you're ready to take the baby somewhere!). 

What's The Rush? On Having Baby and Caring For Him

Disclaimer: I am only a mohel. I am not in the "birthing business." I leave that to the OBs and the Midwives. I am also not a doctor - though I do specialize in circumcision and care for the post-op circumcision spot.

Many years ago, I wrote this in response to a recall on Children's Tylenol, addressing (in layman's terms) whether Tylenol for a cranky post-bris baby was a good idea.

I've also given a few tidbits that I've picked up over the years, which I wrote about here. There's a link there to another article I wrote on this topic as well. It's mostly "parenting suggestions" for parents to get the most out of the experience of caring for the baby post-bris, and even longer term, such as how to avoid diaper rashes, misshaped heads, the question of feeding baby on a schedule... etc

To the medicating question, however, I'll add... WHAT'S the rush to medicate? Is the bandage too tight? Is there a bandage at all? Has the baby been fed? Is he able to urinate? Does he have a clean diaper? See that he is comfortable! Most babies ARE consolable after the bris. Most babies are FINE after the bris, when clean, fed, held, etc. 

EVERY medical intervention has potential, unanticipated side effects.  EVERY ONE. Tread with much caution. Read labels. Never make hasty decisions. Research. Don’t take one person’s word or advice without seeking information from other sources. 

Here I'd like to offer another anecdotal piece of advice, and that is to choose your health provider very carefully.