May the coming year be

filled with health and

happiness for all my

That was the joyous part, of
course. The queasiness, the
unending queasiness, came
soon afterward.
"I tried everything," Kim
says of her morning (and after-
noon, and evening) sickness.
Ginger. Crackers. A special
anti-nausea bracelet. "Nothing
worked."
But Kim brushes that aside
now as she looks at Shira
Chaya.
The best cure for those preg-
nancy stomach troubles that
Kim found was sleep, though
she managed to keep up her
law-degree studies throughout
much of the nine months.
When her water broke, Kim
called her doctor and headed
off for Providence Hospital in
Southfield in the afternoon on
Friday. For the first few hours,
she did a lot of walking to ease
the pain. Then her labor, which
Kim insists was "not as bad as I
thought it would be," became
more intense; and Kim opted
for an epidural (which makes
labor not a painless, but cer-
tainly more comfortable, expe-
rience).
It was almost time for
Shabbat. Someone brought the
couple candles to light. Soon
afterward, their baby was ready
to come into the world.
Shira Chaya was born on
Sept. 5 at 9:06 p.m. Dr. Alvin
Schoenberger delivered the lit-
tle girl, who weighed 6 lbs., 12
oz.
How to speak of it all. Bryan
can barely find the words.
"It's such an unknown," he
says. "At first, you're just really
scared [when labor begins].
Then you see the baby, the 10
fingers and 10 toes and every-
thing is okay.
"You feel such a tremendous
joy. You've been waiting all
these months just to see her
smile, for this little miracle."
All the family was there —
not just parents (Kim's parents
are Dr. Michael Doifinan and
his wife Jewish News staff writer
Shelli Liebman Dorfman of
West Bloomfield; Bryan's mom
and dad are Larry and Pearl
Schon of Oak Park) and grand-
parents, but cousins and
friends, too.
Kim's mom brought kosher

food, though Kim says the
Catholic hospital was extremely
accommodating when it came
to every religious matter.
(When her nurse learned Kim
would not make use of the
electric call button on Shabbat,
she made it a point to fre-
quently visit, to make certain
everything was all right).
The next morning, Bryan
walked about two miles to
Young Israel of Oak Park to
name his new daughter. By
Sunday afternoon, Bryan, Kim
and Shira Chaya were home.
Okay, Shira Chaya is not
perfect. Her parents admit she
has yet to learn the art of sleep-
ing at night and staying awake
during the day. Still, amid
yawns, Bryan and Kim only
smile.
Today, their home is filled
with flowers and something
that looks like an orchard of
extravagant colors: Balloons, all
neon pink and bright red.
There's a new car seat, too, and
toys and stacks of baby gear
still in bags.
Much of it is from family,
whose support for the young
couple is unending, and which
has made all the difference,
especially as they consider what
the United States has endured
in the past two years, and how
it has changed.
"We have our families here,"
Bryan says. 'And we have
Jewish values which we learned
from our parents. We've seen
from our families that even
with all the difficulties in the
world, what matters is that you
teach your child the right way
to grow up."
There is one word to
describe what has changed in
their own lives since Shira
Chaya was born: everything.
"Everything is different,"
Kim says. "Shira Chaya is com-
pletely dependent on us.
Everything she needs has to
come from us. And we're not
just a couple anymore. We're a
mom and dad, a family."
"I couldn't imagine the joy,"
Bryan adds. "This is utter joy
and happiness."
Looking at his daughter he
pulls her close to his heart and
tells her: "The second you were
born, we loved you." O

family 8. friends.

May the New Year bring to
.1
all our friends and
health, joy, prospe r
everything good in

L'Shanah Tovah!

Peggy Bookstein

•

arty Viola (Eby) Kappy

IT?

May the coming rear be
filled with health and
happiness for all our
family 8. friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!

To all our
relatives and
friends, our
wish for a year
filled with

Lisa, Gerry, Hillary,
Joshua & Jacob
Brody

happiness,
health &
prosperity.

May the coming year be
filled with health and
happiness for all our
family 8. friends.
L'Shanah Tovah!

A VERY
HAPPY & HEALTHY
EW YEAR
0 ALL OUR
NDS & FAMILY-

—

Helen & Fred Brown
& family

We wish our friends and family
a very healthy, happy and
prosperous New Year

Morton & Alice Berlin

We wish our friends and family
a very healthy, happy and
prosperous New Year.

Pam, Kenny, Jennifer, Stephanie
& Natalie Bloom

:
L'Shana Tova to all our 1
friends E relatives.
1
1
l S a ree, Steve, Scott & 1
1
Bradley Hantler

1

We wish our friends and family
a very healthy, happy and
prosperous New Year.
------ Rosalie & Buddy Disner

Best Wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year

We wish our friends and family
l a very healthy, happy and
prosperous New Year.

Best Wishes for a
happy, healthy
New Year

Mr. & Mrs. Jack Epstein

Barbara Chupack

Kal & Ada
Bandalene

Julius, Ruth &

9/26

2003

53