Crazy-Magic There are many exciting changes for us in the next months, which ideally will unfold thusly: Miriam’s water breaks, we go to the hospital, Miriam looks at her focal point, takes a cleansing breath or two, does the he-he-he-ho breaths and maybe the ho-ho-ho breaths, pushes and pushes, the crazy-magic part, baby cries, Yaron cries, breastfeeding, cord’s cut, and upward and onward; On the eighth day, Muffin is welcomed and celebrated, and gets a real name (See below); Parenting; A new city, on a new coast; Miriam’s residency; Yaron’s dissertation; A dishwasher. This site will help us keep you posted on the progress, and it will help you to help us progress.
What to Do Thanks for visiting! If you haven’t arrived here accidentally (Googled “ready-to-bake treats,” for example), you’ve come to this website for at least one of three reasons:
a) get updates on and see pictures of Miriam’s belly
b) treat us and/or Muffin to something awesome
c) you heard rumors of a web-exclusive disclosure of Muffin’s name-to-be.
These are all good reasons, particularly the second. For the first, click Belly and Updates. For the second, click Diapers. For the third, click DNCHIYPS (Do Not Click Here If You Prefer Surprises).
A Note on Updates Starting this late, in week thirty-three, there are many-too-many updates. Here is a brief recap of weeks four through thirty-three. On the first day possible, Miriam took a pregnancy test. While Yaron studied the instructions—A blue dot? A plus sign?—the answer popped-up—“Pregnant.” Soon after, we visited the OB, the super Dr. Halpern, who confirmed there was a seven-millimeter-something in Miriam’s belly. With difficulty, we kept it a secret, this incredible secret inside Miriam’s belly, but not for long. We were excited to share the news. Had we wanted, it could have remained secret for a while, for the first months of Miriam’s pregnancy included none of the telltale signs. And, for that matter, Miriam’s pregnancy continued with inspiring strength—full-days in the hospital, hikes at high-altitude Peru, running in Central Park, yoga practice, and more—and beauty—lean and fit, elegant and sassy. Only this week, Miriam traded Central Park for the elliptical, as yoga continues on. And even now, Miriam blends “regular” clothing with maternity wear.
Muffin in the Oven As we tried to get this all going, Yaron repeated the same post-coital question, ”Is there a muffin in the oven?” Eventually, we realized the correct phrase was “a bun in the oven.” Nonetheless, Muffin stuck as our knickname for the less endearing “fetus.”
