Wednesday, November 5th our lives changed forever.  At 11:18am in Nyack Hospital we welcomed with an indescribable amount of love our first son, David Matthew Herman into the world.  Born 7lbs, 13 oz. and 19.5 inches long, we held him in our arms immediately and he captured our hearts instantly.  Words cannot describe the way we have been feeling.  It has been the most amazing few days for both Darren and I and our families.

For the past 9 months we waited with anticipation for his arrival and then in the early morning hours of November 5th, David was ready to start his journey to the outside world.  At about 5am, I woke up with pain and realized I might be in labor.  We called the doctor, described what I was feeling and then was told to pack my things and head over to the hospital but no need to rush as the hospital was busy and my labor didn’t seem to be too far advanced.  Little did we know, I was much further along than anyone thought.  We arrived at the hospital about 6:20am, settled into an assessment room and hooked up to the monitors to determine what stage I was in.  By 6:45am, it was clear that I was well into labor, as I was already dilated 7cm. I would never have thought that given I wasn’t feeling much pain except periodically and it was tolerable. As a result though, I leap frogged over all the other women that had come in overnight as I was the furtherst along.  The staff quickly moved me to labor and delivery where my dilation reached 8.5 and 9 cm in record pace.  Needless to say the speed with which all this was happening resulted in me missing the epidural window and having to venture down the road “au natural”.  Given the pain was so severe and regardless of how many times I confirmed I was ineligible for the epidural, the doctor was able to give me a little something to take the edge off for just a bit but by 9:15am, I was ready to start pushing.  And I pushed and pushed and pushed…and two hours later at 11:18am, David Matthew Herman was put in our arms to catch the first glimpse of him.  Feeling his warm body against mine is something I will remember forever.  Darren and I just marveled at every little thing about him.

Throughout the entire delivery, Darren was an amazing coach and helped me through what was a short but brutal 6 hour journey from start to finish.  His words of encouragement, his soft kisses on my forehead, his gentle back massage and regular intervals of wash cloth wipe downs of my face made the experience as good as it could be.  For someone that was apprehensive about the delivery process and didn’t think he would want to see much for fear of passing out, he completely surprised himself and was an active participant watching my progress, the actual birth, cutting the umbilical cord and even feeling the placenta!  I had a feeling all along that he would be this way the day of the birth and I was right.

It was amazing experience and the hospital staff at Nyack Hospital were terrific.  From the labor/delivery nurses, especially Gerri, to Margaret, Val and the others in the Mother/Baby section, they took amazing care of me and Baby David.   Anytime I needed anything or had a question, they were very responsive.  This was incredible considering the nursery was filled with 17 babies by Thursday night – an extraordinary and unusual amount of newborns that they rarely see at this time of the year.  Yesterday, before my discharge they packed me up with lots of supplies for my recovery as well as for taking care of David for his first night home.  The head of nursing stopped in to say hello and see how our stay was.  From start to finish it was a great experience and I look forward to delivering our next baby there (although not anytime soon….).

I was just watching Extra and learned that DeAnna and Jesse, the most recent bachelorette and her final pick have called it quits.  According to the Extra report, DeAnna broke Jesse’s heart at the airport upon her arrival in Denver today.  DeAnna said she loved Jesse but was not ‘in love’ with him.  Truthfully, I am not surprised.  I never thought they were the right match and like many loyal viewers I felt she was making the wrong choice by picking Jesse.  They were just too different – they didn’t seem like the right match to make it when the cameras stopped rolling and I was right.  C’est la vie….

The next season of The Bachelor kicks off in January with DeAnna’s jilted runner up, single-dad Jason Mesnick searching for love.  Despite all these failed on-screen relationships, I will be glued to the series.  What can I say, I’m a hopeless romantic.

Click watch?v=3ZmDtV-t7KU to view Jesse’s You Tube statement…..

Happy Halloween!  I have never been the biggest fan of Halloween.  Even as a kid I didn’t love dressing up and usually ended up giving away all my candy to my brother but I am starting to see a shift in my appreciation for the holiday.  Perhaps its the maternal instinct in me starting to kick in or all our little neighbors who are so excited for trick or treating.  Either way, I’m actually looking forward to all the little one’s knocking on our door and I have a big bowl of candy ready to fill their pumpkins and candy bags.  The weather is beautiful today and will be perfect for all the trick or treaters.  I can’t wait to see everyone’s costumes and the enthusiasm they come to the door with to collect their treats.  I’m also looking forward to seeingthe Today Show’s costume selection for this year as that is something I look forward to every year.  My favorite was definitely the year that Al and Matt went as P. Diddy and Jennifer Lopez, respectfully.  Let’s see if they can top that this year.

Happy Halloween everyone!!!

Yesterday, Darren and I met up with our good friends Andrew and Morgan for a scrumptious brunch at Bar Martignetti. It’s been a while since we’ve had brunch in Manhattan so we were really excited for our plans.  Despite it being a dreary day, we managed to make it to the restaurant without a drop of rain and Soho was hopping with tons of people.

We arrived at Bar Martignetti around noon and the restaurant wasn’t very crowded.  We grabbed a nice booth and settled in for a great catchup session.  The brunch menu is a great mix of breakfast and lunch at very moderate prices.  Most breakfast dishes range from $9-12 and lunch selections are fairly priced from $13-20.  There is definitely something for everyone on the menu.  I ordered the egg white omelet with goat cheese, asparagus and mushrooms.  It was light and fluffy and came with delicious home fries that weren’t greasy in the slightest.  Darren had the Huevos Rancheros over white beans and said it was terrific.  We all enjoyed our dishes and the multiple cups of coffee.  They were not stingy with refills at all.

The restaurant itself is located on the corner of Broome and Cleavland and has many large windows so you can people watch as you dine.  The atmosphere is casual with a slightly old rustic new york feel.  I really enjoyed it.  The service was great and very friendly.  I would definitely go back again and would recommend it to anyone that wanted a nice, moderately priced brunch in Soho.  You can’t go wrong with this place.

Last weekend we received our first baby gift – our car seat.  A car seat is the one thing that you must have before your baby is born as the hospital will not let you leave with your little bundle of joy without one.  Since our little one’s arrival is relatively imminent we figured we should have it installed sooner rather than later.  So, Saturday morning Darren and I ventured over to the Greenburg Police Station for the installation of our Peg Perego car seat.  Having it installed by the safety department at our local police station was recommended by several friends as well as our lamaze instructor.  Since the safety of our “little one to be” is our number one priority, we listened to their advice.  Four out of five car seats are installed improperly and therefore leave your baby vulnerable for injury in the event of a crash.  Darren and I were totally clueless about the proper installation of the seat so we were really glad to have the officer install it and demonstrate the safety features and proper usage.  The wait was over an hour and surprisingly the installation and safety review took close to 30 minutes but it was worth the time.  The officer explained to us that mirrors are not recommended nor are bulky jackets that prevent you from tightly securing your child in the seats harness. Both of these can harm your child in the event of a crash.  He also recommended installing the car seat in the middle of the back seat rather than on the left or right side as this limits potential injury in the event of a side crash.  We had no idea about these little important tips so we were glad to have someone educate us.

If you are a first time parent, a grandparent that will be driving around your ‘precious’ cargo I really recommend contacting your local police department to see if they offer a child safety seat inspection program.  If you live in the unincorporated town of Greenburg, we were extremely satisfied with our experience at the Greenburg Town Hall.  As part of their child seat safety program, the town of Greenburg offers installation typically on the first and third Saturday of every month but call ahead to be confirm as some months they only offer it once.  We highly recommend doing this.  You can never be too careful, especially when it comes to your children.

I spent the day up at the Muddy Cup Coffee House in New Paltz, NY today while working on a business strategy document for work.  The goal of the day was to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and head to somewhere inspirational so I can concentrate on writing.  It was perfect.

I chose New Paltz because it’s about 60 miles north of our home in Westchester and it’s surrounded by rolling hills and mountains covered in foliage this time of year.  The reds, yellows and greens of the leaves were gorgeous.

Each time I’ve gone to Mohonk Mountain House or eaten in downtown New Paltz after playing golf at Apple Greens, I always notice the quaint coffee shops lining Main Street.  Muddy Cup is potentially the largest and it’s one of a few Muddy Cup locations around the North East.  Just up the street roughly 300 feet away is a Starbucks, but I figured to spend time in the Muddy Cup instead due to it being unique.

It is gorgeous.  If you like places stuck in the 70s with plush couches and loft like atmosphere with stained glass, then this place is for you.  I managed to find a comfy arm chair with a power outlet right next to it perched on a raised platform so I was overlooking most of the Coffee House.  The atmosphere was upbeat and cozy with the Dobby Brothers and other artists being played over the radio in the front of the store.  The Coffee House served all types of fair trade coffee and drinks along with pastries and bagels.  Wifi access was free and signal was very strong.  The coffee was great and the pastries were tasty.  The folks behind the counter were extremely courteous as well.

All in all, the Muddy Cup Coffee House was a perfect getaway and if I was to have a group meeting and want to get away from Manhattan, it’s a perfect place to go.  The pictures in this posting were taken from my iPhone today.

This past weekend Darren and I spent in lamaze class at Nyack Hospital.  It was  two-day accelerated course to teach us everything we need to know as we prepare for the arrival of baby Herman.  We were both a little skeptical going in as many people said lamaze was rather useless and a waste of their time but we found our course and instructor to be fabulous.  Our two days were more about birthing, relaxation, managing expectations, how to determine if you are in labor, the pros and cons of delivery drugs, information on breastfeeding and basic infant care.  While we learned several breathing techniques and relaxation methods, it was only part of the course.   Included in our course, the instructor gave us a tour of the entire maternity center, the labor and delivery room with all the equipment that is used, the room we will have post birth and the nursery.  She also showed us the Neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) should an emergency situation occur.  Not every hospital has this type of unit so we were happy to learn they do should an unforeseen emergency arise. 

Overall, we were really impressed with the maternity center at Nyack Hospital.  The maternity floor felt much less like a hospital as their recent renovations have created a warm, homey environment for giving birth.  I’m really happy we will be there as it seems like the right place for us.  If you are giving birth at Nyack Hospital, I highly recommend the Lamaze Course taught by Virginia Stellato who is a lamaze certified childbirth educator.  The course is offered as an accelerated weekend class or a 2 hour class for six weeks.  We felt It was well worth our time and I think everyone in the class felt the same way too.   Five weeks to go…. :)

All season long I’ve been glued to America’s Got Talent.  Darren rarely watches reality tv but even he was intrigued by this season’s talent.  We watched dancers, fire throwers, twirlers, violinists, singers and magicians as well as countless other interesting and sometimes bizarre acts attempt to dazzle the judges as well as the viewing audience in hopes of becoming the finalist, winning $1Million Dollars and having their own show in Las Vegas.  Week after week of watching it was hard not to grow attached to some of the contestants.  Among the talentless, there were definitely some real stars out there with an enormous amount of raw talent that deserved to win.  After last night’s finale, I was really happy to see Neal E. Boyd, the emotional and extremely gifted opera singer, emerge as the show’s winner.   He really deserved to win.  Right from the start he was exceptional and that continued through every single round.   Congrats to Neal and to all the contestants that made it to the finale.  They were all terrific and I think it is wonderful that there is a show out there that can showcase the talents of ordinary Americans in pursuit of their dreams.  I’m looking forward to next season!

Last night kicked off the beginning of the Jewish New Year holiday and what is considered the holiest period in the Jewish religion.  To celebrate the new year, Darren and I joined our parents and family for a great dinner celebration at Aunt Judy’s and today we will head to temple to attend services in honor of this holiday followed by another family dinner.

The Jewish New Year (the Day of Judgment) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) are a culmination of a period of introspection started some 30 days before Rosh Hashanah. The period between this day and the Day of Atonement is known as 10 days of Repentance.  On Rosh Hashanah three books of account are opened where the fate of the wicked, the righteous, and those of an intermediate class are recorded. The names of the righteous are immediately inscribed in the book of life, and they are sealed “to live.” The middle class are allowed a respite of ten days, until Yom Kippur, to repent and become righteous and the wicked are said to be blotted out of the book of the living.

Rosh Hashanah is considered a day of rest much like Shabbat.  Rosh Hashanah is characterized by the blowing of the shofar, a trumpet made from a ram’s horn, intended to awaken the listener from his or her “slumber” and alert them to the coming judgment.  Apples dipped in honey are also tradition as they symbolize a good and healthy new year.

Let’s hope we are all subscribed in the book of life for another year.  We wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year.  L’shana tova!