By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
Hannah Mia
Kellerman knows her timing. She had to wait a few days for the
right moment, but when she decided to show her face to the
world for the very first time, sunset had hardly fallen an
hour before, as Hannah took the honors of the very first
Jewish baby of the New Year.
"She wanted to make
a grand entry, I guess," says new mom Sharon Kellerman. She
and her husband Isaac welcomed their very first baby into
their lives at 8:57 p.m., on the evening of September 15.
Hannah was born at
Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, and weighed in at 7 lbs., 1
ounce, and was 19 inches long.
"As pretty as can
be!" wrote Hannah’s maternal "nonnie," Louise Angel Kiss.
Since she had found
out the due date from her doctor, Sharon had thought that
having the first baby of the year might be an option. But even
with the birth so close didn’t know if Hannah would be number
one.
"I wasn’t sure if
we were the one or not," Sharon said, "I was pretty excited
about it."
The Kellermans live
in Renton and attend Herzl-Ner Tamid Conservative
Congregation. Rabbi Jay Rosenbaum, who was otherwise busy at
the time of the birth conducting Rosh Hashanah services did
get in touch a bit later.
"He called a few
days ago, to wish us well," Sharon said.
On the afternoon of
Hannah’s birth as they entered the hospital, Sharon said they
tried to get assurances that the baby wouldn’t come until
after sundown. And although Mia got her timing right for the
holidays, she actually showed up six days late.
"I was ready and
waiting for her, but she was on her own schedule," says
Sharon.
"The little missy
was waiting in due time to show her face " added grandmother
Louise, who also says that she’s "tickled pink" about her
first grandchild.
When her copy of
JTNews arrived last month, asking for the first Jewish
baby, she pointed it out to her daughter. "So I gave her the
challenge," Louise said. "She [was] going to be the first one,
I knew it."
She couldn’t be
more excited, about both the first baby honors and her
granddaughter. Finding out about Hannah in the first place was
an interesting story, however. In the winter, Louise and her
husband often go to Mexico "to get out of the cold dark
weather of Seattle."
Because Sharon and
Isaac wanted to wait until after their parents knew about
their impending addition to tell other family and friends, and
they didn’t want to make the announcement over the phone or
e-mail, they had to wait until Mom and Dad came home. Isaac’s
parents, incidentally, Roberto and Sara Kellerman, live in
Miami Beach, Fla.
Upon the Kiss’
arrival home, Louise says, "when we got into the house with
our luggage, [Sharon] presented me with this envelope that she
said was a special delivery to me from a business that owed me
some money."
In the envelope,
however, wasn’t a check, but a certificate of congratulations
to the expecting grandma and grandpa. Louise said they
couldn’t have been more excited.
"And she was
already finishing up her first trimester," she sighed.
Now that Hannah has
arrived, the Kellermans are getting used to their new
addition. Isaac has since returned to work, and the baby can
sleep for stretches of three to four hours.
"Each day is
getting better and better," Sharon says. "She eats and sleeps,
and that’s about it."