PARENTING

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Marc And Marcy Burkom Talk About Their New Baby

Family talks about their newborn

It’s been five months since their daughter Maizy Jae was born and Marcy and Marc Burkom love every minute of their time with her. The two young parents take a relaxed and easygoing approach to their parenting style, and seem to be rewarded with a very happy baby. “It’s a bad day, if she cries for 45 minutes,” says Marc Burkom.

A 1998 graduate of Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School, Marc Burkom currently works at his alma mater as the middle and high school physical education teacher. He also coaches the high school varsity soccer and middle school basketball teams. Marcy Burkom grew up in Fairfax, VA., and teaches English at Glenelg High School in Howard County. The family lives in Columbia, Md.

iNSIDER: How did you decide on Maizy’s name?
Marcy: We wanted our daughter or son to have a name that began with ‘M.’ I had my grandmother Marilyn who recently passed away and Marc had a grandmother named Minnie who had passed away.

Marc: We wanted an ‘M’ name to remember them.

Marcy: I had read that any name with a ‘Z’ in it was a cool name. I’m not sure how we came up with Maizy though.

Marc: Her middle name is Jae. Her Hebrew name is Malka Yonit. Yonit means dove.

Marcy: She was born on Sept, 11, a day that is notorious for things that are not always good. The dove stands for peace. We hope to buck the trend.

Tell me about the baby naming ceremony.
Marc: It was held at my parents’ house a week after she was born

Marcy: We looked up prayers online and made the service up ourselves.

Marc: We included the most common prayers for a baby naming, and we assigned our parents and our grandmothers on each side to talk about where the name came from.

We had a lot of friends who were not Jewish so we wanted to make it accessible. The prayers were read in Hebrew and in English.

Since Maizy was born, what has been the best “baby-rearing” advice you have received from your parents?
Marcy: My mom really told me to do what works best for me. She told me I would get a lot of advice, but that Maizy is her own person. She said just figure out what works best for me and Marc.

Marc: The best thing my dad told me was to make sure I enjoy all of it. At one month, babies will do a certain thing, and then at two months, they’ll do another thing. Don’t take anything for granted. Enjoy every moment.

What are some of your best moments so far?
Marcy: The first time she smiled at me.

Marc: When you are talking to her and she’s trying to talk back. She so clearly wants to talk.

What was the best gift you received?
Marcy: One of my co-workers who just got married gave us “Lovey Bunnies.” It’s a blanket with a bunny head. There were three of them — a pair and a spare. They are cloth bunnies that Maizy takes everywhere. As we speak, she’s trying to eat the bunny.

It’s a good gift because there are three of them and when you have to wash one, there are spares.

What baby item was the thing that saved you?
Marc: From week three to week eight, it was the swing. At times, when she couldn’t settle down, that swing was amazing.

When you work, where is Maizy?
Marcy: She’s at day care five minutes from where I work. I drop her off before I go to work, and I miss her terribly. I’ve never been one to rush out the door, but now I’ve found a reason to do so.

What message do you want to give her?
Marcy: She shouldn’t settle for anything. You can do whatever you want in life. Nothing will be beyond her reach.

Marc: She can be whatever she wants to be.