Wherein My Son Discovers His Inner "Little Walter"

Recorded a couple of weeks ago in Central Park, moments after the Kiddo's friend lent him his harmonica for the first time.

3.1 Phillip Lim for Kids

You know a kid's clothing line is great when you would gladly wear any of the pieces yourself.  Here is a case in point.  How fab is this collection?  Also, that little model better work.  See the whole Spring 09 Collection here.

This Looks Like Fun

Via I *Heart* You.

Wednesday Walk in the Park

Big, Long, and Green

Is it so wrong that I'm kind of digging this Gap Maternity maxi-dress?  

Thoughts?

Meanwhile, I'm definitely planning to snag a couple of these (one of my favorite nursing tops evah, now on sale for $14.99!) 

Guilty As Charged

Via Jezebel.

Brilliant Greetings

What a fabulous idea from artist-mama Amy of the always-inspiring and entertaining Angry Chicken!  After compiling the awesome comments and insights of her three children over the years, she decided to use their quotes as covers for what must be the most kick-ass and original series of homemade notecards ever.  Can you imagine how much fun it would be to get one of these in the mail?  Check out more of her designs and read about the project here.  Also, be sure to visit Amy's Etsy shop, here.

We Have a Winner!!!

Photo from here.

I am pleased to announce that the winner of the Vintage Flower Tray from Hello Victory is Lovely Little Things!  Congratulations!

Thanks to all who entered, and BIG thanks to Hello Victory for making this giveaway possible.

Oh NO They DIDN'T!

Consumer Report's list, out April 22, of "Five Things Not to Buy For Your Baby." Including....(drum roll, please)...the following:

Bedside and other co-sleeping devices

"Although sleeping with a baby in an adult bed is a common practice among some cultures, it can be dangerous....Currently, safety standards don’t exist for either co-sleepers or bedside sleepers. Until they do, we think the safest place for your baby to sleep is in a crib."

Sling carriers

"As slings grow in popularity, so do the number of serious injuries. No safety standards exist for slings. We think you should skip the sling and opt for other types of infant carriers, which have safer track records."

Sad and frustrating news, considering that so many people look to Consumer Reports for making choices based on safety.  It is too bad that people who have little knowledge of the actual data on cosleeping vs. crib sleeping will take this information and avoid sleeping with their babies.  As for the sling carrier scare tactics, I am simply amazed!  Even as researchers raise questions about the degree to which strollers can actually contribute to developmental and language delays, we have the trusted voice of Consumer Reports telling nervous parents that they should "skip the sling."

Read the whole article here.  Then leave a comment on their online thread, or write a letter of complaint.  

Photo of the Day

I stumbled upon this image on WeHeartIt a few days ago and it absolutely stopped me in my tracks.  

The scar that is depicted is the result of surgery that was done to correct the way this mother's c-sections healed internally.  The photo was taken by her husband (you can explore his photostream here).  

I wince looking at that painful wound, and yet I am so moved by the tenderness of the little girl, and the beautiful connection between mother and child.  What an amazing testament to motherly love and the courageous lengths that we all go to to bring our babies into the world (no matter how they arrive).  

Thoughts and Images For Your Weekend

For Fun

I was so inspired to read about these two women aging gracefully and unapologetically and carrying right on with rocking the world.  Meet them here and here.  Photo by Shirley Baker, via To.

For Thought

"Why did American feminism evolve in such a way that we think of biology as destiny, and that destiny as a prison? Why are we so willing to surrender the parts and processes that makes us female rather than demanding that society support them? We've broken down doors and cracked glass ceilings, when what we need to do is redesign the building."  

--Excerpt from Jennifer Block's The Backlash to Breast Is Best, published here.

Photo by Tom Palumbo, found here.

For Laughs

I dare you not to get completely cracked up looking at this blog.

Photo via WeHeartIt.

For Surprise

You will not believe these two real-life, amazing birth stories:  

First, a 911 call from parents birthing a baby in their bathtub -- the twist?  They didn't know they were expecting!

Second, twins born on Fifth Avenue -- the actual street!

Image by Julie Blackmon, Edelman Gallery.

Don't forget to enter the Hello Victory giveaway by Sunday at 11:59 pm!

Have a warm and wonderful weekend :)

Our Time in USA Today...TODAY!

I know I've been hyping a lot of Our Time-related things lately, but you'll have to bear with me while I continue to post about Taro's genius company and the exciting work he's doing :)  

So, one thing I haven't shared yet is that an incredible album, Listen,  is set to be released in June, featuring songs written by the young company members of Our Time, recorded by acclaimed artists, including Carly Simon, Daryl Hall & John Oates, John Forte, Duncan Sheik, and Mandy Patinkin!  

Taro has been working overtime on the production of this incredible project for more than two years alongside Our Time's musical Director Everett Bradley, and the results are AMAZING.  I seriously cannot wait for you all to hear this phenomenal music.  Now, as the album nears its release, we are starting to get some exciting buzz!  Case in point:  today's USA Today ran a piece about Listen on the front page of their "Life" section.  Check it out online, here, and on newsstands while you still can!  You can read some more of the press that came out today regarding Listen, here and here.

Stay tuned for more exciting Our Time updates, and thank you for all of your amazing support and wonderfully kind comments!

The Belly, Week 21

This is really towards the end of week 21, but I've been too busy until now to stop and document the Belly.  

The baby continues to assert itself, dancing around enough to rival the in-utero gymnastics of its older brother, circa early 2007.  The fetal Kiddo was so active that I once responded to his constant kicking by spontaneously creating a punk-inspired mini-verse, which went like this:

My spleen is not a trampoline/yeah, yeah, yeah!

I'm not much of a lyricist, so that was pretty much it, I just found myself singing those few words over and over again whenever I would feel a particularly aggressive series of kicks.  Anyway, I think it might be time to start reprising that song...maybe I can add an extra verse.

I'm wearing an old (non-maternity) dress from the Gap layered over one of my trusty Boob tanks, and my new Steve Madden gladiator sandals.  It's 70 degrees outside today!  I can wear sandals!!!

Home Birth on a Flex Mattress: Update

I know I already posted about this Spanish commercial last week, and now it is popping up all over the birth-activism blogosphere, but I can't resist posting about it again.  

Taro's stepmother, Kelly, just sent me a link to a lengthier version she discovered (over four minutes long) and it really feels more like a beautiful little documentary film than a TV-ready commercial.  It also contains a list of credits at the end, which is nice to see since I was so impressed with the production (I love the music, don't you?).  As I was watching the long version on Youtube, I saw a link to the original short version with English subtitles.  Here it is:

And here's the "uncut" version (if any of my readers speak Spanish, I would love to read an English translation of this one!):

Belly Inspiration

My friend Coralissa is due to have her first baby soon and she and her husband, Ivan, are planning a home water birth.  The expectant couple recently posed for a photoshoot to document the belly, and I think the results are just so beautiful, fun, sweet, and downright fierce!  I mean, can this gorgeous lady rock her bump or what?  I had to share a few here, but I hope you will also check out Coralissa's blog to see the entire series of photos, as well as to read about her inspiring pregnancy journey.  Photos by Mike Quain.

Happy Earth Day

The Kiddo deems this trailer "awesome," and he has made me play it umpteen times.  Therefore, we hope to attend a screening of the film tonight!  Happy Earth Day.

The Benefits of Breastfeeding: New Study Reveals Positive Health Results For Mamas

Image Via WeHeartIt.

Printed in The New York Times today, April 22, 2009 (online, here):

Breast-Feeding Benefits Mothers, Study Finds
by Roni Caryn Rabin

Most doctors agree that breast-feeding is best for babies’ health. Now a large study suggests that the practice benefits mothers as well: women who have breast-fed, it says, are at lower risk than mothers who have not for developing high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular disease decades later, when they are in menopause.

The benefits increase with duration of past breast-feeding, the study found. Women who had breast-fed for more than a year in their entire lifetimes were almost 10 percent less likely than those who had never breast-fed to have had a heart attack or a stroke in their postmenopausal years. They were also less likely to have diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol.

The study found that even those postmenopausal women who had breast-fed for just one month had lower rates of diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, although the risk of heart disease after such limited breast-feeding was comparable to that among mothers who had never breast-fed.

The research, which is to be published in the May issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, analyzed data on some 139,681 women who had enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative, a long-term national study of postmenopausal women.

Women who reported a lifetime history of more than a year of breast-feeding were 20 percent less likely to have diabetes, 12 percent less likely to have hypertension, 19 percent less likely to have high cholesterol and 9 percent less likely to have had a heart attack or a stroke by the time they enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative.

The new study’s chief author, Dr. Eleanor Bimla Schwarz, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh, said of breast-feeding, “We’ve known for a long time that it’s important for the baby’s health, but we now know it’s important for mothers’ health as well.”

Other experts cautioned, however, that while the study demonstrated an association between breast-feeding and health benefits, there was not necessarily a causal relationship. Women who breast-feed may simply lead more healthful lives than those who do not, these experts said, noting that the new analysis might not have been able to account for all the differences between the two groups.

Breast-feeders “may be healthier women who take better care of themselves,” said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, medical director of the N.Y.U. Women’s Heart Center.

“This is a nice association,” Dr. Goldberg said of the findings, “but we don’t know from the study what the physiological mechanism is.”

If there is such a mechanism, Dr. Goldberg suggested, it could lie in oxytocin, a hormone crucial to milk production. Oxytocin is known to relax blood vessels, she said, and may make them more flexible and more resistant to the buildup of plaque.

Breast-feeding is also known to play a role in healing after pregnancy, by causing uterine contractions that help restore the uterus to its original size more quickly. Further, women burn extra calories when making milk, helping them eliminate fat stores accumulated during pregnancy.

Other recent studies have suggested breast-feeding may also reduce the risk of osteoporosis and both breast and ovarian cancer, as well as Type 2 diabetes.

Marvelous Giveaway: Vintage Flower Tray from Hello Victory!

Time for another giveaway, folks!  This week I am pleased to announce that Kate of the fabulous Etsy shop Hello Victory is offering my readers this adorable vintage flower tray.

To enter this giveaway, please visit Hello Victory and leave a comment on this post by Sunday, April 26th at 11:59 pm PST.  Please include your email address so that I can easily contact the winner.

BONUS:  I will give you a total of two additional entries if you do any/all of the following:

1)  Post about this giveaway and link back from your blog

2)  Tweet about this giveaway

3)  Update your Facebook status to alert your friends to this giveaway

4)  Become a follower of Marvelous Kiddo

Just make sure to let me know that you've done one or more of those four things to be eligible for the additional entries (include URL, if possible).  

Here's one more fun twist to this giveaway:  Kate is generously offering my readers 15% off their purchases (to be refunded to their paypal account after they buy an item) by typing in "Hello Kiddo" in message to sender.  The discount will be good until 10 pm CST tomorrow.

Thank you Kate, and good luck to everyone!!!  Happy commenting :)

Define Your Style in One Room

The lovely Michelle at Sugar Pie Express tagged me last week.  And now, to play along with the meme I am supposed to post an image of a room that defines my style.  After perusing some of my favorite saved images from the last several months, I settled on this one, which was originally shown on The Selby.  I love the vibrant messiness of it and the unkempt mix of books, boisterous fashion, and what look to be various projects in-progress.  The kitschy neon "love" sign really seals the deal.  It may not be pristinely styled or delicately balanced, but this image reflects what I see as my true decor personality -- bright and lived-in with a strong dose of fun.  

Play along if you like, and leave a comment linking to your post!  I would love to see your rooms.  

Our Time Featured on NBC Nightly News With Brian Williams

In case you missed it!

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

Weekend Wonderful

I took this photo yesterday in Central Park, where the Kiddo and I spent a divine afternoon with a couple of good friends soaking up the warmth and fragrance of a day in which Spring seemed to be finally asserting herself.  We had such a great time that we're headed back again today, stopping on the way to purchase a harmonica for the Kiddo, who borrowed one from his friend yesterday and discovered a new talent!  Of course, no matter how much fun we have this afternoon, we will be sure to head back in time to go over to a friend's house to catch tonight's NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams!  I hope you can tune in as well!

And without further ado, here are my two favorite web finds of the week.  Enjoy:

Mama-Is tells her latest (unassisted, home) birth story in cartoon format!  Brilliant.  To compare and contrast, you must read about her first birth, which took place in a hospital.

I am in awe of this amazing Spanish commercial for a mattress that shows a beautiful, real-life home birth!  The motto of the new ad campaign for Flex mattresses is "Your bed.  The most important place in the world."  After watching this three times and crying every time, I'm sold!  Via Unnecesarean. 

Must-See-TV Alert

This Friday, April 17, be sure to tune in to NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.  My husband, Taro Alexander, and Our Time Theatre Company will be featured in the "Making a Difference" segment, including coverage of the gala.  There will also be supplementary footage and interviews on the NBC website after the episode airs...I'll let you know a specific link as soon as it is up!  SO EXCITING!!!

Photo of rad orange television set found here.

The Belly, Week 20: What I Wore To The Gala

SO, due to popular demand I am posting the only photos I have so far of my outfit from Monday night.  The quality of the photos is pretty poor because I was rushing and didn't even have the time to set the self-timer or stand in decent light.  Plus, the 80-year-old mirror on my closet door is probably not the most clear/reflective surface to use as a tool for a self-portrait! Also, my hair was still kind of wet (I just let it air dry and then rubbed a little dollop of John Freida de-frizzing gel from the drug store into it).  The photo on the right shows the pair of black patent flats that I stuck in my bag for relief from those towering stilettos!  In the end, I only resorted to wearing the flats home, well after the party was over.  The Topshop booties were not so uncomfortable after all!

The dress I wore is by a designer named Dinna Soliman.  My best friend, Angel, knows Dinna and found this dress for me, which is actually a left-over sample from last season.  It is not designed as a maternity dress, but it could not have been more perfect or comfortable for rocking a belly-conscious look!  It is called a "convertible dress" and as you can see from this depiction of it on Dinna's website, it is a very versatile garment!  It is super stretchy and there are actually holes for the legs, enabling the wearer to scrunch it up on the body or leave it long and loose.  It could range from being below-the-knee, to a micro-mini just by ruching it up to the desired length!  

SO COOL!  I am totally a fan of this dress and I'm sure I will wear it often, while pregnant as well as after the baby comes.

The next photo shows the the necklace I wore, which I found at Anthropologie (for under $50!)  I fell in love with it the second I saw it, and knew that it would play off the turquoise accent on the shoes perfectly.  Alas, I wish the photos showed the way the facets on the beads created a really fun sparkle :)  Another piece that I bought for this occasion that will definitely be getting a lot of play, with everything from jeans to cute dresses!

   

And the last shot, which I include merely because it happens to showcase my manicure, of which I am so proud because I usually have the rattiest nails on earth.  Here they are looking uncharacteristically perfect, in OPI Lincoln Park After Dark.  

More Gala fun to be posted soon...