the rescuing hug

Ok, I saw this last night on Tralalère! and I am shamelessly reblogging:

This picture is from an article called the “RESCUING HUG”

The article details the first week of life of a set of twins. Apparently each were in their respective incubators and one was not expected to live. A hospital nurse fought against the hospital rules and placed the babies in one incubator. When they were placed together, the healthier of the two, threw an arm over her sister in an endearing embrace. The smaller baby’s heart stabilized and temperature rose to normal.

Read more about the story, here. Read this to learn more about the proven benefits of skin-to-skin care for preterm infants.

nail art love

OMG, OMG, I want these!!!

Spotted on the Mociun Tumblr.

Guest Post: Nuy Cho on making your own liquid eyeliner

My friend, Nuy Cho, has a great blog with lots of fun and helpful beauty tips for busy moms. I asked if she would mind sharing an easy makeup how-to with Marvelous Kiddo readers, and this is what she whipped up! I can't wait to try this tip for creating liquid eyeliner myself :)

Thanks, Nuy! XOXO, Leigh

Bumpalicious

I'm loving the pregnancy flair of so many of my favorite bloggers right now! They're making me crave having my own bun in the oven -- eeps!

Photos, from top-bottom: Celia of Hank and Lucy, Stacy of Heart + Sew, Aura of Aura Joon, Melissa of Dear Baby, Ashley of Hither and Thither, Jamie of Hank and Lucy, Carolee Beckham of Carolee Beckham: The Blog, Jodi of Ché and Fidel.

Congratulations, all you lovely mamas!

Bump + Fruit

I LOVE this series of self-portraits that photographer Carolee Beckham is making to document her pregnant belly. In each installment, she features the piece of fruit that is comparable to the size of her growing baby. Above are weeks 14 (baby's the size of a lemon), 15 (baby's the size of an apple), and 16 (baby's the size of an avocado). What a simple yet inventive twist on the typical bump update concept! I look forward to following along through the coming months.

Also, she has such cute style, don't you think?

photo for your Friday

Albino baby girl and her Mumuhuila mother - Angola

Photographed by Eric Lafforgue

via Tralalère !

Weleda on GILT

One of my favorite natural skin care brands, Weleda, is featured today on GILT! Prices on some of their loveliest products are far below retail, so check it out. If you're not yet a member of GILT, leave a comment on this post with your email address and I'll send you an invitation ;)

Beauty Belly

My jaw hit the floor when I saw this gorgeously glam illustration by my friend Samantha Hahn. Isn't it sooooo pretty? Makes me pine to be all pregnant and glowy again!

Rummey Bears on Breastfeeding

Photo: Anna and Rosie, circa 2011.

There's something so powerful and intense and elemental

about nursing standing up,

holding a baby in your arms.

No chair, no footrest, no boppy, no nursing cover, not even a sling.

The kiddo is hungry and needs your comfort,

and in that moment, as mama, you have everything they need.

I always feel like a tender, healing, superhero at moments like that.

Like I could do anything.

I love this photo because it captures such a moment so perfectly.

Thanks for sending it to me, Anna.

Alice Dancing Under the Gallows

Watch this incredible clip of an upcoming film about the oldest living Holocaust survivor in the world, Alice Herz-Sommer, who will turn 107 this month. Her wisdom, attitude, optimistic spirit, beautiful music and open heart will move you to tears. I can't wait to see the entire film when it comes out early next year. What an uplifting story. Via Tralalère.

Vintage Kantha Quilts

These gorgeous quilts are made from vintage saris, pieced together and then stitched all over with running stitch. Each one is unique and has different colors and patterns on either side. These are in the hippie-glam bedroom of my dreams! Available from Niki Jones. Via Eat Drink Chic.

Amautik Amazing

I recently discovered (and have since become obsessed with learning about) an amazing kind of coat, called an Amautik (also amaut or amauti, plural amautiit). Unlike other babywearing outerwear that I am familiar with, the Amautik is a baby carrier and coat all-in-one. The traditional coat of the Canadian Inuit people, these garments have a built-in pouch for carrying a baby or child on the adult's back, and are as beautiful as they are practical. Just look:

Customarily made of animal skins or thick woolen cloth, the Amautik holds the baby against the mother's back inside the pouch and feature sumptuous, oversized hoods that are large enough to cover both mother and child. They look sooooo cozy. Here are a couple of modern-day interpretations that I discovered online:

Here's a cool (and adorable!) video I found on YouTube that shows a great demonstration of how to wear a swaddled baby facing out in an Amautik:

And here is a brief sequence from the film Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) which gives a sense of the Amautik tradition. I love that the child being worn in this clip is well into toddlerdom, and also completely naked inside the warmth of the Amautik. Just lovely.

Are you like me, do you totally want one now?!? Amauti Baby is a small, Inuit-owned and operated company that creates custom-designed coats along authentic, traditional lines, for babywearing mamas. Check out their website for more information on how to place an order. International shipping available!

Image sources, top-bottom: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Playing With the Moon

Well isn't this series of photos just the most magical and delightful thing I've seen all week! There are a bunch more, all incredibly clever, here. Via Love Set You Going.

Guest Post: Abbey from Abbey Goes Design Scouting on A Birth Story for Alex

One of my favorite (and I know many of your favorite) features on Marvelous Kiddo is the birth stories. So today I thought I’d share two stories today; my own, and that of my son, Alex. We were both delivered at New York Hospital (now Cornell Weill/New York Presbyterian) on the same floor, 30 years apart.

Every year on my birthday my mother and father would tell me the story of my birth – usually at dinner, after the cake. They would take turns, seamlessly switching the narrative of the story. It was something I looked forward to every year; I remember the story and how much I felt my parents love for each other and for me.

“You were a wonderful surprise,” my mother would begin. “We hadn’t planned on getting pregnant but you chose us and we were so glad you did.”

“Oh, we were such boobs,” my father would say, looking fondly at my mother. “We were living in New York City at the time, in a tiny apartment on Milligan Place in the Village.” He would continue. “We had just started Lamaze classes, and I had come straight from my favorite watering hole. I had booze on my breath and you can imagine how your mother felt about that.”

“You were six weeks early; and we were totally unprepared. I went into labor with one Lamaze class.” On the day of your birth a winter storm came through the city and the barometric pressure dropped,” my mother would say, “and every pregnant woman in the city went into labor at once! (I always loved this part the best – the idea of all the babies who shared my birthday). “We were lucky to get a room” she would add “There were women giving birth in the hallways! I labored for a while and then the doctors said it was time to push. Suddenly everyone left me alone; your father went to get his scrubs on and the doctors went to get ready. Then, you were here!” My father would say, “I remember how perfect you were in every way, but especially I remember how perfect your little heels were.”

Then they would talk nostalgically about their time in New York (they moved to Vermont shortly after I was born); how they had shopped at Jefferson Market; how my mother had eaten dinner at Joe Juniors every night she was pregnant; looking at the wood-burning grill they had and feeling cozy. How in the summers they would hear the lawn of the church being mowed across the street and feel that they were far away from the city.

When I was pregnant with Alex, I spent a lot of time thinking about how I would tell him the story of his birth. I wondered how labor and delivery would unfold.


My sweetest Alex,

You were a wonderful surprise. We hadn’t planned on getting pregnant but you chose us and we were so glad you did. Your father and I were living in New York City in a tiny light filled apartment with a terrace that I filled with container gardens every summer (and one year, a water garden with snails and goldfish!). The summer before you were born, your father and I had our first conversation about having children; maybe we thought, maybe we’re ready. And boy, did you take that opening! One week later we were pregnant.

I woke up one morning and felt different. I just knew you were inside me. I lay in bed while your father showered and watched the sunlight come through the window. I went to the bathroom and took a pregnancy test without saying anything. I remember the feeling of warmth that came over me when I saw the results. I got into the shower with your father and gave him the biggest hug and he knew too. He was so excited to be a father.

I spent the next nine months resting and thinking about you. I was a student and would make up late, eat a cheddar omelet from the bakery next door. Sometimes I’d wake up with your dad and make him a scrambled egg. But most days I slept in. Your father and I would go for walks in the park and sit on benches and read books, but mostly we’d talk about you.

You were due to be born on the 25th of May. The 25th came and we were so excited (and maybe a little be nervous). Nothing out of the ordinary happened; I felt you kicking in my belly. The next day came and went and then the next. I went on walks; I ate spicy Thai food; I spent hours walking up and down the 10 flights of our apartment building. All things that were supposed to help me go into labor. Friends called and asked if you were here yet. We went to the doctor for a check up and he said you were growing and perfect. Two days later, we went back to the hospital and the doctor told us that it was time. Your father was wonderful; rubbing my feet and bringing me food. I remember so clearly the first time I saw you and how perfect you were. Our room had a beautiful view of the East river. I remember holding you in the sunlight. That night, there was an amazing Memorial Day fireworks display out over the river and your father and I held you in our arms and looked at the fireworks together.

P.S. (From Leigh): I am so lucky to have Abbey as a dear friend and Upper West Side neighbor. Her unerring eye for great design and her wonderful talent for entertaining are a constant inspiration to me, to say nothing of her naturalness as a mother. Oh, yes, and she writes one of my favorite blogs!

Guest Post: Jora from Domestic Reflections on Health Food Store Beauty

Hi there! I’m Jora from Domestic Reflections. I’m so happy to be here at Marvelous Kiddo. It is truly one of my favorite blogs. I was thinking about all the products I love and use from Whole Foods (and other health food stores). I dare say I like it more than the makeup counter at Nordstrom or Sephora. Here are some of my favorites:

Egyptian Magic. This skin cream claims to heal just about every skin ailment. I can attest to that, but it is a wonderful moisturizer. You warm it up in your hands until it liquefies, and then spread it wherever you need a little hydration (or put it on scars, eczema, stretch marks, bug bites…the testimonials mention just about everything!). The ingredient list is awesome: Olive Oil, BeesWax, Honey Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly, Bee Propolis and Love.

Burt’s Bees Buttermilk Bath Soak. It’s not just for babies! True, you could make this at home, but I love the scent and who can resist the cute milk bottle packaging?

Nature’s Gate Herbal Shampoo. This is one of those nostalgia items for me. My mom used this for years when we were little. Then I “rediscovered” it during a brief hippie phase in high school. I miss the old packaging however.

Jojoba Oil. This stuff is a great all purpose moisturizer/makeup remover/hair conditioner/massage oil. I read somewhere that you can actually use it to cleanse your face as well. It’s sort of counter-intuitive to clean with oil, but somehow I don’t break out and my skin does feel, well, clean after I use it!

Sweet Orange and Ylang Ylang Essential Oils. I’m not much of a perfume person (although I’m still try to find my signature scent!). In the meantime, I love dabbing a bit of sweet orange or ylang ylang essential oil on. If you aren’t crazy about these scents, check out the essential oil section at your health food store. I promise you will find something you like!

Weleda Skin Food. I love this stuff for face, hands, feet, wherever. It has a really nice faint orange blossom scent that my husband always comments on, which is always a bonus in my book.

Rachel Perry lip gloss. This is another nostalgia item for me. I think it is the only “makeup” item I was allowed to have until junior high. I felt so grown up carrying it around in my Hello Kitty purse. I love the grape juice flavor.

What are your favorite beauty items from the health food store?

P.S. (From Leigh): Jora's blog, Domestic Reflections, inspires me to live more authentically and elegantly. She has so much style and an equal amount of substance, and she balances them perfectly on her blog. Go there!

Amherst Highlights

Our family had such a lovely time in Amherst, we wish we could've stayed longer! We only scratched the surface of all the fun things there are to do and yummy things there are to eat in the area. For example, next time we visit, I'll be sure to go here and here.

Photos ©Leigh Pennebaker