Texting While Birthing + Birth Story of the Week

Cartoon by Mick Stevens, originally published in The New Yorker Magazine, 03/15/2010

I was delighted to run across a piece in this week's issue of New York Magazine, exploring the growing phenomenon of parents using technology to document/communicate the birth of their children in real time. It's practically de rigueur these days to Tweet one's labor or blog one's birth story -- now it seems people are going so far as to text their next of kin even as they give birth via c-section! I find all of this fascinating, and I think you will too, so check out the article.

Fittingly, the piece was written by Tina Cassidy, author of Birth: The Surprising History of How We are Born, a book that came out in 2006 and that I devoured months ago and have been meaning to post about ever since. I loved this fantastically researched and imminently readable title and I know it would appeal to anyone who has even a passing interest in how we all arrive here on Planet Earth. As much as I've read and investigated books in the birth + pregnancy + labor genre, I had never gotten my hands on a straight-up scholarly analysis of the history of birth customs and practices. It was a very illuminating and often entertaining read that certainly put a lot of perspective on the current state of affairs and the culture of birth that we inhabit right now. I highly recommend it.

After I tore through the book I gave my copy to my friend Jen, who also enjoyed it and consequently discovered that Cassidy maintains a blog, on which she posted her own remarkable story of the birth of her second child ( a home VBAC that occurred in 2007). The amazing thing is that Cassidy wrote her birth story on her blog in serial form over the course of weeks, posting a series of 36 short posts that go into exciting, interesting, and just downright compelling detail about her pregnancy and birth journey so the whole thing reads like bit of a cliffhanger for birth junkies. It is brilliant. Compounding the awesomeness is the comment thread attached to the posts, which include juicy feedback from friends, fans, and most endearingly Cassidy's own mother, who, shall we say was not very keen on the whole idea of home birth throughout her daughter's pregnancy. Their back-and-forth is priceless, and actually very moving.

I thought you would enjoy it so much that I decided to link to Cassidy's epic birth chronicle as Birth Story of the Week. The format is a little unconventional, but you will thank me if you read it :)

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12

Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18

Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part 22, Part 23, Part 24

Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30

Part 31, Part 32, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36

Breastfeeding in LIFE

April 1950: Bantu mother of the Bamangwato tribe, breastfeeding her newborn.

Photo: MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE

1964: Israeli mother breast feeding her baby.

Photo: PAUL SCHUTZER

See more incredible images of breastfeeding through the decades and around the world here, in the photo archives of LIFE Magazine.

Two Days in The American Museum of Natural History

We live a fifteen-minute walk away from one of the greatest museums in the world. Sometimes you just have to go two days in a row to soak in the awesomeness. And we still barely scratched the surface. Here are some highlights...

Happy days.

Joyfully exploring, creating, experimenting, imagining,

running, giggling,

seeing, learning, doing.

Being.

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.

Parisian Time Capsule

This story stopped me in my tracks and gave me chills. A gorgeous Parisian flat was recently discovered that had been untouched for 70 years! And it contained an important painting worth millions, as well as a juicy cache of love letters. You have to read the entire, jaw-dropping story, here. Via Jezebel.

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

Radiant Child

I reaallly want to see this new film about Jean-Michel Basquiat, one of my favorite artists. It's playing here in NYC at Film Forum, through August 3.

Mod Family Trees

I love these stylish, modern takes on the family tree! Totally customizable and totally rad, they're available at My Tree and Me. Via Stephmodo.

Vintage Style

For the past several days, I have been reveling in the fashion-goodness that is The Sartorialist's Vintage Photo Contest. Well, I finally decided to join in by submitting one of my favorite old family photos. I thought it would be fun to share it here, too!

This photo is of my maternal grandparents. It has always been one of my favorite family photos because of how utterly dashing they both look. They grew up in rural Mississippi during the Great Depression, and both came from large, poor families (my grandfather was one of eight children, my grandmother one of ten). When they first got married, they didn't have much, but I love that lack of money was no obstacle to great personal style. As you can see here, they both had impeccable taste, and knew how to work the camera. There's something about the light in this photo, and way the breeze is kicking up the hem of her skirt and fluttering through her glamourous hairdo that gives this photo a sense of immediacy and romance. I feel like I'm right there with them, even though this photo was taken over sixty years ago.

Do you have a favorite old family photo depicting great vintage style? I'd love to see them, if you do!

Photo(s) of the Day

Me, circa 1980, and J, circa 2010. Thanks to my mom for pointing out the resemblance.

Breastfeeding Baby Jesus

You must read this amazing post on the blog Peaceful Parenting! Danelle has assembled a beautiful and inspiring array of images from art history depicting the Virgin Mary breastfeeding the Christ Child. What a wonderful celebration of the everyday miracle that is breastfeeding. Via Gloria Lemay's facebook (by the way, Gloria is all kinds of awesome and she always posts the best links! Her Facebook status currently reads, Quote of the day, Sheila Stubbs: "If Jesus were born today, he would have been induced and c-sectioned three weeks early because a virgin birth is far too risky." Word.

Made My Day

I found this via Capucha's Tumblr and we couldn't stop dancing along!

We Were All Marvelous Kiddos: Vintage Baby Photos, Part 3

That's right, it's time for another installment of my wonderful reader's fabulous baby photos! Thanks to all for continuing to send in the fun snapshots and stories. I look forward to seeing more soon, so keep sending 'em!

First, we have a great photo sent in by my dear friend (and cousin!) Laurel. This is one of my favorites because it shows little baby Laurel with her great grandmother, Nettie, who was also Taro's great grandmother! Here's what Laurel said about the picture:

"When i was born, Nettie was 89 years old and quite ill in the hospital. The story my parents told me growing up was that everyone thought she was dying...but when she learned that her first great-granddaughter was born she made an amazing recovery and lived for about four more years. I was always REALLY proud of that when i was little! I think i was about two months old when this photo was taken and this was the first time we met."

These next two were sent in by Haley, of Trickster-Belle. Here's what she had to say:

"The first one is of my brother and I when I was around two. I’m in the bucket. That was just the start of our comic dynamic. The second one is about a year later when I’m making chicken and dumplings with my Granny. That recipe has been handed down the maternal line as far back as I can find. My favorite part was flattening out the dough and cutting it into strips with the pizza cutter. My Granny went with Jesus about nine years ago and these are some of my most treasured memories of being with her."

My friend Mikiodo sent in the next two cuties, along with these words:

"My parents took a ton of baby pics; it's no wonder I became a photographer. These two make me laugh, and they represent 2 things I love: sweets and animals."

Thanks to reader Heather for sending in this adorable shot of her as a baby with a bunch of kids on a log! Looks like fun times!

Two of my favorite photos so far came from my friend Rachel. The first one, especially, is so tender -- it just really moved me. Rachel's words added to the beauty:

"I cherish any photo of me and my mom I can get my hands on. Having lost her when I was 20, I appreciate greatly the importance of photographically documenting your time with your babies as much as possible. For me, these photos serve such a powerful role and I deeply regret that they became rare during my adolescence. It's amazing to see the parallels between the way in which my mom and I bonded and how my daughter and I bond. I largely credit the extended breastfeeding my mom offered me for our close relationship."

Thanks to everyone who participated! Keep those vintage photos coming! Meanwhile, don't forget to enjoy Parts 1 and 2 of this series...

We Were All Marvelous Kiddos: Vintage Baby Photos, Part 2

Thanks to all who continue to enter!  I think I will have to make this a regular feature :)

Today's first photo was sent in by Katherine Gooch-Breault, who said,

"My folks had a baby photo shoot and I think it is just so funny that someone propped me up in such an adult pose at not-quite-three-months old. It's probably more that I needed the help keeping my head up!"

Anne Sage, author of the always-lovely blog The City Sage, sent in these two adorable photos from her childhood (I am in awe of that perfect little clown costume!):

Meanwhile, my mom and mother-in-law continue to provide me with eerily similar photos of their early years!  The next one is of Riki and her mom, Nanette, on the beach.  The one after that is of Martha and her dad, Wiley, and brother Chuck, also on the beach!  I love how glam their parents are in these photos.  The Kiddo has some smokin' hot great-grandparents!

I adore this cute little baby-photo collage submitted by Nell of Casual Friday Everyday.  Nell writes, "I look back on these pictures with such love and gratitude to my Mother. Even in the midst of the chaotic life we lived, I remember my childhood with such fondness because of her love and calming spirit."

One of our dearest friends, Stephanie Marshall, recently gave birth to her first child, and she blogs about their exploits at Wild About Baby.  Here are two amazing and sweet photos that Stephanie sent me for this post:

About the images, Stephanie said, "the first picture is of me & my Mom. I just love the sentiment between us, the beginning of our extremely close, loving relationship. Plus I love how young my Mom is, not to mention her mod 60's style (and check out my crocheted pullover)...Even though I am not featured in [the second photo]...I thought you would appreciate it, and I love it. It's my Great-Grandmother holding my Grandmother. My Great-Grandmother was an awesome record-keeper & wrote on the back of all her photos, which I so appreciate. She wrote on the back of this photo to her mother: '6 weeks old', which would date the photo late June 1913. Check out the style!"

Next, we have a glorious example of father-daughter camaraderie, sent in by Mrs. Boo Radley, of Just Like Camping.  I love love love the skill set she's developing at such a young age!  Here's what Mrs. Boo had to say about the photo: "Here I am...with my dad...fixing farm machinery! I practically grew up outdoors, chasing chickens with grandma, picking berries with grandpa, and of course, tagging along with my dad and "helping" wherever I could."

My New York City babywearing friend, Nancy Groves, didn't have any readily available baby photos of herself to send in, so she sent these irresistible photos of her parents as babies, circa the 1940's:

And now, last but not least for today, here are two fabulous shots sent in by Katie Richards of Where is Tumbkin?:

"[The first one] is a picture of myself when I was two and just waking up from a nap.  Just seeing that sleepy face makes me want to hug that little girl.  I thought you might get a kick out of [the second] one as well. This is a picture of me, my mom and my dad.  My dad was pinching my mom's bottom -- note her expression!"

I had so much fun receiving all the photos for these posts, and I am beyond excited that everyone seems to love this idea!  I'm serious about starting a regular feature, so if you have any more vintage baby photos, send 'em my way!  XOXO, Leigh.

Photo of the Day: Vintage Mom & Me

My mom just emailed me this photo my dad took of us when I was a baby and I couldn't help posting it.  It got me thinking, we all see and share so many images of our children on our blogs, wouldn't it be fun to even the score a bit and post some of ourselves as babies?  

Towards these ends, here's what I'm going to do: send me your favorite baby-picture-of- yourself, and I will do a post featuring what my readers send in.  It'll be fun and (funny, I'm sure)!

Email your photo to:  leigh (at) leighpennebaker (dot) com

Thanks!

Looking Back

The Kiddo is turning two years old in less than a week, and over the last several days I have been doing quite a bit of reminiscing about his birth and the days leading up to it.  It's such a cliche, but I am amazed by how fast the time has flown by and how he's grown up into a little boy so fast.  

Last night I went through a bunch of old photos that my friend Liz took when I was pregnant with the Kiddo, and I thought it would be fun to post a few.  

These are from my last three prenatal appointments with my midwife before the Kiddo made his big entrance on June 11, 2007.  In the top one, we are joined by my mom and mother in law, who happened to be visiting at the time.  It was really fun to have them participate by listening to the baby's heartbeat.  As two ladies anxiously awaiting their debut as grandmothers (and both of whom had home births themselves) it was a really meaningful experience to have them there.  Ah, memories!