A Walk To 40 Weeks

Ryan from Pacing the Panic Room recently started documenting a friend's pregnancy in a series of terrific photos and I love the concept: each week, mama-to-be, Tricia, is being photographed as she strolls around the neighborhood. One week at a time, the photos are threaded together on Ryan's blog and viewers can navigate them with the help of a horizontal scroll bar. The effect is that we see gorgeous Tricia moving through space and time, complete with an ever-expanding bump. Genius! Check it out, here.

And if you haven't already seen it, be sure to go back and enjoy the wonderful series of photos Ryan took of his wife, Cole, during her recent pregnancy.

a great way to help Haiti TODAY if you are in NYC

There’s a plane leaving NYC for Haiti on Tuesday, 1/19, and charity: water needs your help filling it with cargo. As you may know, charity: water is a non-profit organization that brings clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Members of the charity: water staff have been in close contact with their field partners; they are turning the charity: water office in Manhattan into a drop-off point for the following items (those most urgently needed in Haiti this week):

Blankets*
Tents*
Sleeping bags*

Soap
Feminine hygiene products
Medical gloves
Bandages/gauze
Cases of bottled water

* these items can be gently used

If you can make a donation, please stop by the charity: water office at 200 VARICK STREET on Monday, 1/18, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. DO NOT MAIL THESE ITEMS TO THEIR OFFICE.

IF YOU CAN CARRY THE DONATIONS BY HAND IN ONE LOAD: Please enter through the front door at 200 Varick St. You will need a photo ID to enter the building. charity: water is located on the 2nd floor, Suite 201.

IF YOU ARE A BUSINESS OR ARE DONATING IN BULK: Please email Lane Wood to schedule a drop-off time. Lane's e address: lane.wood[at]charitywater[dot]org

All supplies will be transported this week by Partners in Health and distributed where they are needed most. charity: water's other partners in Haiti, Concern Worldwide US, are sending supplies from Ireland and still have a pressing need for donations.

Thank you to Diana for getting this information to me!

Baby Cuddles: Back By Popular Demand!

Oh, you wonderful readers! Ever since my last baby cuddles post my inbox has runneth over with more amazing images, leaving me with no choice but to do a follow-up! I think this has the makings of a regular feature, so keep those photos comin'.

Today's first photo, above, was sent in by Paige from the awesome blog, I Heart You. Here's what paige said: "Here is my most recent favorite picture of my husband and 4 month old son taken on Christmas morning at our neighborhood park." Paige, both of those boys are too cute for words, and that hat is off-the-charts adorable.

This week of entries was very strong on daddy-baby cuddles, like this one, from my good friend Corie, which shows an achingly sweet cuddle between her husband and son...

...and this one, sent in by Coralissa, that captures the fun of a Hawaiian beach snuggle shared by her husband and son...

...AND this one, send in by Tanya, which shows a heart-melting daddy-daughter moment...

Not to be outdone in the cuddly-cuteness department, those same three moms also sent gorgeous photos of themselves with their babies, and I have to say, they give those adorable dads a run for their money! Here are Corie, Coralissa, and Tanya, in that order:

I even got a couple of submissions showing sweet baby-grandparent cuddles, too! The first one is from my blog-friend Rebecca:

Rebecca wrote, "I have to send along this photo of my dad, "Papa" to his grandkids, loving on his newest grandbaby Noah. You can just barely see the sling in this shot. I love seeing my folks wearing Noah in the sling--I think it's adorable. Papa is a baby man. He'll pick up babies and walk and sway for hours so mommies get a break. It's not just his own grandchildren either--he'll borrow any baby at church if it's mama will let go for a minute. LOL. He's the best grandpa ever. I like the contrast of my dad's grizzled 61 year old cheek against the Noah's precious baby skin."

And this next one is from Coralissa. It shows baby Nainoa having a tender snuggle with his grandmother in Hawaii on the last morning of their recent visit, before heading home to Las Vegas:

Moving back to mama-baby beauty, I was loving these two pics from Amber, who shared these words: "Here are 2 of my favorite cuddling photos of me and my little Axel River. The first is the day after he was born. He was so fresh and new. I had him at home, which was so special, so we had our snuggle time on our own sofa. Photo #2: Axel was born in the cull (his amniotic sack did not break). So, we gave him a water middle name. We also love the Yuba River near our home which is what he is named for. This is a photo of me and Axel at 'his' river when he was 4 months old."

Marvelous Kiddo reader, Katie, sent in the following three photos:

"My son, Ben, has Down syndrome and was recently diagnosed with Autism as well. He is eight now, and these pictures of him are very close to my heart...I would love to tell you his birth story someday, but for now I will just say that he was very close to death when he was born, was not expected to recover, let alone breastfeed. He was my first and I was green, naive, and VERY stubborn. Even in the NICU I insisted on trying, even though the nurses were sadly shaking their heads at me and his poor muscle tone. He was released after 21 days, and after 2 months of pumping for him, he and I finally had a successful latch with the help of a LLL leader. He nursed happily for 17 months, and I can honestly say it was one of the most triumphant periods of my life. He is now a sweet, cuddly boy with a strong healthy body and a great spirit. He has many challenges, but we can't imagine life without our little man. He's taught us so much."

I love that last photo of Ben with one of his siblings, and it provides a great segue to two more of my favorites from this week, both showing sibling love as expressed through cuddles:

Thank you to Marcela and Ariella for sharing those precious sibling snuggles with us.

I can't wait to check my inbox for more sweetness this week! XOXO, Leigh

Exciting Press Today!

Two things...

1. An article on today's Huffington Post about Jeanine's amazing Bloggers Day(s) of Action for Haiti Project. Read the story here. You can also now join the Bloggers Day of Action on Facebook!

2. A story about Baby Mamas (Put a Sling on 'Em) is featured on People Magazine's Celebrity Baby Blog, here.

Bloggers Day of Action: Spotlight on Haitian Artist Marithou Dupoux

My research for this post led me to the powerful work of Marithou Dupoux and I knew I would have to feature it here. I was immediately captivated by the energy and originality of these ceramic sculptures that were shown in a recent exhibit in Haiti. Read more about this celebrated artist, here.

These images are via Frederic Dupoux's (Marithou Dupoux's son) captivating blog. Follow Frederic on Twitter for updates from the disaster area. His observations are riveting and heartbreaking. My thoughts and prayers go out to him, his mother, and their community.

I hope you will join the blogging community in raising attention and aid for those who have been affected by the earthquake. Check out all of the posts from the Blogger's Day of Action, and don't forget to bid on the auction items. Here are the participating blogs:

1. It's Oh So Grand

2. Hammocks & High Tea

3. A Life More Fabulous

4. Bay Area Style File

5. Single Bubble Pop

6. Lindsey Lou Blogs

7. Styleture

8. Simply Grove

9. Make Under My Life

10. Design For Mankind

11. Urban Casita

12. Nuvany Nice

13. Jodine's Corner

14. The Cubicle Chick

15. Aphrochic

16. Marvelous Kiddo

17. Tam-Sam

...and more to come...

For more ways to help, go here.

Bloggers Day of Action

The more that I read and see and hear about the tragedy that is unfolding in Haiti, the more I ache with a sense of horror and helplessness. The event is so overwhelming that it is easy to feel lost and unsure of how to assist the people that are so desperately in need. Yesterday I made a donation to the International Response Fund of the Red Cross, but I wanted to do more.

That's why I was so glad to run across this effort, spearheaded by Jeanine of Aphrochic:

Bloggers from around the country are committing to a Bloggers Day of Action for Haiti. Today we use our blogs not just to discuss design and fashion, but to identify ways to help with the relief effort in a country that has been devastated by disaster. The participating blogs are taking this day to post about the amazing culture and diversity of this island country and ways that you can help make a difference. Later today AphroChic will be hosting a charity auction to help raise funds for efforts on the ground, auctioning works from some of your very favorite designers including Laidback Home, Hammocks & High Tea, Verre New York, and Name Your Design, just to name a few.

Today we are committed to taking action, and I ask you to join us. If you are a blogger or designer who would like to participate in the Bloggers Day of Action for Haiti, please e-mail Jeanine at jeanine@aphrochicshop.com

Together, we can raise thousands for all those in need.

Charitable donations can be sent to:
- Red Cross
- UNICEF
- Yele Haiti

Bump Beauty

I've been enjoying the baby-bump development over on the terrific blog, Rummey Bears. Isn't Anna Rummey just the glowiest mama you've ever seen? And here in frigid New York, I am waay jealous of the amazing-looking Sydney summertime. Check out more of the belly-beauty here, and stay tuned! Anna only has ten weeks to go, and is planning a home birth.