Listen to my podcast!

Last May, a very lovely woman named Joanne Greene interviewed me for my first-ever podcast, which has been posted on my publisher's web site. Generally I hate to hear myself speak (I always fast-forward over myself when I'm transcribing interviews), but this one was a lot of fun. It's about 10 minutes long, and the conversation went off on so many tangents that I didn't get to cover every important point in my book, but think of this as a little sneak peek. Enjoy!

Coming to a baby event near you...

Hey there, faithful readers: If you happen to be in West Hartford, Ct, on Sept 30th, or Uniondale, Long Island, October 13-14, come hang out with me at one of these birth and baby events:

Sept 30: I'll be part of the talkback panel discussing a performance of "Birth" by Karen Brody, a series of monologues that I am told is something like "The Vagina Monologues." Should be interesting, and I'm sure I'll get at least a few more blog entries out of it! The event is sponsored by BOLD, a group that advocates for more mom-friendly birth, always a worthy goal. More info and tickets here.

Oct 13-14: I'll be a guest speaker at the American Baby Faire at the Nassau Coliseum. Something tells me there will bags full of free stuff from all the exhibitors. There are even rumors of a bouncy castle.

See you there!

The catwalk in the labor room?

Hello everyone, welcome to fall! Bellamy started first grade yesterday, and so far, fingers crossed, everything's looking good. Molly doesn't start preschool until next Monday, so trying to get any work done or updating blogs has been a real challenge this week. But I just read something I couldn't resist commenting on. The snarky guilty-pleasure blog Jezebel.com just posted this mind-boggling news: A company called Binsi has just come out with a line of skirts, robes and tops to wear while you are giving birth! Now, while I do think the thin cotton robes provided by the hospital leave a lot to be desired in terms of comfort, style, and modesty, the idea of purchasing something new just to wear while you labor strikes me as absolutely absurd. If you choose to labor at home or in a less restrictive birthing center or hospital, you probably have your own comfy T-shirt to wear through labor. Or more likely, you'll be naked. Whatever you do wear will get covered with sweat, blood, and other body fluids, so why spend $50 bucks on a "labor skirt"??? Well, this just proves that there is a market for everything (or at least someone trying to make a buck off every moment of life), no matter how ridiculous.