Come read us on Babble
We are currently blogging every day on babble.com on a blog called "Being Pregnant" so come read us over there...
posted by kanarick at 1:21 PM | Comments (0)
from the hips in the LA Times
We got a nice mention today in an LA TIMES magazine article about the What To Expect empire. Mostly it's a critique of the WTE franchise but we make an appearance at the end as a modern and less-alarmist alternative. Some highlights:
"There is just an overwhelming quantity of information you need to filter through," says Ceridwen Morris, a coauthor of the new pregnancy book "From the Hips." The 39-year-old New Yorker has a 3-year-old son and is pregnant with a second child. "Polarized voices come at you from every angle." ... In "From the Hips," Morris and Odes present information in a fresh, accessible way and try to soothe anxiety rather than create it. The book focuses on the basics and refers readers interested in a particular topic or birthing technique to other sources, sort of like hypertext on a website...Odes says that when she got pregnant she was startled to find the library of pregnancy books so backward. "It's 2007 here," says Odes. "It's time for an update."
posted by ceridwen at 6:29 AM | Comments (0)
risk of listerioses vs risk of neurosis
We are frequently asked why we wrote From the Hips. We have a long answer but another shorter answer might be that we were anticipating this woman's complaints. (Now we just need that UK edition!)
posted by ceridwen at 1:25 PM | Comments (0)
keeping up appearances
We had a great time at Politcs and Prose in Washington. There were a bunch of people with a lot of really great questions that led to a really great discussion. (And we got some sweet DC Press). We hope to do more events like that-- maybe one in New York. I made a mistake on the last post-- we were actually on WCBS (NY local news) this last weekend. That also went well; we'll link to the interview at fromthehips.com shortly.
posted by ceridwen at 12:57 PM | Comments (0)
from the hips in DC & on TV
Just a reminder that we'll be at POLITICS AND PROSE in Washington, DC at 1 PM this Saturday. We'll be chatting about the book and answering questions. We'll also be appearing on CBS Sunday Morning the following day at around 8:15 AM. If you're up doling out the Cheerios, tune in. We'll be live and semi-rehearsed!
posted by ceridwen at 9:27 AM | Comments (0)
from the hips in washington dc
We'll be appearing in Washington DC at Politics and Prose for a brief reading, discussion and Q and A on Saturday June 23rd at 1 PM. Hope you can join us-- and if you know any pregnant women/ new moms in the DC metropolitan area, by all means spread the word!
posted by ceridwen at 8:40 AM | Comments (1)
of stirrup pants and stirrups
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who noticed that The Girlfriend's Guide suggests stirrup pants as a fashion solution for the pregnant. Stirrup pants. And not just now, as part of the semi-ironic 80s/90's fashion revival. But all the way through, since the actual 90s. Perhaps this information has been removed from the newly updated edition (just in time for the aforementioned revival). I hope my curiosity doesn't actually drive me to open the book since I always emerge from its pages feeling somewhat inadequate (in the personal grooming department, anyway)
Thanks to Jo at the Leery Polyp (someone get that girl an English pub immediately) as well as Mom Writes, mama(e) in translation, wet feet and stirrup queens (who may or may not wear stirrup pants, but if so, probably ironically) for making our day(s), in this and many other ways...
posted by rebecca at 3:27 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
taken by Storm
We did our first, and hopefully not last, TV segment: a piece for the CBS Early Show that will air Monday, May 28 at 8:08 AM (for those not sleeping in on Memorial Day morning).
The two of us have been blabbing about our book pretty much every day for years, but after all the coaching ("be thorough" "stay casual" "plan who speaks when" "speak conversationally") we were nearly stunned to silence. Luckily we had time to gain composure in the fancy town car on the way to the set. When we got there, they clipped mics under our clothes (note to future TV guests: pull cord around your back if you're wearing a dress so you don't have what looks like a long black tampon string dangling between your legs) and we were ushered onto the frigid, beige set where the indomitable anchor woman Hannah Storm took over: "We'll worry about the TV stuff. You just do your thing." And so we did for four and half surreal and glorious minutes! If you tune in you will learn that we believe that "babies are people, not problems" and that Ceridwen has finally had her roots done!
posted by rebecca and ceridwen at 2:23 PM | Comments (0)
from the hips on sale today!!
After three long years of intensive study, outreach, debate and pumping we are so thrilled to be able to say our book, From the Hips, is finally on the shelves! We're really happy with the way the book turned out, and we hope you like it, too. Also, if you ever filled out a survey at thenewmom.com check the book for your own words-- we used tons of real quotes from real parents to show the many ways pregnancy, birth and having a baby can go down.
Check back here for press info, we'll be coming to an ivory leather couch near you sometime very soon.
posted by rebecca and ceridwen at 6:44 PM | Comments (7)
new birth documentary
I heard about this documentary through Abby Howe-Heyman, one of the midwives who advised on our book. It's called The Business of Being Born, and it's produced by Ricki Lake who enjoyed her own Manhattan home birth. It's premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival-- any New Yorkers interested, there appear to be tickets available for next week's screenings. The filmmaker (Abby Epstein) will be doing a Q & A at the April 29th screening. We're going to check out it and I'm sure we'll be blogging all the way home. Stay tuned.
posted by ceridwen at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
striving for imperfection day after day after ....
We're all about striving for imperfection over here at thenewmom. (In fact, "strive for imperfection" is one of the "anti-rules" we lay out in From the Hips.) And we're so happy to know that Judith Warner is there every week to help remind us exactly why it's so important! Today in her Domestic Disturbances column, she considers the positive influence a little early rejection may have for the kinds of super high-acheiveing, "amazing" girls profiled last weekend in the Times.
Many, I think, never figure out how to handle the emptiness that comes when the rush of achievement fades away, or the loneliness — the sense of invisibility — when no one is there to hand out yet another “A.” The fact is: when you are narrowly programmed to achieve, you are like a windup toy with only one movement in its repertoire. You’re fine when you’re wound up; but wind you down, and you grind to a halt. I think this is partly why so many grown-up amazing girls with high-earning husbands find themselves having to quit work when they have kids. They simply can’t perform at work and at home at the high level that they demand of themselves.
When I was pregnant I overheard a new mother answer that question about 'how she does it all' and she said, quickly, and with a smile, "Oh, it's easy: I suck at my job and I'm a terrible mom." It gave me great hope.
posted by ceridwen at 4:39 PM | Comments (0)
