Sue Shellanbarger’s Work and Family column in Today’s Wall Street Journal looks at the maternal drop out rate from the work force. She explores, via anecdote, families who have made the decision to live lean (my phrasing not hers) for their children and the name of childhood development. And she sets before us a growing body of evidence from various studies in early childhood development which support the need for a parent (really read as mother) to stay home during the first year or longer. She also sites the lack of extended maternity leave and undesirable and costly childcare options as reasons women are opting to stay home. According to the WSJ:

The analysis, prepared for release within the next few weeks, suggests new mothers’ hiatus from the work force tends to be one to three years, compared with longer breaks in the past.

What is most fascinating here is not the obvious political (YES, we need more – how about ANY - progress in the way National maternity leave policies that would serve to provide solutions and options for all women) or cultural (NO we are not settling back into mid (last) century, 1950s, martini fortified model of family life) but rather the subtle message to women about their care and feeding of each other.

Motherhood, career, life – it is a long game (as one of my favorite people on the planet once told me). And this long game is filled with personal choices made by individuals, women and their partners, based on circumstances. These (hard) choices are neither permanent nor are they binding. These choices and where they land us, reflect a moment in time and are able to be altered at will (you can quit, you can go back).

These stats remind us that women are in and out of the work force – making their way down a long and winding road. How nearly impossible to be simply a working mother or simply a stay and home mother – not with this much uncertainly and motion in our society. And yet, even when the anecdotal and statistical evidence suggests that these are fluid titles, we still retreat to our camps with defensive posture and closed minds.

As Leslie Morgan Steiner puts it in the introduction to her look at American Motherhood, The Mommy Wars, “In order to end this catfight and emerge united, we need to explain ourselves to one another”. A fair observation and what I read in Sue Shellenbarger’s article today is that we are each other. Perhaps not at the same moment or with the same motives, but women will weave through various versions of herself – as a working woman and as mother. And this, my friends (or do you still hate me because I am working?!?!), makes a very convincing argument for a little less venom and a little more love.

Yeah, yeah – I know I am one of the few people who can take a statistical heavy WSJ piece and turn into Kumbaya moment – but if not me, who?

Cynthia Rowley continues to have “designs” on the expectant and new mother market. You will recall that we worked with Cynthia as she introduced her first offering to the bump and belly set – her limited edition Be Fruitful Stroller (benefiting the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation and on sale via www.gracobaby.com/fashioningthefuture). According to Page Six, the ever-forward thinking Cynthia Rowley has more goodies up her hip little sleeve:

“I WOULD like to get into disposable diapers printed to look like little denim jeans or little trompe l’oeil, lacy panties” - fashion designer Cynthia Rowley in WWD on her future plans

Bring it on…

Another Page Six tidbit….Keifer Sutherland helping out a Dad-pal on diaper duty at Gotham Bar and Grill. According to Page Six:

The “24″ star was dining with friends at Gotham Bar & Grill and enjoying a Jack Daniels and Coke when a male pal’s baby started to whine. “Kiefer went straight to the men’s room with his friend and helped change the diaper,” our spy said. “He was really good about it - a really nice guy.”

I see the Jack (as my friends call him; I don’t do much TV beyond Weeds as we well know) around the Forty Weeks hood in NY on a fairly regular basis. GBG is right arond the corner from my very happy mani/pedi joint on Universtiy - but I digress… Last Sutherland sighting (as in, by me unreported but not unoticed) was at the W, Union Square where, sadly there are no changing stations!

What if this item from page six were true – and Jennifer Lopez and Victoria Beckham really did explore designing a fashion line together? We would love to work with the new BFF duo on (our working title only) JPosh for Forty Weeks – a super sexy range for the most feminine Forty Weeks of your life!

Just consider it girls…I am loving this idea (may be the caffeine talking so do check back with me on this one). Multi-cultural, a little heat, a little prim, a little slim, a little curve – has potential….

Today’s New York Times Arts section features a piece of the changing face of marketing youth targeted music. Market for Hipsters-in-Training is the NYT offering more on the “new breed of parent” as the media keeps calling them, and in specific, “costal parents” which is quite an accurate and important classification.

Tammy La Gorce takes us on a well currated tour of the mini-me music scene. There is a lot of music out there that is making its way into these particular consumer’s hands (parental hands that is). And it is well understood and accepted that the marketing machines behind these releases are making the difference between something simply fun and a movement with strong sales to support the claim.

And, of course, this marketing is aimed at the parent – 100% and without excuse. The Forty Weeks notion of the parent being the key influencer and decision maker in the juvenile market – and speaking the right language to them – in this case – singing the right tune- continues to be right on the money. In specific, these releases answer a needed call - they keep the parent forever young, hip and with an uber-cool progeny to prove it.

To be a parent in 2006 — especially a coastal, well-heeled, contemporary-minded one — is to be blasted by possibilities for nurturing impeccable musical taste in one’s offspring. The commercial successes, like Disney’s “Baby Einstein” series of albums, have been widely noted on the Billboard charts and in Wal-Mart shopping carts. But they overshadow a hipper niche of kid music that is encouraging a curious form of parental connoisseurship, where “High Fidelity” meets high chairs.

That this ballooning genre is meant as much for the parents as the children, and probably more, is readily acknowledged by some of those producing and buying it.

Forgive me for banging our own drum (and for this lousy abuse of literary license!!!), and this is how we have always guided our clients. Keep a keen focus on the real decision makers and respond to their needs, wants and desires as adults first. Know the parent, find the parental sweet-spot and deliver an experience driven product that rings (sings?!?!) true.

Today the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Mothers Work Founders Rebecca and Dan Mathias sold half of their stock in their company and may sell more. According to Thomas Ginsberg:

Shares fell 7 percent yesterday to $47.10 after dropping 11 percent on Wednesday before the announcement of the stock sale. Still, Mothers Work’s share price is up 269 percent for the year, and it posted its highest-ever close of $57.26 this week.

Rebecca C. Matthias, 53, president and chief operating officer, and her husband, Dan W. Matthias, 63, chairman and chief executive officer, sold the stock “for estate-planning, personal-asset-diversification, and liquidity purposes,” the company said in a statement.

Full credit for obvious attempts at adjusting to the market and responding to many new forces at play. And still..talk about timing being everything in this world….

This morning, Page Six reports that Elvis Costello and Diana Krall were seen at Da Silvano and that the expectant couple was carrying a bag from Agent Provocateur. So we love, love , love these two together (come on – we are talking crazy amounts of very inspiring talent - plus what white, Jewish girl from Philly turned pregnancy and baby guru has not got 100+ memories tied to “Alison” — oh wait - that is just me) and are thrilled to see that Diana is sharing her most excellent pregnancy cravings with Elvis – this is the good stuff!!! According to the Post:

November 21, 2006 — ELVIS Costello at Da Silvano handing his very pregnant wife, Diana Krall, a large pink Agent Provocateur bag presumably filled with the label’s sex lingerie . . .

Finally something positive about celebrity pregnancy — I consider carbs and couple time to be a good story (ok, I am easy)…and thank you NY Post for giving me a something to smile about.

Salon.com has a lot to say about celebrity pregnancy and parenting — so many words and accusations and still I am wondering, what was Daniel Harris really saying? Mosty it is an angry, nasty tirade…against the affluent and influential. And here, pitting celebrity parents against the masses – is just another example of how the battle continues – harming many and helping none.

Celebrity Baby Blog calls Bravado the perfect nursing bras…the review covers the entire line, celebrity fans (such as Angelina Jolie and Jennifer Garner) and some great insights from a nursing mother in the know. About the latest from Bravado! The Essential Nursing Bra Tank:The Essential Nursing Bra Tank is great. Not only does it have a molded, seamless bra on the inside that offers great support and shapes you nicely, but the design is really cute. It kind of gathers at the cleavage area and the nursing clips are really subtle (you wouldn’t even know they were nursing clips if you weren’t a savvy nursing mama yourself) but still easy to access. I can wear it as a shirt and no one is the wiser. I really love it.

Expect more excitement from Bravado! Designs in 2007 – I would tell you more but you know, I’d have to kill you.

Stay tuned…

The rains have finally ended. And today is a sunny, picture-perfect ending to the week. As usual, half of my week was spent in NYC and half in DC. So what stands out the most this week? Fairly true to form – the food and the company! What a lucky life - filled with interesting people with whom I share a crazy passion for food. Some highlights:

Lunch at Olives with my new friend, Conceive Publisher Megan Sullivan

Drinks at Cafeteria with two major GODESSES, Lisa Bernstein, executive director of the What to Expect Foundation and Denise Sparafora, founder of Born Clear.

Dinner at Philippe with real-life BFF and sage of In Style, Lisa Jordan Helms

Lunch at Beppe with the ever in-the-know Deb Mignucci and Courtney Thom from Fit Pregnancy.

So – I am now well informed, and well-padded for the cold weather ahead!!!!

Thank you ladies….