Today the New York Times takes us on a foodie tour with the toddler set. And, while nothing feels new, per se, something does feel very familiar –and good for that! Cookie EIC, Pilar Guzman’s quote echoes mine of a few weeks back in the Times. She shares the same notion that parenting is a careful blending of new and old sensibilities and priorities - an evolution, if you will. The full article here – and also her quote as well as mine. You will see the similarities in philosophy and tone. Bottom line, we are seeing the contemporary parenting experience through the same lens, that of modern moderation.

Take a look…

Julia says:

“This is a new generation of parents who are interested in taking their existing lifestyle, sense of self and priorities into parenting, as opposed to checking them at the parenthood door,” said Julia Beck, founder of 40 Weeks, a consultancy serving the expectant- and new-parent market. “They’re looking for ways to infuse their personality and aesthetic into this new phase of life, and all this new lifestyle parenting media reflects that.”

Pliar says:

“Food is the next frontier in terms of the precious raising of children,” said Pilar Guzmán, the editor in chief of Cookie, the high-end parenting magazine. “Parents are marrying later, having kids later. They have established sensibilities by the time they have kids which don’t come to a screeching halt.”

On a semi-related note (Food!) Debbie O and I became completely addicited to Chowhound this weekend!

It is beautiful here in LA today – a far cry from what I am hearing from the rest of the gang back east. I will certainly not take these few days of sunshine and mild temperatures for granted.

It has been busy. And I have been amazingly successful in one are that has eluded me for years – navigating LA. And, I will give credit where credit is due – GPS is priceless in LA. It is true – little Ms. “I never know where I am in LA” has been a pro at getting here, there and everywhere and it feels HUGE.

Even better…some wonderful face time with old and new friends and clients. Highlights include finally meeting Kelly Fallquist who is as much of a wonder in person as she is via phone and email as well as a quick walk thru the Mom 2 Be show where I saw Leslie from Belly Bars, Erin from Scandinavian Child and many others…

I am definitely walking on (driving thru) sunshine today.

At least you can say I have got range! While last week was an inspiring but chilly trip Toronto, this AM promises a whole different vibe. I leave for LA today for what is sure to be a few very exciting days. On the agenda – time with Meet Me in Miami’s Debbie Ohanian (of course, whenever, where ever!!!), an overdue meeting with the new team at babystyle, some face time with our future client Everybody’s Nuts (come on, you know the pistachios by now!!!!) and of course some strategy with Amanda on all things LA.

Speaking of Amanda – she has been hard at work on the almost due (Tori Spelling’s shower plans) and the newly announced (Jillian Barbarie’s new wardrobe) not to mention some surprises. Amanda Peet for Studio 60 is one and Connie Neilson for some Red Carpet Premieres is another. I am particularly thrilled that we have been working with Vanessa of Isabella Oliver on Nancy O’Dell’s Red Carpet looks and they are stunning…

On the East coast side of things, our staff continues to grow…in all ways! Gina is expecting her second daughter in April and is looking quite fabulous all around. And we have brought in some new faces – Jen and Andrea to help keep THE MOTHER SHIP moving and on course….

Our new and existing client strategies for 2007 enter into brave new territory - we are so ready for the Year of the Golden Pig (per the Chinese zodiac, every fifth year of the pig is that of the golden pig, and is condisered espcially auspicious)…

Thanks to all of you who have emailed and called with your MILE Nominations….How about sharing the love here (so ya know - people other than me get to learn of these amazing women?!?!) In typical “Julia Style” I will now do what my very dear friend Bob Burkett calls “wringing the washcloth” — once again — my super fabulous post:

I have been doing a great deal of thinking about the women in my life. And in particular the Moms who are out there in the working world – the ones who really rock. The thought stems from that nasty little world (acronym) MILF. This word, which once humored me (honest), now bothers me a great deal. I keep coming back to how damn insulting this is. The standard of achievement is being a Mom that someone might like to F—k? Um, NO…first of all we would need to want to even look at you in the first place. And per usual, I am still off point.

I would be super hard pressed to find an engaged, vital, accomplished, passionate woman whose physical appearance does not mirror her internal make-up. It just seems to me that the power of being out there and making it so day after day shines through women, illuminating our beauty and magnifying our deep passion for the world to see. We are mothers, we contribute on so many levels and it keeps a special aura around us. Think about just some of the women with whom I connect with everyday – my team for one – Gina, Amanda, Ruth, Amy – each one a vision in her own way. And then our clients – Alyssa and Melissa from Cabana Life, Oopa Amy, Lisa and Jean from Soho, Baukjen and Vanessa from Isabella Oliver, Lynne from baby daze, Lisa, Woo and team from In Style, the entire Gaggle from Bravado – all off the charts gorgeous and not at all homogeneous. There is a rainbow of beauty here all stemming from an authentic place. PERFECT. And our many friends too – Gigi Lee Chang from Plum Organics, Grace Lee from giggle, Lisa Bernstein from The What to Expect Foundation, Lambeth Hochwald from Parent P-L-A-Y…really I could go on and on…I won’t…I will do one better…Lets forget MILF and move on to MILE*…

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:

THE MILE* AWARDS
*(MOMS I’D LIKE TO EMPLOY)

Forty Weeks asks – who are your favorite Moms in business? Tell us about your absolute favorite women in any industry who do the juggle everyday - the ones who blow you away with their beauty and brains not to mention their ability to get the job done right. These are the women who nurture at home and in the big world as well – the women who inspire and amaze you. Come on – name names and tell us who the MILEs are and well will announce the winner on Valentines Day (because Hallmark told us that was the best day to share the love).

Our operators are standing by….

I heard from Lauren Ambrose and her husband Sam today. Their son, Orson Halcyon was born just after 4pm on Tuesday, January 16. The baby looks adorable (though in his cap, not sure if he has Lauren’s beautiful red hair) and all are doing well!

As you know Lauren was stunning her entire pregnancy (many thanks to Isabella Olvier for making it so easy for her to enjoy her forty weeks)! We have sent over a new batch of goodies to make life with Orson even more fun - Amy Abreu designed two custom Oopa Baby slings for them and Baby Jogger sent over the city series in black for their new urban adventure. We have more good stuff on the way…

What a season for boys!

Seriously, why else travel up to Toronto in January? I will head back up for a day long branding session with the wonderful women of Bravado this AM. And, this promises to be an energized, optimistic and productive session. I am thrilled that we have gotten here! As for me – I am packed three Vince sweaters deep, have some super fun plans for the weekend and plan to come back via NYC (oy! with the security from Canada to National airport) – no worries!!!

And my final, OT thought for the AM – GO EAGLES!

I have been doing a great deal of thinking about the women in my life. And in particular the Moms who are out there in the working world – the ones who really rock. The thought stems from that nasty little world (acronym) MILF. This word, which once humored me (honest), now bothers me a great deal. I keep coming back to how damn insulting this is. The standard of achievement is being a Mom that someone might like to F—k? Um, NO…first of all we would need to want to even look at you in the first place. And per usual, I am still off point.

I would be super hard pressed to find an engaged, vital, accomplished, passionate woman whose physical appearance does not mirror her internal make-up. It just seems to me that the power of being out there and making it so day after day shines through women, illuminating our beauty and magnifying our deep passion for the world to see. We are mothers, we contribute on so many levels and it keeps a special aura around us. Think about just some of the women with whom I connect with everyday – my team for one – Gina, Amanda, Ruth, Amy – each one a vision in her own way. And then our clients – Alyssa and Melissa from Cabana Life, Oopa Amy, Lisa and Jean from Soho, Baukjen and Vanessa from Isabella Oliver, Lynne from baby daze, Lisa, Woo and team from In Style, the entire Gaggle from Bravado – all off the charts gorgeous and not at all homogeneous. There is a rainbow of beauty here all stemming from an authentic place. PERFECT. And our many friends too – Gigi Lee Chang from Plum Organics, Grace Lee from giggle, Lisa Bernstein from The What to Expect Foundation, Lambeth Hochwald from Parent P-L-A-Y…really I could go on and on…I won’t…I will do one better…Lets forget MILF and move on to MILE*…

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:

THE MILE* AWARDS
*(MOMS I’D LIKE TO EMPLOY)

Forty Weeks asks – who are your favorite Moms in business? Tell us about your absolute favorite women in any industry who do the juggle everyday - the ones who blow you away with their beauty and brains not to mention their ability to get the job done right. These are the women who nurture at home and in the big world as well – the women who inspire and amaze you. Come on – name names and tell us who the MILEs are and well will announce the winner on Valentines Day (because Hallmark told us that was the best day to share the love).

Our operators are standing by….

The new Us Weekly asks “Who Wore it Best” of the Isabella Oliver Plum Ruffle Wrap Dress! The two women featured, Marcia Cross and Shon Gables are beautiful beyond compare – I can’t imagine how the peeps on the street (it was Rodeo Drive) were able to choose. I hear that Shon was the winner, but have not seen the hard copy yet…

Stay tuned for the stats…

What a day for bump and baby watching! Today was as good as a spring day in New York with temperatures in the balmy 70s; the streets were filled with people. I was hanging in the Gramercy Park/Flatiron/Union Square nabe and moving at a deliciously slow pace. I caught up with Lil’ Dipper founder Adam Agensky for coffee and eggs and we had an amazing morning doing a little work and a little wandering (I simply could not live without the Fresh store at 18th street – could there be a better smelling place?).

Of course I could not resist the opportunity to take advantage of how many new and expectant families were out on the street – I observed, chatted and did what I do. And, of all the things I noticed/heard one stands out beyond all. Of all the strollers I saw I can honestly say that no more than a dozen were without Skip Hop bags. And WOW I am so thrilled for my friend Ellen Diamant for what she and husband Michael have done with Skip Hop. They successfully gave birth to a whole new category of diaper bag and as a result have defined the notion of a juvenile lifestyle brand. Their hard work, vision and perseverance have certainly paid off!

I had the good fortune of working with the duo in the early days. Projects included the W Baby Me package (babymoon at W Hotels), EGPAF Kids for Kids Carnival, Seeding Britney and Kevin back with baby number one (his and hers camo bags) and more. It was a good run. Moreover, I have had the even greater pleasure of enjoying a long-standing friendship with Ellen that has included such lovely and generous gestures as Ellen designing my identity package when we moved to the new showroom. She is a talented and kind person and certainly deserving of her incredible success. I was beaming with pride and so very thrilled for Ellen today.

I am reminded of how grateful I am, today in particular, for all of the wonderful people I get to know as I am lucky enough to spend my days doing what I love so very much.

Yeah, yeah I know - Kumbaya (I can hear Amanda snickering at me from the Left Coast) – and I mean it!

WebProNews reports that pregnancy searches have jumped in January on the web, and ovulation predictor searches are not far behind. Their stats show that searches for “states of pregnancy” (not exactly sure what they mean here) are up 237 percent and “pregnancy week by week” are up 23 percent. Searches for the TTC world were high as well with “ovulation calculator” up 32 percent and “ovulation predictor” was up 249 percent.

Also interesting was the geographical concentration – the strongest representation was from the south central – think Louisiana and Texas with the highest search city being Jackson, Tennessee.

According to the article:

Searches for the term pregnancy entered Yahoos top 600 list for the Month of January.

Ok – so what gives, you wonder? Let me fill you in…Most babies are born in this country in the late Spring and through late summer, the highest concentration of births is the US is in August and September – so you do the math…

Some like the romantic notion that cold winters make for romantic times (well, not this year – it is hitting 70 here in NYC today!) or that the shorter days make for longer, cozier nights. Maybe on that one. Another theory has to do with the holiday spirit - you know make some babies, wait for Santa, etc – I don’t really know. I am Jewish and we (OK, I) eat just way too many latkes and smell far too greasy from the whole of the Chanukah thing to feel the least bit sexy during the holidays!

The cold, empirical truth is that the ever fragile sperm (you know, they need you!!!) – has a much higher survival rate in the cool weather. They are at their biggest, boldest and most likely to make it thru in the cooler months. And as a result, well – I have a July and an August baby – ‘nuf said!

This is my absolute favorite time of the year – when news of new pregnancy begins to spread like wildfire and the dream of the New Year with new baby begins to take form. This is when we do see the internet most alive with expectant women, their partners, their parents and even their friends seeking out all forms of information. They are just so open and interested!

Women, who have little or no pregnancy vocabulary, spend hours on-line trying to increase their pregnancy literacy. And, what they find on their self-guided tour is anyone’s guess. The amount of information out there is staggering.

The wealth of pregnancy and baby related information ranges from the solid and sage to the super fabulous words of self-anointed Mommy experts. It falls on all sides of the political, socio-economic and “Mommy War” fence. It can be soothing, fear inducing or in-between. And truth is, newly pregnant women are so hungry for information that they take it all in. This fact is both incredibly promising and scary at the same time. And those of you who know me and have been following along know that I could go on and on about the inherent risks here – but I will stay focused on the good stuff…

The newly pregnant woman is one of my favorite consumers; she is open, eager and ready to enter into a brave new world. She is excited, and filled with questions and anticipation. It is a perfect time for my clients (I am deep in content development stages with Isabella Oliver, Bravado, In Style and others) to speak intelligently and candidly to one of the most interesting and desirable (and shifting) consumers out there – the expectant parent.

This makes for an amazing opportunity for quality information to serve as the launching pad for a new relationship. One between consumer and brand, based not on a sales proposition, but rather on the respectful delivery of well timed, much needed, fair and useful information. I have pointed out some key examples. The Egg Peeps (ok they have a real name, but I do love calling them that) and their Egg Nutrition Pregnancy campaign is one that stands to be a big winner. And by winner, I mean one that resonates and connects with the expectant consumer – offering balanced, useful information that is relevant in the present tense. And this is what works. The challenge then is how to reach these women once the message is crafted. And on both counts (developing and delivering) – Forty Weeks has served as the ultimate guide for some of the top brands in (and out of) the category – with great success. Stay tuned to see what new gems emerge.

Welcome to Pregnancy Season!