Isabella Oliver’s Raspberry Wrap graced the cover of American Baby’s Welcome issue. The hits for them just keep coming….

Congratulations to Meet Me in Miami’s Debbie Ohanian for her March cover of Pregnancy & Newborn Magaine. Her teal Kimono dress is rich and striking on the cover - well done!

And they say nothing happens when Mercury is in Retrograde…well news from LA and NYC says otherwise!

NOM (Naissance on Melrose) has sold it’s manufacturing to Belly Dance Maternity. According to Jennifer Strom Simonte, her baby Belly Dance (with locations on- line and in Chicago, Highland Park and New York), has acquired the NOM label which will now be called nom by belly dance (let’s revisit this non-cap, proper known at some point, please ladies). The line will be exclusive to Jennifer’s stores for spring 2007 and hit retail stores in fall 2007.

NOM continues to have a strong name though the brand has been in transition. This feels like a good move for the Jennifers – get Noonan out of the business of manufacturing and allow Strom Simonte to continue to flex her muscle with the Belly Dance brand.

I have also heard that Jennifer Noonan, has givem up her NOM Co-cop space on Melrose Avenue and that Maternal America had signed on the dotted line for the joint. Great location for sure…and wondering about MA and their plans. Nataline Ngo is a fantastic designer though frankly I have never thought of her as a retailer, per se. So, I will be curious to see how this goes. She will be taking over real estate just down the block from dear Emila Fabricant’s Cadeau location – now the stretch of Melrose will have the super fine and the super funky for the belly set. Not to mention – Sweet Lady Jane of course!

Last night I enjoyed the company of BFF Lisa Jordan Helms at Gordon Ramsay. Wine, food and friends - life is good! It was a treat from start to finish. Loved the room (what an inviting yet cool space), loved the food (foie gras three ways – thank you, thank you, thank you!) and especially loved the conversation (Lisa and I have been in an endless conversation since the eighties). We closed the dining room and then spent some time talking cravings with Gordon. Some good ideas are marinating (you saw it coming, no?) – so stay tuned!

Let’s talk Naomi Watts! She looked beyond magnificent on the red carpet last night. Her skin was flawless, her hair magnificent and her glow was only enhanced by that incredible yellow (what a challenging color to pull of and she did it perfectly) Escada gown. That said…..

How did Escada (according to People Magazine) manage to announce the pregnancy before Naomi and Liev? Yeah, yeah – I know Page Six and a weekly had already reported it. And still…Really, if this is true, not smooth. Designers need to understand that dealing with an expectant woman carries different obligations and that includes playing by a different set of rules. There is certainly a code here at Forty Weeks – really in all the pregnancy business – we know things and we keep quiet.

Being in the bump business does require a great deal of discretion. We are trusted with so much information that we would never, will never share. Sure, I joke a great deal about having the nursing bra sizes for Jennifer Garner and Angelina Jolie on my blackberry but really – the information we are given to serve these women is completely on the hush-hush. And the trust goes both ways…needless to say – it works for us. And that is how we continue to grow both in influence and in reputation.

As corny as it sounds (no snickering Amanda) – it is a huge privilege to be a part of the lives of women – from Melrose and Madison to Main when they are expecting. It is an incredibly open time, an optimistic time and let us not forget – hormonal time. So our task is to bring only the best of the best to the table in a manner that respects all of us and in a way that keeps the process fun! We love the notes we get — the ones that remind us that we have got this bump and baby thing working like a finely tuned machine - and that we are making the journey a better one for the women we touch.

Naomi you are breathtaking – we hope you enjoy your Forty Week journey!

Today is my big 4-0h! My daughter Lila tells me that this will be a huge year for Forty Weeks – this based on very advanced third grade reasoning (40 , forty – it means something). I will take it.

Here is how I see it – it is the end of February, the days are finally getting longer, I can hear the birds outside of my window again, the air has lost it’s mean chill – we are well are on way to Spring and (as my son Samuel would say) I love it!

So, have something sweet (if you are in NYC I suggest a peanut butter cookie from City Bakery, in LA a chocolate walnut tart or that amazing lemon meringue from Sweet Lady Jane, in DC a cupcake from Just Cakes, in Philly some chocolate chip cookies from Famous 4th Street) and of course, a skinny latte to celebrate the day.

I am going to agree with both my kids – good things ahead and I love it! Thanks for being along for the ride.

xxoo

It is an early birthday present for me – I am sure of it…The New York Times printed a Styles piece on Mothers without the mention of alcohol – tis true!

I am not saying this is the best piece ever (ok, it is not) – but they do MomsRising.org a great service (I would love to see what their web hits were today) and take a fresh look at the issues being tackled by the grassroots mamas, as well as the state of mothers and motherhood in America – hey -actual issues!

So many thanks to Kara Jesella for this refreshing new angle from Thursday Styles!

Nancy O’Dell looks gorgeous in Isabella Oliver’s Cap Wrap Around Top in Sea.

Today’s NYT includes a science section essay by Daniel Goleman, author of “Social Intelligence: The New Science of Human Relationships.”

Flaming has a technical name, the “online disinhibition effect,” which psychologists apply to the many ways people behave with less restraint in cyberspace.
In a 2004 article in the journal CyberPsychology & Behavior, John Suler, a psychologist at Rider University in Lawrenceville, N.J., suggested that several psychological factors lead to online disinhibition: the anonymity of a Web pseudonym; invisibility to others; the time lag between sending an e-mail message and getting feedback; the exaggerated sense of self from being alone; and the lack of any online authority figure. Dr. Suler notes that disinhibition can be either benign — when a shy person feels free to open up online — or toxic, as in flaming.

His description of on-line aggression offers some incredible insights. And while not specific to the worlds of expectant and new mothers and their active on-line life on boards, blogs and such – it does make an incredible amount of sense. I can’t help but observe that the hormones plus the online disinhibition effect is a recipe for constant disaster. And we see it over and over again. Not excused, but explained. So read this and then just pop over to Urban Baby and test drive his theories!

The number one forwarded video on CNN is Sibila Vargas’ piece on “Saving Britney”. Forever friend of Forty Weeks - Caroline Schaefer of Us Weekly looks and sounds fantastic in the segment…so very proud and impressed - as always by Ms. Caroline (100% MILE)!