Me now in my mind:

A few weeks ago I posted that images of women and children are frequent in the history of art (MoMA dixit) yet depictions of pregnancy are rare. I then added that even more unusual are images of breastfeeding.

But I was wrong and Instagram proved it so.

I recently found the most wonderful Instagram account called Breastfeeding Art. They describe themselves as: “inspiration and cultural + historical context for breastfeeding moms” and I just think they’re awesome. It’s a great account to not only follow, but also to suggest images to.

In the few weeks that I’ve been a fan, they have posted images by painters like Chagall, Gauguin, Picasso, Visconti mixed with contemporary photographs like this one below by Annie Leibovitz for American Vogue.

And of course stuff like THIS:

Breastfeeding is a primal practice and the most noble obligation. It is very refreshing to see it immortalized by artists through the decades. I hope it continues being depicted with the grace it deserves. Maybe Instagram feeds like Breastfeeding Art can help people nowadays find their route back to the ways of instinctual parenting.

I leave you with The Origin of the Milky Way by Jacopo Tintoretto:

PS Not sure it’s the same people but there’s also a Pinterest.

T

Can there really be such a thing as secondary drowning? Wouldn’t you just drown if you drowned? Would a second time around be worst than the first? And also, would you even know?

Sounds sci-fi but it’s not.

Albeit uncommon, a person who had a drowning close call can be out of the water and walking around normally before signs of secondary drowning become apparent. But all secondary drowning results in breathing trouble and brain injury, just as drowning in the water does. If untreated, it can be fatal.

While “secondary drowning” or “dry drowning” are not official terms, it happens when someone breathes in small amounts of water during a struggle. That triggers the muscles in their airway to spasm and makes breathing difficult.

Moms and dads: a long but very important read.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lindsay-kujawa/what-every-parent-needs-to-know-about-secondary-drowning_b_5500471.html

T

A lot of things make me cry these days. I walked into a coffee shop in my neighborhood last week and they were playing a Celine Dion song. I cried. I recently watched a documentary about the Lost Boys of Africa on Netflix. I cried. I think of how happy my daughter makes me and I cry. In fact, I’m crying right now.

But that’s a different post.

The photo series Goodbye at the Door, you guessed it: made me cry. The images immediately make me think about my own parents and my father in particular. I live in New York and they/my father lives in Mexico. To this day, every time I fly in or out of the country, he picks me up or takes me to the airport. It’s a somewhat different yet still real goodbye at the door. I love seeing him there and can’t even phantom the day when he’s not standing at the gate waiting for me.

Angelo Merendino is a great photographer. Please see these photos and all of his other work here.

T

He is my new hero.

T

It’s not a promising scenario:

According to The Collection at MoMA, images of women and children are frequent in the history of art, yet depictions of pregnancy are very rare. Even more rare are images of breastfeeding.

In reality, only 19% of women in the United States breastfeed at all. And when they do it in public, they are oftentimes asked to cover themselves. Even in New York City women still get kicked out of places because of this!

How are little girls and boys (and just PEOPLE in general) supposed to know what breastfeeding looks like, let alone is?

Well, with books like these – lets start building our own special library!

T

I have always really liked Salma Hayek.

She was briefly attached to a project that I was producing and we met twice in Los Angeles. She complimented me on my shoes, on both occasions, and we had a couple of good, long talks.

Today, however, she made me cry.

I had read about the time when she breastfed a hungry baby in Africa but I had never actually seen this footage. Well, it speaks for itself – as does the face of the tiny baby that she nurses.

It made me want to go over there now and do the same thing.

T

Disclaimer: if I can make this milk, ANYONE can make this milk.

There are two things that make food and drinks sort of work for me: taste and consistency. They are equally important and, in my humble opinion, only work well in tandem. Melted ice-cream is usually no good. Neither is, say, perfectly moist yet boringly unsalted rice.

My favorite thing about homemade almond milk is its consistency. Its rich, its thick, its creamy and I almost wanted to give some to my fourth-month old today (I didn’t.) I can sincerely say that it’s super easy to make and, once you get a handle of the cheese cloth element, the clean up is just as smooth.

Recipe:

• Soak 1 cup of almonds for 12 hours (I went longer but only because I forgot about them. Oopsy.)
• Rinse the almonds several times with fresh water.
• Blend the almonds with 2-3 cups of new water, depending on how creamy you want it. At this point you can also add dates, cinnamon, vanilla, honey, a pinch of salt, etcetera, etcetera. Be creative.
• Strain the fiber with a nut bag, mesh strainer or cheese cloth (my latest discovery.)
• Store in fridge and ENJOY.

According to the amazing read The Nourishing Traditions Book of Baby & Child Care, people tend to turn to beverages (often called “milk”) based on soy, almonds, rice and even hemp, to avoid milk allergies. However, these drinks are highly processed, contain refined sweeteners, industrial oils, inappropriate additives such as carrageenan and many synthetic forms of vitamins. To top it all, they are very low in nutritive factors.

The almond milk that I usually buy (and up until now drank like a camel) is from Whole Foods’ brand 365. I went through its ingredients before writing this post and it contains things that I can’t even pronounce: tricalcium phosphate, potassium citrate, locust bean gum, glean gum, lecithin, ergocalciferol, dl-alpha tocopherol acetate…

Try saying that out loud.

Almonds are a bit expensive but this drink is totally worth it. It should last up to 3-5 days in the fridge and please note that its consistency changes a bit. You can also save the leftover flour to make cookies or toast it to bread chicken (which I read online since I’ve never ever made chicken in my life.)

Have fun!

T

Becoming a parent looks, at least in the brain, a lot like falling in love.

Great article.

T

This short film suddenly became a favorite.

Because motherhood.

T