Upcoming Reading: 12/3 at Village Books in Pacific Palisades

Calling all LA dwellers: Magali will be reading from Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? and signing books this Thursday, December 3rd from 7:30-9 p.m. at Village Books. Come by and say hello. Hope to see you there!

Thank Your Body This Thanksgiving

The holiday season can be stressful. It's also a time when many women find themselves caught up in a cycle of body bashing--I ate too much, this meal is going straight to my thighs, I'm putting myself on a serious diet when the new year rolls around...

All that negative body talk takes its toll. So this Thanksgiving, take a moment to stop the self-criticism and thank your body.

Healthy Beauty Tip
Write a letter to your body. Yep, pick up a pen and write down all the reasons you are thankful for the body you have, not the body you wish you could have. For inspiration, listen to other women read their letters and get tips from self-esteem expert Jess Weiner.


Magali's Thanksgiving Moment
"I remember my first shower in my own bathroom after I came home from the hospital with my daughter. I looked down at my body in awe. For the first time, I saw it as an incredible machine, and I realized what an astoundingly complex mystery it was to me. I thought of all those years of abuse I had put it through and how resilient it had been. What my body had accomplished was a miracle and I was proud of it. I said 'Thank you' out loud."
--excerpted from Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?

As always, we thank you for your support of our mission and for being an important part of the healthy beauty revolution! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

xo,
Claire & Magali

30% Off Beyond Yoga Online Purchases

One of the biggest body image dilemmas women encounter during pregnancy and after childbirth is the question of what to wear. No matter how excited you might be about the prospect of becoming a mom, outgrowing sizes can lead to a lot of appearance-related insecurity. It's not always easy to find affordable maternity wear and "transition" pieces, not to mention that saying good-bye to certain go-to wardrobe items can be an emotionally draining process.

Mourning the loss of too-small-to-squeeze-into-'em pieces and obsessing over "getting your body back" when everything else around you is moving forward can be a real drag. That's why we outlined our maternity and new mom style essentials in Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? They are all based on letting go of the idea that something is wrong with you if you don't fit into your old clothes. It's those clothes that don't fit your new life.

In the spirit of celebrating all the style possibilities that exist if we can get beyond this unhealthy fixation with prebaby bodies, we've partnered with Beyond Yoga to offer 30% off all online purchases for our readers. Just enter the code PREGGY at checkout (sale and charity items do not apply). Shop online before November 30th!

Friday Roundup: News, Reviews, and Giveaways

This week you can find us in the New York Times, across the pond in the Daily Mail, and on a few other great websites and blogs. Here are all the latest links and book contests:

Blacktating (a blogger who was interviewed about breastfeeding and body image for our book) reviewed Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? and is giving away a copy. Leave a comment to enter. The contest ends November 18th.

"Breast-feed the Baby, Love the Calorie Burn" [New York Times]. We weigh in about the "breastfeeding diet."

"The Baby Weight Obsession: Lose it Quickly and You're Selfish. Keep it On and You're a Failure" [Daily Mail]. A mom talks about her own struggles to achieve healthy body image in a culture obsessed with postbaby weight loss.

"Top 6 Parenting Books for Moms" [She Knows]. We're in good company!

"That's a Big Belly! Yeah, I'm Pregnant" [Tonic]. Love the opening line of this review: "Did pioneer women have this worry: 'Oh, no, I've just churned the butter, hoed the fields, given birth in between, but darn it, I can't fit into my skinny jeans!'"

"Trendwatch: How to Be 'Skinny Pregnant'" [The Great Fitness Experiment]. Blogger Charlotte Hilton Anderson takes on the media pressure to have the "perfect" pergnant body.

"A new book tackles body issues before, during, and after pregnancy" [Parents Ask]

"No Fat Talk During Pregnancy" [You'd Be So Pretty If]

"The Baby Weight Obsession: Lose it Quickly and You're Selfish. Keep it On and You're a Failure"

We're quoted in this Daily Mail article about the baby weight obsession. The piece is written by Sarah Hughes, a mom who worked to overcome her own body image issues.

Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? NYC Reading and Panel Discussion Tonight!

If you're in the NYC area, Claire will be reading from Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat? tonight and moderating a panel discussion about body image, pregnancy, and motherhood. The event is hosted by Momasphere and Bump. All the details are right here.

Date: Thursday, October 29, 2009
Time: 7-9pm
Place: The Old Stone House, 336 3rd St (bet. 4th & 5th Ave), Brooklyn, NY 11215
Price: Tickets are $10 online & $15 at the door

A portion of the proceeds will benefit Girls Incorporated, a national nonprofit youth organization dedicated to inspiring all girls to be strong, smart, and bold.

Space is limited so please RSVP by purchasing tickets online. Tickets are available for sale at the door for $15.00 on a first-come-first-served basis. Cash only to purchase tickets at the door.

Kendra Loves Her Pregnant Body. Now Begins the Countdown to her 'Postbaby Body' Reveal.

Former "Girl Next Door" Kendra Wilkinson is on the cover of the new issue of InTouch Weekly dishing about how much she loves her pregnant body. Now we love a celebration of the curves, but forgive our cynicism when we predict that along with that little bundle of joy, there is another cover in the making that will appear in a few months--one with bullets outlining how Kendra shed the baby weight.

Let's also pause for a retouching reality check. Forget stretch marks and cellulite, there's not even the tiniest blemish to be found on this photo! In other words, the body that Kendra feels beautiful in has surely been altered for the cover.

At the end of the day, celebrity pregnancy and new mom media coverage is filled with the same mixed messages you'll find in women's magazines that feature weight loss stories alongside tips on how to love your body. "Embrace your pregnant shape!" by looking at this digitally perfected image of a former Playmate in a bikini. "Feel sexy!" now, but it won't be long before we'll be feeding you this celebrity's "exact" diet and workout plan to help you slim down that fat ass. Stephanie, 40, expressed her frustration with this contradictory approach when we interviewed her for Does This Pregnancy Make Me Look Fat?:

"It's a strange phenomenon because some celebrities are hailed for accepting their new shapely bodies and others are bashed for not bouncing back sooner. It doesn't make sense because the tabloids constantly flip-flop between celebrating a woman's curves and condemning postpregnancy weight."

While these stories might be packaged to make us feel like we can identify with this or that A-lister or reality TV star, the real reality is that they usually end up playing into our insecurities and vulnerabilities. As if pregnancy and new motherhood aren't stressful enough.

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