On avoiding pink

Christa isn't like everyone else, and she never has been. I knew that even the day I met her, a hot summer day in 1999 when she rolled into the bureau at my old newspaper in Connecticut. With a pixie haircut and string of earrings up her lobe, she came in and announced that her car had no AC, so she was sorry if she was sweaty. I liked her instantly, and by that night, she was sleeping over at my apartment while she looked for a place of her own.


When I think of our time as friends in New Haven, I think of Hemingway's description of his early days in Paris -- "we were very poor and very happy." Our salaries were so measly that we lived quite literally paycheck to paycheck, surviving on what seemed like a diet of tofu and baby carrots but somehow managing to have so many adventures. We stayed up all night baking inappropriate Valentine cookies, like angels wearing bikinis, while listening to the "Magnolia" soundtrack. We put "Anyway You Want It" on repeat on the jukebox at the bar down the street. We headed to the independent theater to watch "The Blair Witch Project" then got scared while driving home through the woods.

Christa and I dreamed big, trying to cook brie en croute and vegetable ragout for a holiday party, when all anyone wanted was pretzels. Or hosting a baby shower where we were so distracted by creating a butterfly out of cupcakes that we accidentally added meat to the vegetarian baked ziti and found ourselves trying to pick it all out.

We were goofballs, imitating ogres whenever we were stressed or tired, losing our minds with excitement when a "Forever 21" opened up nearby, and doing the "knee-straddle-knee" routine from step aerobics in the middle of the office. Nothing ever simply worked out -- hilarity always seemed to ensue.

And I guess we were probably totally co-dependent -- she once told me that she had me programmed as "911" on her cell.

I might never really grasp Christa's impact on my life. She was my museum-going, interpretive-dance loving friend. Having lived in New York City, she made the city seem manageable to me -- she even once brought me to a party in the neighborhood that I now call home. She was the friend who saw qualities in me that I never saw -- being brave or strong or talented. But she was also a straight-shooter, seeing through my nonsense and calling me out when I needed calling out. Even now that she's seemingly a million miles away in Denver, I still phone her for a reality check.

So when Christa told me that she was pregnant with a little girl, I didn't even need her to tell me that she was avoiding tons of pink, pink, pink. I knew she'd wanted something different and, indeed, the nursery is orange, purple and green.

This is a new stitch for me -- larksfoot -- in rather loud shades of Knit Picks Telemark. But, see, I knew Christa wouldn't mind something a little wild and kooky and different.

On a newsstand near you

So I've been lucky to write book reviews and articles for Crochet Today! over the past year or so. In the fab March/April issue, I have my first pattern! It's for these vase cozies -- here's a sneak peek on the magazine's website.

There's also tons of adorable patterns in the issues, as well as a little article about my world record moment.

Human breastmilk

Human breastmilk is the only pure, unprocessed, natural food for a human baby. There are so many commercial interests, who wish to convince us that bottle-feeding is the norm, we have forgotten what a new phenomenon it is. Baby-formula was invented a mere one hundred years ago, and it was then considered such an abnormal thing to give a baby that you had to get a doctor’s prescription for it!

Breastmilk is the perfect food for a baby, designed by nature to have the exact balance of fats for the baby’s brain development and lots of mother’s antibodies. (A study completed in 2007 proved this point, showing that the fatty acids produced in breastmilk are absolutely crucial to a baby's brain development and can result in increasing its intelligence by as much as seven points!) Also, during this time, a baby will lay down the fat cells it will have for the rest of its life. The food a baby is fed during this period, affects the baby’s relationship with food and its metabolism, for the rest of its life.

Introducing Solids

Around six months of age, is the recommended time to start introducing solid foods to your baby. You can begin at four months, but it is generally believed that this increases the risk of your child developing food allergies
. Waiting that little bit longer gives a baby that little bit of extra protection, as its digestive system has had a little more time to develop.

When the time is right to start your baby on solids, start introducing well-chosen, healthy babyfood, one at a time. Certain foods are not suitable at this stage and should be avoided

Healthy Babyfood is Simple, Pure and Natural
In general, the food you give to a baby should be as natural and unprocessed as possible. Choosing organic food for your baby is hugely beneficial to a baby's health. This is because your baby has a less developed blood-barrier system to protect it from food chemicals. And, a baby's body, being smaller than an adult's, gets a proportionately higher dose of whatever chemicals are present in food. The so-called 'safe levels' of agri-chemicals have been tested as safe for adults, not for babies, or children.

Also, a baby has all of its physical development to go through until it reaches adult maturity. This entire developmental process comes under the influence of whatever chemicals a baby consumes in food.

Chemicals used in food are poisons. Many of them are known cancer-causing compounds. They are permitted in food because they are in very low concentrations. But logic dictates that if you eat a poison, while you may not eat enough to kill yourself, or make yourself sick, it cetainly is not going to be good for you. Over time, continued, low-level exposure to toxic substances will take their toll on your health. The longer you can hold-off exposing your baby to these chemicals, the more beneficial it will be. The less chemicals that are present, the healthier your babyfood is going to be. Everything that applies to food for children and adults, also applies to babyfood. Pure, unprocessed, natural food is what is best to feed a baby. Before a baby is ready to eat solid food, this means breastmilk, which is such a perfect, complete meal for a baby that it should really be called 'breastfood', or 'motherfood'.

Healthy Babyfood Matters!

Healthy babyfood sets the template for lifelong eating habits and affects a baby's health
and relationship with food for the rest of its life. During baby food, babies develop their taste for good food, they lay down fat cells, and go through important stages of physical development in a very short space of time. It is vitally important that we feed babies what is good and natural to their metabolisms during this formative period.

When you have a baby, you should start as you mean to go on, in order to set down an early pattern of good food habits for your child. If you want your child to grow up liking good, healthy food, you need to start her off with healthy babyfood. Breastfeeding is unequivocally the best possible start you can give to your baby in terms of her future health and eating habits. It is simply the best, the healthiest babyfood and should always be the first option to consider.

If you are pregnant, or are currently a breastfeeding mother, I would highly recommend this specialist breastfeeding site, www.breastfeeding-magazine.com where you will find a wealth of helpful information and resources and an online community of like-minded people, which is so important.