Every August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, and the first week of the month is World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). Sponsored by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (aka WABA), the goal is to bring attention to the issue of breastfeeding on a global scale and promote the benefits of it while providing encouragement to nursing mothers and those that support them. Every year, WABA selects a theme for WBW, and states the objectives of this theme.

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The sky was crisp and clear in Copenhagen last night and the moon was as full as could be. At 12 o’clock the tradition is to go out into the streets and celebrate the beginning of a new year with fireworks. If you take fireworks as a measurement of a Country’s economy; Denmark is not in crisis. They went on for over an hour and were absolutely all around us. This was the first year that our girls managed to stay awake and see the New Year in with us, so it was a special night.

This picture was taken with my iphone, so its not the best, but you get the general idea. Moon, fireworks…the only thing missing was the sound of teeth chattering, at -8 degrees celcius…it was a little colder than our usual Californian climate!

We hope you enjoyed your New Year celebrations. May it be a very special year for you and your loved ones!

As I wrote some time ago, I was due to take part in a half marathon in mid-November. I am happy to say that I completed the run in a very decent amount of time – actually quite a bit faster than I had anticipated.
A couple of weeks prior to the run, I twisted my knee at the end of a long run. I visited a physiotherapist friend of mine to get some treatment… she suggested I not run, which was, of course OUT OF THE QUESTION! I had trained so hard (well, sort of) and I had the comedian Eddie Izzard as my mentor during my training sessions. Though Eddie is not aware of my existence, I was so inspired by his feat this summer: 43 marathons in 51 days…how nuts is that!??
With Eddie in mind, I would like to say that I enjoyed the run anyway, but I really didn’t. 20 minutes in, I was in a lot of pain and I had to run one legged for the next 11.1 miles, which despite the beautiful views and the endorphins was about as fun as a kick in the shins.
1 Hour and 40 minutes later, I choked back tears of relief as I crossed the finish line and I chanted the words ‘never again’.
However, as we know the body forgets pain (think – child birth) and about a half hour later I had already decided that I needed to do that again, but this time with a normal knee.

We’re really lucky to work in a building that is nestled at the bottom of a hill. The view from out of our window is full of trees, making for a peaceful and unusual place to work. It also makes for a perfect playground for our new friend Bob, the bobcat.

Bob sat outside my window last week for a few hours as he thought about how to catch a squirrel or a mouse or perhaps even a leaf that caught the sunlight. He was pretty serious about his stalking, he crept deftly along the ground as the hair behind his ears stood to full attention.

After some serious scientific research and calculation, the office is divided between thinking that he weighs 40 lbs (us) and 20 lbs (them). Let’s just say that Bob is a big ole cat. He did seem really friendly, and at the end of the day, I think he just wanted to lay in the sun for a bit. I can’t really blame him.

I don’t know if bobcats can read, or even if they would read a blog if they could…but if you’re reading this, Bob, you are welcome back anytime. I would have left a snack out for you if I had known you would be here…

When our daughter Claudia turned 9 recently, one of her parties (yes, there were a couple)  was a Danish style brunch.

I found a recipe for a Danish omelet that actually comes from the beautiful island my mother-in-law grew up on – Bornholm.  The recipe included radishes – I’ve never been a huge fan (is anyone?), so I wasn’t sure that I would enjoy it.  I can happily say that the Bornholm Aeggekager turned out fantastic and there wasn’t a radish left…Of course, none of the kids ate any – they were all about the fresh bread and chocolate slices (Galle & Jessen Pålægschokolade) and Danish pastries, and my saving grace – a lot of fruit.

I didn’t find much help on the web for a Danish Brunch, so if anyone would like more ideas on what we did, or you would like to share yours – get in touch!

For the Bornholm Aeggekager Recipe… (Read More)

I recently attended a lovely baby shower in honor of my friend who is expecting her first baby (a little girl!) in early May. Old and new friends along with several generations of both the mom- and dad-to-be’s families (who flew in from out of state!) celebrated the occasion with some lively games, a champagne brunch and plenty of “ooohs!” and “awwws” as each gift was revealed.

I guess I’m getting to that age where I’m actually becoming quite a seasoned veteran attendee of baby showers. Though, for as many baby shower games for which I’ve participated, I’ve yet to win! I do have a few favorites, however, that I’d love to share along with a few new ones which I was introduced to last week. If I’ve missed any of your favorites, please feel free to comment with yours!

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Bebe au Lait’s Creative Director Michael Cordell said ‘I do’  to beautiful fiancee Erin at the weekend.

Mike has been with Bebe au Lait since the beginning, so it was truly wonderful for us to share in his and Erin’s happiness.

We would all like to wish them a lifetime of wedded bliss!

We learn a lot from our moms in the breastfeeding trenches and during holidays and travel times we hear a lot about why moms like to have two Bébé au Lait covers in rotation–one stays in the baby bag and one stays in the house. That way they’re never without no matter where they visit or who comes to visit them. And if one is in the washer, then there’s still one on active duty. To say “thank you for a great year” we took that info and are running a very special promo through tomorrow only–BOGO. Enter code “MYSTERY” at checkout and when you buy one nursing cover, we will slip a second one (mystery pattern) in the box plus right now there’s FREE SHIPPING. That’s serious savings, and serious readiness for wherever your holiday takes you. Be Well and Happy Holidays!

With Ronnie and Claire leaving for holiday next week, we squeezed our end of the year company holiday party in last night. Even booking way back in August, we were only able to secure a Thursday night for the much anticipated event: bowling at 300 San Jose in the Back 9! If you’re not familiar with the entertainment venue (there are a few locations nationwide), they promote themselves — and the Back 9 especially –as an all-in-one “trendy club/hot new bistro/upscale sports bar” so there’s a little bit of something for everyone and their dates.

After grabbing appetizers and drinks we spread out four to a lane which allowed everyone to get in plenty of games in between bites of our catered “Smokehouse BBQ Buffet” and brownie dessert bites. Special thanks to Suzanne and the event staff in the Back 9 who did a stellar job communicating with me to pull the night together. And, of course, thank you to Ronnie and Claire for hosting the event! Check out photos below:

Perhaps if you tried calling our headquarters yesterday after 3 p.m. PST you noticed no one was minding the phones. Our apologies for the inconvenience, but our company closed early to take a little field trip 20 minutes north to our off-site Warehouse in Santa Clara. (Until September of this year, our warehouse occupied the ground floor of our headquarters here in Los Gatos. That is, until they outgrew the space and moved to a new 6000 sq. ft. facility.) There in Santa Clara, everyone finally got to tour the new space and indulge in a pre-Thanksgiving potluck feast.

After sampling our dishes which included roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, homemade lasagna and an array of salads and baked goodies, we all drew numbers 1 through 16 and exchanged holiday gifts White Elephant style. If you’re not familiar with this entertaining yet inexpensive way to exchange gifts with a fair amount of people, we follow this version. Our theme this year was “tacky yet useful” which keeps things simple and stress-free in terms of finding a gift to give in order to participate. Everyone was invited to bring either something from home that’s never been used or to make a “tacky yet useful” purchase of no more than $10. The most popular (i.e. “stolen”) gifts this year? A colorful bird-shaped vegetable peeler, a handle of sake, a collection of children’s storybooks and a slinky-yoyo set.

Thanks for stopping by our blog and Happy Thanksgiving to you all from everyone at Bebe au Lait!