I also went to some of the other well known breastfeeding books on Amazon and created similar tags for those books. This should help new moms find the resources they need.

Now to the original post:
Sometimes it pays to be a nudge. For weeks I've been pestering Amazon about the fact that their site would not let me create a "tag" for my book that said "breastfeeding." The problem is now fixed.

I went onto the Amazon page that sells my book Mama Knows Breast today, and tried one last time to create the tag. And lo and behold it worked! I had no idea it was fixed. I was actually still waiting for a response from customer service.

So Amazon, kudos to you for realizing breastfeeding is not a dirty word. But please, get your customer service department to shape up. I was one step away from writing you a nasty-gram. Then you would have seen the true nudge come out.

Speaking at Another Moms Event in New York City

November 10, 2007

Calling all pregnant ladies... or new moms...or anyone who wants to talk about babes and boobs. I'm doing a book signing with the group Baby Bites on December 5th. Here are the details:

When: Wednesday, December 5th, 6:00 - 8:00 PM
Where: Destination Maternity, corner of 57th and Madison
Cost: $40 in advance, $45 day of, food & refreshments will be served
RSVP: laura@babybitesnyc.com

Here's a link to the event information.

Still Trying to Get Amazon to Let Me Create a Tag That Says Breastfeeding

November 07, 2007

So far, I haven't had any luck with my quest to create certain "tags" on the Amazon page that sells my book. Amazon won't accept any variation of the word breastfeeding. I wrote about this here and here last week. Since then, I wrote yet another letter to Amazon. I got a pretty lame response today.

Here's my letter.

To the Amazon Team:
I have been trying to create tags for various forms of the word breastfeeding. Breast feeding. Breast-feeding. Breastfeed, breast feed, breast-feed. Amazon will not let me do this. The title of my book is "Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner's Guide to Breastfeeding." So these tags are very important to me.

I wrote about my trouble with this on my blog. www.mamaknowsbreast.com My blog is linked through RSS to the Amazon site, so the post is visible on my sales page. Can someone please help me resolve this problem? Thank you.

Here's the response:

Andi, Thanks for contacting us at Amazon.com.

I'm sorry, but I will need to research the tag feature further. I
will write back to you with an answer within the next 5-6business
days.

Thank you in advance for your patience, and thanks for shopping at
Amazon.com.

I'm Making A Guest Appearance on the Site The Nest Baby

November 01, 2007

In the late 90's I lived on Mott Street in Manhattan. It was a cute little block that had yet to be overrun by chic boutiques. Today its a shoppers' mecca. But back then we had one coffee shop, a pizza place, a diner and some abandoned store fronts. I also had a hallway neighbor who mentioned that she was working on a new website for brides. (She may have even been starting it, I can't remember. I can't remember her name, either). That little website was called The Knot. I'm sure you've heard of it.

If you have, you may also know The Knot's sister websites, The Nest, and The Nest Baby. Can you say building a brand?

Anyway, The Nest Baby is an adorable site for moms who are trying to conceive, well into their pregnancies or experiencing life with a newborn. I'm making a guest appearance on the site this week, and I'm answering reader questions. Hop on over if you'd like and check things out.

Amazon Won't Let Me Use the Word BreastFeed as a Tag For My Book

I've been having an odd problem with Amazon lately. The page where my book Mama Knows Breast is sold has a space where you can create "tags" for the book. These words help people find books that they might find useful.

I was able to create a whole series of tags related to my book. Words like "nursing," "lactation," "baby gift" worked. But there are certain tags Amazon simply won't let me create. I can't create a tag that says "breast feeding" or "breastfeeding" or "breast-feeding." Other variations that won't work: breastfed, breast fed, breast-fed, breast feed, breastfeed or breast-feed. You get the idea. Even simply, "breast" won't work. Elisabeth Squires, author of the new book "bOObs: A Guide to Your Girls" told me Amazon won't let her use the tag "boob."

I imagine this is some sort of super duper anti-porn spam filter at work here. But it's quite silly given the subject matter of the book. I've tried to contact Amazon customer service through the website a few times and haven't gotten a response.

Does anyone have any suggestions? How can we get Amazon to wake up and smell the coffee?

Speaking at a Moms' Event in New York City

October 31, 2007

You'd think, after all these years of speaking in front of people, and even working as a reporter, I wouldn't get nervous about public speaking. But I do. Can someone please teach me how to meditate?

Anyway, if you want to see me put on my "I'm-not-the-least-bit-anxious-game-face," come to a book party next week in New York City. I'll be at Citibabes on Wednesday, November 7th, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.. Here's the Citibabe's site if you want more information.

Things Get Lost in The Mail

October 25, 2007

The mail is usually pretty reliable. You put some postage on, drop your letter in the box, and somehow, miraculously, it gets where it's supposed to go. Pretty cool.

Well Sinead, over at Breastfeeding Mums, has a funny story to tell. My book went from the publisher in Philadelphia, to Uganda before arriving at her home in Northern Ireland. The proof is in the postage stamp! Read more here.

Some Parenting Sites for You To Check Out

October 24, 2007

Here's what I've found recently:

About.com has a new breastfeeding Guide. Melissa Nagin is a lactation consultant in New York City. Click here for her bio. She has a great post right now on how she tried to teach her son economics using breastfeeding to illustrate the concept of supply and demand. (Full disclosure, my husband works at About, but I promise, he had nothing to do with this post!)

Jennifer at the Black Breastfeeding Blog, who I've mentioned before, has added a cool new audio function to her blog. (She's using utterz). If you want to hear the sound of her lovely voice, you can check out a review she posted of my book.

Finally, take a look at The Well Mom. Former ABC News Anchor Heather Cabot is running this site. The Well Mom aims to help moms take care of themselves while they are taking care of everyone else, too. She has a fantastic post on her site now about post-partum depression, and legislative efforts to increase funding for PPD research and outreach to moms. Heather also recently interviewed me about my book. Click here to read her piece.

Learning to Read

October 21, 2007

Is this not the cutest picture? Whitney of Rookie Moms sent me this photo of her son, Julian, who is almost three. He's "reading" Mama Knows Breast.

Whitney has a three month old, too, and Julian oftens asks, "Does she want milk? Ok, take out your breast for her. Now, do you want a pillow?"

Watch out all you boobie experts. I think you have some competition.

Photos From My Book Signing

September 25, 2007

Yes, The Today Show did come to my book signing last week. They interviewed a bunch of moms and the event host, Lyss, of Divalysscious Moms. (See photo 3 for a shot of Lyss with me). But the story, which will air October 3rd, actually has nothing to do with my book. Set your TIVO anyway... you'll have to watch to see what they're up to.

As for the book signing itself...thank you to all of the moms who showed up. People came early, asked great questions and stayed late. Heidi Green of Heidi Green Photography took these amazing photos.

If You Come To My Book Signing Wednesday Night The Today Show Will Come Too!!

September 17, 2007

Now that I've got you hooked...

There's a kernel of truth here. I've got my first book signing Wednesday night, and The Today Show is planning to come because of another story they're working on.

BUT...we need at least 10 more moms (or ladies who can pose as moms!) to sign up to make sure the Today Show shows up. So please, pretty please, drop everything you're doing Wednesday night, from 6:30 to 8:30 and come help me fill the room. I can get you comped, too, so that you don't have to pay. Here's the summary:

WHAT: Dinner and a little talk about my book, "Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner's Guide to Breastfeeding." The event is organized by Divalyssicious Moms.

WHERE: Alice's Tea Cup Chapter III, 220 East 81st Street, between 2nd and 3rd

WHEN: Wednesday, September 19th, 6:30- 8:30

WHY: Because I'll be eternally grateful. You'll get a free dinner and book and a chance to laugh at how nervous I'll be. And one more reason...Gotham Magazine (part of the Hamptons Magazine group) wants pictures from the event and you can help me look cool!

Use Amazon to See Some Mama Knows Breast Book Excerpts...and Another Book Review

September 14, 2007

Amazon has a really cool function that allows you to search inside certain books. Go to the page where Mama Knows Breast is sold, then click on the image of the cover. This takes you to some book excerpts that Amazon selected. In addition, you can do a word search and see more sample pages. For example, type in "sex," or type "yoga" and you'll find more material.

I've used this function when I've considered buying other books in the past, so I'm glad it's up and running for Mama Knows Breast now too.

And one more thing...the blog Boston Mamas reviewed the book a few days ago and had this to say:

During the dazed and stressful early days of breastfeeding, sometimes you just need the quick facts; a concise means to bypass the overwhelming sea of nursing resources that your newly short-circuited attention span can’t handle anyway. For this purpose, check out Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner's Guide to Breastfeeding by Boston native Andi Silverman.