The book tour hath begun. And with it, the wrath of the book tour. Here is what’s going on.
1. I was originally slated to appear live on “Good Morning America” this morning but last minute they pulled that appearance and used part of my “Nightline” interview instead. It remains to be seen why this switch occurred, but from my faithful attachment parenting-friendly Facebook fans, it sounds like it came off okay, Milwaukee butcher-knife-in-bed anti-co-sleeping ad discussion and all. Watch the video here.
2. I have had not one but two SPANX snafus in the ladies’ room this morning. All I can say is thank goodness this skirt a) has two layers and b) dries quickly.
3. My husband and sons arrived last night and the boys were quite happy to see me, as I was them. Fred nursed for a long time and I forgot how sweet he smells and how soft his skin is and how squishy he is to hold. He doesn’t really remember visiting New York in the past, and finds it very loud and intimidating. He is a true introvert, and all the people and stimulus of noise and smell and new sights is making his eyes pop out of his head. He wanted to be carried a lot last night when we ventured out to eat, but we made a fun game of running across the street and it distracted him a bit. Although our hotel room has no bathtub, it has an enormously long (about 9′ long) ridiculous two-headed shower which the boys took turns hosing each other down in before bed.
4. I won’t see our boys until the break I have tonight when I get made up fancy to go speak with our very own Deborah Kolben at the Manhattan JCC. It’s a moderated talk and my very first book signing. The day involves on-camera interviews with CNN.com, AOL, and the like, and a ton of phone interviews. Tomorrow is “The View” (wish me luck!!!) and more phone interviews and on-camera things, and the TriBeCa Barnes & Noble for a talk and signing at night.
5. As if all of this isn’t exhausting enough, how’s this: I barely have a voice. I had a cold last week and often lose my voice after a cold as my body finishes the sickness, but let’s just say that there were a LOT of phone calls back and forth with agents and publicist and lawyers starting Thursday night when we got the news about “Good Morning America” not having me on live. So that’s the voice story. We are switching around any non-time-sensitive phone calls so I can save my voice for the time-sensitive things and the on-camera appearances. I am trying to heal and rest as much as I can. I normally like to chit chat with publicity people, drivers, maintenance people, and really anyone I come across, so I feel like I’m coming off as snooty when the truth is I can barely talk!!!
6. It’s exciting for sure: the book, the publicity, the non-stopedness. But it’s overwhelming. The whole premise of this book is that I know what works for us, but I can’t tell you what will work for you. I wonder if people think I am trying to sell books without really understanding that everyone makes decisions and it’s hard any way you cut it. Well, for what it’s worth, I do understand that. My goal is to show people that attachment parenting may not be for you, but it’s not crazy, it’s not lazy parenting, and it’s not passive parenting. It’s a legitimate way of life for many people and there are aspects you may learn about that you never thought about before. And it applies to how you approach older kids and adults as well!
If nothing else, to all those people out there who parent this way and have taken abuse about it for years from in-laws, strangers, doctors, and the like: I am happy to defend your choices on national television because it’s your right to parent however you want to.
I just stole the leftover fruit my boys did not eat from the room service tray outside of our hotel room. Does it get any more Mayim than that? Nu-uh. I may even make a fruit face for myself. Why? Because I have a 20 minute break, it makes the fruit fun to eat, and gosh darnit: I’m all about making this trip fun.
