Emma Pickett

Astrobiology part 2: A Bright Angel

What’s the most significant scientific discovery in human history (published a few weeks ago)?
This delightful podcast explains:

spotify.link/sCeiJbCOXXb

Live action re-makes are all the rage, but where are the animation re-makes?
I’d watch an animated ‘When Harry Met Sally’, ‘Reservoir Dogs’, ‘Gilmore Girls.’

I did something for my mental health today.
I deleted Duolingo.
It had become a chore punctuated with constant nagging to pay for next level (when I was already paying).
Every nudge was suggestion of inadequacy & couldn’t be turned off.
‘Free trial’ today was last straw.
650 days streak ends today.

The front cover of a new picture book. A little blond person looks out at us. The title says, The Story of Jessie’s Milkies by Emma Pickett, illustrated by JoJo Ford.

Really excited about my brand new picture book for 2-6 year olds about the endings of breastfeeding journeys. It includes a tandem feeding story, parent-led weaning and self-weaning. On sale now. From Amazon or through a book shop (via Ingram Spark).

Totally agree. It’s aspirational and it’s meant to be. Lots of sweet vibes and some genuinely lovely people.

The optics of that Oval Office press conference! Teeny Trump behind desk. Big Musk (bigger with child on shoulders) dominating the frame and the conversation. The centre of all photos. What’s going to happen when Trump explodes with jealousy and the relationship breaks down? Or maybe he’s stuck now.

Turned out the American constitution with its sophisticated system of checks and balances rested on an assumption that the president would be essentially reasonable and nice.

A memo listing all of the clubs eliminated by USMA.

The United States Military Academy has just eliminated all Cadet clubs and activities for POC. Most of these have existed for decades like the Society of Black Engineers. They were there when I was a Cadet in 1987. All of the religious ones remain. This isn’t DEI. It’s white Christian Nationalism.

Ben is 20. He has shaggy brown curly hair and a big smile and currently a bit of a beard. He is white.

Ben has been missing in Oxford since the weekend. Please help by sharing the link. Those who love him are desperate for help.

www.thamesvalley.police.uk/news/thames-...

Guest blog: "Is this normal?" The first week with a breastfeeding newborn - Baby Friendly Initiative In this guest blog, lactation consultant Emma Pickett explores what's "normal" in the first week with a newborn, and encourages mums to trust their baby and their own instincts.

Today we're sharing @makesmilkemma.bsky.social's post on @unicef.org exploring what’s normal in the first days of breastfeeding a newborn.

An interesting read for new and expecting mums - and for those who want an insight into the early days of breastfeeding.

www.unicef.org.uk/babyfriendly...

I can appreciate why that feels like a priority today :(

One of my very favourite podcasts is the Handsome pod. Never fails to bring warmth to my soul. Very chuffed to have my question answered last week. Where would you want to be a time travel tourist for an hour?

It may be because I’m a West Wing TV show fan, but one of the levels on which that speech was sad was the level of language. An inauguration should be a moment for prose to shine. The death of that was one more death among so many.

LOL. I meant a single piece of paper.

Random question: What is the one piece of paper you have touched the most times in your life?

Bit nervous about the AI announcement in the U.K. on the same day I hear a parent describe how Google AI responds to a question about breastfeeding beyond infancy with incorrect and dangerous prejudice. Long way to go. (Chat GPT has made big progress in this area).

A scruffy looking rodent, a bit like a rabbit, is standing up and looking around. Meanwhile its baby nuzzles into its upright body to nurse. The baby has half-closed eyes. The ground around is rocky and snowy.

A viscacha from South America doing the lactation thing. All breastfeeding mums will recognise those half-closed milk drunk eyes.

Sci-Fi:
DARK MATTER.

Needs to be on all sci-fi nerd lists.

What is odd about the Trump comment that Canada should be the 51st state is that it would be so darn big for a state. If he thinks a state could be that large, and administratively viable, sounds like a vote for federal government to me.

Talking to children about breastfeeding, with Emma Rosen Podcast Episode · Makes Milk with Emma Pickett · 31/12/2024 · 1h 8m

I loved this conversation with author and biology teacher Emma Rosen. We did a deep dive on breastfeeding and breasts in the U.K. school curriculum (and what we think children should know).

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/m...

Tiny wooden geese approx 2cm high. Sitting on a wooden table.

Home-made carved geese as counters for our new board game.

Time to watch the movie ‘Klaus’.
As a family, we reference the ‘pushing a carrot into a snowman while maintaining eye contact and not blinking’ moment several times a year. #happychristmas #merrychristmas

Watching ‘The Shop Around the Corner’.
What did old Hollywood use for fake snow?
From the 1930s-50s, mostly asbestos as cotton was a fire risk.
Really puts a Christmassy dampener on things to picture your favourite stars running through the asbestos.

An image of a table covered in game play from ‘Goose Chase’ - a home made board game. The boards is a map showing a journey through the Himalayas. There are play cards entitled things like ‘High-affinity haemoglobin’, circadian rhythms and V-formation.

A home-made board game for bird nerds. We are bar-headed geese on migration.
#birds #birdnerd #birdsofbluesky

Thank you

A brown dog relaxes on a grey fluffy dog bed without a care in the world.

This adorable minx just cost approximately £400 in urine tests and blood tests and hormone tests.
Turns out it was psychogenic overdrinking most likely caused by anxiety or feeling randy. Symptoms have passed and tests showed nothing scary. #DogsofBlueSky #PeskyDogsofBlueSky

A plastic Christmas bauble hangs from a tree. There is tinsel and sparkle in the background. The bauble is in the shape of a human breast and is dark brown.

A pink skin toned coloured Christmas bauble in the shape of a human breast hangs from a Christmas tree.

A knitted human breast with a large nipple hangs from a Christmas tree. It is a bauble but spelt booble - with a boob.

Christmas boobles #ibclc #breastfeeding

A swing seat on its side in a wet garden.

Bits of white wood on a wet deck. These are pieces of a wooden balcony.

That was a swing seat (now have to find the seat bit).
That was a balcony.
Storm in north London.

Screen shot from an Instagram post from the upworthy account. It’s a re-post of something I wrote on Twitter several years back. It reads: Today, when I was walking with my 18 yr old son we talked about the concept that, 'one day I carried him for the last time'. . That idea you put a young child down & never pick them up again. We decided that was unacceptable so I gave him a piggy back for 20 yds.

You can write 4 books and countless articles, but you don’t really get much choice about which words will get seen by the most people! Could be worse. This one at least demonstrates my epic piggy back skills.

That’s very special to hear. Thank you x