This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 14th February 2011
This Week’s Super Mama is Carolyn, a.k.a. Massimo and Giacomo’s Mom.
Children: Massimo, 3 years old, Giacomo, 10 months
City: Miami, Florida
Profession if applicable: Photographer and blogger - posting a picture a day along with two other photographers and close friends, a conversation of sorts through images. We have been doing it every day since December 2008 and since we live in three different states it allows us to still be a part of each others lives as well as share moments with others. http://www.dailyphotoconversation.blogspot.com and http://www.carolynmaraphotography.com .
What are your little ones up to lately: Giac is crawling and cruising but not quite walking, all he wants to do is take off and chase his brother! Massi is a wonderful brother and plays with him and bring him his toys, but of course Giac just wants what belongs to Massimo!
Best part about being a mom? I just love when Massi asks for “one more bacio” when I’m tucking him in at night. Or a squeeze from Giac showing that he needs me in that moment. Or most of all hearing the purity of their laughter, together, like nothing in the world is funnier than what is happening in that moment… they are enjoying not only life but each other!
What’s changed the most since becoming a mother? My drive has deepened. My perspective has widened. My love for my husband has strengthened.
Where do you go for advice and parenting info? Definitely my friends, there is nothing like the support of other mamas. For me they are all over the country - austin, new york, boston, so I love spending time on the phone sharing stories, getting advice and talking out issues.
What is your mama indulgence? When the boys are in bed and I can pour myself a glass of wine and watch some reality tv! Not sure what it is about watching 25 bachelorettes pining for one man?!
What 3 things can’t you live without?
(1) my iPhone 4, it is the best little camera ever and I have it on me constantly which allows me to capture life in the moment
(2) a fun pair of heels, there is nothing that makes me feel more feminine and sexy for my man than getting dressed up and putting on the perfect pair!
(3) weekend adventures with the crew… not sure it’s that i can’t live without these, it’s more that i live for them! every year a group of us from all over pick a city and fly there for a weekend of fun and each other! i just love them!!
Best advice for new moms? The three day sleep solution, I swear by it… both my boys slept 7pm to 7am by 4 and a half months and haven’t had a problem since… I recommend it to everyone!!!
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 24th January 2011
This Week’s Super Mama is Lyss, a.k.a. Jackson and Oliver’s Mom
Children: Jackson Alexander and Oliver Nathaniel
City: New York City
Profession: Founder of Divalysscious Moms, http://www.divamoms.com and Editor In Chief of Observer Playground Magazine, Co-Author If You Give A Mom A Martini… 100 Ways To Find 10 Blissful Minutes For Yourself
What are your little ones up to lately: Jackson Loves Batman, Hockey, Baseball, playing WII Sports and he’s really getting good at reading. He’s starting to read Chapter Books. Oliver Loves Soccer, Magna-Tiles, the Game Zingo, Watching Fraggle Rock on the HUB, and playing with his friends.
Best part about being a mom? Everything!!! There’s Never a Dull moment!
What’s changed the most since becoming a mother? Learning how to juggle at least nine balls at once without letting one drop.
Where do you go for advice and parenting info? My mom, ie as my boys call her “NANADOLL”
What is your mama indulgence?: My Bubble Bath, every single night before bed!
What 3 things can’t you live without? Gosh… This is a hard one… I have more than 3….My by Terry Lip Balm, Kai perfume and my weekly friday massage at Bliss Spa
Best advice for new moms? Take at least ten minutes a day just for you!
Fav kid friendly restaurant in nyc: Freds at Barneys
Fav indoor activity in nyc: We Love going to the Museum of Natural History. My boys are fascinated by the Dinosaurs.
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 17th January 2011
This Week’s Super Mama is Heather, a.k.a. Brenna’s Mom.
Child name and age: Brenna Grace MacLeod, 4 weeks
City: Irvine, California
profession: Well I have been working 3 part time jobs, all doing things I love. But for the last 2 years, I have worked for a nonprofit called Sunshine Kids International. We support a home called St.Catherine’s, in Mumbai, India. St. Catherine’s offers education, dance and art therapy, and a home to street children; and the opportunity forvocational training and therapy for their families. Sunshine Kids Intl. is a grassroots project that finds sponsors for the children and funding for the different projects that St. Catherine’s offers to the kids and their families.
What is your little one up to lately: Currently Brenna is really into eating, sleeping and needing a diaper change. While many babies at this age would stop there, not Brenna B! She has also been venturing into the world of smiling and turning over. I know it sounds crazy for such a young baby to turn, but when she is spittin mad, watch out!
Best part about being a mom: The best part of being Brenna’s mom is watching our family grow. For the last nine months, I felt her grow, and develop inside of me. I love that my husband is now able to be part of that! I have loved growing with my husband as Brenna’s parents. It’s amazing to discover a whole new side of my husband and of myself. We have learned to lean on each other, learn from each other and love each other more, and it’s only been 4 weeks!! I cannot imagine what the future holds.
What’s changed the most since becoming a mother: Well other than my waistline, and the items in my Amazon wishlist, everything! I went from working 3 part time jobs, and taking Master’s classes to changing diapers and nursing. It was the best change of my life!
Where do you go for advice and parenting info: I am super blessed with 3 amazing sisters and the best Mom ever. Each one of my sisters has their own style and their own way of doing things, and all are amazing. My mom has been a constant source of encouragement and wisdom my whole life, and that has not changed!
What is your mama indulgence: Reality TV. Judge if you will, but nothing passes breastfeeding/pumping time like a girl finding the perfect wedding dress, a nanny fixing a disastrous family or a group of young adults all living in the same house with more drama than any 13 year old girl! As Brenna gets older, I know my time to just vedge on the couch will disappear, so for now, I will indulge!
What 3 things can’t you live without: A mom and or sister who are willing to do laundry, dishes and make dinner. A husband who is a diaper changing,burping machine! And Starbuck dates with girlfriends.
Best advice for new moms: Give yourself (and husband/partner) a break! I have had my mom and sisters constantly reminding me that having a baby (and a C section) is a big thing! Taking a break to sit and just be is totally ok! Sitting is hard to do when your once busy life comes to a screeching halt. But it’s important to savor every moment you can, while you can,because life will get busy again.
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 10th January 2011
This Week’s Super Mama is Hollie, a.k.a Piper’s Mom
Child’s name and age: Piper Siglin, 14 weeks
City: Plano, Texas
Profession: Realtor
What’s the best part about being a mom: The amount of love you can have for your little one, and the feeling their little smile can give you!
Favourite baby product: The Nuk soothie (the paci they give you in the hospital)- its the only paci out of about 27 others we tried that she likes! Its a lifesaver!
Best advice you’ve been given so far: To enjoy every stage, because they go by so fast. Even the middle of night wake up calls!
If you could tell your daughter one piece of advice what would it be: To be nice to everyone, and be bold about standing up for others that are being mistreated.
What’s been the most challenging part about being a mom: For me its finding the balance between work and spending time with her. I never thought going to work and leaving her would be this hard!
What is your little one up to lately: She loves playing on her Fischer Price activity playmat w/ the mobile and watching Baby Mozart!
What’s your mommy indulgence: Wine!
Any books or websites to suggest to new moms or mom to be? Babywise really helped me in knowing how to schedule feedings, etc. For new moms that want to get back in shape, I recommend Insanity (you can get it on beachbody.com). Its a 60 day program with several workout dvds- it is super hard and you can do it in your house with no equipment needed!
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 20th December 2010
This Week’s Super Mama is Sarah, a.k.a. Bella and Matilda’s Mum
Children: Bella (3) and Matilda (2)
City: London
Profession: I am a very part time freelance fundraising consultant, which means that I work with charities to develop their fundraising strategies. I’m lucky to be able to work mainly from home for some incredibly inspiring organisations.
What are your girls up to lately: Both girls are full of the joy of Christmas at the moment. Not a day goes by without Bella singing “Little Donkey” and dressing Tilly up as Mary for an at home nativity play. Being so close in age they are great friends and spend most of their day involved in little role plays with one another.
How would you describe motherhood? Being a mum is absolutely the best thing I have ever done. It is tiring and can feel relentless at times, but my girls are so precious and loving that they make every early morning worth it. It is impossible to desrcibe how unconditionally I love them (even if they drive me up the wall most days!)
What’s the most challenging part about being a mum? The fact that as a mum, you are on duty 24 hours a day. There are never enough hours in the day to achieve all you want to do, especially in today’s very busy world. I feel I live in a constant state of semi-chaos and am always forgetting things which is hard as I was a lot more organised before having my girls.
What is your favourite kid friendly restaurant in London? For a relaxed family meal I love Marzano on the Northcote Road. It is always full of buggies, kids and chaos but the food comes quickly and the waiting staff are very used to lots of little ones running around and making a mess.
Favourite park in London? Battersea Park is fantastic for toddlers. Lots of little slopes to run up and down, a bandstand to dance in, a playground to swing in and a boating lake although I think it’ll be a few years before we’re brave enough to take our adventurous toddlers out on that!
Tips for new mums? Be kind to yourself. Don’t put yourself under too much pressure to be dressed before 9am, have a tidy house, have endless visitors and have your baby sleeping through the night in a matter of weeks. Be selfish and think of yourself, your baby and your partner and trust your instincts. Also, enjoy just staring at your baby sleeping as those memories will last a lifetime.
What kid product can’t you live without? My in car dvd player for long car journeys down to the beach where I grew up in Cornwall. Dora the Explorer certainly makes the last hour of a very long journey that bit more bearable!
What is your mama indulgence? X Factor and a bottle of wine. What will I do now the series is over??
What has changed the most since becoming a mother? I used to be really spontaneous and had the motto of “never say no to an invitation”. These days I have to plan a lot more and factor the girls into every decision we make, but I wouldn’t change it for anything.
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 13th December 2010
This Week’s Super Mama is Federica, a.k.a. Grazia’s Mom
Childs name and age: Grazia Esther Martin, 4 months old
City Prague, Czech Republic
Profession Call Center Manager
Best part about being a mom: Waking up in the mornings to Grazia’s enormous smile and spontaneous laughter. She really knows how to light up my days!
Most challenging part about being a mom: With everyday that passes, Grazia wants more and more attention and entertainment so finding time for myself is the biggest challenge!
What’s your little one up to lately? So much, it’s crazy, it was like I woke up one morning and she was completely alert to her surroundings! There are so many new things happening everyday with Grazia. She has a really inquisitive nature so she’s always looking around, making funny faces and thinking about…i would love to know! We really enjoy having the radio on at home so every once in a while I find her bopping her head and swinging her arms around. She can lift her upper body off the ground now and is working towards crawling. It’s all going so fast that I feel like pretty soon she’s just going to get up and run off! She’s also realized that if she screams she can get all the attention she wants so it’s a constant yelp fest in our house. And the other day she had her hands in just the right position to hold her own bottle, it was definitely a proud mama moment
What’s your mama indulgence?Manicures, getting my hair done…basically any activity that revolves solely around ME lol.
What 3 things can’t you live without? Diet Coke, a good romance novel and my husband who lets me sleep in on weekends!
Advice for new moms? Enjoy the moment you are living right NOW with your child. Don’t wish they were older because they will never be younger again…and it’s just that much more work.
Favorite website or book about parenting or kids? To be completely honest, I’m really not into reading about parenting or kids, I’m more of the random Google search mama in times of need. At the end of the day, I prefer following my own instincts as a mother and if I’m really not sure or worried about something, I call up a family member or a friend with experience and just ask them for their opinions/advice.
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 6th December 2010
This Week’s Super Mama is Samantha, a.k.a. Gracie Rae’s Mom
Children: Gracie Rae, 2 months
City: West Orange, NJ/ NYC
Profession: Jewelry designer: I have a line with my sister called Lulu Rae. Each piece is part of a limited edition collection, made from semi precious and precious stones. Our designs can be found at http://www.lovelulurae.com
Best part about being a Mom? Everything!!! I am particularly obsessed with her recent cooing… She’s such a happy baby and it makes me melt every time I look at her and she smiles and coos (which is most of the time!)
What’s Gracie Rae up to these days? She does a lot of sleeping and drinking milk!!! She’s starting to “chat” through her coos… She can go on for ever having conversations with us!! She’s also starting to roll over—it’s so cute to watch her wiggle around!
What’s your mama indulgence? Going to the gym!! She was a big baby—let’s just say I was hungry all day long when I was pregnant, so I’ve had to work to get back to my pre-pregnancy size!
What 3 things can’t you live without? 1. My new itouch which let’s us video chat every day with my parents who live in Miami and otherwise wouldn’t get to see Gracie. 2. Though she doesn’t sleep in it anymore, her pink “nap nanny” which kept her on an incline when she napped as she had projectile reflux for the first month or so and couldn’t be flat on her back for too long! (we had to use it every day, it was a life saver!) 3. Aden & Anais swaddles… they are so big that not only can we use them for their intended purpose but we also used them constantly to protect ourselves and our furniture from that projectile reflux!
Advice for new Moms? Don’t be afraid to ask other moms questions or to ask someone for help!! There are so many different ways to do things and it can be helpful to ask around when you’re unsure about something and find the things that work for you… and don’t let anyone else judge you for the choices you make for yourself and your baby (unless of course it’s your husband, in which case his opinion definitely matters!!).
Favorite books to recommend? “Caring for Your Baby and Young Child: Birth to Age 5” by the American Academy of Pediatrics… it has the answer for any concern a mom may have and very clearly defines anything and everything a baby can experience/have/go through!
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 29th November 2010
This Week’s Super Mama is Jenna, a.k.a. Lola’s Mom
Children: Lola Grace Hardcastle 5 years old
City: London (by way of California!)
Your favourite part about being a mum? Having someone to love unconditionally…..and hearing Lola laughing!
What’s Lola up to lately? A lot of back talk!!! Lol! More seriously, getting settled into big girl school and finding her way in new environments.
What’s one thing you can’t live without as a mum? WINE!!!!
What advice would you give to new mums? Surround yourself with (other) great females. Whether they have children or not, are your BF or just someone to have easy chats + giggles with… great female friends are invaluable.
Favourite kid-friendly restaurant in London? Gotta be Frantoio on the New Kings Road. Great food, great people(our friend owns it)...always a treat!
What’s your mama indulgence? Free time….and a once a year trip, on my own, to PARIS!!!!!
What’s the most challenging part about being a mum? Remembering that it’s ok not to like your child (children) every day…You fall in love with them immediately but liking them, especially on the supremely challenging days, takes a lot of extra strength that I sometimes just don’t have. So instead of feeling guilty about it, i own it and realize I don’t expect everyone to like me every day either!
What’s it like being an expat mum in London? I’ve been here for 10 years now and truly love this city. I’m lucky because I have awesome friends and a very generous husband! Sometimes, especially during Jan/Feb, I can get quite homesick but I make sure to try to go back to California during the winter months and that helps ....a lot!!! My advice to anyone moving anywhere in the world would be to embrace the new place 100%. If you’re constantly comparing it to “home” you’ll never open your heart or your mind to all the wonderful (and new!!) opportunities in front of you.
I know you enjoy being a volunteer. Tell us little about that: I am a volunteer at the Sir Oswald Stoll Foundation in Fulham. This is a home to ex-service men + women, partners of ex-service men + women + people w/disabilities. I do their nails every Friday and we chat about all sorts of things! It’s not about the nails, it more about spending time with people who cannot get out easily anymore or who don’t have family in the immediate area to visit with them. I’m also happy to take them on outings to Westfield, to dinner and help w/shopping, chores, etc on the days that I’m not at the foundation .
My Grandmother raised me and is the reason I love to give my time to people. I had the pleasure of watching her do it for 33 years…She and Lola (who is her namesake!) are my greatest treasures.
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 22nd November 2010
This Week’s Super Mama is Amanda Richman Wurtz, a.k.a. Jackson’s Mom
Child’s name and age: Jackson Wilder Wurtz, 6 months & three weeks
City:New York, N.Y.
Profession: Hedge Fund Business Development (fancy expression for fundraising, just FYI)
What’s Jackson up to these days? He just started sort of crawling, knees are bent and he moves forward and around, but it’s still a bit of slithering rather than a full butt-up crawl. He giggles a TON and seems like the happiest baby ever. He LOVES his bath time and lights up around everyone, especially Daddy.
What’s the most challenging part of being a mama? It’s most challenging not kissing him so much that his cheeks turn red. Seriously… I can’t get enough. Also, challenging to be a working momma and thus to balance; I have a new found, heightened respect for working single mommas or mommas with much harder schedules.
What’s your mama indulgence? Manicures and letting daddy do the morning routine on Sundays, aka sleeping in.
What’s your ‘must have’ mama product or item? Hmmmm…. candles by the bathtub. I like Dyptique right now. Our new ipad is pretty awesome too even if you’re not apple people like us.
What’s your ‘must have’ baby product or item? I love the new 7am infant cozy bunting we just got for Jackson. I want to crawl in and cuddle it’s so warm. I also love classic A&D ointment. Smells like baby. Another must-have for Jackson’s first cold and subsequent runny nose are “boogie wipes” with saline in each one. He hates it but helped clear up the congestion and kept his nose from getting all raw.
Favorite websites or books about parenting/families/kids decor etc? ‘Secrets of a Baby Whisperer’ was a good book during the summer months (age 1-4 months) for sleep and routine tips.
What’s the best part about being a mama? There are no words really. I now understand the “I could eat him” line you always hear. I’m in love with the whole thing.
How do you like raising jackson in NYC? I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else…. Sometimes the Soho cobblestones can be tough for momma pushing the carriage, but he’s now addicted to the bumps.
Favorite indoor place to take Jackson in NYC? Scholastic learning; they offer open/free readings daily for kids and he loves the books.
Favorite outdoor place to take Jackson in NYC? We like the swings on Spring street. Especially Saturday mornings. All the dads are out to play—it’s a scene.
This Week’s Super Mama
Monday 15th November 2010
This Week’s Super Mama is Katja, a.k.a. Nola and Phoenix’s Mom.
Children: Nola (girl) & Phoenix (boy), 18months
Profession: Owner of Play and Phoenix and Nola
City Brooklyn/New York City
What are your little ones up to these days? Nola has discovered my shoe collection and is trying to figure out how to walk in heels. Phoenix is our little helper around the house, he loves to clean, organize and throw all sorts of things into the trash can and toilet, including things which don’t belong there.
Tell us about your fabulous company Play Space. how did you get started with this? It all started out of a necessity. We were looking for a home for our children’s line Phoenix and Nola. During the same time we had a really hard time finding a place where we could take our kids during the winter. I felt very isolated as a Mom, spending cold and rainy days with the babies at home. After a year of research we decided to open PLAY, an early childhood enrichment center and indoor playspace for children newborn to five.
What’s the most challenging part about being a mom? Trying to be everything. A mother to twins, a business owner, wife, a good friend, trying not to forget who you are….and at the end of the day not feeling guilty about not being perfect.
What is your must have baby/kid product? Our Flip Cam. It’s so easy to use and the regular video updates keep the grandparents happy.
What’s your mama indulgence? A couple of hours to myself. I never knew I would appreciate time and sleep so much.
What advice would you give to new moms? Don’t listen to anyone. You know what is good for your baby and what works for you and your family.
What is the best part about being a mom? Knowing that you are needed and all these amazing little kisses.
