Special Delivery For Mommy!

Look what happened to me yesterday! Somebody knocked on my door and gave me this:

Oh my goodness, what could it be?? Well, it might have something to do with the fact that I signed up for an awesome thing called MommiesFirst, where for only 25 bucks a month they send me a package with surprise mommy/pregnancy related goods. Much better than the other "monthly gift" I got before getting pregnant, if you ask me :). Now shall we open it??

Look how pretty it looks inside. I almost - ALMOST - don't want to destroy it. The fancy envelope has a personalized message only to me (as if I am the only person in the world to be with child).

Yaaay! Gifts!! So here are some pictures and quick descriptions of what's inside:

Card with 5$ gift card to bookcloseouts.com

Preggie-friendly skin stuff (nice since I told them I'm breaking out)

It's a hit - Melissa's asked to read it a million times and Andrew loves the bear (even learned to say "bear" with it :)

Silly messages that stick, unstick and stick again everywhere. Husband approves the "I love you more than chocolate" one I tossed his way (a huge statement from me :)

Since this is my third package from them, 2 other previous products also deserve honorable mentions:

Au Fait Mama NURSING Shirt, which looks amazingly like a regular top 

Best belly cream EVER!! Fragrance-free (no strong cocoa butter smell like my other one), organic, makes my skin look good and even feels relaxing on my sore stretched muscles.

And now, to close with a bang, here's an exclusive interview with MommiesFirst's inventor, Lorena Scott! (and no, I am not being paid for this advertisement - we've just been keeping in touch because she's that nice, so I wanted to extend my celebrity-meeting moment to this blog :).

Me- I love the story about how you freaked out at a baby store while pregnant for the first time :). Did your a-ha moment for MommiesFirst spark right then?
Lorena- The panic attack at a baby story is 100% a true story.  In the moment, I didn’t really think “oh, this is a business opportunity”. Instead, I just remember wishing there had to be a better way  to discover products, especially for first time moms. I was already really nervous about having a baby and found the shopping was an unnecessary added stressor! It wasn’t until I was pregnant with my second son that I committed to starting MommiesFirst. A month after he was born I hosted my first focus group to talk about what moms wanted and needed.  By the time he was 5 months old we launched the website, and when he turned 9 months we shipped our first care packages.  I track the age of MommiesFirst pretty much with the age of my baby boy!

Me- How is it to run a company while raising kids? Was it difficult at first?

Lorena- I’ll be honest – it is 100% hard.  I am not a super mom – I try and balance all the different responsibilities on my plate, and often I crawl into bed exhausted and feeling like I failed my kids.  I find it’s easier to be honest with moms about these challenges, because we are VERY hard on ourselves.  Luckily, I also have a lot of support. My husband is my best friend, confidante and business partner; my father has moved into help launch MommiesFirst; and my kids – they are just so inspiring.  My family keeps me motivated even on the hardest days.

Me- What's your advice for moms who dream of starting something on their own?

Lorena- Honestly – JUST DO IT! I know I wrote how hard it is above, but starting my own business has also been the most amazing journey of my life. I’ve wanted to be an entrepreneur for so long, and for the longest time I was too scared to give it a try.  Now that I’m actually doing it, I pinch myself every day with excitement, and I really don’t know why it took me so long. I love that I’m creating a service that helps other moms and hopefully I’m inspiring my kids as well. As their mom, I think a lot about what lies ahead for them as they grow older, and I really hope that they will follow their passions and take lots of leaps of faith while pursuing those dreams. I hope watching me build and grow MommiesFirst will inspire them to do whatever makes them happy and hopefully make a great impact on the world too!

Me- You look great in your website pictures! Any tips for taking care of yourself in the midst of motherhood/work duties?

Lorena- Wow – thanks for the compliment. My “secret” is I that run home from work at least 3 days a week. Exercise (running especially) is my therapy and it’s the one thing I do on my own. For a while, I was having a hard time finding time to exercise because I didn’t want to take time away from my kids (especially since I don’t feel like I spend enough time with them during the day), and I was too tired to hit the gym once they’d fallen asleep. This winter, I invested in outdoor running gear and a backpack, and I run home from the office! I am so happy because I get my work out in, help the environment, and it’s truly guilt free! So, my one tip is to be creative about finding time to stay healthy.  Do it for your kids, but also do it for yourself!

Click on the logo to get started! You can also send a package to a friend :)