For this season’s Modern Bump Brunch coming up on May 26th, we’ve decided to post interviews with our event sponsors to personally connect our readers with the people behind these wonderful family-focused businesses. Today we’re featuring interviews with Liza of Mother Me (specialized doula care to assist a mother’s recovery with their newborns) and Janelle of Yaya Baby (a North Shore based online baby boutique).
INTERVIEW WITH LIZA
OF MOTHERME
Modern Mama: What made you get into post-partum doula care as a profession and as a business owner?
Liza: I was living in Japan and was planning to go into Midwifery school when I got back to Canada. I realized there was no program in BC for Midwifery and the thought of having to travel to Ontario or Seattle didn’t appeal to me. As luck would have it, I was at a birth conference and met Tammy. She explained a course her company was running at the time about becoming a Postpartum Doula. Working both as a doula and postpartum doula, I felt there was a lack of postpartum care for new families coming home from the hospital. Having an extra set of hands to help the first few weeks with breastfeeding/bottle feeding, assisting recover for both mom and baby, and getting the rest you need through the night seemed critical. And since then, Mother Me has served parents in the Lower Mainland area for the past 10 years, helping over 500 new families.
Modern Mama: What is your favourite aspect of working with new moms?
Liza: Every family is unique and different, and all want to be the best parents they can be. We understand that unexpected challenges create a bump in the road and we see our families through them.
Modern Mama: What’s the most popular service you provide?
Liza: Night time support. Most of our clients as to have a night time doula come in for the first few weeks. Night doulas wake a mom if she is nursing, provide a small snack, help with the feed, then the doula will get baby settled and back to sleep. Highly recommended for families having twins or parents with older siblings. For some parents, knowing the doula is watching over baby offers peace of mind.
Modern Mama: Why are you looking forward to our Modern Bump Brunch?
Liza: We usually get to meet new moms one at a time. This will be a very exciting opportunity to have a group of new moms and moms-to-be all together at once!
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INTERVIEW WITH JANELLE
OF YAYABABY
Modern Mama: What inspired you to launch Yaya Baby?
Janelle: As a new mom, I was totally overwhelmed with the number of baby products available on the market. I wished that I had someone to help me figure out what I really needed before I wasted a ton of money on things I didn’t really need or even use! When I brought a product home I was often disappointed by how it worked (or didn’t!) when I tried it on my own kids. (Seriously, I tried over 25 different brands of cloth diapers and owned 10 different strollers! I didn’t get the name Super Picky Mom for nothing). After having my second son, I figured out which products I was using constantly and considered to be my major mommy-lifesavers. Now that I’ve found them, I love sharing these gems with other moms. So, I started Yaya Baby, a place where moms can be sure that what they are buying is awesome and an essential- meaning they will love it and use it everyday!
Modern Mama: Do you really test out every single product that is “Picky Mom Approved” on your site?
Janelle: You bet! I am the pickiest person ever, and in order for me to carry it on Yaya Baby I have to absolutely LOVE it. Everything on Yayababy.ca you will find in my house, used with my kids, on a daily basis. Pinky swear.
Modern Mama: We know you’ll be telling us about your top 5 favourite breastfeeding essentials at our Modern Bump Brunch. Can you give us a sneak peek at your number one favourite?
Janelle: It is so hard to choose, but my latest Picky Mom Approved essential is the Au Fait Mama Breast Feeding apparel. They have a gorgeous bamboo scarf that doubles as a nursing cover, and now that it’s summer the breastfeeding tank is A-MAZING! Plus, it’s all made in Vancouver. I wear my pieces everyday and I’m not even nursing anymore!