Mom to:
An almost 10-year-old girl, plus my blended family. I have 3 wonderful kids right around her age who live with me part of the time.
Currently working on:
Boober, my latest and very exciting startup: an on-demand, in-person breastfeeding help service. The only one of its kind! I've been overwhelmed by the positive response and how quickly it has grown. New parents love getting matched to live, expert breastfeeding help immediately just by texting us at
347-688-5070!
I'm also excited to be expanding our popular Birth Day Presence childbirth classes, breastfeeding, newborn-care and infant CPR classes into our newest partner location in Manhattan at the Motherhood Center of NY.
How did you come up with the Boober concept?
Boober grew out of a longstanding desire to help people in the pregnancy and postpartum period through Birth Day Presence. I had been a doula and childbirth educator for years and had watched firsthand what a struggle breastfeeding could be for some moms. The thing that stood out, though, was that most new moms received little and often inaccurate breastfeeding help at the hospital. Then they would come home, end up calling tons of lactation consultants and it would be hard to quickly find an available person. Time is of the essence when you are having pain or problems with breastfeeding and a little baby who needs to eat!
Through our childbirth classes, I started an experiment. What if a new mom had a very easy way to reach out for breastfeeding help? Would that make a difference in her breastfeeding experience? I came up with the concept of The Breast Start Visit and starting promoting it to all our students. And the texts started rolling in!
Pretty soon, I realized that of all the on-demand businesses out there, there were none devoted to breastfeeding and early postpartum care. You could get your makeup done, your Ikea furniture built, your dog walked all within a few hours, but you could not easily get same-day Lactation Help.
I told a friend about this on-demand lactation help matching platform I was developing and she blurted out, "Boober!" And the name stuck. I quickly set out to create a platform (still developing) that would help easily match new moms to expert lactation counselors or IBCLCs (International Board Certified Lactation Consultants), depending on the needs of each family.
To date we have helped match around 400 moms to Lactation Help! Just last week I connected 17 people to expert breastfeeding support.
Can you take us through how Boober works? From the text to the visit?
When a parent is struggling with breastfeeding they simply text 347-688-5070. They will receive a text back with a few questions (from a real human!) and then they'll receive a call from someone who will talk to them briefly to see what type of lactation care would be best to refer them to. After that call, Boober will text the parents with names and info of available lactation professionals who match their needs. The parents then speak to the Lactation Pro and decide who to hire. Boober is a platform which helps match new parents to expert breastfeeding help. The parents decide who they want to hire. Boober itself does not perform the services.
Boober also helps new parents who want to figure out how to go back to work, develop pumping plans. It also connects new parents to Lactation Professionals who can provide services via videochat if they are not in the NYC area.
And Boober is rapidly developing, so look out for updates to how it works and an expansion of what kind of postpartum services Boober will be connecting new parents to soon!
What advice do you have for new Moms who want to breastfeed but may be facing challenges?
I advise new moms to remember that early help and support can make all the difference in the world to lessen or ease the breastfeeding challenges they are facing. No one was meant to parent or breastfeed in a vacuum. I also encourage new moms to be gentle on themselves and to know that for some people breastfeeding can take time and work and does not have to be all or nothing. Boober is all about connecting people to Lactation Professionals who will support the new parents in whatever they want whether that's help with breastfeeding, weaning, bottlefeeding, not breastfeeding or any other type of postpartum support.
Now on to a more personal note, what is the best part about motherhood for you?
The best part of motherhood is the unconditional love. I never believed I could feel something like it. And of course watching this incredible person develop. My daughter and I are very close and that is something I do not take for granted.
What is the most challenging part of motherhood for you?
The most challenging part of motherhood for me is not getting to do it full-time. As a divorced parent, I don't get to tuck my daughter in every night or be involved in every day-to-day moment. That is really hard. And sometimes it's hard watching her develop into a super-independent person who wants more alone time. It's what I want for her, of course -- to be independent -- but I also just want to hold and snuggle her all the time!
How do you balance work and family?
Balance, what?? It is an incredible challenge. On the one hand, since I own my company, I can make my schedule exactly as I want it, which means I'm always able to drop off and pick up my daughter at school. I can travel with her in the summer and work from anywhere. I'm incredibly lucky in that regard. On the flip side, as a small business owner, I always have to be available for clients, work calls, and all the rest that comes with running a business. With the addition of Boober, where people request breastfeeding support via text, I am attached to my phone at all times -- for now at least, I'm the sole dispatcher!! But I have learned over the years that working all the time is not the way to go. So I make a concerted effort to stop work as much as possible when I'm with my kiddo and family.
Where is your happy place?
Not having anything regular scheduled on the weekends so that I can be spontaneous and slow and spend time with my daughter and my love. That and traveling. A few days in a new place always rejuvenates me.
What do you do for me time?
Honestly, I don't have much of that. But I'd put bodywork at the top of the list! Getting regular massages, chiropractic care, and acupuncture are so important for me. And spending time with the people I love most.
What is the best piece of advice that someone gave you?
You can't please everyone. And: It's not about you. It has taken me a long time to really take those pieces of advice to heart, but I've worked and lived long enough to know that I can't control how someone reacts. I always work hard, try to do my best, give my all and be as supportive and compassionate as I can and then try to step back.
What is one piece of advice you would pass on?
Life is short. Time is precious. Cultivate the ability to say no to what doesn't suit or support you, say yes to what inspires you and makes you happy, and spend time with the people that lift you up and make you smile. If you resent it, change it. Okay, that's like 4-5 pieces of advice!
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