Gugu Guru was so excited to interview influencer couple Mel & Neg Cordova as our Pride Month feature. In this interview, the two moms share with us what Pride means to them, what it’s been like preparing for the much anticipated arrival of their daughter, favorite products and so much more!
GG: Thanks so much for sitting down with us, Mel & Neg! As you are well aware, June is Pride – yay! So, our first question is what does Pride mean to you as expecting parents?
M&N: Pride has always been the time for us to celebrate equality, diversity, visibility and inclusion. A time to continue to live fearlessly in our diversity and maintain the authenticity of who we are and what makes us happy. As expecting parents, we couldn’t be more blessed to live in a time where LGBT families are more accepted than before. While we have a ways to go in our society, it‘s comforting to know we have a fantastic community to lean on, learn from and grow within the years to come. We can’t wait to be a part of the growing number of same sex parents paving the path to normality. As mommas-to-be, we are excited, blessed and honored to add to those growing numbers of LGBT families. We will always strive to teach our kids the same values we have always lived by with the hope they will grow up in a world that will be more tolerant and accepting of all types of families.
We can’t wait to showcase our growing family over the years and continue to take pride in that. We plan to leverage our platform(s) to visibly represent and teach others that families come in different shapes, sizes, colors, races and orientations. We’re excited to share our diverse journey as two moms and contribute to neutralizing any apprehensions or concerns others may have and create a space of normalcy.
GG: What has it been like preparing for your daughter and selecting products? Have there been any special product considerations with a two mom family?
M&N: Preparing for our little girl has been quite the rollercoaster during this crazy, unexpected time. We are both new mothers-to-be with little to no experience raising a child of our own, so we are in for quite the ride. Earlier this year – around January – we started shopping around local stores to begin familiarizing ourselves with all the ‘baby stuff’. Needless to say, it was very overwhelming and we didn’t know where to start, so we started the research process. Soon after, the pandemic hit and we were forced to stay home and prepare as much as we could virtually, which wasn’t an easy task. It was quite challenging at first and again, we didn’t know where to start. We asked around to friends and family to both new and experienced moms, but we were given suggestions and advice in so many directions, we weren’t sure it was helping us or confusing us more. So we were back to square one.
Very soon after – we truly believe it was complete fate – we came in contact with Gugu Guru – the Premiere Baby Product Concierge Service – What timing! They were pretty much a life saver and couldn’t have come up at a more opportune time. Gugu Guru was able to guide us in the right direction, which was what we were looking for all along. We provided them information about our lifestyle, personality traits, styles, likes and dislikes, our vision as parents-to-be, baby nursery theme/vision, etc. and they were able to take our input and derive a slew of advice, recommendations and products specifically fit for us, finally giving us a starting point. It was perfect timing! Since then, we were able to finally sit down, organize, look through products, options and reviews and narrow down our choices. Whether that was brand-specific products or general items to consider – we were able to prioritize the items we needed. Such as nursery items, breast pumps, strollers, car seats, carriers, bassinet(s), etc. Just in time for our baby to arrive. With only a few weeks away from our due date, we are feeling more ready now than we have in the last 8 months.
In regards to product considerations for two moms – we loved the idea of sharable and versatile products. We tend to both be very neutral in our styles and luckily we have similar taste and are very close in size – so items such as diaper bags or baby carriers are easily shared between the two of us. In addition, we always to consider the fact that we plan to grow our family in the near future, so we also took into account the longevity of product reusability between the two of us – since we’re taking turns as the carrying mother. Therefore we like to consider the product options we choose to be of good quality with the intention to be re-used as the primary caretaker – such as breast pumps, baby carriers, bassinets, boppy’s, rocking chair, etc. Making sure we both agree on the product(s) are important and key to a two-mom household.
GG: What types of products would you recommend for two mom-driven households?
M&N: Off the top of mind, we would recommend purchasing LGBT related books for the baby room. Stocking up on educational, yet relatable material that exposes your baby to the diversity of your family we think is important in relation to any other product out there. We already have a few books in our nursery and think it would be a good place to start. Here are a few of our suggestions we’ve started with and we plan to grow this even more:
- Love Makes a Family by Sophie Beer
- My Family and Me by Cara J Stevens
- Mommy, Mama and Me by Leslea Newman
- And many more we have in the queue…
As for other specific products that are directly recommended for a ‘two-mom driven household’ (per se) – we are not sure if we have encountered specific products geared to target two moms at this point, other than the points mentioned previously. We love the versatility, applicability and longevity of the products that we, as two moms, can use together and/or at different stages of being the birth mother. Whether that’s in the next few months or next few years. Finding products that we agree we would both like is important and ensuring you’re both part of the decision making process is important. At the end of the day, we want to be sure our baby is comfortable, and we anticipate our little girl will be the choosy one when it comes to products. So, we may have more to share following her arrival.
GG: What products are you most excited to try out when your daughter arrives?
M&N: We are excited to use a lot of our products! We feel like we have a bunch of new ‘toys’ to break in when our little one comes and we’ll be able to get a better sense of what we like and don’t like – and most importantly, what she might gravitate to or not. Should be interesting and fun!
One product we’re excited to try out specifically is the 4moms mamaRoo automatic swing set. That was actually our very first official baby gift a friend of ours surprised us with a few months back. So we’re excited to try it out. We opened it up, assembled it and put our little ‘human’ doggie in there to test it out – she loved it and it was adorable – I guess we all need a little practice! We just hope it works out because we have heard mixed reviews on the product, since every baby’s likes and dislikes are different, but we’re hoping our baby girl will love it just as much as our little doggie did – fingers crossed! We’ve included a few pictures of our fur-babies posing with the mamaRoo. They can’t wait to welcome their little human sister!
GG: What has been the best gift you’ve received so far?
M&N: At this point, we’ve received so many different gifts from friends, families and various companies so it’s hard to really narrow down to a single gift. But if we were to choose one, we think the best gift so far is the new UPPAbaby VISTA Stroller and Bassinet combo! We were beyond excited when we received that gift! When we were first looking for products, the VISTA was one of the first items we looked at and ‘test drove’ in the stores and we were in awe with the ease of use and versatility of the stroller. So we were ecstatic, to say the least, that this was one of our gifts and we can’t wait to use it. We both love to go on walks around our neighborhood with our dogs and just go out and about (when it’s safe to do so), and we don’t typically pack ‘light’, even for a daily stroll. So it works out that the sizes and capacity of the stroller will fit right into our everyday needs. On top of that – we’re happy there are different uses with this combination. Since it comes with an infant bassinet, we feel like it’s going to be very useful for not only our strolls out and about, but being able to use the bassinet at home as well. We have a two story home, so needless to say, we may have to double up on some products – and having that bassinet for downstairs will be absolutely perfect!
We’re super grateful for all the gifts we’ve received thus far and can’t wait to try them all out. We’re stepping into a whole new realm and about to learn and experience more than we know.
GG: Any special themes, e.g., for the nursery, that you can share with us?
M&N: Yes! We have finally decided on a theme – better late than never. We decided on going for a Boho Chic vibe for our little girl’s nursery room. The color pallet will be a neutral mix of greys, browns and light beiges with a pop of color of ash (dusty) rose. We love the idea of having calming, spiritual vibes with some nature type aspects where the themes will include natural greenery, natural woods, bohemian florals, wicker baskets, dream catchers, canopies, teepees, etc. We feel this vibe is fitting to our nature and can’t wait to create that comforting ambiance for our little girl. We can’t wait to see how it turns out!
Check out other Pride feature of Donovan Tatum and Santini Reali and see the Love Inc Mag feature too!
Furthermore, because of its unique design, the swaddle decreases the risk of hip dysplasia, as it is never too tight, yet always comforting. The Ollie Swaddle helps regulate a baby’s temperature, which will also help them sleep better. With so many swaddle blankets on the market, it can be overwhelming to pick one to use; however, considering all of the significant benefits of The Ollie Swaddle, it is plain to see why a parent would always pick one!
