mompreneur

Mompreneur Spotlight: Haylie Duff + Jessica Frank of Little Moon Society

Little Moon Society is the labor of love between two lifelong friends, actress and lifestyle expert, Haylie Duff and veteran children’s clothing designer, Jessica Frank. The moment these two became mothers, they knew they wanted to raise thoughtful and unique children; Little Moon Society was born from that ideal. Each piece in the Little Moon Society collection is handmade in Los Angeles, California, using only the highest quality materials. Children express themselves through play, so wearability and durability are at the heart of each article. Like the constantly changing phases of the moon, children are always evolving. Haylie Duff and Jessica Frank are here to chat about being mom-bosses and how and why they started Little Moon Society.

You can find Little Moon Society on their website, Facebook, and Instagram.

How and why did you start Little Moon Society?

Haylie and I have been best friends since we were teenagers. Haylie is such an incredible business woman, having her hand in so many different ventures: Real Girls Kitchen, acting, blogging, being an author – that design was just a natural next step for her. I have a lot of experience in design and have been in the kids clothing space for a decade now. Before we started Little Moon Society, I gave Ryan, Haylie’s 2 year old little girl, some clothing from my last brand. Haylie fell in love, and felt inspired to see where a joint partnership could take us, and the rest is history.

Where did you come up with the name?

Choosing our name was a true collaboration. We were hanging out one evening, talking about our love for all things moon and stars. We kept going back and forth, and thus Little Moon Society was born. We really wanted a name that would reflect all the phases of a child’s personality and the moon has always reflected that feeling for us.

How do you balance work and family?

I don’t know if it’s as much of a balance as it is a juggling act. Our kids are our #1 priority, and everything else comes second. We’re lucky because our kids are also best of friends, so we can get together and have the kids play while we work. It’s amazing what mamas can get done in an hour or two!

What’s the best part about being a “Mompreneur” and running your own business?

The best part about being a mompreneur is making our own rules and our own schedule. We don’t feel that there is a separation between our business and parenting our girls. Our children inspire every aspect of our business. Our designs come from what we wish for in their closets. Our fabrics come from what they feel is most comfortable and cozy on their little bodies. Our manufacturing decisions come from our love of supporting local businesses (our manufacturer is a family owned and operated business!). My 3 month old daughter Sloan comes with us to every meeting and appointment. It’s such a blessing for me to work and still be able to be with her full-time. Haylie’s daughter Ryan was a big inspiration for our summer collection and one of our models. She wears the pieces from our collection every day and we love how comfortable she looks playing and running around in them.

Little Moon Society is a reflection of our personal passions and beliefs. It’s important to us to give our children the best of everything – love, food, clothing, and so on. LMS was founded on this philosophy – the highest quality materials, made with love and care in Los Angeles, with pieces kids will love to wear and moms will love to dress them in

Mompreneur Spotlight: FAB Mom Jill Simonian

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Affectionately known on-air and online as ‘The FAB Mom,’ Jill Simonian is the Parenting Lifestyle Expert for CBS Los Angeles news and author of The FAB Mom’s Guide: How to Get Over the Bump & Bounce Back Fast After Baby — a personal, practical and motivating guide with celebrity stories and expert lifestyle tips to boost first-time moms’ mind/body/spirit confidence and capability for that ‘bumpy’ year of new motherhood (F-A-B = Focused After Baby). Jill is a contributor for NBC’s TODAY Show’s Parenting Team and Mom.me and has often appeared on TODAY Show, Hallmark Channel, HLN, KTLA Morning News Los Angeles and more.

Connect with Jill on TheFABMom.com, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Gugu Guru: How and why did you start FAB MOM? Where did you come up with the name?

Jill Simonian: I wish I could say I was so creative to come up with “The FAB Mom” on my own, but it was literally the ONLY URL that was available for purchase when I first started blogging back in 2010! I remember typing in every possible blog name I could think of and “taken” kept coming up. I finally thought of ‘fab’ (because it was such a buzzword back then) and it turned out to be available… so I took it. I initially thought I’d write about fashion and entertaining after becoming a mom — you know ‘fabulous’ things — but soon found that most of what I was writing about had to do with me trying to stay motivated, creative and focused after having a baby. Turns out, the URL that found me was right on — FAB really does mean ‘focused after babies,’ which is what my new book for first-time moms The FAB Mom’s Guide: How to Get Over the Bump & Bounce Back Fast After Baby is all about. Staying focused and committed to bouncing back from bad days, confused parenting moments and the every day chaos of mom-life is something that we all must cope with and conquer.

GG: How do you balance work and family?

JS: Still trying to figure this one out (lol). Here’s one rule that I’ve learned the hard way this last year: Do not try to be a stay-at-home mom and working-mom at the same time! It sounds crazy, but that’s what I tried to do when I first got my job at CBS Los Angeles news in February 2016. I’d been a work-at-home mom (blogger/brand-ambassador) for years, but failed to realize that starting a new job on television and writing a book at the same time added up to full-time working hours. Sure, the time I could do my work was fairly flexible, but the responsibilities took time away from me being able to volunteer at my girls’ schools, cook dinner every night and organize the house like I used to. Whenever your time gets filled with something, you must account for the time you’ve lost in other areas — we cannot do it all at the same time (that’s not sexist, it’s just common sense). I also learned to do one thing at a time — multi-tasking does NOT work.

GG: What’s the best part about being a “Mompreneur” and running your own business?

JS:I do love the flexibility. Being more available for my kids is also very important to me. I’m a big believer in moms continuing to work after having kids (we need goals and accomplishments too!) but I’m also unwavering in my belief that the mom should be the kids’ primary caregiver. Don’t get me wrong — dads and sitters and grandparents are loved and needed and incredible, but no one can do what ‘mom’ can do when it comes to raising kids and giving them the security, guidance and discipline they need to grow into capable adults.

Mompreneur Spotlight: Samantha Rudolph of Babyation

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Samantha Rudolph actually came up with the idea for Babyation before she ever had a baby. She was reading a New York Times article that was lamenting the current state of breast pumps, and she was appalled at how little they’d changed over the years. She turned to her engineer husband and asked if he thought he could build something better. And from there, Babyation was born. Samantha is here today to discuss how she runs her own business and balances motherhood; she has a little one of her own now, Exton, and is so excited to bring a better breast pump to the market! You can follow Babyation on their website, Instagram, or Facebook.

GG: How and why did you start Babyation?

SR: I certainly never saw this one coming! They say necessity is the mother of all inventions, and in my case, it was the prospect of being a mother that prompted this business. A few years ago, I stumbled upon an article that highlighted the shortcomings of breast pumps. Even though a family wasn’t yet on our radar, I knew at some point I wanted to a) be a mother, b) continue working, and c) feed my hypothetical baby breast milk. I had zero knowledge of breast pumps prior to reading this piece, and I was horrified by what my future would look like. Lucky for me, I’m married to a gifted engineer who immediately said, “I can build something better.” And thus, Babyation was born!

GG: How do you balance work and family?

SR: Well, it helps that I absolutely love what I’m doing — both personally and professionally. I wouldn’t trade my baby or Babyation for anything. Co–founding this company is a privilege, and I am acutely aware of how fortunate I am. But, starting a business isn’t for the faint of heart — especially if you have a family. The pressure to succeed is extraordinary.

I do think there’s this misperception that often comes with being a mompreneur or running a business. Yes, I have a ton of flexibility in my schedule, and yes, I get to spend more time with my son than I would if I had a more traditional office job. I don’t ever take that for granted. Exton is the best thing I have ever done, and the title I am most proud of is Mom. I very clearly have that priority established in my life, and I make no apologies for it.

I also know that I don’t feel like myself unless I’m working and creating something from scratch. That is a very personal decision, and I completely support a woman doing whatever is right for her and her family. But for me, I’m a better mom because I work, and the flip side of a flexible schedule is that every second I’m not working on Babyation is a second I get behind in something. That’s just the reality. So for me, I make other trade offs. I refuse to shortchange my son or my startup. That means that I sleep very little. I no longer work out. I don’t see my friends as much as I would like. Laundry piles up, and the cleaning doesn’t get done. There are only 24 hours in each day, and I have to prioritize.

I’m well aware that this delicate balance only works because of the people around me. My husband, who is also my business partner, is an amazing dad. I can leave town on a business trip and not for one second worry about Exton. We moved in with my parents when we got serious about making Babyation a success. It allowed us to both commit to the company full-time without worrying about keeping a roof over our heads, and it gave us two more sets of hands to help with the baby. There is absolutely no way we could do this without them. When we’re successful, it will be in no small part due to them.

GG: What’s the best part about being a “Mompreneur” and running your own business?

SR: I have the best and worst boss in the world!

Kidding aside, the best thing about running THIS business is the incredible moms I have encountered. I am inspired by every single interaction I have. I can have the worst day ever, and then I read an email or a Facebook message about how this will change someone’s life. That’s just humbling. Something I’m doing can have a tangible impact for someone. She might be able to feed her baby breast milk longer. She may have the tool she needs to grow in her career. She might be able to feel like herself by getting out of the house. I don’t for one second forget who I am doing this for. And that makes every sacrifice, every setback, and every tradeoff worth it.

Mom Stories with Laura Novak Meyer, Founder of Little Nest Portraits

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Today we are so excited to have a guest blogger, Laura Novak Meyer, the founder and CEO of Little Nest Portraits. Laura’s here today to talk about her struggle with infertility and her journey to where she is today. We especially love her message to any women out there who are struggling with infertility this Mother’s Day. Little Nest Portraits is a boutique photography studio that offers stellar imagery in a relaxed atmosphere, where families have the chance to slow down and enjoy the experience.

Becoming a mother was a long journey for my family, as I know it has been for so many people. For years we celebrated with others as pregnancy announcements appeared, waiting patiently for our time to come. As a children’s photographer, the reminder that we were struggling with fertility was daily and stinging.

Today, with our happy-surprise-three-year-old and our angel-baby-four-year-old, struggling with infertility seems like a lifetime ago – something that happened to someone else. Grief and sadness have since been replaced with the the happy challenges of dinnertime chaos, temper tantrums, and toy cleanup. When I am asked about my own struggle, I grieve for the moms-to-be whose hearts are heavy with the hole of yearning to be a mother.

The time is dark and lonely and a rollercoaster of emotions– hope, loss, grief, worry, hope again… After several losses, surgeries, and treatments, my husband and I felt (and still feel) so fortunate for the amazing medical care and caring doctors who have helped us along our journey and supported us through such an emotional process. When we finally entered into the second trimester with our first child (now three and a half!) we felt an overwhelming feeling or relief that I still struggle to describe. It was a milestone we’d hoped and prayed together for many months.

During fertility treatments I worried constantly. I worried if we would ever get pregnant again or if it was just a fluke. I worried about other options for our family and how hard that might be, how long that could take. My mind was a constant swirling bowl of worry.

But then, a friend who went through IVF gave me some amazing advice:

“For us, we worried about getting pregnant. And then during your pregnancy you will worry… when your child is born you will worry, when your child goes to school you will worry. So it’s best to learn how to cope with the worry now because it is the reality of being a mother.”

Now that my two children are off to preschool and without me many days of the week, I deeply understand this amazing lesson. And I also get how hard it is to grasp when you are in pain and dealing with the ups and downs of infertility. I can’t help but wonder why I (and so many others) was given this journey. In a way, I truly believe it was to teach me that some things are completely out of my control. To let life lead me, rather than the other way around.

Mother’s Day can be particularly painful for those who are still longing for a complete family of their own. It’s hard to know how to support someone who is struggling with infertility if you haven’t experienced it yourself. Friends who are most helpful tend to be those who don’t make suggestions, don’t make value statements, and don’t try to offer solutions. They just listen and offer compassion. If you have someone in your life who is struggling with infertility, letting them talk while you listen and say “I’m so sorry you are going through this” is so helpful. Even a simple “what can I do?” means so much.

If this is your journey – I have no great pieces of advice–just a desire to share my own story with you, my compassion and my love to you. And a final hope that anything I have shared here is at all helpful this coming Mother’s Day.

Cozy Baby Find: Stitches By Natalie

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One of the ways we come across exciting and wonderful new stores is by asking for what real mamas love on our Instagram page; we comb through every single store and sometimes we just fall in love with what we find! Today is one of those adorable shops – Stitches By Natalie – which sells lovely and whimsical towels and stuffed toys for kids.

Natalie founded her shop started 6 years ago when she left a full time job and became a full time mom to her oldest son. Since then, not only has her family grown to three boys, but Stitches By Natalie has become popular with mamas all over the globe. Natalie began sewing a child with her mother and grandmother, she said, “I knew when my son was born that I wanted to be able to stay home and be a mom first, but help pay the bills too, so I started to sew teddy bears and baby items.” From there, Natalie’s Memory Bears were born. The bears are made from clothing or a blanket that once belonged to someone special. She takes those items and transforms them into a lasting keepsake. Often these bears help ease the loss of a family member or friend a little bit easier. As Natalie says, “the bears are so much more than just a bear…they are a piece of your loved one.”

Natalie added the hooded towels to the shop three years ago when her son’s love for bathtime became an obsession. It was hard getting him out of the bath so she needed to make it easier, and the birth of the Superhero hooded towel came to life. Now, Natalie offers 35+ custom hooded towels in the shop. They are oversized and so comfortable to wrap up in. Each one is embroidered with their new owners name on the back. Each towel has two little handles to help little hands hold up their towels too. The towels are perfect to use for beach and pool time too. We happen to love the adult unicorn towel – it would make a fun gift for a mom friend! She has so many styles for children, you’re bound to find the perfect towel for your little one.

You can find Natalie at Stitches By Natalie, Instagram, and Facebook.

Mom Find: Daisy Bee Subscription Box

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It’s no surprise that we’re fans of subscription box services; interesting and fun subscription boxes don’t just brighten up your day, but also expose you to all sorts of new and exciting companies. Today we’re highlighting a new find of ours, the Daisy Bee Box for mamas – full of special, handpicked items just for you, mama!

Daisy Bee Box is the creation of a wise mama, Jennifer, who wanted to “bring happiness to the “hives” of these tired, hard working women!” The message behind Daisy Bee is so simple and sweet; they believe moms deserve treats, too! Their goal is to send you something other than bills in the mail every month. Because Daisy Bee was founded by a busy mama, she wants to help all mms remember to take some time for themselves.

The Daisy Bee team spends all month testing products safe for pregnancy, breastfeeding, and babies. They offer many different options for boxes; if you choose to subscribe to a box, there are three options. The Mommy-2-Bee box is specifically for pregnant women, this box will include goods to pamper you, treat you, and satisfy those cravings (seriously, they ask your cravings when you sign up!). The products included in this box are safe for pregnant mamas. The Mommy Only box is is tailored just for you, mom! Enjoy hand selected goods to treat yourself each month, without having to share. Lastly, there is the Mommy and Me box which is designed for moms with children infant through toddler age; this subscription will include products for both mommy and baby.

If you’re not ready to commit to a subscription box, Daisy Bee also offers a “one and done” program to try out a box; there is an option for pregnant mamas and new moms. Daisy Bee knows that moms often put themselves last, so they strive to make you smile with handpicked new items every month.

You can follow Daisy Bee on their website, Instagram, and Facebook.

Mompreneur Spotlight: Stephanie Greunke of Healthy Mama, Happy Baby

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It’s no secret that Gugu Guru is a big fan of the Whole30, so when we got the chance to interview the mama behind the Whole 30’s Healthy Mama, Happy Baby program, we were beyond excited! Stephanie Greunke is a registered dietitian with a master’s degree in nutrition who specializes in women’s health. She is a certified personal trainer and prenatal and postnatal corrective exercise specialist. Stephanie guides and supports women locally and globally through her web-based private practice, RockYourHormones.com. She also hosts a podcast called Real Food Mamas, which is available for free on iTunes and Stitcher. Together with Melissa Hartwig of the Whole30©, Stephanie created Healthy Mama, Happy Baby, a virtual pregnancy handbook consisting of a series of short videos with comprehensive information meant to guide women throughout their entire pregnancy. Read below to learn more about Stephanie Greunke.

GG: How and why did you start Rock Your Hormones, and how did the Happy Mama, Healthy Baby program come about?

SG: I originally started Rock Your Hormones to support women dealing with a wide variety of women’s health issues (such as PCOS, hypothalamic amenorrhea, endometriosis, and infertility). As I started helping women heal their bodies and resolve their hormonal complaints, they ended up getting pregnant! I then switched my focus to prenatal/postnatal health to continue to provide optimal care for the women in my practice. I love educating women on how to optimize their diet and lifestyle to support a healthy, enjoyable pregnancy and postpartum. I empower women with the information they need to make the best choices for themselves and their family when it comes to pregnancy, birth, and postpartum.

During my first pregnancy, I realized how much misinformation was out there when it came to pregnancy. I kept reading conflicting information and became frustrated that women were confused about what to believe and were scared about veering off from the conventional path, even if it didn’t feel right. Melissa Hartwig of the Whole30 had a very similar experience to mine and we decided together to create something different. We created a virtual pregnancy handbook that replaces the conflicting, fear-mongering information currently available to pregnant women with a common sense, open-minded, positive approach to pregnancy. We continue to update the program with the latest evidenced-based recommendations and support the women on a daily basis through our private Facebook community.

How do you balance work and family?

I do my best to keep them separate. When I’m with my kids, I’m WITH my kids. When I’m working, I’m working. I used to try and tackle a quick e-mail or two while my son was independently playing, but found that I would easily become frustrated if he needed my attention before I was done. I felt that wasn’t fair for either of us, so now my computer stays in the office and I set my phone on a table far enough away from our play area, so I’m not tempted to check social media during playtime.

I hired a nanny when my first son was about nine months to give me more time for work. It was important for me to spend the first six plus months with him, but as he approached his first birthday, I was ready to add more work hours to my day. Starting when he was a year and a half, I had him spend Monday – Friday morning with our nanny in order to give me time to work on my business. I picked him up from the nanny, feeling refreshed and productive, so I could spend the remaining day present with him.

I just had a second son in October, and lucked out with a great napper. Since I’m not ready for him to be with a nanny, I use his naptimes to work. I have to be extremely organized and focused because my work time is condensed. I pick no more than three tasks to accomplish each day, and say “no” to a lot of business opportunities. I give myself grace with my business knowing that this is a short season, and I will be able to put in more work hours once he’s a little older. As long as I’m doing a little bit every day to maintain my business, I’m happy. And if mama’s happy, everyone is happy.

What’s the best part about being a “Mompreneur” and running your own business?

I love having a flexible schedule. With young kids, they are bound to get sick (a lot). Even with all the nutrition/wellness tricks in the world, their immune systems are constantly being challenged and it’s a good thing for them to get sick every now and then. Being able to take a “day off” without having to check in with a boss and enjoying the extra snuggles makes being a mompreneur the best option for me right now.

In addition to being a mom, I’m a military wife. We move every couple of years, so having a virtual private practice and online program is such a blessing. I don’t have to worry about starting and quitting jobs every few years because everything is online.

Mompreneur Spotlight: Amanda Cole of Yummy Mummy

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Amanda Cole, entrepreneur and blogger, conceived of the idea for Yummy Mummy after the birth of her daughter when like many other new moms, she was looking for help overcoming the challenges of breastfeeding and motherhood. She saw a need for a one-stop-shop for support, services and products to help new moms meet their personal breastfeeding goals and their needs as a new mom. Yummy Mummy is a retail store on the Upper East Side of New York City, and is a company dedicated to All Things Breastfeeding and for moms-to-be! Unlike large big box retailers which sell everything, but specialize in nothing, Yummy Mummy is focused on new and expectant parents. The store prides itself on carrying fashionable and functional maternity and nursing apparel.

Gugu Guru: How and why did you start you Yummy Mummy?

Amanda Cole: After I gave birth to my daughter, Alexa, I struggled with breastfeeding. I was happy to put up with the struggle because it was important to me. But struggling with purchasing breastfeeding products and finding support was not an option. I thought “there must be a better way” and so I set out to create it.

GG: How do you balance work and family?

AC: The balance afforded to me by having my own business is immeasurable. I do the work – and then some – but I don’t miss out on family. It does mean that I’m constantly in “work mode,” but it’s a sacrifice I’m happy to make.

GG: What’s the best part of being a “Mompreneur” and running your own business?

AC: I love how rewarding I find my job. I remember the days when working meant waiting for the hours to pass and I don’t miss that. When you have your own business you’re all in; if you’re going to be successful, you have no choice! But caring that much can make even the most mundane tasks interesting and exciting.

Mompreneur Spotlight: Danielle Cohen of Easy Baby

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We’re big fans of any product that helps keep mama organized, especially while traveling during the holiday season. When we came across the genius Portable Diaper Bag Organizer Inserts from Easy Baby, we knew we wanted to share them with our readers. Today, founder Danielle Cohen is here to talk about creating a business and her oh so helpful bags for mamas.

GG: How and why did you start your Easy Baby?

DC: Having a baby (now toddler) is a beautiful gift that I am thankful for every day. What I was not thankful for was the abundance of “stuff” that was necessary to pack in my diaper bag to take my son out of the house. You had the diapers, wipes, creams, formula, snacks, back-up clothes… the list went on and on. I found that I would remember to pack everything on my list, only to not be able to find it during crunch time. My son would start wailing, but my meticulously packed diaper bag became a tornado and I became frantic to find ANYTHING I needed. I refused to use plastic bags as recommended by some veteran mothers because it didn’t help me find things faster. I still needed to pull each bag out to see what they contained. I then created Easy Baby, a color-coded organization set to help me find everything I needed in a flash while I was on my second week of maternity leave. It started with the basics: a green “Change Me” tote for the diapering needs, a purple “Feed Me” tote for feeding and burping needs, an orange insulated “Feed Me” tote to store freshly pumped milk or cups of yogurt and a blue “Dress Me” tote for back-up clothes in situations of diaper blowouts or messy eating. When some ladies in my mommy group saw the set they thought it was genius. They encouraged me to mass-produce, and I did. As my son grew, our needs changed and I have kept adding to the line to address those needs with “Change Me” changing pads, “Entertain Me” for toy storage, a water resistant “Clean Me” tote for dirty clothes and a red “Comfort Me” medicine bag, all color-coded and all easy to find.

GG: How do you balance work and family?

DC: Balancing work life and a family is a challenge that I am sure a lot of parents face. I am happy to be mother to a beautiful boy, Phineas, who is an energetic and amazing toddler. During the week when Phin is home we are sure to have computers and phones away to give him the attention he deserves.

I am extremely lucky to have unconditional support from my husband, Jason, to create and build this brand and also co-parent like champions. The whole endeavor is truly a family affair. Jason serves as my product photographer and is constantly teaching me the ropes of building a company. He is extremely knowledgeable in the tech world. Phin even helps out and serves as the CMO-in-Training! He likes to take our phones and will take selfies which we feature on our Instagram as #SelfieSunday.

GG: What’s the best part of being a “Mompreneur” and running your own business?

DC: The best part of being a Mompreneur is creating something that can truly make a routine just a little bit easier when navigating the new world of parenthood. I have a great platform that I am able to constantly grow as my son grows. This is also a great opportunity to teach Phin that he too can take an idea and run with it. With hard work and determination he can do anything!

Adoption Month With Live Sweet Photography

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Today we have a wonderful guest post by one of our favorite mamas, Lindsey Bonnice of Live Sweet Photography. She’s here to talk all about the adoption journey of her two youngest children. Don’t forget to check out her baby registry essentials for an adoptive mama, too!

Hi I’m Lindsey from Live Sweet Photography and I am so excited to be here today sharing with you a little about our adoption journey! Adoption has always been a dream of mine. My husband and I talked about it before we were even married and although I didn’t know when we would add to our family through adoption I knew for sure that I wanted to grow our family someday through it. We had our son Noah biologically in 2008 and when he was about three years old we decided that it was time to add another baby to our family. We started discussing adoption and few months later decided that we were ready to start the process. We used an agency in Florida for both of our adoptions because Florida is a safe state and is a wonderful state to work with when adopting. We started our process in July of 2012, it took us several months to complete paperwork and get our home study done. We were officially on the adopting family waiting list with our agency in October of 2012 and shortly after we were matched with Miss Libby’s birth mother. The waiting stage was the hardest but so worth the wait. Miss Libby arrived in February of 2013, we lived in Florida for about three weeks during our adoption and then brought her home! Libby’s adoption was very fast and such a huge blessing to us.

In the beginning of 2015 we decided we were ready to start the process to add another precious babe to our family. We went through similar steps as we did with Libby but this time we had several maybe matches that did not end up going through. Those times were very hard and got me questioning so many things but I just kept reminding myself that our baby the one who was meant for our family was out there and in perfect time we would be united! That could not have been more true and in March of 2016 our sweet Finn was born! He is the perfect addition to our family and we are all more than smitten with him! Adoption is a huge step, it’s big and scary and a lot of work, but there is also not much else as rewarding as adoption is. Our family has been blessed so much for adoption and we could not be more thankful!

Since I had such passion and love for adoption I decided I wanted to do something to help spread that love! In 2014 after adopting Libby I started Live Sweet Shop to create jobs for local women and support and share our love for adoption. We created plush animals first and called them Sweeties after what we called Libby “our little sweetheart” while we were waiting for her. All of our pieces are handmade with love in the USA by local seamstresses. All of our dolls and Sweeties come with adoption certificates and we donate funds to adopting families each month. We are also starting a new program to help donate even more funds to adopting families, we will be offering adopting families spots to host adoption fundraising parties in our online store each month. We are so excited about this program because now everyone who is looking to raise funds for their adoption will have the opportunity to! Be sure to follow along on our Live Sweet Photography Instagram and Live Sweet Shop Instagram!

In honor of National Adoption Month, Live Sweet Shop has created this adorable print – it’s yours for free, just head over to Live Sweet Photography, subscribe to their newsletter and this print will be emailed right away to you!

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