What I learned through having babies 14 years apart - Ruth Morris Co-founder of Baboo Box
/What I learned through having babies 14 years apart – Ruth Morris Co-founder of Baboo Box
I was 20 years old and living in a rented flat just outside of London when I landed my dream job in publishing.
Every morning I would travel across London felling nauseous and wondering if it was the claustrophobia of the cramped tube carriages, the anxiety around starting a new job or a lingering hangover from the night before.
After a couple of weeks I decided to do a pregnancy test and there it was, the unmistakable blue line. I was pregnant!
Even though we were young, skint and all my family lived overseas there was never a question that I would not have the baby. I’m not against abortion, but I just knew that we were going to be ok… and we were.
Looking back at this time I feel very lucky. There was no internet to overload me with information, there were no smart phones and so no endless scrolling, there was no instagram or social media and none of my friends had babies, so there was no one to compare myself against. With no family nearby we had to feel our way into parenting, getting to know our baby, trusting our instincts and finding out what worked for us.
Scroll forward 14 years and I fell pregnant with my second child and what a different experience. I thought it would be a breeze, after all I had done it once and was older and wiser right? Wrong… different baby, different personality. This time I did have the internet and the mobile phone. Endless searches on every cough and snivel, advice about which bottle to use and which one to change to when that one didn’t work. Texts from well meaning friends offering advice and family who could just pop over and offer their input.
It was overwhelming and I was overloaded with information, conflicting advice and a crying baby. There was no ‘feeling our way’ into this one, no more ‘following our instincts’ just a feeling that there was way too much of everything.
And so my message to any new mum would be to put down the phone, turn off the computer and spend time getting to know your baby (and the new you). There are no rights and wrongs as every baby is different, so follow your instincts (as they are probably right) and ask for help if and when you need it.
It was in a discussion with my sister a few years later that we decided to launch the Baboo Box. We wanted to offer a bit of self care to pregnant mums. We decided to offer four boxes (which were specific to each trimester) and filled with genuinely useful items. The first box is for nausea and hydration, the second to promote rest, the third is to ease the aches and pains associated with the final stages of pregnancy and the fourth is for new mum and baby.
We are keen to support other independent businesses and are also lucky enough to work with some top skincare brands such as Guinot and Dermalogica. All our products are cruelty free and where possible our packaging is recycled or recyclable.
We also wanted to create a supportive and non-judgemental community at Baboo Box, where people can just be themselves. Where it’s ok to have breakouts and breakdowns and if your hair isn’t as shiny as it’s supposed to be then that’s absolutely fine.
