I wrote about Loving Spoonfuls Organic Baby Food a while back after founder Dominique Stevens was profiled in the New York Times. Her ability to start a new company shortly after having her first baby inspired me. And the product? Yum. Although I have one downside...for Dominique actually. After reading the article and testing out Loving Spoonful baby food, I've started making my own food for little Q. That's what happens when you quit your job to work on your own and have a little time on your hands! Hey Dominique - you may have some competition soon!!!
Dominique is a real-life JC Wiatt from the movie Baby Boom. While she's never brought daughter Amanda to a business meeting, she's come awfully close. I invited Dominique to stand up to the crazedparent five challenge, and she accepted.
Here's how it went...
cp: How did you manage to start your baby food company while still a new mom? Were you used to the hectic pace from working at Sun and this was just a little bit more crazy? What was that time period like and how has it changed now that your in the marketing phase?
ds: Having come to motherhood at a fairly advanced age (42), I had spent many years in the corporate world, working at a fast and furious pace. That professional life was interesting, challenging, but sometimes exhausting. Staying home with my daughter was an amazing difference to the world I'd lived in previously, as we all know! I was lucky, in that I could afford to stay home for the first year and a half, and just focus on my daughter and her needs. Mind you, intellectually, it can be quite stifling to stay home taking care of a baby. I guess the idea for this business really developed organically (no pun intended). I made all of Amanda's food at home...I was worried about how much nutrition is actually available via traditional jarred baby foods. Other moms I met commented on the fresh, gorgeous food I was feeding Amanda, and I thought hey, there might be some need for freshly made organic meals out there. Most moms have to work. And who has the time to make their baby food when they get home? So two years and several regulatory hoops later, Loving Spoonfuls baby food was born!
cp: How many times have you seen Baby Boom with Diane Keaton? Ever bring your baby in pj's to a business meeting?
ds: I love that question! Actually, I hadn't seen the movie until I started receiving comments from people about it. I've since rented it, and yes, that's my story, except I've got a very loving, patient husband to lend support! No, I haven't brought Amanda to a meeting yet, but I almost had to strap her in a Baby Bjorn when going to visit a grocer once...
cp: What's your take on the onslaught of articles about how difficult it is to be a stay at work mom? and how do you manage to do it?
ds: Man, it is not easy. I don't know how women go back to their high powered careers post baby. I really admire them. I feel like my life has been turned upside down in many ways. I obviously can't work til 7 or 8pm anymore. My daughter has to come before my career aspirations at this point. So you need a lot of support around you.
cp: What's in the works for Golden Gate Brands? Any new food lines or flavors for Loving Spoonful?
ds: Yes, we've got some yummy recipes coming out. But if I told you about them, I'd have to, well, you know.;)
cp: What's the craziest moment you can recall in your parenting life?
ds: Amanda had colic her first three months. Now, that's really crazy. Talk about unnerving. But what I remember most is the unboundable love I feel for my daughter.. Sometimes when I just looked at my new daughter, I felt like my heart was going to explode. That's a pretty amazing feeling.
Bonus: What's your method of maintaining some semblance of sanity as a parent?
ds: I have one word of advice, and only one I give my friends who are entering into parenting for the first time: SURRENDER! And I mean it in a multitude of ways. I find if you go with the flow, and let life reveal itself to you, rather than trying to control it, it just makes things easier and more fun! Heavy, man...That, and get a babysitter if you can. Everyone needs a little break.
Thanks to Dominique for participating in the crazedparent five!
