inspiring mother series — BLOG

I’m so happy to be featuring one of my favorite ladies and the founder of one of my all time go to products – Meredith Baird. I met Meredith through a mutual friend a few years ago and was introduced to her product, Nucifera. Nucifera has been my multi use balm for everyday use at home and is fantastic for abdominal massage pre, during and post pregnancy. It’s no wonder it is is one of our best selling products here at Plumb Line studio. Meredith’s knowledge and passion in the health and wellness industry, has brought her to many connected avenues and besides creating a beauty product, has made a very significant impact in the culinary world. She is certified a raw food chef and instructor and is the co author of Raw Chocolate, Everyday Raw Detox and Plant Food. In 2015, Meredith launched her first solo book, Coconut Kitchen, which has become a staple in my household. While Meredith is working on creating an exceptional product sharing the insights and benefits of coconut internally and externally, for Nucifera, food and education, she is also a mother to an adorable and very special one year old girl, Livia. An inspiring mother she is!

Meredith, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions!

AO: What’s one thing you wish you had access to before you started a family, be it in doctors, healers, community, pain management etc.

MB: I could come up with something to say, but that would be kind of forced. I felt very lucky in having access to pretty much everything I needed in the beginning- starting with a supportive and loving husband and family. What I did have that others maybe don’t, is a network of people who could recommend all of the above. Any question I had – I had a friend or a contact who had just recently been through a similar phase in pregnancy. I think it is so important for women to connect with each other and reach out to each other during this time. I can’t imagine having had to go through this experience in isolation. It would have made it very hard- and I know so many women do.

AO: What are you surprised that no one ever talks about that happens to your mind or body before pregnancy or after pregnancy.

MB: “Pregnancy Brain” for me was a very real thing. It wasn’t so much a forgetfulness as it was a lack of energy for creativity. My mind just didn’t work the same at all. It still doesn’t.

AO: If you knew then what you know now, would you change anything?

MB: I wouldn’t- other than now knowing my daughter I think I’d have been jumping for joy the whole time!

I consider myself to be pretty intuitive, and pregnancy really brought that out for me. I trusted in her the whole time. “We’ve got this” I would say. I think it is so important to trust your body and your baby to bring strength to you both.

AO: What has been the biggest surprise post pregnancy?

MB: Being a mom just isn’t easy. Not that I ever thought it would be- my daughter is good, I’m very fortunate in the support that I have, but even with all of that I’m more tired than I’ve ever been in my life and definitely sometimes miss having some of that alone unstructured time.

But the biggest surprise is that even if you work from home… you can’t really work from home unless you have some help. On days that I’m solo I’m good if I get one email written. It is so hit or miss with ‘productivity’. Mothering truly is all consuming.

AO: How has your body amazed you on this journey?

MB: In every way. Pregnancy is obviously so different for everyone, but I always feared that it would just take over my body. Excess weight, bloating, stretch marks all it sort of felt inevitable. My experience was very much that my body liked being pregnant and it was all pretty much contained. Other than having no time to properly exercise postpartum and having lost some general toning – I physically feel back to normal. Plus a few grey hairs.

In this feature of Inspiring Mothers, I had the opportunity to interview Elle Rowley from Solly Baby Wrap.

Elle created Solly Baby Wrap because she saw that today’s baby carriers often left a mother’s body weary and wanted something that would benefit both her baby and herself when it came to daily activities. Solly Baby Wrap was then created to bring just that. It’s chic and comfortable wrap adds to this new dimension of baby wearing and is a product that I have used and highly recommend to my patients.

I was honored to sit down with Elle and Jenni Kayne earlier this afternoon for a luncheon to discuss the many benefits of baby wearing and mommy mechanics, a topic both of which I am passionate about and discuss with my patients. I hope that you’ll enjoy this edition of Inspiring Mother’s with Elle Rowley!

Thank you Elle!

AO: What’s one thing you wish you had access to before you started a family, be it in doctors, healers, community, pain management etc.

ER: I wish I’d had a midwife or other resource to guide me through the whole process and through the postpartum experience. There are so few resources other than Google and other moms to walk you through how to care for an infant and yourself for the first year.

AO: What are you surprised that no one ever talks about that happens to your mind or body before pregnancy or after pregnancy.

ER: Breastfeeding and postpartum depression were so rarely talked about when I had my first, but the difficulties surrounding it seems to be much more a part of the conversation now. I actually feel like we are moving in a really positive direction in the communities I’m a part of in terms opening up the conversation surrounding pregnancy and postpartum. There’s still a lot more that needs to be explored psychologically and emotionally, but I think we are on the right path, thanks in large part to social media providing a place to share real stories.

AO: If you knew then what you know now, would you change anything?

ER: Absolutely! I would’ve reached out more for support and guidance. I wouldn’t have felt like I needed to prove so much (in terms of how fast I “bounced back” or how I was caring for my child). I also would’ve asked more questions and, at the same time, I would’ve slowed down and tuned in to my own instincts a little more as well.

AO: What has been the biggest surprise post pregnancy?

ER: How resilient and incredible my body is. It is so far from what the world views as perfect, but it has given me four of the greatest blessings of my life. I have so much gratitude for my body. I didn’t feel like that after my other babies, it was too easy to be critical, but this time I have nothing but gratitude.

AO: How has your body amazed you on this journey?

ER: Just the fact that it has kept up with my life as a mom of four and a business is amazing! I have been really sleep-deprived this past year, and at 11 months postpartum, I feel like I’m just coming out of the “fog”, but I was still able to do so much this past year. What a gift!