Super Mom: Jenny Ong of Mama.Baby.Love

I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13)

Being a mom,wife, daughter, and being able to work eight hours (or more!) a day in anoffice, maintain a household and still find time to do something you arepassionate about is not easy.  As a first timemom, I am still adjusting to my new role.  Juggling it with all my otherroles require discipline, commitment and A LOT of love!  The key,according to Stephen Covey, is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, butto schedule your priorities.  Super Mom is a Julia's Mom blog feature where I interview moms who can give inspiration and empowerment to working moms like me.

This month's Super Mom is Jenny Ong of Mama.Baby. Love, a one-stop online shop for breastfeeding moms.  Jenny was my classmate in high school.  According to our yearbook class prophecy, she will be a successful lawyer.  She graduated salutatorian and best in extra-curricular activities so why wouldn't she be successful?


After seeing her again at a Breastfeeding Seminar at Medical City and following her blog, she defined a whole new meaning of success for me.  She is not only a lawyer, she works for the government, she is a mompreneur, an unyielding breastfeeding ambassador and more importantly, a compassionate mother to Naima and Erik and wife to Stan.

Belle
Describe your typical day.  What is it like?

Jenny
Still on maternity leave so I spend the day at home with Erik while Naima goes to school.  I'm also catching up on my Mama.Baby.Love business while on leave.  Will be going back to work on March 1 so I am still figuring out how to schedule things out.  But while on leave, I'm usually up at 530am while Naima is up by 6am to be ready for school.  We are in bed at 8pm.

Belle
Aside from your day job, your are a mompreneur as well.  How did Mama.Baby. Love start?

Jenny
I started my business - Mama.Baby. Love because of the dearth of affordable nursing bras and accessories locally available.  My bra prices range from P300.00 - P2,000.00, allowing me to cater to moms with varied budgets.  I have also brought in various products which might interest breastfeeding moms.  I'm a shopaholic and I love trying out new products.  So the products I like and have used are the products I want to make available to other breastfeeding moms.

Belle
You are most admired for your passion in promoting the benefits of breastfeeding.  Why this advocacy and how did it start?

Jenny

I initially started my blog as a vehicle to promote my business.  But it gained a life of its own!  Most of the breastfeeding information available online is foreign-based.  So I decided to compile information, tips, research for Filipino nursing moms.  I'd like the blog to be a one-stop resource for new moms who want to learn about breastfeeding and are in the Philippines.  With my rough start in breastfeeding, I know that having the right information and support on hand is crucial to breastfeeding success. 

Belle

You juggle a lot of roles.  You are a lawyer, government employee, mompreneur, breastfeeding advocate, accredited peer counselor of LATCH, wife to Stan and a mom to Naima and Erik.  How do you manage your time and how do you balance your priorities?

Jenny

Time management is key while multi-tasking is essential.  I've given up TV time!  Also, having good help is essential.  I'm pleased to say that my help has been with me since Naima was born.  I've also trained them by sending them to cooking classes, to help me manage the household.  Meanwhile, I sent Naima's yaya to various seminars and she has been helping me with Mama.Baby.Love.  I'm also lucky to have a job with fixed hours and limited overtime.  This allow me to plan the day properly and avoid scheduling conflicts.  Meanwhile, I've limited my counseling to emails and texts.  I don't do house calls to make sure I have time for my family.  Stan has also been supportive and it helps that he is able to schedule his projects around my commitments.  Stan and I have agreed that while the kids are young, we will make them our priority as we know that our time with them is limited, especially when they start having their own lives and friends.

Belle

What is your inspiration?  Are there other goals/dreams that you want to achieve?

Jenny

My inspiration is my family.  I'd like to see Naima grow up and have her family in a setting where natural birth, breastfeeding, baby wearing, etc. will be a norm.  I'm actually at the crossroads on my goals/dreams.  I do miss being a lawyer but I love being a mompreneur.  I know that I will have to give up one of them - so I'm deciding whether I want to be a full time mompreneur or go back to being a full time lawyer, when the kids are bigger.

Super Mom: Tin Torres of Sassy Hairsies

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  (Philippians 4:13)

Being a mom, wife, daughter, and being able to work eight hours (or more!) a day in an office, maintain a household and still find time to do something you are passionate about is not easy.

As a first time mom, I am still adjusting to my new role.  Juggling it with all my other roles require discipline, commitment and A LOT of love!  The key, according to Stephen Covey, is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.

Aside from reading parenting books and blogs, I get inspiration from super moms like Tin Torres.  Tin is the mom behind Sassy Hairsies, a brand of luxury headpieces handmade with love, care and attention to detail.

Visit my blog birthday giveaway and get the chance to win a Sassy Hairsies headpiece!

Belle:
What is a typical day for you?

Tin:
I'm a working mom.  And when I say "work", I don't mean Sassy Hairsies (Sassy Hairsies is F.U.N).  So on a regular day, I wake up early morning to spend time with Bea (and Harvey - the dog) and my husband.  We usually eat breakfast together as this is the only time during the weekdays that we get to spend time as a family.  Then I head off to my office where I spend about 12 hours a day in.  When I come home, Bea is usually asleep already.  That's my Sassy time.  I work on Sassy Hairsies every single night.  Be it working on an order or working on new stuff.  Then like clock work, Bea wakes up between 11pm - 1am and would insist we go to bed together.  And then come morning, we do it all over again.

Belle:
How do you find time to do everything that you do?  (your day job, sassy hairsies, being a mom, a wife)

Tin:
Hmm, tough question.  I'm a master at multi-tasking.

My day job, I have to make do.  It's still a significant portion of our income as a family.

Being a mom to a child and a dog is bittersweet.  I managed to squeeze taking care and spending time with them in my daily routine.  They're young and very dependent  on my husband and I so we do our best to be available for them.  Weekends are important.  We make sure to spend at least a day doing something fun.  We are regular visitors of Bonifacio High Street and we make it a point to visit the in laws in Eastwood as both are dog friendly places.  :-)

As for my duty as a wife, you'd probably notice the "out of towns".  Yes, those few days in every quarter we spend "alone time" away from everything.

As some of my Sassy moms know, I work alone with Sassy Hairsies.  From the design to the actual execution up to sending them out for delivery.  So you can imagine how long it takes me to release a certain collection.  When I get inspired, I create my prototype but I have to actually get used to making one on a daily basis so (1) hairsies will look a lot like the prototype and (2) minimal production time when orders come in.

That time it takes from prototyping to releasing takes the longest time.  In some cases, I do have some stuff made for about 6 months before I upload them for grabs!  Yes, that long!  Anyway, I squeeze in doing crafts every night and during weekend when my babies are all asleep.  And here's my little secret:  I have Sassy Hairsies stuff in my bag everyday!  (usually materials for making Beatrix as that one takes a really long time to make) Also, for a while now, it has been my constant Friday night date.  Haha!

Belle:

What are some of your blessings that you are thankful for as you kick off your 2012?

Tin:

Sassy Hairsies speaking, I am so thankful for the success of Sassy Hairsies (I have orders placed before kicking off 2012 and that's really a huge deal for me!  Considering everyone's busy around that time).  I am so blessed to have such loyal sassy girls.  They are the best!

But most importantly, my family.  At the end of the day, it's the most important thing in the world.  As long as they're happy, fed and loved, I am contented.  The rest are just icing on the cake!  :-)

Check out Sassy Hairsies Spring-Summer 2012 Collection and other fabulous collections at http://sassyhairsies.multiply.com/. 

Julia's favorite Sassy Hairsies headbands.

Super Mom Photo from coolgraphic.org