This month’s featured working mamas are Madeleine Shaw and Suzanne Siemens, co-founders of Lunapads International. They have valuable wisdom to share on life-work balance and getting creative as working mothers.
Madeleine is Mom to Gigi (5). She describes herself as an entrepreneur, feminist, creative spirit, relationship builder, & gardener. Suzanne is Mom to Aiden (7) and Garret (3). She describes herself as a bean counter with soul, crunchy mama, lactivist, and entrepreneur. Based on these descriptions alone, I’m sure many of you would love to sit down for tea with these two…
You began as entrepreneurs, and then became mothers. How was that transition for you?
Madeleine: In retrospect I think that there is a part of me that wonders what staying how full-time with Gigi might have been like – there really was no meaningful break for either of us between having babies and going back to work. As business owners we weren’t eligible for unemployment benefits, and from a business perspective we needed to be there, so it wasn’t like there was a ton of choice. That said, our work schedules are super-flexible, so we are fortunate in that.
Suzanne: It was probably a very seamless transition because Lunapads was already well established at that point, rather than the classic “Mompreneur” model of doing it the other way around. Because so many of our customers are Moms, hearing a baby gurgling in the background on a phone call kind of became a bonding point, rather than a source of frustration. Including babies into the work mix just became a natural extension of the Lunapads’ culture and reflection of how women instinctively know how to help each other out. We feel incredibly lucky to have been able to share this unique version of “working Motherhood” with our kids, employees, and one another.
You often had your children with you at the office – any tips on how to make it work?
Suzanne: Our office at the time was fairly roomy, so that helped – things like having a kitchen and a spare office that became a nursing, play and napping room. In our experience, after they’re about 18 months they are too agile and curious to really be happy long enough for you to get much done.
Madeleine: I would say be prepared to be flexible, and also to get help in bits and pieces throughout the day. I would take Aiden for walks in the afternoons, for example, and he would have a nap, allowing Suzanne to get in a few uninterrupted hours. Expectations about productivity also need to be recalibrated so you don’t become frustrated or give yourself a hard time if you’re not able to do as much as you used to.
How do you maintain balance in your family – work life?
Madeleine: In my case I think it’s easier because of having just one child. That said, I am honestly not great at the work-life balance – “I feel it all”, as Feist says, and would probably benefit from some guilt-reduction therapy, because when I’m not working I feel like I should be, and ditto the reverse for family time. I find gardening to be the best solution for pretty much anything!
Suzanne: I think that there never is a perfect balance, instead the scale tips back and forth on a regular basis. I was very deliberate about tipping the scale in the family side when the kids were babies. Now that they are older and we have help at home, it’s tipping back the other way. At the end of the day though, coming home to a happy family is the best way to gauge how you are doing in the family/work balancing act.
A supportive partner is a must, and taking care of that relationship is vital, because that is the first place where things can start to fall apart or snowball into bigger problems. It sounds cliché, but regular and meaningful date nights, as well as dates for yourself (I like to go running in the forest and get massages… not at the same time of course!) go a long way to keeping the magic and staying sane!
Madeleine and Suzanne invite our readers to check out the launch of their beautiful brand new website!
www.lunapads.com
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We mothers are wonderful at knowing what is best for our children. Healthy outdoor play time, mittens and hats, homework, the list goes on… Catch is, we’re not always as good at following our own good advice.
