Journey To Motherhood, my first year being a mama...
Today Kimberly from Red Rose and Lavender shares her journey on MB. Each of these posts have been amazing to read and inspiring to us as mothers and we are grateful for these moms opening up to us, thank you Kimberly!
Name: Kimberly Sevilla
Hometown: Charles Town, WV
How long have you been living in Brooklyn? 20 years, this year
Occupation: Floral Designer owner of a Garden Center
When did you first become a mother? Was the reality close to your personal image/idea? I First became a mother in 2008. It was pretty scary for me, I had put off being a mom because of my career. At the time I was an account manager and I handled visuals and installations for clients like Calvin Klein, Barneys and the NFL, most of my co- workers were men with wives who stayed at home or single women who were never going to have kids. I was afraid that when I had children that I wouldn’t be able to work as hard and I had a very demanding job. When my daughter was about 6 months old I realized that I didn’t want to keep up with my demanding job and all the hard work wasn’t worth it, so I figured out something that I could do, and have flexible time to be a mom. That was opening a flower shop and garden center.
Before becoming a mother what did you know about motherhood? I knew what kind of mother I wanted to be, I wanted the best for my daughter and I wanted to stay away from chemicals and have a natural experience as much as possible. After a year of using cloth diapers, cloth wipes, and only glass bottles, trying elimination communication, micro-examining everything to make sure it was organic, co-sleeping, the works. I learned how to pick my
battles with baby #2.
Did you have a support system nearby? No, but I found one, an older lady who lives across the street and treats my kids like her grandchildren. She is the best.
Tips for new moms? Get out and meet other moms, talk, your not alone. Develop a thick skin and be thankful that all the strangers that offer ”advice” care about you and your baby, just tell yourself this, really just mean well, it will make you feel better. Ignore moms who say that it just’s get harder, they forget how overwhelming it is when you are a new mom.
We really love your store Rose Red and Lavender. Is there anything you can share with us that you’re currently working on? If parents visit the store, what can they expect? Thanks!! We love kids at the store and try to make it fun for them. This past spring we had an observation honey bee hive on display, I will put it back again this spring. Now we have lots of pumpkins and pumpkin carving kits, old school plastic ornaments and were doing a pumpkin carving demonstration on October 21st http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4353637848#. We always try to make it fun.