Hot Pants! aka April WAHMlight

You know me and my WAHMs. I have a serious crush on those who can make both motherhood and career-hood commingle while simultaneously maintaining their sanity and a functioning website. So when I found The Spotted Box last year I went nuts - so many WAHMs packed into such a small space and shipped directly to my doorstep. 

my box's contents

Included in my Spotted Box was a coupon for a free mama cloth liner. I already had a mixture of mama cloth liners, so this wasn't a new concept to me. But the design was. 

Hello Wasabi Mommi Lemon Liner, nice to meet you. 

Very trim while still very absorbent, the Lemon Liner quickly became a favorite in my stash. And once IBB opened I knew Wasabi Mommi Works was a brand that I'd love to bring to more people, and the first WMW products stocked late last year. With stocking WMW came my opportunity to work with Jess, the momma behind those endearing peas of spicy Japanese goodness and amazing mama products! Jess is very sweet and so lovely to work with. And did I mention her products are top-notch!

With that - welcome to the WAHMlight Wasabi Mommi Works! 

Itsy Bitsy Bums: Tell us a bit about yourself. Your family. Your likes. Your dislikes.

Wasabi Mommi Works: My name is Jessica, I was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. I am married and have two beautiful babies, Lilly and Jonathan.  Before I was a sewing wahm I was a professional henna artist. I did henna for middle eastern and south Asian weddings and was featured in The Washington Post in 2007. I made the switch to a more home based business when I got pregnant with my first. I enjoy crafting of all kinds, and chocolate.

IBB: When did you first encounter mama cloth?

WMW: I first encountered mama cloth while pregnant with my daughter. I found that I had become allergic to the ‘new’ material my favorite sposie brand had switched to. I thought there had to be an alternative! And so, I was cloth converted! 


IBB: When did you decide you'd go into business making mama cloth? How do you come up with your designs?

WMW: I traded for my first cloth pad. I fell in love with Minky at first touch but was dissatisfied with the leak protection that pad provided. I decided I would get out my old dusty sewing machine and try my hand at a more customized shape to fit my needs. I started with a basic outline of a sposie and went from there. I knew I wanted more protection in the back and so the swooped back pads were born! I wanted all sizes to stay consistent so, all ‘wing spans’ of my pads are the same size and shape. I knew I would be staying home with my kids and loved the sizes and shape of the pads I had come up with so much, I decided to spread the cloth love and become a wahm.

IBB: I've always had a serious infatuation with your logo. It is so absolutely darling! How did you come up with your brand name, and the subsequent logo?

‘WasabiMommi’ was a screen name I came up with while pregnant with my daughter. While madly researching pregnancy and fetal growth, I joined a lot of websites and message boards. I wanted a cute, unique screen name I could use everywhere which sported my new title as a mommy. My husband is part Japanese so I jokingly suggested WasabiMommi…and it stuck! The moment I suggested it I envisioned a little wasabi pea mommy and her little wasabi pea baby lovingly looking at eachother. My best friend is a graphic designer and she did a wonderful job bringing my wasabi peas to life for me. I absolutely love them! 


IBB: Any other products in the works at Wasabi Mommi's?

I have been thinking about offering more cloth alternatives geared towards moms. As a new mommy for a second time, I know how hard it is to take some ‘me’ time to relax and take care of myself. Some ideas I have been throwing around are: scented stain remover, various sized wet/dry bags, and aromatherapy eye masks.


IBB: What is your favorite part of being a WAHM?

WMW: I love shopping for fabric! I have a small addiction to hoarding fabric. I am lucky enough to have a small sewing room at home filled with fabrics I have acquired over the years. When I find fabric I really like, I can rarely bring myself to use it on a project. Running a small business making pads, I am able to get the urge to buy awesome fabric (and actually use it) out of my system. I also love that I get to be home with my babies and take the time I need to be there for them and of course, being my own boss.



IBB: Anything else we should know about you?

WMW: I love feedback, questions, comments and suggestions! I try to reward my customers for their two cents! So, don’t be shy! 

Now that you've had a chance to get to know Jessica and WMW.... I know you are just antsy to win some of these fabulous pads! And of course buy a few for your own stash! 

Winner will get $20 to spend on any mixture of Wasabi Mommi pads and liners. I'll contact the winner via email to arrange her order. 

Many ways to enter

• Like Itsy Bitsy Bums on Facebook (1 entry)
• Like Wasabi Mommi Works on Facebook (1 entry)
• Publicly follow Bitsy Buzz (1 entry)
• Go to the store and checkout the Wasabi Mommi pads. Come back and tell me which of the pad/liner styles you like the best. (1 entry)
• BUY Wasabi Mommi items (1 pad = 1 entry)

Be sure to comment on this post, leaving one comment for each entry. Please leave your email address with your comment(s) (I recommend a format spambots cannot farm - with spaces or 'AT' in place of '@' - etc). 

Winner will be drawn the first week of May. 

Did you see March's WAHMlight spotlighting the Lily & Sparrow? You can still enter tL&S giveaway through April 15th! 

ps. While digging for my photo of the Spotted Box's content, I discovered that the same week my Spotted Box arrived I also took this photo of my lovely baby girl (still my favorite to date). If you are on Babycenter's Cloth Diaper board you are likely to recognize it.....

Wet Bag Week: Mama Cloth Monday

**Let's preface this post - begin TMI alert**

Okay, now that that is out of the way. Today's contribution to Wet Bag Week is all about the wonders that is mama cloth, and how you can seamlessly incorporate reusable menstrual products into your day-to-day life.

 

First of all, my AF stash* (that is 'Aunt Flow' for you those of you new to the online lexicon): 

• 1 Medium Wet/Dry Planet Wise wet bag
• 1 Double-Sided Small mama cloth wet bag
• 1 Mooncup by Keeper menstrual cup
• 6 Thong Liners (all from Pleat)
• 18 Liners (a mix of lay-in liners from Mother Moon, Lemon Liners from Wasabi Mommi and snap-in liners from Tree Hugger)
• 1 Normal Pad (from Mother Moon)
• 5 Heavy/Overnight Pads (from Mother Moon and Wasabi Mommi)

For daytime I primarily use the cup with liners as backup. For nighttime I use the cup paired with the largest pad that is clean. I don't know if this happens to you (and I actually read there is some science behind this), but I don't sleep well when AF is in town. Instead, I am often sleepless, tossing and turning. I find that using a large back-up pad helps me sleep better.

Now, on to the wet bags. I have found that I like having two wet bags to make my AF as easy as possible. 

 

I love my double-sided portable wet bag. It ensures I don't fall back on my small stash of disposable products (kept mostly on hand for visitors to our home who might need an emergency loaner item or two). Instead, keeping the wet bag packed under the sink ensures I can grab  it, throw it into the massive mom purse (I use the term endearingly, as I love massive bags!) and go. I store clean pads in one pocket, with the other pocket is standing by. Or, if I'm expecting AF at any time, I pack liners in one side of the wet bag and the cup in the other side.

 

My second wet bag is a Planet Wise Medium Wet/Dry. This bag serves a two  functions. While AF is here, I clip the bag in a handy spot (for me this is the door handle next to the toilet) and store all of my clean pads in the dry pocket. When I change my pad, I throw it in the sink and run it under cold water until the water runs clear (tip - don't wring the pad out - leaving a bit of water in the pad will help prevent stains). I then transfer the used pad into the wet pocket of the wet bag until laundry time (for now my pads are washed with our diaper laundry; once my lovely girl potty trains I imagine I'll do one small mama cloth load at the end of the cycle).

The second use is purely to satisfy my desire to organize every possible area of my life. When AF is out of town (gosh, whoever invented that expression anyways?!), I store all my clean mama cloth , cup and small double-pocket wet bag in the dry pocket. I then can stash this neat little bundle of goodness in the cupboard.

Intrigued? Want to learn more about mama cloth? Check out the bottom of this page for a quick primer on the types of mama cloth. Want to learn more about menstrual cups? I found this post incredibly helpful when deciding what I wanted to buy.

*Just like cloth diapering is completely subjective, so is mama cloth. What one person loves will be completely off-putting for someone else. I quickly found I preferred the cup+liner over any other combination, so then I invested more in my liner collection. And I find some liners work best with different pairs of underwear. So, just like your baby has particular diapers for particular events, times or outfits, well.... so do I. ;)

**end TMI alert - we now return you to your regularly-scheduled programming**