OUR STORY
"Happy Parents, make for Happy Babies, who grow into Happy Kids"
From a young age, all I ever wanted to be was a mother. I had always been maternal and loved babies. Everyone said I would make a Perfect Mum. However, when I finally got my chance, I struggled with the idea of being "Perfect". What did it mean?
During the early stages of my parenthood, I misunderstood the nature of my role as a Mother. Not only that, I began to underestimate my ability to perform my role well. I found I had no time for our home, our Kids or my Husband and certainly no time for myself.
I became deeply depressed. Kids went from being happy to being emotional and often ill. I was very reactive to each situation and constantly scrambling trying to keep things together.
It was during this stage that I saw my self-worth become non-existent, I hit rock bottom and lost all belief in myself not only as a mum and wife but as a human being.
One night after a lot of soul searching, my husband said to me "All we want is for you to be happy if you're happy we're happy". It was at this point that I realised that my family didn’t want a "perfect mum" they just wanted "Mum" and more importantly, TIME with Mum.
With some encouragement from my husband, I pledged to focus on "me". Not just as a mum and a wife but as myself, someone I lost along the way.
The only way I could do this was by getting the structure back into our lives. As we know time never stops, but we can control how and where we use it.
By placing more value on the time we have, structures were put in place to create an environment that was more efficient with much less stress. This ultimately made us work better together as parents, but more importantly, it made us happier. This process meant some significant trial and error, not only with the systems we implemented but also with some of the products we used to help us.
Baby products were always a topic of conversation. Does the baby need it, will it help us, can we do without it?
Thinking back, there were a number of things we bought that I thought were essential but we hardly used. There were other items that I wish I had discovered sooner, absolute lifesavers.
The ones that benefited us the most were the ones that enabled us to maintain our structure and simplify parenthood.
I learned from my babies that each of them is different and there is no “one size fits all” solution that can be applied to all kids. However, through sharing our experiences, I know that as a community we can help guide other Gingko mums to create an environment and experience that works. This will enable us to not only enjoy the journey but embrace each challenge and celebrate every little milestone.
I have now made it my mission to help, guide, and support other Gingko Mums in creating "Time Freedom".
What is "Time Freedom"? It is the time taken back to get good sleep, create healthy meals, concentrate on yourself, spend time with your partner and more importantly time to create memorable moments with those closest to you.
That’s why I also decided to design a range of quality products that will enable parents to simplify an experience that can be sometimes overwhelming but more importantly assist them in maintaining good structure within their lives.
The Gingko Baby range is focused on simplicity, functionality, and a style that will appeal to both parents.
I wish you all the best during this memorable journey and from one Gingko parent to another, don't forget time doesn't stop.
Make each day count!
Love Andrea x