Life is all about the BIG things & the LITTLE things.
My name is Shelby, Boss Mama here at Oh-Spit Baby Burpware & welcome to my TED talk. I won’t take 18 minutes of your time like TED’s do, but I promise you it will be just as interesting!
Rewind back to January, 2021. I made the big decision to change careers after my last one ended for me due to Covid. I was excited to become a nurse/midwife & enter the big world of babies. I already had 2 degrees under my belt, so this was a HUGE decision, especially since I was already 3 months pregnant. Now, here I am a year & a half later, baby on the outside, starting a new business because I have been FORCED to work at home. Why? What changed? Hold your horses, I am getting there.
Picture this…
TRIGGER WARNING! Miscarriage & abortion topics mentioned
I was 3 months pregnant & was expecting I’d have the easiest, textbook pregnancy; just like my Mom. I would give birth, exactly the way I had planned it out, & 6 weeks later return back to uni to finish my newly started degrees. Our child would sleep through the night from birth (because I did), & I would be able to breastfeed. I also would lose the few kilos of baby weight I would gain within a month of having my baby. I am a bit of a planner, can you tell?
As most of you probably know, motherhood is everything but predictable. Turns out other plans were made for us. None of what I listed above came true. Maybe this was a lesson to teach us that life is about the ‘BIG things & the little things.’ We were always hyper-focused on what we thought were the BIG things, that we missed the true ‘BIG’ things in life, thinking they were the little things.
When our BIG things became our little things…
Our lives (me & Boss Dada) took a turn when at 4 months pregnant our unborn son was diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that would completely turn our lives upside down. After his diagnosis of Noonan Syndrome we had so many other ‘BIG things’ we had to deal with. Suddenly our BIG things of the past became little. None of the little things seemed to matter to us anymore, except the day to day thoughts of ‘staying pregnant.’ We were told on 8 different occasions, by medical professionals, that we should abort. Apparently it would be easier for both us & our child, if he survived birth. He had severe heart issues, they were quite certain he wouldn’t even last minutes after being born… that is, if I didn’t miscarry before then. The doctors didn’t want us to have to go through that emotional turmoil.
I know what you’re thinking…
This has gotten really heavy, really fast. Don’t worry, our gorgeous son is now a year old, happy & healthy. Yes, he has a disability & many, many issues, however, we manage them & honestly we wouldn’t change a thing. Except maybe that he could sleep longer at night, that would be great, thanks Mr. Sandman. Now, we celebrate the little things where we can (like having a luxuriously soft burp cloth against my naked shoulder at 3 am while I feed my son. Am I right ladies?)… & don’t let the BIG things knock us down.
Some quotes, because who doesn’t love a good quote?
My favourite poet, Rumi wrote, ‘Don’t worry that your life is turning upside down. How do you know that the side you are used to is better than the one to come?’ Yes, we still have a lot of BIG things, but ‘You can’t celebrate reaching the summit of a mountain without a mountain to climb.’ Good quote hey? That was from me. I should put that one on Pinterest. I came up with that while working at the sewing machine the other night. Funny enough, sewing with Simpsons fabric can be very inspirational. Note to self, if this business is a flop, maybe I have that to fall back on.
I will sumarise this all up very quickly, as I am approaching my 18 minute TED cut off. Actually, I just read this aloud and it was only 4 minutes long. So we’re good.
Now you know why I needed to find a solution so I could stay home with my little man & give him the extra care he needs, while also creating things I absolutely love. I haven’t quit my dream of becoming a nurse/midwife, just put it on the backburner for awhile.
Alright, so what does this have to do with bibs & burp cloths?
While shopping for my son, I was frustrated with boring white cotton rectangles, plastic bibs, and bohemian floral or bland prints. Don’t get me wrong I adore boho style, but we tend to graviate to the brighter things in life. My son has his own individual identity with likes & dislikes. He is drawn to certain colours, characters, patterns & textures just like we adults are. I wanted bibs & burp cloths that were unique & trendy like my son. I wanted products as affordable as buying imported products at the shops. But, I wanted them to be homemade here in Australia. Was this too much to ask? Apparently, it was, because I could not find them anywhere.
So, I did what I do best…
To quote the Grinch (Dr. Suess), ‘If I can’t find a reindeer, I’ll make one instead!’ I got the ol’ sewing machine out, went out to find some fabrics my son liked & got to work. I created super soft burp cloths, & fun & edgy bibs. Oh & teethers, we do those too! Everywhere we went people stopped us. They had to know where I had gotten them from. They even offered to buy what he was wearing right off of him! Turns out making items for my son was a little thing, that was turning into a BIG thing.
My baby was the cutest baby they had ever seen! It’s probably because he accessorises well. Well, I wasn’t going to disagree with them.
Ok, so how do they finish a TED talk?
Every good TED talk ends with a killer conclusion. They say there should be two things your conclusion should be above all else: positive & compelling.
The moral of the story, or in this case TED talk is…
Oh-Spit Baby Burpware items are unique, trendy & handcrafted in Australia by a sleep deprived Boss Mama (hey, that’s me!) We believe in the wise words of Dr. Suess, ‘Why fit in when you were born to stand out?’ Clearly, I love Dr. Suess quotes, guess I should make some fan girl bibs dedicated to him.
I hope you have learned something here today. Maybe you need to look at your life & discover what your BIG things are, & find joy in the little things. Or maybe you need to stop stressing about the little things & focus on the BIG things that matter most. ‘Sometimes a BIG life shakeup is just what the doctor ordered.’ That’s another quote by me. I really need to get onto Pinterest.
Now you know what we do here at Oh-Spit, & why we do it. So now you know what to do…
BUY OUR PRODUCTS! No, but really!
Also, you definitely need to share Oh-Snaps with us on Instagram. Let the cutest baby contest begin! @oh.spit.baby.burpware
Thank you for listening.
Boss Mama @ Oh-Spit Baby Burpware
To rear more about Noonan Syndrome, check out our other blog posts:
https://www.ohspit.com.au/blogs/how-we-started/supporting-noonan-syndrome-awareness-month
