Meet Brookelynn… A mom of two, who is honest and forthright about the hardships and struggles of being a new mom. Motherhood isn’t all Instagram worthy photos or coffee dates with friends, it’s hard, it’s messy and it can be lonely. I had the honor working with Brookelynn and her family after her first daughter was born. We created a plan that addressed and solved her child’s sleep concerns.
However, the main reason I am introducing Brookelynn is to tell you her story about finding a new purpose in the midst of the struggles of motherhood. Her new purpose was to find a solution to prevent those embarrassing milk-soaked t-shirts by creating Booboos Bras, a leak-proof nursing bra.
Brookelynn’s Story
-written by Brookelynn
“Having a baby is hard.” That’s what people have said to me. “HARD.” That’s it. It’s more than hard!
What they don’t tell you is that it is soul-crushing at times. You’ll be on maternity leave and at a complete loss of your identity and what to do with this screaming little human, your nipples cracked and bleeding, and every part of you hurting.
That may not be everyone’s experience, but it was mine.
Due to Leann’s sleep help with our first daughter, I had the energy to keep up the facade of “having it together”. Then 22 months later, when my second arrived, my fib caught up with me and I broke.
I struggled immensely with my second baby. It had nothing to do with her as a baby, though she did cry and seem to need me more than the first. What it did have to do with was the loss of identity. I wasn’t returning to work. I was spiraling into a world that I didn’t know, and honestly didn’t love, of baby classes and alternating nap schedules. I couldn’t get out of the house and the creative pursuit of writing that I thought I now had time to pursue, just wasn’t working out the way that I had hoped.
I could feel myself numbing. I could see it when I would put the baby down when she was screaming and not feel anything. It was like being paralyzed, as much as I willed myself to budge from the shell of postpartum, I just couldn’t.
The Start of Booboos Bras
A friend came over one day to watch the kids so I could go to a yoga class. In my “former life,” I was a yoga teacher, studio owner, and teacher trainer. An easy way back into my old life, right?
Well, it was at that yoga class, that it all happened. The teachers and community were absolutely incredible. The instructor suggested that it was acceptable to take a child’s pose for the whole class, and I took her up on it. When I sat up at the end, there it was, a huge leak on the big green bolster. Milk through my shirt, my pads, my bra, and all over the bolster. I silently put it away (which I still haven’t apologized for) and slinked out of the class, only to crawl onto my bathroom floor and sob.
The breaking wasn’t pretty that day, but it was necessary. It was a crack that I could use to peek through and see something that just might bring me back…. A project. A problem that needed fixing. A purpose.
I started researching leakproof nursing bras and I found nothing! So I started to sketch. What would it look like? How would it function? Honestly, I had no idea. I began researching who might know and found a company here in Minneapolis that could take me from my elementary sketches to a full-fledged prototype. And that is how Booboos was born.
The Road Ahead…Finding Purpose in Motherhood
It hasn’t been a smooth journey, there were many more breakdowns after the yoga incident. My postpartum wasn’t just healed up in one day. Yet, the business was a start, something to help me feel like myself again, but there was a lot more work to do.
Meditating again. Writing. Working out. Facing more challenges. Therapy. Getaways. Women and the support of other moms. And finally, opening up about my struggles to my friends and family.
Even though my first goal with this bra is to provide a fantastic product and build a nursing bra empire, it’s much more than that. It’s to be a freaking cheerleader for women who are entering or are already in new motherhood. It is to support them in one of the most vulnerable times of their lives and to be real about it!
Instagram mommyhood is beautiful and fun to scroll through, but that did not set me up for motherhood in a healthy way. Booboos is a brand for real women, real mothers. If our leakproof nursing bra can help a mom feel even a little more confident to get outside her house, back to doing something that she loves, something that reminds her that she is a badass female and mother, then we have succeeded in every single way!
Thank you Brookelynn!
I just want to thank Brookelynn for being honest and transparent about the struggles of motherhood, of finding purpose and ultimately supporting other moms.
Full disclosure, I am not an affiliate of the bra. I am writing this blog post because I believe this product can help moms feel more confident. And just like I’m supporting Brookelynn’s business, she is doing the same for mine. Her family successfully implemented sleep training and understands the value of peaceful nights.
If you’d like to learn more about how your family can have more peaceful nights and more energy for the day, schedule a free chat.
