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Big Bee Mom
Shiri Breslow, California US
www.littlebigbee.com
I am a mom of two children, Libby (4) and Benjamin (1), and wife to Mark, a Sales Executive for 5 years. I work in finance for a major entertainment company and recently founded little Big Bee, a brand that specializes in loom-woven baby products. In my free time, I enjoy sewing baby carriers and crafting. I love eating breakfast for dinner and binge watching Game of Thrones.
Quote.
You aren’t going to save the world on your own. But you might inspire a generation of kids to save it for all of us. You would be amazed at what inspired children can do. – Jane Goodall
What I do well as a mom.
I’m a good listener with my children. I believe in talking about feelings openly and encourage my children to share their thoughts and feelings in a safe space. I also try to let my children react before I do. This one takes work and a lot of practice. Whether it’s from a fall, from frustration, physical or emotional, if they react first, I’m not imposing my emotions on them. I will be there for them the moment they react, but I want the response to be their own.
What I learned from another mom.
How impressionable an infant is to the power of suggestion. She shared that she occasionally tells her baby not to worry if she wants to sleep in or take a longer nap because she won’t miss out on anything and that this practice has worked more often than not, resulting in more downtime (or sleep) for mom. I tested this theory with my son this weekend and was shocked at the effectiveness. My one year old clearly understands far more than he can communicate.
Lesson I learned from my child.
Curiosity is awesome. As irritating as “but why?” can seem on the twentieth go-round, when days later I hear my child reiterating what she learned to someone else, I can only stand back and marvel at her curiosity and celebrate the patience I’m gaining in the process.
Successful motherhood moment.
It is important to me to raise kind children. Recently at ballet, a new child joined and was visibly upset about entering the room. My daughter walked away from the group and introduced herself and offered her hand to the girl and led her back to the group.
Mom you admire. In addition to my own mother, I greatly admire my grandmother, Sonia Jaffe. She is a true warrior and set an example for my dad of what it means to be a strong, smart woman, which carried over to his encouragement and understanding of my mother, sister and I. Grandma Sonia is a Holocaust survivor and raised my dad as a single mother in Eastern Europe and Israel. She became a scientist and remarried later in life and had her second child after age forty
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This post was previously published in Amazing Moms coffee table book and is reprinted with the author’s permission.
Photo of bee courtesy Unsplash. Photos of Sheri Breslow courtesy Lisa Evanger Photography and provided by the author.