ParentingHub

After years of battling to fall pregnant and witnessing all my friends and family go through their pregnancies, it was finally my chance to see those two little red lines in the pregnancy test early in 2010.

I was overjoyed and so excited for everything that I thought lay ahead on my journey to motherhood, but I could never have imagined the huge mind shift that pregnancy- and then motherhood would have on me, professionally.

People are always surprised that my job is one of the first things that I speak about when asked about motherhood, but the thing is, everyone is exhausted and frazzled- and very in love with their bundle of joy in those early months, but not everyone knows for certain, without a doubt, pretty much from conception that working for a boss is never going to be an option again.

It might not seem that strange that I had no plans on doing a 9-5 anymore, but what I found strange is that, as stressful and tiring as motherhood can be, I knew after giving birth that I wanted to be surrounded by babies and moms in whatever work I choose to do.

As I began my journey into motherhood, I also began my journey away from a career that I loved so much. As a writer and radio personality, life was exciting- even glamorous at times. Every day was different and interesting and I was enjoying climbing the media ladder to what was becoming an industry respected player.

It all changed when I fell pregnant. Suddenly hard news and politics didn’t interest me anymore. I ditched the daily newspapers for parenting books and Sky News for Great Expectations. After giving birth and relishing in my new found title, the media industry with all its bells and whistles was done and dusted.

I did a little freelance work here and there for parenting publications, but nothing that could actually pay serious bills and as my little guy approached one year my need to submerge myself within the parenting industry became even more apparent. While I toyed with various ideas like opening a crèche, nothing really jumped out at me as something that could share attention with my little guy.

Suddenly my bright idea dawned on me one early morning while lying in bed somewhere between being awake and asleep- an online parenting magazine! It’s relatively inexpensive to start up, I get to be my own boss and remain within the industry, working with moms and children. It was perfect!

The very next day I started a blog on a free site called Blogger and began writing articles on it and posted them to Facebook. Even though I had faith in my writing ability, I was still surprised to find that my articles- and more importantly the makeshift sight that I has created had some pulling power! The response was unbelievable! Comments flooded in from all over the world and I knew that I had done the right thing. As exhausting as it was and coated with a certain amount of guilt for not spending as much time with my son, I knew I had made the right decision. Those clichéd quotes about when you do what you love as your job it doesn’t feel like work were actually true!

Since launching Mommy Matters in October we have gone from makeshift website to a beautiful online publication right up there with the best in the industry! We cater for pregnant women and moms with babies and children up until primary school. Besides offering informative insights into the world of parenting, we have a special interest in mom’s personal development. We provide inspirational content online daily, but also offer regular workshops. Our aim is to ensure that mom is living happiness and meaning, that motivates and excites her.

I am most grateful to the strangers who saw potential in the magazine and took a leap of faith to not only invest in my brand but put their brand image on the line by advertising with me. Keeping with this spirit of ‘Ubuntu’ Mommy Matters seeks to employ other moms who are passionate about parenting.

Visit www.mommymatters.co.za or email Jessica@mommymatters.co.za for more information.