"All of my daughters were sleeping 10 to 12 hours a night by the time they were 12 weeks old"
In the second half of our two part interview with Aden and Anais Founder Raegan Moya Jones, we find out her top tips for making motherhood easier. Plus she tells us what it’s like being a Mumpreneur with four kids.
KIDSEN: What are the 5 most essential items a new mother needs to make motherhood a little easier?
RAEGAN: 1. Sleep, but we all know that is usually elusive. That said, if you stick with swaddling, it is possible. All my girls (I have 4) were sleeping 10-12 hours a night at 3 months, and I know that swaddling, combined with a consistent bedtime routine, was the reason why.
2. Support, especially for first time mums. I had my sister as my go-to person. She had my nephew six months before I had Anais, so she was the absolute expert in my eyes. There were many, many times that I was completely overwhelmed and quite frankly hanging on by a thread with my first daughter. If it wasn’t for my sister, and being able to turn to her for support/advice, I am really not sure how I would have gotten through those first six months!
3. Muslin blankets, because they do so many things. As you know, I believe hands down they are the best thing to use to swaddle a baby. In addition, they serve multiple purposes as burp clothes, change table covers, nursing covers, tummy time blankets, and stroller covers, to name a few.
The Incredibly Versatile Aden & Anais Range
4. A sound machine. As I mentioned, I am a stickler for routine with my babies, and I completely believe in sleep triggers. So the sound machine was a big deal in our house with all our girls, each of whom would be taken to their room at bedtime, nursed or given a bottle, read to, swaddled, and then put to bed with the same white noise (when really little) and lullabies (after about 3 months).
5. A security blanket, or the blanket with “super powers,” as they are known in our house. All our girls use and love their security blankets–again a big part of creating that all-important sleep routine. As soon as I would hand it to them in their crib they snuggled into it and went right off to sleep.
KIDSEN: How difficult is it being a Mumpreneur, juggling your business and four girls?
RAEGAN: It definitely has its challenges. For the first 3 years, when I was building Aden and Anais, pretty much alone at my dining room table, that was especially tough. I had a full-time job, three children 5 and under, and Aden + Anais that I would work on from about 8.30 at night (when the girls went to bed) until 3-4 every morning. That nearly killed me.
Now I have a fantastic, talented group of people that work with me, so the real grind of 20 hour work days is behind me. Now the issue is more with guilt: I know I am a better mum to my girls because I work, but I still struggle with not being there all the time. The hardest part is when I have to travel.
We are a global business now and there are a few times a year where I have to be away for a couple of weeks at a time, which is really difficult.
From humble roots Aden & Anais is now sold worldwide with a celebrity client base!
KIDSEN: If you had to pick one Aden & Anais product to bring to a desert island which one would it be and why?
RAEGAN: The Princess Posie four-pack, as that was the first pack I designed and one of the first of three packs that started it all….
KIDSEN are proud UK stockists of the Aden & Anais Range. Click here to see our selection.
Looking for the first part of this interview? Click Here
With Special Thanks To Raegan and the Aden & Anais Team
