Hello Katie, tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m the owner & founder of Scrummy Tummies which is baby-led weaning brand. I am married and together with my husband we have a 2 year old daughter called Ella.
1. ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE HOW BEING A WOMO MAKES YOU FEEL?
Fulfilled.
2. WHAT’S THE FUNNIEST EXPERIENCE YOU HAVE HAD JUGGLING KIDS AND WORK?
When we took our first delivery of weekly meal planners and Ella decided to come to the door in her nappy and dance for the delivery driver. She then insisted I took her to the window so she could wave goodbye to him. Being in lockdown I think she was just happy to see anyone other than us!
3. WHAT IS THE ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU COULD OFFER ANOTHER WOMO?
If you are employed you don’t necessarily have to do what you’re doing now, if it’s not working for your work / life balance. If you need to change your hours put in a flexible working request. If you need more time at home, see if you can work from home some days.
4. WHAT’S THE LEAST AMOUNT OF SLEEP YOU’VE GONE TO WORK ON AND HOW DID YOU COPE?
Probably around 3 hours. The thought of working on very little sleep was always worse than the reality of it. I’d just power through and try and get an early night the next night to catch up.
5. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT YOURSELF AS A WOMO?
That you can’t be an expert in every area of running your own business and actually sometimes it’s worth paying for someone else to do something that might take up a lot of your time. This then allows me more time with Ella.
6. IF YOU HAD A WORKING MOTHER’S ANTHEM OR MAN-TRA, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
We’re all in this together!
7. WHAT IS YOUR GUILTY PLEASURE TO COMBAT WOMO GUILT THE BEST?
Chocolate – Always chocolate haha. That’s my reward in the evenings once I’ve done every-thing I need to do for that day.
8. WOULD YOU RATHER BE DEALING WITH A TANTRUM OR PRESENTING IN A BOARD MEETING?
This is a tough one as I’m not a big fan of presenting but we’re going through the tantrum stage at the moment and is TOUGH!
9. IF YOU ASKED YOUR CHILDREN WHAT YOUR JOB IS, WHAT WOULD THEY SAY?
She isn’t talking much yet so she would probably just ask me for a snack haha.
10. WHAT’S THE ONE THING YOU WISH YOU’D KNOWN BE-FORE YOU BECAME A WOMO?
How tough it is being at home all the time. Especially when you have a lockdown thrown in the mix. I like to be around lots of people and have been used to an office environment but now being at home the majority of the time on my own either as a Mum or working is tough. When I have free days I make sure Ella & I have plans to get out of the house, even if it’s just for a walk.
11. TO DATE, WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR BEST WOMO ACHIEVEMENT?
Launching Scrummy Tummies at home with a 1 year old at the beginning of a national lock-down. I used every nap time and bedtime to build my website singlehanded (I’ve never built a website in my life) then very quickly afterwards designed and launched my weekly meal planner and then the weaning diary, all whilst looking after Ella full time.
12. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO TEACH YOUR KIDS ABOUT WORKING MOTHERS?
I want Ella to find something she is passionate in. We spend a lot of our lives working but when you’re doing something that you really enjoy and are passionate about it doesn’t feel like work.
IG - @SCRUMMYTUMMIES