Mom bloggers wear Mommy Matters

Manila, Philippines - When Janice Villanueva and Candice Cu first put up Mommy Matters more than 10 years ago, they agreed on one important factor: their line of nursingwear must be something that real moms would want to wear. Many years later, the cousins have stayed true to their vision: creating clothes for breastfeeding mommies that are cozy yet stylish, comfortable, and fuss-free.

Launching its newest collection, Mommy Matters enlisted the support of four of the most-followed moms in the blog and Twitter world. They are real moms who bare their lives, beliefs and opinions in their own online homes. They live busy and full lives, running their households and businesses, raising their children, all are even currently breastfeeding their babies. Real moms like them need wearable fashion, and the brand they wear celebrates the strength, independence and wisdom of moms of today.

Paola Loot works at Mommy Treats from the comfort of her home. While her one-and-a half-year-old daughter sleeps, Paola prepares orders for her nutrient-fortified cookies, which have helped many breastfeeding moms increase their milk supply.

Paola makes full use of her digital gadgets to help her track her life —from her baking schedule to her daughter’s doctor appointments. She is also not shy to step back and ask for help with her tasks to give her time to relax.

“When I accepted that I needed help with my baking and that it’s okay to take some ‘me-time’ away from my daughter, I became happier and calmer. By remembering my needs as a person, I have achieved some sort of balance in my life,” Paula explains.

For Paola, a real mom acknowledges her imperfections — and strives to do better. “A real mom forgives herself. She knows that she can’t always do things perfectly. She’ll make mistakes along the way, but she won’t let those mistakes define her. She’ll teach her kids, through example, that it’s not our mistakes in life that will define us, it’s what we do with it that will,” she adds.

On Saturdays, Kris de Guzman goes on a dinner-movie date with her husband. It’s a breather from the typical week that has them taking care of their two children’s needs while managing their professional lives. Kris is the mom behind the popular blog, OcMominManila. She is also a director at her marketing agency and runs a water filtration business.

For her, happiness is being able to work from home, with ample assistance from her household and her smart phone, which “has made me more sane, especially during hour-long breastfeeding sessions.”

But when the time came to teach her daughter one of the most significant development milestones in a child’s life, she turned to an age-old contraption. Kris says, “An andador — that bamboo circular walker you can buy off the back of a white carabao — is the best and cheapest gadget to teach your baby to walk.”

Since she doesn’t have a yaya — because she doesn’t want one — Martine de Luna does a lot of multitasking. While having breakfast with her son, she answers her e-mail, responds to inquiries, and replies on comments on her blog, www.DaintyMom.com. A blog, which she started right after coming from her maternity leave, it has become both a resource and a source of inspiration for work-at-home moms and mompreneurs.

“Right now, I’m a wife, mom, and a homemaker who can work from home… I am passionate about all of these things, and the fact that I am living out all of these things,” Kris says. It helps that her husband works from home, too, and every week, they go out on weekly lunch dates. “We like to stick to our favorite haunts, but once in a while we explore new places,” adds Kris.

For Martine, “a real mom is OK not to be ‘supermom.’ She makes her own brand of motherhood work in a way that’s best for her family and not as the world dictates it. The important thing is that we’re happy learning together.”

Eliza Santiago Ypon is not, by a long shot, a perfectionist. Unlike her mom, who likes everything neatly arranged, Eli reveals, “I sometimes bring the pot to the table and serve from there, and I always have a pile of laundry. She [Eli’s mother] can’t live without household help, while I revel in the freedom of not having one. I’m glad she’s like that because her house is always my haven when I’ve come to the end of my wits. There’s always food on the table and extra hands to care for Basti! I’m so grateful for her.”

The mom behind www.painterswife.com, Eli also teaches classes at Gymboree, likes doing crafts projects, and occasionally serves as her artist husband’s representative. Her days are full, but happy. “Happiness is not elation, it’s contentment. It’s knowing you’re where you’re supposed to be, and loving and accepting the good and bad of it.”

Nursingwear for Real Moms presents Urban Mom, a magazine for modern moms, with Rissa Mananquil-Trillo on the cover. Rissa Trillo discovers the joys of pregnancy and shares some tips on raising kids with other moms.

Mommy Matters Nursingwear is available at HAB & more (formerly Havin’ A Baby) branches, the loungewear section of select Rustan’s Department Stores, Spoiled! Store at Robinsons Galleria, Beachmums at Mactan, Cebu, and online at www.shopmommymatters.com, www.motheringearthlings.com, www.indigomanila.multiply.com, and www.zalora.com.ph.

Follow Mommy Matters on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mommymatters and MommyMattersPH on Twitter, and tweet using the hashtag #RealMom. For product info, visit www.shopmommymatters.com.