Moms we love to friend

MANILA, Philippines - This is what moms look like now,” exclaimed Amanda Griffin-Jacob, showing her near perfect physical state and a clear state of mind. Gone are the days when moms looked like women who didn’t have the time to take care of themselves because they didn’t have the time or the opportunity to do so. There is an obvious paradigm shift going on in this category.

Enter Project Mom, a collaborative effort and a book written by Bianca Araneta-Elizalde and Amanda Griffin-Jacob.

There was a point in time when, unknown to the public and only privy to fashion industry insiders and close friends, Bianca and Amanda weren’t the best of friends. They were not each other’s favorite people. “I dated Bianca’s brother for 10 years and we weren’t exactly close.”

That all changed sooner than later. “Motherhood brought Bianca and I together,” confessed Amanda one afternoon in a Hong Kong cafe prior to their Manila launch. “I didn’t know what to do in my new (pregnant) state so I wrote her an e-mail.”

In stark contrast to the self-assured Amanda that tackled entrepreneurial conquests and challenges so well, this time, she had no clue as to what to do when she realized she was pregnant with her first child with husband David Jacob. “I turned to Bianca because I was feeling overwhelmed with all the motherhood things when I was pregnant. I had no idea at all.”

101 TIPS ON BEING A MOM

This reaching out helped Amanda learn 101 things about being a first-time mom, what with Bianca e-mailing her a more than detailed guide on what to do, how to deal with it, and what to plan when expecting your first baby. 

“She was one of two friends who told me that I should use cloth diaper for my baby. We practice green living, too!”  Amanda, the proud mom of two boys explained to me.

Being such staunch environmentalists, Bianca and Amanda made sure that there’s a “green box” for every chapter. “When I first got pregnant, I bought 20 pregnancy books. This book has all of the information condensed in one.

“It’s also been checked by six different doctors to ensure that the info is correct, just to make sure this wasn’t one of those publications that would just focus on old wives’ tales,” Amanda adds. Knowing Bianca and Amanda, I’m totally not surprised about the level of perfection that went into publishing the Project Mom book.

WHAT’S INSIDE? 

Looking through the book, I realize it’s so thorough — from pepping up your maternity wardrobe, to dealing with husbands, and even shopping and designing your nursery is included. Even topics like sexy time with your partner are discussed in the book. And losing the baby weight, too. 

“I gained 55 pounds after my first pregnancy. It took so much determination and hard work to lose the pregnancy weight, but I never gave up,” says Amanda.

And if there’s anyone more intense than Bianca Araneta-Elizalde, then I’m willing to sacrifice my left arm. Bianca gets into it, learns everything and then applies it all to real life. She is the epitome of a living, breathing Superwoman. I spoke to both their hubbies Juan Elizalde and David Jacob and both agree. 

‘YOU COMPLETE ME’

So how does one survive this whole period in one’s life, when all the mood swings come out and all the stress and frustration come to the fore? “You gotta have ‘me’ time, bonding with your partner and never underestimate the importance of girlfriends,” says Amanda, who shares all her learned wisdom on being a mom in this book.

“Today’s moms don’t just lose themselves in motherhood, they complete themselves with everything,” says Amanda emphatically, as this is her and Bianca’s new battle cry. “Time was when full-time moms who sacrificed everything were the norm. They gave up their lives just to be able to raise us to be the best we can be.”

Project Mom, the new book by Bianca Araneta-Elizalde and Amanda Griffin-Jacob, shows us how one can look and be their best, at the same time maintaining peace and harmony at home. These ‘it’ girls have graduated and have chosen the different path to encourage women who might have gone through the same things such as them to move forward.

“Growing up, there was no manual on motherhood. Now, there’s a wealth of information available. Project Mom gives you the answers,” say Bianca and Amanda, both at their happiest and most radiant after years in the industry. Their beauty never fades, but their priorities do. These have evolved into a more selfless mindset that is able to help others — the assurance that there’s someone out there who understands you and is there to help.

 I think it’s called being a parent.

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Project Mom is available at Fully Booked. Tweet the author @officialTIMYAP.