The Journey of Motherhood, with the Mums of Sprout

From the entire team here at Sprout Organic, we wanted to wish all the wonderful mums in our community a very happy Mother’s Day! We hope that you get spoilt today and receive all the love, laughter and gifts you deserve!

To acknowledge this special day, we reached out to two incredible mums who also happen to be an integral part of the Sprout team: Jen and Cristie - who are also sisters! 

We chatted to Jen and Cristie about their journey through motherhood, how this has influenced their relationship and their highlights along the way.

Q: Tell us a little bit about yourself!

Jen

A: My role at Sprout is everything Graphic Design. It’s my first passion and since having kids especially I have noticed a natural pull towards designing for parents and kids alike, so I get a lot of enjoyment out of designing for Sprout. I love spending time with my kids and my husband Sel and both our families. My 2 boys (aged 3 and 7) and my husband are all very active and extremely energetic, so I love doing Pilates and yoga to get back some of that zen. 

Being a mum is such a fulfilling role, having the ability to help shape a young mind and allow them to grow and discover their passions and talents is so wonderful and rewarding.

 

Cristie

A: I am a proud mum of two little people: Sunny, who just turned 5, and Indie, who is a sassy 2-year-old, and I am a lucky wife to my husband Jack. We are both full time working parents and although life is quite hectic, we try to give lots of time to our little ones by packing our weekends full of adventure and excitement (camping, road trips, parties, sporting activities, and so on). 

Motherhood for me is amazing. I became a mum later on in life as I worked overseas for a long time, so when I decided I wanted little people I was REALLY ready. I love being a mum, I love watching my kids grow and become such awesome little humans. My greatest achievement in life so far is my babies. 

I wear a couple of different hats at Sprout, however, my main role is looking after customers (Customer Service Manager) and making sure they are informed and happy. I also manage the event coordination, which can be lots of fun now that Sprout is starting to get bigger and more known in the industry! I love being able to share my own experiences with Sprout parents to help them on their journeys, and to be able to give them exciting nutrition options for their little ones. I feel like I was made for this role because I get so much satisfaction out of it and I love helping people. 

 

Q: What is a highlight of your journey through motherhood so far? 

Jen

A: Motherhood is such a crazy ride, there’s no one single highlight for me. It’s been the most amazing and fulfilling experience in my life so far. It’s very humbling. Your children reveal to you so much about yourself - your strengths and weaknesses and just how amazing motherhood can really be: its highs and lows, frustrations and joys.

The one thing it has taught me after many years - and I still find this hard to do! - is that you sometimes have to put yourself first in terms of health being mental, physical and emotional - you can’t pour from an empty cup!

Cristie

A: I loved being pregnant. From the moment you see that second line through to seeing that little face for the first time, the whole experience for me was just epic. The feeling of them moving around in the middle of the night, the sound of the heartbeat every time I went to a scan that I used to count down the days before I went to, just to see them on the screen. I felt such a connection to my babies, not only from when they became earthside but from the moment they were conceived. It was the BEST experience ever. Meeting them for the first time after 9 months of growing them is unexplainable.

Q: In what ways has motherhood impacted your relationship as sisters?

Jen

A: It’s easy to take for granted the relationship you have with your sibling until you get to see the relationship your kids (if you are lucky enough to have more than one) have with each other. Seeing how Kingston and Ellis play together reminds me every day about how lucky I was to have a sister and all the special times we shared together. Now that we are adults and both have kids of our own, it’s great to have someone to get to share these moments with and I get to see not only my kids grow up but also my nephew and niece Sunny and Indie, who I love to bits!

Cristie

A: Before we both had children, we used to talk about the day when we would have kids and how crazy it was to think about what they would look like and how they would be best friends and play together. It was fun to daydream about those things because my sister and I were very close ourselves growing up. Motherhood has definitely changed us both as people and it's just the most amazing thing watching our kids grow up together. We are very lucky. Although we have nowhere near as much time to spend together since having kids, we have a new special bond and it’s great to have each other to share ideas and experiences and ask questions!

Q: Let’s talk about your connection to Sprout Organic. What has inspired you to raise your children on a plant-based or predominantly plant-based diet?

Jen

A: Sel and I became plant-based a few years before we had our first son, Ellis. The predominant reason was from a health aspect at first. We noticed that we had more energy and functioned better on a predominantly plant-based diet. From here, we naturally started seeing all the other benefits, such as reducing our environmental footprint and obviously being kinder to animals.

For our kids, we really just wanted to provide them with the best diet we could and due to plants being naturally rich in vitamins and minerals the choice was easy. Additionally, Sel having a good understanding of how to prepare foods in order to provide a balanced macro and micronutrient composition made it simple to ensure we’re hitting all of their nutritional targets. We often hear the age-old saying: If you’re vegetarian, where do you get your protein from? But with food technology improving at such a fast rate, there’s an abundance of healthy and tasty plant-based options!

 

 

Cristie

A: I became plant-based myself when I was overseas about 10 years ago. After reading about the potential benefits through research, to not only myself but to the planet, it was an easy decision for us to switch to a plant-based diet and see how it went. We found the positive changes in our health were so significant after switching that when we had children and they started eating solids, there was no question that they too would be brought up eating the same foods. 

I LOVE being able to feed my kids healthy, nutrient-dense foods to help them grow and develop beautifully. It’s so satisfying to watch because at the end of the day it's MY responsibility that they are happy and healthy! My kids are definitely little Sprout Organic kids, they love the products and the products certainly make my life easier!

 

 

Q: Do you have any advice for new mums or mums-to-be?

Jen

A: When you become a mum you realise pretty quickly that there’s no one right way to parent, that there is no one guidebook that has all the answers (although you will read many!). And if you have more than one child, you can also realise just how different each child can actually be - and that can switch up your parenting style further again! It can be daunting with all the conflicting advice and opinions, especially online. Just take the advice that’s relevant to you, your children and your situation and be confident in your choices.

Cristie

A: I feel like motherhood is such a roller coaster that my advice to new mums would be not to put expectations on what you think motherhood should be but to rather ride the wave and know that you are not alone, even though that's exactly how you feel sometimes. Every mum struggles at some point and at the end of the day, if you give it everything you have, that's all your little one needs. Don’t be afraid to ask for help if you need it. You are, and always will be, your little person's number one no matter what!