Latest / Shawna and LaLa: Life Beyond The Mic / Inside the NICU That Saved Shawna’s Life

Transcript

Inside the NICU That Saved Shawna’s Life · Shawna and LaLa: Life Beyond The Mic

0:00
Speaker 1: From the heart of the city, where the beat meets
0:03
Speaker 1: the rhythm of your day.
0:06
Speaker 2: It's Shawna and.
0:14
Speaker 3: What's up. You're listening to Shauna and Lalla. Check us
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Speaker 3: out at Shorna and Lala dot com on all social
0:20
Speaker 3: media platforms at Shauna and Lalla. You could follow me
0:24
Speaker 3: on Instagram at the Real Shawna May.
0:27
Speaker 4: And check me out at Bella Underscore Lalla one two five.
0:30
Speaker 3: How is your Mother's Day?
0:32
Speaker 4: It was okay. Our plans kind of had a change.
0:35
Speaker 4: We were supposed to go shooting at the gun range
0:37
Speaker 4: like we do every year, and they had an emergency
0:40
Speaker 4: they had to close down, so it was nice. We
0:43
Speaker 4: went shopping instead, and then we went out to the
0:45
Speaker 4: restaurant that we had planned to eat at and it
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Speaker 4: was cute. We had a nice time. It's in Milford, Pennsylvania,
0:50
Speaker 4: and it's the cutest little town. So I enjoyed that.
0:53
Speaker 4: And we're gonna this this weekend. We're going to go
0:56
Speaker 4: shooting to make up for Mother's Day weekend.
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Speaker 3: Nice. We went out to dinner as well. We went
1:02
Speaker 3: to Carlos, which is one of my mom's favorite places.
1:05
Speaker 4: What does she get there?
1:07
Speaker 2: This time?
1:08
Speaker 3: She got some kind of pasta with broccoli. She thought
1:11
Speaker 3: it was going to be broccoli rob with like shrimp,
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Speaker 3: but it came with broccoli and I said, well that's
1:17
Speaker 3: what you ordered, So she said it was really really good.
1:22
Speaker 4: Okay, that's all that matters.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, And we delivered our Mother's Day gift bags to
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Speaker 3: the NICKU at Westchester Medical Center's Maria Ferrari's Children's Hospital
1:35
Speaker 3: to the nick You, and I would say it was
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Speaker 3: probably one of the best experiences we've had to date.
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Speaker 4: It was really great. It was a feel good moment.
1:46
Speaker 4: You felt like you were doing you were actually making
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Speaker 4: a difference, and it's hard to feel that way because
1:51
Speaker 4: in life you always questioning am I making a difference?
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Speaker 4: Am I helping? And I truly felt that we did
1:57
Speaker 4: that day and to see we got to see the
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Speaker 4: little babies in the nick you and see their parents,
2:02
Speaker 4: and it was very emotional, especially for Shauana. I felt
2:08
Speaker 4: for the parents. I couldn't even imagine, you know, as
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Speaker 4: a mother, I was able to take my babies home,
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Speaker 4: I was able to lay with them on my chest
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Speaker 4: at night and have them right next to me in
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Speaker 4: the hospital. But to even try to picture a parent
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Speaker 4: having a baby in a plastic tube that you can't
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Speaker 4: even really touch and you just have to watch it
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Speaker 4: struggle and for days and weeks or sometimes months. I
2:34
Speaker 4: couldn't even imagine. So it broke my heart.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, we were all like crying during the interview. I
2:40
Speaker 3: got choked up and I couldn't even talk, but it
2:44
Speaker 3: was really emotional. They actually reconnected me with one of
2:50
Speaker 3: my old nurses and she remembered exactly where my nicubad was. Wow.
2:57
Speaker 3: So that was really sweet. And they were so thankful
3:02
Speaker 3: to Zomi born. In some motherhood it's the ritzy and
3:07
Speaker 3: especially owl a lot because everyone that has a baby
3:12
Speaker 3: in the Nickqeue needs an owl lot, So they were
3:15
Speaker 3: so thankful, and especially for the breast pumps. They talked
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Speaker 3: about how important breastfeeding is for a regular baby, but
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Speaker 3: then when you have a Nickque baby, how important it is.
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Speaker 4: How yeah, it's even more important. Yeah that they need
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Speaker 4: they need that, and they're they're frail, they are having
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Speaker 4: all these medical procedures. They need strength, they need nutrition,
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Speaker 4: and there's nothing better that even comes close to breast
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Speaker 4: milk formula. It'll cut it, but it's not going to
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Speaker 4: do what breast milk is going to do. For a
3:48
Speaker 4: fragile baby like that. So it's so important that they
3:51
Speaker 4: said to get these mothers breastfeeding or pumping, because obviously
3:56
Speaker 4: a lot of Niki babies cannot breastfeed because they're so tiny.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, I could not. My mom had two pump mm hmm.
4:02
Speaker 3: And then she had to drive an hour and a
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Speaker 3: half and it would melt by the time she got there,
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Speaker 3: and she would have to throw it away.
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Speaker 4: I see that. That's really ridiculous that they made her
4:13
Speaker 4: throw it away. You know, there is a little bit
4:15
Speaker 4: of a shelf life on it, a little bit more,
4:17
Speaker 4: but especially if she had on ice. She said, so
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Speaker 4: just because it melted, it still want it was. It
4:23
Speaker 4: was cool, you know, But anyway, Yeah, it's so the
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Speaker 4: breast pumps. When nicky baby can't breastfeed off the breast,
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Speaker 4: the breast pumps come in handy for mom to sit
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Speaker 4: there and pump hands free or at home pump hands free,
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Speaker 4: and then she can bring the milk in for her baby.
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Speaker 4: And the lactation consultant was almost in tears. It just
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Speaker 4: kept telling us how amazing this was that we gave
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Speaker 4: them the Zomi breast pumps, and how much of a
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Speaker 4: difference it was gonna make in the mom's life and
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Speaker 4: the baby's lives.
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Speaker 3: And we also got to see so many babies. We
4:55
Speaker 3: got to see one that was twenty four weeks and
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Speaker 3: I was born at twenty three weeks, So it was
5:00
Speaker 3: like a.
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Speaker 4: Like you could see what your mom saw and what
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Speaker 4: the doctor saw, right and the nurses saw looking at.
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Speaker 3: You, and it was unreal, Like I you hear the stories,
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Speaker 3: you know, I hear what my mom talks about and
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Speaker 3: what I went through, and but this just put it
5:15
Speaker 3: in perspective how freaking tiny I was.
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Speaker 1: Mm hmm.
5:21
Speaker 3: Yeah.
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Speaker 4: The skin was like translucent. You could see every time
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Speaker 4: it was struggling. He was struggling to breathe or hiccuped,
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Speaker 4: and it's like, oh my god.
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Speaker 1: I just I know.
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Speaker 3: And he was just cover I think it was a boy. Yeah,
5:32
Speaker 3: he was covered in just wires and you know, he
5:37
Speaker 3: had heart monitors on, oxygen monitors on, he had a
5:41
Speaker 3: feeding tube in his nose, he had I mean, you
5:45
Speaker 3: name it, he had it on him. And it was
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Speaker 3: just so sad, like I couldn't imagine leaving my child,
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Speaker 3: knowing that something could happen at any moment, and you
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Speaker 3: have to leave your child overnight and come back during
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Speaker 3: regular normal business hours or visiting hours. Yeah, like it's
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Speaker 3: really sad, and I think that they should have rooms
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Speaker 3: for the parents to stay in.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, it would be amazing. If they could fit them
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Speaker 4: in there, that would be amazing, so that they can
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Speaker 4: give them peace of mind that they're there with their
6:19
Speaker 4: baby and they're not that they can do much, but
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Speaker 4: at least they're there. And a baby knows their mom's voice.
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Speaker 4: The baby's in your belly for however many months, you know,
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Speaker 4: because nicky babies come early obviously most of them, but
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Speaker 4: they know their mom's voice and that's calming to them,
6:35
Speaker 4: even their dad's voice or their family's voice. So if
6:38
Speaker 4: that could be if you could be there with it
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Speaker 4: all the time and talking and comforting it, I think
6:43
Speaker 4: that would help them heal. But thankfully, there's lots of
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Speaker 4: great nurses in the NICKU that do take that place
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Speaker 4: of watching over your baby and comforting your baby and
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Speaker 4: touching your baby and feeding your baby. So there is
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Speaker 4: a good team there, so they are lucky to have that.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, they're excellent there. And we actually did get to
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Speaker 3: meet a father. We met two or three moms, and
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Speaker 3: then we met a father. His wife just had given
7:09
Speaker 3: birth two hours prior to us getting there. The mom
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Speaker 3: was still in the o R getting stitched up, and
7:19
Speaker 3: he was there with the baby and the nurses you know,
7:23
Speaker 3: were holding the baby and checking the baby out. And
7:26
Speaker 3: that was really sweet. That was really cute, and he
7:29
Speaker 3: was so thankful, you know, he was just like shocked
7:33
Speaker 3: that we came in and acknowledged him and acknowledged you know,
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Speaker 3: the baby and gave him something, you know, a Mother's
7:41
Speaker 3: Day gift. And how cool is that to know, like
7:44
Speaker 3: you're born, you know, the day before Mother's Day. Yeah,
7:48
Speaker 3: and here you are, you already got a Mother's Day gift.
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Speaker 3: And we saw him walking out. I don't know if
7:54
Speaker 3: you noticed, but he had walked past us and he
7:58
Speaker 3: waved it. He said thank you again to me, I said,
8:01
Speaker 3: you're welcome. He said, have a good day. And then
8:04
Speaker 3: we saw him as we were pulling out, we saw
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Speaker 3: him walking with the bag.
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Speaker 2: Ah, no, you're car See.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, they're so grateful. It was an amazing gift. And
8:15
Speaker 4: breast pumps are expensive. They're very expensive, and a lot
8:18
Speaker 4: of moms can't afford them, or they go I could
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Speaker 4: do without even if they can't afford it. It's a
8:22
Speaker 4: big purchase, you know. So it was great to be
8:25
Speaker 4: able to help moms in need or or if that
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Speaker 4: mom didn't need it, they were going to pay it
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Speaker 4: forward to another mom in need, which was great.
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Speaker 3: Yeah, and the lady was telling me, I don't remember who,
8:36
Speaker 3: but one of them was telling me that insurance companies
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Speaker 3: now have a limit on breast pumps and also you
8:46
Speaker 3: can't always get the breast pump that you.
8:48
Speaker 4: Want, No, you can't.
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Speaker 3: So it's a list. Yeah, it's what insurance will cover
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Speaker 3: and how much they'll cover. You know, all insurance companies
8:57
Speaker 3: are different. Some may not cover it at all. And
9:01
Speaker 3: you know, if you had a baby and then you
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Speaker 3: give your stuff away and then you know, ten years
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Speaker 3: later you have another one, they may not cover it.
9:09
Speaker 4: Yeah, if you're thirty one, yeah you already had one.
9:11
Speaker 4: They expect you to keep it forever. And I understand
9:13
Speaker 4: they're expensive, but there should be some discretion as to Okay,
9:17
Speaker 4: you know what, she had a baby ten years ago,
9:19
Speaker 4: you know.
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Speaker 2: Like with me and Geo.
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Speaker 4: I had Geo in twenty and thirteen and I didn't
9:25
Speaker 4: have Jelina until twenty twenty one. So that's a big
9:29
Speaker 4: gap where I was like, all right, this is not
9:31
Speaker 4: happening for me. I'm never gonna have another kid. I
9:33
Speaker 4: gave away all my stuff. So in that case, my
9:36
Speaker 4: insurance would be like no, sorry, in twenty thirteen, you
9:39
Speaker 4: had one and you should have kept it. Like, no,
9:41
Speaker 4: they have. There has to be some discretion obviously, if
9:43
Speaker 4: you're popping out babies every couple of years and you
9:46
Speaker 4: keep asking for a breast pump, I could see that like, hey,
9:48
Speaker 4: hold on to your breast pump, like you know.
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Speaker 3: For a bit exactly. And they also have milk banks.
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Speaker 3: I don't know if it's at the hospital, but they
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Speaker 3: it's coordinated with the hospital, which I didn't know either.
10:01
Speaker 3: So that way, if a mom really truly cannot brust
10:03
Speaker 3: feed or brust pump at all, they are still able
10:07
Speaker 3: to get some kind of milk.
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Speaker 2: Mm hmm.
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Speaker 4: Yeah, that's amazing. If I ever overproduced, I would, you know,
10:14
Speaker 4: in the past, I said I want I would love
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Speaker 4: to donate to the milk banks because it's such an
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Speaker 4: important thing and some moms can't breastfeed and they can
10:23
Speaker 4: go to this bank and get breast milk that's been
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Speaker 4: They test, they make sure that it's healthy you know,
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Speaker 4: the mom's healthy and this, this and that, so it's
10:30
Speaker 4: not like it's gonna poison your kid. But there's rules
10:34
Speaker 4: and regulations obviously, But I think it's a great thing,
10:36
Speaker 4: and I think more people should donate to the milk banks.
10:39
Speaker 4: There's a lot of people I know that overproduced and there.
10:42
Speaker 4: They would show me pictures of their fridge and I
10:44
Speaker 4: mean they're freezers. They had a deep freezer that they
10:46
Speaker 4: bought just for their breast milk. Because they fill their
10:49
Speaker 4: the one in the house and the one in the garage.
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Speaker 4: They had to buy a big freezer for the rest
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Speaker 4: of it. That's amazing.
10:54
Speaker 3: What do they do with it all though?
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Speaker 4: You just they use it for their kids or they
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Speaker 4: A lot of people would donate it to friends family
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Speaker 4: that needed or you know, a lot of them donated
11:04
Speaker 4: to milk banks. Or I would tell them, hey, if
11:06
Speaker 4: you're not going to use it all, donate it to
11:08
Speaker 4: milk banks. Or once the baby stopped breastfeeding, they saved
11:12
Speaker 4: it and it was great to use when the kid
11:15
Speaker 4: was sick or toddlers to put it in their cereal
11:17
Speaker 4: or whatever. Because it is a very healthy milk. It's
11:20
Speaker 4: very good for you. Bodybuilders, actually buy breast milk off
11:24
Speaker 4: moms because the milk is so good for you and
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Speaker 4: it helps them with their gains and to be healthier
11:30
Speaker 4: and to build muscle, and it's an amazing thing. So yeah,
11:35
Speaker 4: lots of uses for it.
11:36
Speaker 3: I didn't know any of that. Yeah, learn something new
11:39
Speaker 3: every day. And we are so thankful that News twelve
11:44
Speaker 3: of our local news station was able to be there
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Speaker 3: to cover my reunion at the Nick you and that
11:53
Speaker 3: was really great.
11:54
Speaker 4: If you want to see the episode, we have it
11:55
Speaker 4: posted on our YouTube or our website.
11:58
Speaker 3: Yeah Media, there's a whole blog of behind the scenes pictures.
12:03
Speaker 3: You know. I wrote up a blog about, you know,
12:05
Speaker 3: what it was like for me to go to the nickqueue,
12:08
Speaker 3: they interviewed my mom. It was it was just a
12:12
Speaker 3: really special day and you could find all the footage
12:16
Speaker 3: on our website Shaunaanlala dot com and our social media pages.
12:22
Speaker 3: We're gonna hop into our interview today with Dina Shanowitz.
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Speaker 3: She is the CEO and founder of Zomi Breast Pumps.
12:32
Speaker 3: And before we get any further, I just want to
12:35
Speaker 3: say thank you so much for donating sixty breast pumps
12:39
Speaker 3: to our Mother's Day gift bag. Initiative for the moms
12:44
Speaker 3: in the NICKUU at the hospital that I was born
12:47
Speaker 3: in thirty almost thirty seven years ago, so I'm very
12:53
Speaker 3: excited to deliver them. We are hand delivering each bag
12:58
Speaker 3: to a mom in the hospital, so we're very excited.
13:02
Speaker 3: But thank you so much for donating. And what does
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Speaker 3: it mean to support moms who are going through those
13:10
Speaker 3: early and overwhelming moments in the new queue?
13:15
Speaker 1: So first of all, thank you for allowing us to
13:17
Speaker 1: be part of it, because that actually means a lot
13:20
Speaker 1: to me personally because my first was a nick baby
13:24
Speaker 1: and having that experience. Nobody should have to go through it,
13:29
Speaker 1: especially as a first.
13:30
Speaker 2: Time mom, where.
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Speaker 1: You think everything's going to be perfect and this is
13:35
Speaker 1: your first not knowing what to expect, and then literally
13:39
Speaker 1: your life is just You're a mess. You're running back
13:43
Speaker 1: and forth to the hospital transferring milk, over being there
13:47
Speaker 1: for your baby and then trying to still keep up
13:50
Speaker 1: with life. And for me personally, such a situation, I
13:55
Speaker 1: feel like mom's like more than anything.
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Speaker 2: Is these moms specifically specifically.
14:00
Speaker 1: In the NIQUE need that support, need somebody that's going
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Speaker 1: to be able to hold their hand, guide them, let
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Speaker 1: them know everything will be okay. There was so much
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Speaker 1: fear of the unknown, what's going to happen? And I
14:13
Speaker 1: mean that's really the reason that Zomi was created. Was
14:16
Speaker 1: based on my own personal experience where I'm originally from
14:20
Speaker 1: New York City, so I would have I would have
14:25
Speaker 1: my Medella symphony and travel on subway back and forth
14:28
Speaker 1: when I would go to the hospital. I mean back
14:30
Speaker 1: and forth when I would go to the hospital. But
14:32
Speaker 1: then when I was also back at work and trying
14:35
Speaker 1: to exclusively pump, keep my milk supply up and work,
14:39
Speaker 1: it was just it was a full time job. I
14:42
Speaker 1: was in the bathroom, plugged into a wall, you know,
14:44
Speaker 1: and then pumping it sounded like a vacuum cleaner, and
14:47
Speaker 1: then you know it. And then going back I was
14:51
Speaker 1: I taught special needs children, so then going back to teach,
14:54
Speaker 1: and it really was such a challenge.
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Speaker 2: It became it came to a point where I was
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Speaker 2: like continue pumping or.
15:01
Speaker 1: Am I going to work? And I ended up quitting
15:03
Speaker 1: my job. And for me that I felt like I
15:07
Speaker 1: felt like a loser. I felt like, why can't I
15:10
Speaker 1: just do two stuff at once. It's so normal every
15:12
Speaker 1: mom goes back to work, and especially when you do
15:16
Speaker 1: have a situation where your baby's in a nicqueue. There's
15:19
Speaker 1: just you know you're dealing with so much and it's
15:22
Speaker 1: not you can't just breastfeed your baby on breast and
15:25
Speaker 1: you know you're back and forth in the hospital. That
15:27
Speaker 1: it's really like support and having the right tools to
15:31
Speaker 1: be able to support you is a game.
15:33
Speaker 2: Changer for moms. And that's really after.
15:36
Speaker 1: My experience with my Medella Symphony pump being bound in
15:40
Speaker 1: outlet and having very standard modes on the pump, and
15:45
Speaker 1: I felt like I needed more. I needed different speeds,
15:48
Speaker 1: I needed different section patterns. That's what really got me
15:51
Speaker 1: to create our brand, Zomi, and to really develop pumps
15:56
Speaker 1: that could be customizable for every mom, because no two
15:59
Speaker 1: moms are a like, as well as no two breasts
16:01
Speaker 1: are like, so our pumps are catered towards every mom
16:04
Speaker 1: and towards every breast.
16:06
Speaker 3: What was the process like for creating the pumps.
16:11
Speaker 2: So it's a good question.
16:13
Speaker 1: In the beginning, didn't know much and said, okay, I
16:18
Speaker 1: know what I like and what I don't and what
16:20
Speaker 1: I wish I can fill on a pump. For example,
16:23
Speaker 1: whenever I would double pump, I would alternate from side
16:26
Speaker 1: to side because when I would double pump both breasts
16:28
Speaker 1: at the same time, my body wouldn't respond. So we actually,
16:33
Speaker 1: me and my husband went down to different factories met
16:36
Speaker 1: with them. We had many different samples of different you
16:40
Speaker 1: know pumps, and decided what we liked in terms of
16:45
Speaker 1: you know, the molds and the shapes and changed it
16:47
Speaker 1: around and we did a lot of we added a
16:51
Speaker 1: lot of different customizable modes based on that, a lot
16:54
Speaker 1: of back and forth. I'd say the process took probably
16:57
Speaker 1: almost two years. Yeah, a lot, a lot of thought
17:02
Speaker 1: went into it. And something I personally like to do
17:06
Speaker 1: is that before I bring a pump into the market,
17:09
Speaker 1: I like to get real life testers and for me,
17:12
Speaker 1: getting feedback from real moms and lactation consultants and understanding
17:17
Speaker 1: what you know, because I'm one. I'm one mom myself,
17:20
Speaker 1: but every mom is so different. So just getting that
17:22
Speaker 1: feedback and learning ways to improve it and perfect it
17:25
Speaker 1: was something that was my goal.
17:27
Speaker 2: I think my goal more than anything was I wanted
17:30
Speaker 2: moms to succeed.
17:31
Speaker 1: I you know, it's nice to have all these gimmicks
17:33
Speaker 1: and shiny little, you know, different gadgets as a new mom,
17:37
Speaker 1: but like goal is what's going to be practical where
17:40
Speaker 1: mom pumps and is done and doesn't have to think
17:43
Speaker 1: about it. So a lot of a lot of testing
17:47
Speaker 1: and feedback from lactation and moms went into this as well.
17:52
Speaker 2: But yeah, it was it was a journey.
17:54
Speaker 3: Yeah, it definitely sounds like it. So what is the
17:57
Speaker 3: difference between your brust pumps and the rust pumps that
18:01
Speaker 3: are on the market today?
18:03
Speaker 1: So, for one, our pumps, I mean, we have different models,
18:08
Speaker 1: but one feature we have in our pumps that we
18:10
Speaker 1: incorporate is this alternate mode technology where the pump will
18:14
Speaker 1: actually alternate from side to side instead of pumping both
18:18
Speaker 1: breasts at the same time, and this allows each breast
18:21
Speaker 1: to respond to each other, giving mom extra stimulation for
18:24
Speaker 1: a quicker letdown. Also, we've got a two phase mode
18:27
Speaker 1: unique to our pumps that has a combination of stimulation
18:31
Speaker 1: and expression within that mode that mimics natural rhythm of baby.
18:35
Speaker 1: Our pumps are very customizable in terms of speed and
18:39
Speaker 1: suction settings, probably the most customizable and what moms can
18:43
Speaker 1: really choose. And like I mentioned before, no two moms
18:46
Speaker 1: are the same, So some moms might want stronger suction
18:49
Speaker 1: and slower speed and some moms respond best to quicker
18:52
Speaker 1: speed and weaker suction, so we really incorporated all these options.
18:57
Speaker 1: So I'd say like in terms of customization, Zomie does
19:01
Speaker 1: have one of the most customizable line of pumps out there,
19:05
Speaker 1: as well as just in terms of flange size, which
19:09
Speaker 1: is brush should size, we incorporate the most amount of
19:13
Speaker 1: flanges in the box, as well as have our perfect
19:16
Speaker 1: fit promise.
19:17
Speaker 2: Which means that if and a flange, just for.
19:20
Speaker 1: A reference, is this part that goes around the breast
19:24
Speaker 1: and this little tunnel is what draws the nipple in
19:28
Speaker 1: and every mom's nipple size is different. So that's why
19:32
Speaker 1: in terms of sizing, it truly matters to make sure
19:34
Speaker 1: that mom's getting the best output and comfort out of
19:37
Speaker 1: the pump. So we do have our perfect fit promise,
19:40
Speaker 1: which ensures that if a mom needs any other size
19:42
Speaker 1: than what's included in the box, Zomie will provide it
19:45
Speaker 1: free of charge. And that's again a part of making
19:48
Speaker 1: sure that moms are going to get the best output
19:50
Speaker 1: and performance out of their pump, as well as support,
19:54
Speaker 1: like it's great that mom has a product and you
19:57
Speaker 1: know that it's working, but we want to be not
20:00
Speaker 1: just a company that provides great products, but also a
20:03
Speaker 1: company that provides support. So we do have our mom Line,
20:06
Speaker 1: which are made of moms as well as clcs that
20:09
Speaker 1: are there to really provide mom with beyond just the
20:12
Speaker 1: technical support of how do you use your pump and
20:15
Speaker 1: what modes are you know are most helpful, but also
20:17
Speaker 1: in terms of just providing emotional support, letting them know
20:21
Speaker 1: that they're doing a good job and that it's not easy,
20:25
Speaker 1: and just helping them out, especially in.
20:27
Speaker 2: Early stages where your life is a blur.
20:30
Speaker 1: You don't know, like everything that is easy seems hard.
20:36
Speaker 1: Just to give them that suppitboard. And we've been getting
20:38
Speaker 1: such great feedback from our moms and are saying, like,
20:41
Speaker 1: you know, aside for helping me with the pump, it
20:43
Speaker 1: was just it helped me, Like it just helped me
20:46
Speaker 1: go through my day speaking to one of your moms,
20:49
Speaker 1: you know from our mom Line. That's that's really our
20:51
Speaker 1: goal to give that extra support. So that must field
20:55
Speaker 1: listened to, you heard and understood.
20:58
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's so important. And what does a typical day
21:02
Speaker 3: look like for you being a CEO founder and pumping
21:08
Speaker 3: and nursing and being a mom. I mean you must
21:11
Speaker 3: just be NonStop.
21:15
Speaker 1: I we you know, I think, yes, balance is key.
21:20
Speaker 1: Typically I'll start my day, I mean, I you know,
21:23
Speaker 1: I now my baby's too, so I do breastfeed more
21:27
Speaker 1: like once in the morning, once at night. But I
21:30
Speaker 1: do still consistently pump so I can try out the
21:33
Speaker 1: pumps and see, you know, what works, what doesn't, what
21:36
Speaker 1: is best, because we're always improving and perfecting our products
21:40
Speaker 1: as well as you know, at this point, my baby
21:42
Speaker 1: just likes it as a great like snack, So I
21:46
Speaker 1: do you know, I'll feed my baby in the morning.
21:49
Speaker 2: Then I am getting the kids ready off to school,
21:54
Speaker 2: breakfast and all. And then typically, like.
21:58
Speaker 1: I like to just clear my mind before I go
22:00
Speaker 1: to work, so I'll go for a quick run, and
22:03
Speaker 1: that for me is just self care. Allows me to know, like, okay,
22:08
Speaker 1: before I get into this, I can I have a
22:10
Speaker 1: little bit of peace.
22:11
Speaker 2: It clears my mind.
22:12
Speaker 1: And then typically, you know, whether going into the office
22:16
Speaker 1: or working from home that day. Love to be very
22:21
Speaker 1: in tuned in what's going on, like to be hands on.
22:25
Speaker 1: Love our team, love just you know, speaking to them
22:28
Speaker 1: and connecting with them. They're all you know, It's nice
22:30
Speaker 1: to see a team who all really we all do
22:33
Speaker 1: that same goal to.
22:34
Speaker 2: Your wanting to support other moms and really cure about
22:37
Speaker 2: you know, here to.
22:38
Speaker 1: Make mom's lives easier. And that's how my day goes.
22:44
Speaker 1: And then you know, dinner, homework, bedtime, you know, dealing
22:50
Speaker 1: with my twelve year old and then dealing with my
22:52
Speaker 1: two year old, many different bedtimes, so laying in each
22:56
Speaker 1: in each kid's bed until they're all sleeping, and yeah,
23:01
Speaker 1: and then you know, just catching up with my husband
23:04
Speaker 1: for the day.
23:05
Speaker 2: So yeah, definitely a fun filled day, but never boring.
23:10
Speaker 2: Always always something to you. Sometimes you have to light
23:13
Speaker 2: out fires, but keeps.
23:15
Speaker 3: You going, something is always happening. Oh oh yeah, what
23:21
Speaker 3: has been the toughest moment when business and motherhood have collided?
23:27
Speaker 1: So I'll say that in earlier years when we just
23:31
Speaker 1: started Zomie. Zomie is now eight years old, so I'd
23:33
Speaker 1: say like this was when we were in our second
23:37
Speaker 1: or third year. I would I was like the sales
23:42
Speaker 1: rep of all. You know, we didn't have a sales team,
23:44
Speaker 1: so I was really the sales team traveling from place
23:47
Speaker 1: to place, and I had the opportunity to meet with
23:50
Speaker 1: some larger customer potential customers who I went out to
23:55
Speaker 1: Ohio at that time to meet and I left my baby,
23:59
Speaker 1: who was three months old.
24:01
Speaker 2: With my nanny.
24:03
Speaker 1: He was, you know, he was back and forth between
24:06
Speaker 1: breastfeeding and bottles, and at that point decided he doesn't
24:10
Speaker 1: want a bottle.
24:11
Speaker 2: So my nanny calls me crying.
24:12
Speaker 1: She's like, it's been I don't want to bother you,
24:15
Speaker 1: but it's been already six hours.
24:16
Speaker 2: He's not eating, like he's refusing to take the bottle.
24:19
Speaker 2: And I was just.
24:21
Speaker 1: Heading into my next meeting and literally stopped everything. I'm like, okay,
24:25
Speaker 1: like maybe he's not going to eat. This is not
24:27
Speaker 1: going to work, like he's refusing a bottle. I remember
24:30
Speaker 1: like thinking like I'm going to mess this up, you know, royally,
24:34
Speaker 1: like not like just canceling my appointment last minute, not
24:37
Speaker 1: even giving them a heads up, headed to the airport,
24:41
Speaker 1: booked a ticket, got on the next flight to come home.
24:44
Speaker 1: I remember it was the most Yeah, it was. It
24:49
Speaker 1: wasn't a good feeling, but you know, after reaching out
24:53
Speaker 1: to the DME, and.
24:55
Speaker 2: What's nice is that you know the customers understood and realized.
24:58
Speaker 1: You know where it's coming from as a new mom,
25:00
Speaker 1: and you know family, family does come first, so allow
25:04
Speaker 1: me to to you know, no, I made that right
25:07
Speaker 1: decision and but yeah, that was a challenging time because
25:11
Speaker 1: it was like one second, do I go in or
25:13
Speaker 1: do I go to the airport? And yeah, so that
25:17
Speaker 1: was definitely that's the time to remember.
25:20
Speaker 3: Now, can you bring your kids to work with you? Like,
25:23
Speaker 3: do you ever do that? Or is that like do
25:25
Speaker 3: you keep it kind of suffer it?
25:29
Speaker 2: I mean typically not. I did have my twelve year
25:32
Speaker 2: olds in the summer.
25:34
Speaker 1: She actually helped work on a few projects in the office,
25:37
Speaker 1: so that was really cute and like she'll come to
25:40
Speaker 1: like some local expos with me.
25:42
Speaker 2: She's very proud. But yeah, typically I.
25:45
Speaker 3: Don't now what's next for Zoni. Do you have anything
25:49
Speaker 3: in the works, any new pumps that are up and coming.
25:53
Speaker 1: So, just like a mother's job is never done, Zobie
25:57
Speaker 1: is always working to improve and perfect products and create
26:01
Speaker 1: new products that are helpful for moms.
26:03
Speaker 2: But we recently just launched.
26:05
Speaker 1: Our Mother's Nature h one pump, which is the first
26:09
Speaker 1: ever pump that is the most customizable for mom where
26:13
Speaker 1: you could adjust the suction and the speed on each
26:16
Speaker 1: breast separately. You have many different modes and options to
26:19
Speaker 1: choose from and The biggest feature on that pump as
26:23
Speaker 1: well is we do have our patent pending Mother's Nature Flunge,
26:27
Speaker 1: which is the first when when we talk about funch,
26:30
Speaker 1: we're talking about that brushshield, first ever brushshield that will
26:33
Speaker 1: actually compress and stimulate like a baby's tongue on mom's
26:37
Speaker 1: breast to be able to give mom better output and
26:40
Speaker 1: more comfort. So this has been a really big launch
26:44
Speaker 1: for us and one that is really redefining the.
26:47
Speaker 2: Market in terms of breast pumps with this new products.
26:51
Speaker 2: So that's very yes, very exciting time for us. That's great.
26:56
Speaker 3: It's important that every you know, because every mom is different,
27:00
Speaker 3: the products really, you know, are for every person, not
27:05
Speaker 3: just the typical mother. And that's what we always are
27:10
Speaker 3: looking for and looking to feature. And I think it's
27:15
Speaker 3: great that you came up with this and the ideas
27:18
Speaker 3: and you're still working on creating more innovative pumps every year.
27:23
Speaker 1: Yes, we try to keep up with, you know, up
27:26
Speaker 1: with with moms. Something else that Zonie did launch aside
27:30
Speaker 1: for breast pumps is that we do have different accessories.
27:33
Speaker 1: One of the unique accessories that we came out with
27:35
Speaker 1: was a cooling and warming lactation massageer, so the first
27:39
Speaker 1: ever massage or that not only is warm but gets cold.
27:43
Speaker 1: So for moms that are in gorge, the warmth is great,
27:46
Speaker 1: helps release you know, the clog ducts and release the milk,
27:50
Speaker 1: and then the cooling is great for moms that have miastitis.
27:53
Speaker 2: Or sore or are swollen.
27:55
Speaker 1: So that's been a really unique tool for Zomie as
27:58
Speaker 1: well that we did create for moms that are pumping
28:02
Speaker 1: or breastfeeding and may you know have challenges.
28:05
Speaker 2: Releasing their milk or sensitivity.
28:09
Speaker 1: And I think also just something to you know note
28:13
Speaker 1: about Zomie is that going back to support, like support
28:17
Speaker 1: is really number one across the board. We do a
28:21
Speaker 1: side for you know, our perfect fit promise, like we
28:24
Speaker 1: like I mentioned before, we do have our mom line
28:27
Speaker 1: and in general, like a big part of Zomie is
28:30
Speaker 1: making sure that moms have the right tools and proper
28:34
Speaker 1: you know in terms of education. So all our materials
28:38
Speaker 1: also that we have are in different languages, so ensuring
28:41
Speaker 1: that every mom, depending on her background, is able to
28:46
Speaker 1: know how to use a pump and give them the
28:48
Speaker 1: right guidance there and.
28:51
Speaker 3: Yeah, where can our listeners get the zone breast pump
28:56
Speaker 3: is it available in stores.
28:58
Speaker 1: So our pumps are all of available through insurance, which
29:02
Speaker 1: is really nice because that's more than anything is to
29:05
Speaker 1: make it accessible. Zomie being you know, for moms, buy moms,
29:09
Speaker 1: wanting moms to get the best. If mom can get
29:11
Speaker 1: it through insurance, she shouldn't have to purchase it out
29:13
Speaker 1: of pocket. We understand where moms are coming from and
29:16
Speaker 1: having a baby's a huge expense as it is, and
29:19
Speaker 1: now purchasing all the different tool you know, all the
29:22
Speaker 1: different accessories and products that you need can be super expensive.
29:28
Speaker 1: So yes, our pumps, we try to keep it all
29:30
Speaker 1: through insurance and typically most of our pumps are fully covered.
29:33
Speaker 1: If not, there's like small up charges, but many are
29:37
Speaker 1: pretty covered. Our pumps are also available.
29:39
Speaker 2: On Amazon as well as on Zombie dot com as well.
29:44
Speaker 3: Great and we are going to have a link up
29:47
Speaker 3: on our website and promote remote Zomi and the pumps.
29:53
Speaker 3: So if you are interested in getting a pump for
29:56
Speaker 3: yourself or as a gift for a baby shower, head
29:59
Speaker 3: to our website Shaunaandlala dot com and you will see
30:04
Speaker 3: the link on our site for Zomi. Thank you so
30:08
Speaker 3: much Dina for coming on the show today. And thank
30:10
Speaker 3: you again for donating to our Mother's Day Initiative.
30:15
Speaker 2: Thanks for having me.
30:17
Speaker 3: And that's our show for this week. Thank you so
30:19
Speaker 3: much for tuning in. Be sure to follow us on
30:22
Speaker 3: all social media platforms at Shauna and Laala. You could
30:26
Speaker 3: follow me on Instagram at the Real Shauna May.
30:30
Speaker 4: And check me out at Bella Underscore Laala one two five.
30:34
Speaker 3: We will see you next week