You're doing OK...Mom

Came across this tear touching video by Johnsons & Johnsons Co. I usually view such branded ads cynically; having worked for brands I know the motivation behind such TVCs and teasers is mainly increased recall and loyalty via emotional branding. But at the end of the day, I am a consumer too and I did shed a tear or two watching this video. I actually felt like I needed this one tonight as I wrapped up the day at 2:00 am not feeling too great after the difficult 'putting my baby to sleep' session and returning to the long scribble that remains unticked-off on my 'to do' list. 

It's true that just a little 'thank you' , a word or two of appreciation can sometimes make the most difficult job in the world...just a little bit easier. Thank You J&J, for making my night. 

From Brand Management to Baby Management....

Ahh, finally - my draft becomes a post. I have many times in the past few months attempted to return to blogging, but as the title may hint, I was going through something more overwhelming than overcoming a writers block. Yes - I said hello to motherhood. Motherhood in one word , mmm, lets say two words , "beautifully overwhelming"

Before 8th June 2012, I worked on brands, made activation and media plans, followed up with my agency, approved creatives, ran research results and business reviews and thought how sexy and challenging my day job is. In the evenings I rushed home to prepare dinner before my husband arrives, then efficiently cleaned up after dinner, we both watched tv till 11pm or so, and off to bed we were all set for a repeat cycle of the above. I thought life was so perfectly management - i was a super woman...I WAS.

Then our little baby girl happened, an in a span of one week I had shifted from brand management to baby management. Overwhelming - more difficult than any job I had done, even more complex than Investment Banking and Derivatives that played in once upon a time. 

I suddenly realised I could no longer claim to be super-woman, my home was no longer always clean , and tidy. I was no longer clean and bathed, not even fed some days. My baby was the only thing I could barely manage that too not without my husband's support. Those were the first few weeks though.Things get a lot better after 3 months (for all those pregnant ladies who are scared reading this so far). You can start blogging after 3 months at least :) 

But one thing we never gave up on was fun - we decided we wouldn't let our baby become an excuse for being stuck at home, so at 3 weeks we took her for an 8hr (with diaper changing stops) road trip to montreal. It was lovely - i was barely out of c-section blues but the trip made me cheer for myself a bit. 

I found managing the baby in a trip to be easier than at home, because there's no home stuff to do, like cleaning/ cooking etc, plus babies sleep longer in the car so feeding intervals became slightly more comfortable. 

I think this is a good enough come back - I shall resume with the many other half written drafts (some on my blogger site, others in my mind while I change diapers) in the next few days :) 

ciao!