May 2016: The Month of Community
Welcome to Yoko's Monthly Favorites! We're hearing from Mitera founder Yoko Shimada and learning what her favorites for May are. As a #MiteraMama and #WonderWoman, Yoko spends a lot of time in the motherhood world, so we know that all of her favorites are mama approved.
May means to me...
May has been a very special month for me personally and for Mitera. First we celebrated Mother's Day on May 8th and then we hosted our first Talking Motherhood event in NYC in honor of this year's Mother's Day. An amazing group of moms shared their stories from their own unique motherhood journeys in open, honest and at times hilarious ways. It was so powerful to be in the same room with all these women who are all incredible moms in their own ways but also have such accomplishments outside of motherhood. I felt this great sense of Community - a community of awesome Mitera moms. Watch out for recap blog post of the event soon.
xx Yoko
Favorite for Mamas
I am 5'1 so I always wore heels but I started to wear more flats since I became a mom. All flats are not made equal, however. My favorite so far is the ballet flats from Tieks. They are so stylish and comfortable. Whenever I wear heels, I carry my Tieks in their little Tieks bag in my purse :) So far, I have the metallic gold, copperhead snake andbasic black but there are so many shades and styles to choose from! Have fun picking!
Favorite for Baby
Sleep training is one of those things where opinions differ widely but I wanted to share what we did as parents. We believe in sleep training and having a routine. Our kids still go to bed at 6:30 and wake up at 6:30. We enjoy our adult time after we put the kids to bed.
We read many books and blogs but at the end the book we ended up sticking with is the Healthy Sleep Habits, Happy Child by Dr. Marc Weissbluth. When we were so sleep deprived in the early days of parenting, this book opened our eyes about babies' sleep patterns and development week to week and month by month. We have passed on this book to many of our friends with a caveat that it needs to fit their personality and lifestyle.
f course, parenting is personal and no one theory or method is better than the other. My advice to parents, especially new parents is to do whatever feels right for their personalities (parents and kids) and lifestyle. And I think it is totally ok to try something and change tactics later because you are learning to be a mother/parent as much as your baby is learning everything there is to learn in this world.
Favorite for the Home
Have I shared with you how I am a fan of Bill Murray? I bought this poster for my husband for his birthday a couple years ago (after I saw it at a dear friend Gemma Burgess' apartment) and it still brings a smile to our faces daily.
Favorite for Work
Built NY laptop cases. Ever since they launched in 2003, I have been faithful to their laptop cases. Currently, I am using this style but I have had this and this in the past.
Tell us, what have you been loving this month? Comment below or tell us online by commenting on Instagram!
*Disclaimer: all these recommendations are purely personal and are not the result of any brand sponsorships.