Welcome to our new blog series, Motherhood, Elevated, where we interview moms and entrepreneurs to learn more about how they balance it all and find enrichment in motherhood. Our inaugural interview is with The Fuzzy Sprout founder and mom of two, Lina Alexandrian. Here, Lina shares more about how she got the idea for The Fuzzy Sprout (Lex's all-time favorite baby and kid-friendly bath towel) and how her work as a mom and as an entrepreneur empower her.
"After becoming a mother, everything about me truly did shift. I became a completely different person overnight."
Motherhood, Elevated: Interview With Lina Alexandrian
Tell us a bit about yourself! What was your journey to motherhood and what inspired you to found The Fuzzy Sprout?
Hi! I’m Lina Alexandrian - mom of 2, former lawyer, and founder of The Fuzzy Sprout. The Fuzzy Sprout was created because of my journey with postpartum anxiety. As a lawyer turned product founder, I realized that my pull towards creating the Fuzzy Sprout was the same desire that pulled me towards law – I wanted to help people, especially new parents, navigate an already overwhelming journey. In 2018, I became a mom for the first time and the anxiety I once kept contained hit me like a ton of bricks. I had an extremely colicky baby who could only be soothed in a warm tub of water, but my anxiety skyrocketed when I had to lift him out and dry him alone. He was tiny, slippery, would unexpectedly jerk (as newborns do) and I had no one to help me dry him before he got too cold and began crying all over again. Normal baby towels were thin, impractical, too short and they never helped me actually lift my baby and dry him fast enough. Plus, the anxiety of dropping my slippery baby in the process was always an intrusive thought. After months of trying to find a towel that could actually help me during bath time, I decided to create my own. After using it on my first for years, I then used it on my second after she was born, which made bath time with her so much easier. I decided to take it to market in 2021 with the hope of helping parents navigate bath time with their littles, and since then, The Fuzzy Sprout has made its way into the homes & routines of thousands of new parents across the US and Canada.
What is the core function/purpose of The Fuzzy Sprout and how is it different than other options?
Unlike regular baby towels, our handsfree, wearable baby towels were created to be functional for parents so bath time is less messy and overwhelming. Our towels were designed to make it easier for parents to lift their baby out of the bath without having to juggle their towel and baby, and without getting their clothes drenched. Our unique design also means they can be used in up to 10 different ways, until a newborn becomes a toddler. Since we’re all about functionality and convenience, we’ve also made our towels from 100% Turkish Organic cotton, because we know how important it is to wrap your baby’s delicate skin with soft, chemical free fabric, especially after a warm bath!
The Fuzzy Sprout Lift, Unsnap & Wrap Towel
Features:
- Extra-Large Size: Hate having to size up every time your baby grows? We hear you! Our towels were made to be extra large so you don't ever need to buy another towel for your growing kiddo.
- Organic Cotton: We are serious about the material we use in our towels. Our towels are only made from 100% GOTS certified Turkish organic cotton.
- Versatile: Not only are our towels extra large, they were made to be versatile so they stay functional for years. As your baby grows, the Lift, Unsnap & Wrap towel grows with them. It can be used for infants to toddlers (ages 0 - 3+).
- Three Snap Sizes: Each towel comes with 3 snap sizes to snuggly wrap around all neck sizes.
- Gift-Ready: Each Lift, Unsnap & Wrap towel is packaged in a beautifully designed 28 cm x 30 cm EVA reusable and waterproof zipper bag with instructions.
- Colours : White & Mint Green
What do you wish you had known as a new mother that you know now?
Babies grow and learn at different paces! Don’t compare your baby to anyone else, and most importantly, don’t feel like you did anything wrong because your baby hasn’t walked at 12 months, doesn’t self feed, or can’t talk yet.
How do you suggest moms go about building their own community?
As hard as it may be, when my babies were little, I pushed myself to go out to parks, play places, and local mom events where I met so many moms that, 5 years later, I still lean on for support. Peanut is also a great app to connect with local moms!
What is your favorite of working/innovating in the parenting space?
Getting to meet so many new moms, learning about what they enjoy, their struggles and how they are adjusting to their new life. Motherhood is a journey that is so unique to everyone, and I love hearing and learning from other moms, which I am fortunate to be able to do in this industry.
What are some of the best tools in your motherhood toolbox?
Finding the right daycare/preschool that I can actually trust has been a lifesaver - knowing that my kids are in the hands of someone who cares about them gives me the peace of mind to be able to work during the day. Also, relying on grandparents! As a business owner, I juggle so many things, but it’s so helpful to be able to call on grandparents for help for a few hours in a day to get the time I need to get everything done.
How do you build in time for yourself as a mom and business owner?
It’s HARD. I try to be intentional about carving out time for myself and force myself to follow through even though, more often than not, I find myself wanting to forgo that time to catch up on everything I need to do for my business/home life/kids.
What's one societal norm for new moms that you wish we'd all stop doing?
Judging the way moms parent - whether it's intentional or unintentional. Every baby is different and what works for one mom might not work for another and that’s OK! Blanket rules like: don’t give your baby any screen time, or you have to give them 100 foods before age 1 are so anxiety inducing and set moms up to fail. Raising a baby is HARD, and we should acknowledge that there can be more than one way to go about raising little ones.
What has surprised you most about motherhood?
How after becoming a mother, everything about me truly did shift. I became a completely different person overnight. I found myself “mourning” my life pre baby at some points - not that I didn’t love my baby, but the change between my life pre-baby and post-baby was so drastic and unexpected.