Power to the Parents

Justin and Emily Baldoni get real about life with kids.

MINI | What do you love most about fatherhood?

JUSTIN BALDONI | Seeing the world through the eyes of my children. Seeing that innate and natural joy and wonder. I’m trying to figure out how I can recapture that same joy and wonder as an adult. Learning about true selflessness and unconditional love. And that poop has become a word said in the house about 25 times a day with joy and not embarrassment – I love that. Oh, and dad jokes. My kids think I’m funny which is the greatest win of all time.

MINI | What do you think is the greatest challenge of parenting?

JUSTIN BALDONI | Making a conscious effort to not make myself their savior or a superhero. Going against my ego and showing up as I am instead of being perfect. Knowing I am going to mess them up by passing my baggage on to them no matter how hard I try not to. That’s tough. Also, energy. I mean, c’mon— I’m only 35... why don’t they get tired?! And why won’t they go to sleep?!

MINI | What surprised you most about fatherhood?

JUSTIN BALDONI | Just how incredibly and profoundly unprepared I was and continue to be, as I am still way in over my head trying to figure out my stuff and who I am! I have a

new rule: I don’t trust anyone who thinks they are ready to be a parent. How could you ever be ready to bring a life into this world and prepare them for #angrytwitter? I also don’t trust anyone who doesn’t think they need therapy. I promise I don’t have trust issues.

MINI | What is your greatest parenting worry or fear?

JUSTIN BALDONI | That my choices today will be their memories tomorrow. And that those memories will in some way be filled with resentment for any one of my thousand mistakes I make each month.

MINI | What have you loved about watching Emily become a mom?

JUSTIN BALDONI | My wife. I don’t have words for how deeply I respect my wife. She is an absolutely stunning mother. Filled with grace. So patient (although she thinks she isn’t, and it’s really funny when she loses it. But don’t smile when that happens... big mistake). Emily is a real-life angel with an intuition that I rely on for everything. She really “feels” our kids in a way I can’t. She is somehow in-tune with everything and knows what they need before they need it. I don’t know how she does it. We often talk about this, that if the world were right side up, mothers would be the real celebrities.

MINI | What traits do you hope your kids inherit from Emily?

JUSTIN BALDONI | Her kindness. Her grace. Her intuition. Her innate goodness. Her unmatched grounding and quiet strength. Her resilience. Her empathy and capacity to hold another human’s darkness without judgement. Her sense of justice and wisdom. I could go on and on. I hope they grow up and have much more of her than me. But I hope they have my sense of humor, because I’m definitely funnier.

MINI | What makes you two a great team when it comes to parenting?

JUSTIN BALDONI | Honest answer? We are complete opposites and I am kind of like a third child she often has to take care of. But I think because we often see things on such extreme ends, we find ourselves meeting in the middle a lot and realizing that our unique super power as parents is just that— coming together and truly co-parenting. Consulting. Talking. Sometimes fighting, but mostly talking through our thoughts and feelings and not being attached to who is right and wrong. When we do that, which is actually often, we rarely go wrong. It’s really a beautiful thing and something I never thought I would actually experience.

MINI | If you could give your kids one piece of advice, what would it be?

JUSTIN BALDONI | Something you should know about me is I have a hard time with rules, so I’m not going to just leave them one. But if I had to leave them “some” advice it would be...

Lead with your heart. When you don’t know the answer, say it. When that voice inside you is telling you something, listen. Love deeply, even when it hurts. Trust God— we didn’t create ourselves. We can’t even recycle the right way, how the hell could we have any comprehension of God’s infiniteness and unconditional love? And when you are really going through a tough time and don’t know what to do, just think about what your mother would do, and do that. Finally, “Where there is love, nothing is too much trouble and there is always time.” -`Abdu’l-Bahá

MINI | What do you love most about motherhood?

EMILY BALDONI | The fact that I get to experience unconditional love. I get to give it and I get to receive it. It’s a feeling that can’t be put into words, but it’s the most beautiful thing in the world.

MINI | What do you think is the greatest challenge of motherhood?

EMILY BALDONI | Sleep deprivation to the point of insanity. I’ve been there. And I totally get why it’s used as an actual form of torture.

MINI | What surprised you most about motherhood?

EMILY BALDONI | How lonely it can be even though you know millions of others are going through the same thing. If people weren’t so afraid of talking about the challenges of motherhood, I think it would be so much easier to build communities and support systems where we can hold a safe space for each other. A space to show up exactly how we feel, through the good, the bad, and the ugly.

MINI | What is your greatest parenting worry or fear?

EMILY BALDONI | That I’m going to mess up my kids and fail to give them the tools to help them soar through life.

MINI | What have you loved about watching Justin become a dad?

EMILY BALDONI | So many things. But one that really stands out is that Justin has an incredible way of bringing magic to the smallest moments. It’s like watching Hugh Jackman in The Greatest Showman! The kids’ eyes light up whenever he comes into the room because Daddy can match their natural ability of seeing magic everywhere.

MINI | What traits do you hope your kids inherit from Justin?

EMILY BALDONI | His ability to create special moments, his compassion, kindness and generosity toward people who are less fortunate than us, his resourcefulness, and his drive to leave the world a little bit better than he found it.

MINI | What makes you two a great team when it comes to parenting?

EMILY BALDONI | We are very different people, and we know that if we meet in the middle, we’re golden, so we’ve become very good at listening to each other and learning from each other. We also both love hard and are not afraid to show our vulnerability, which I think are two of the most important ingredients in parenthood.

MINI | Talk to us about Amma, and your first product, the Cocoon. What inspired you to bring this to moms today?

EMILY BALDONI | The original version of the Cocoon was designed by Justin’s mom Sharon back in the ‘80s when he was born, and she gifted it to me when we had Maiya in 2015. It was a game changer for me, as I had been looking for something beautiful that fit my style, and also worked as a cover for those moments when I wanted some privacy. There was nothing like it on the market, so we decided to launch AMMA and redesign the Cocoon for the modern mama. It’s been received with so much love and excitement from mamas all over the world. We want to pull breastfeeding mothers out of the dark corners and cramped closets and make them feel comfortable to breastfeed in style whenever they want, wherever they may be. It’s breathable, light, 100% organic cotton, and knitted in a way that allows baby to see out but nobody can see in. It can be used as a breastfeeding cover, but stands on its own as a gorgeous garment. I use it as a poncho, cape, scarf, and take it off to use as a stroller cover or baby blanket. It does it all! I can’t be on a flight without it if I’m traveling with my kiddos; they’ll only sleep if they’re under the Cocoon.

MINI | If you could give your kids one piece of advice, what would it be?

EMILY BALDONI | Trust and follow your innate desire to evolve and grow, travel that wild journey with kindness towards yourself and others, and always stay close to God.