[Editor’s note: To read more about Rosie Pope and her business, click HERE & HERE]
Rosie Pope–known to many as the star of Bravo’s “Pregnant in Heels” and as a maternity maven on the national stage–recently launched a new video series on her YouTube channel aimed at answering essential questions that expectant and new moms often have in a relatable and down-to-earth (yet still super-informative) way. We caught up with the mother-of-four recently to get all the scoop on why you should tune in and check out her new vids!
What inspired you to start doing the new video series? Tell us about how your own experiences as a mom influenced you.
We are so used to consuming content today online, especially video content—and before our parenting lives it’s largely funny, relatable, entertaining, authentic, and consumable enough in length that it doesn’t terrify us or lose our interest. When you get pregnant, you go from watching this type of content to pregnancy and parenting education videos that look and feel entirely different. Time and time again I would find myself watching a video of a renowned expert talking about a subject. The experts in and of themselves were amazing and so well qualified, but the video was so boring and sterile and had clearly been vetted through so many legal teams—it was too PC for me to actually be helpful in my real life. So I decided to create series of videos on my Rosie Pope YouTube Channel called “Conversations with Rosie Pope” talking about (not preaching) different problems/milestones in pregnancy and parenting and offering what worked for me, useful facts and compassion. Shit happens you know! It really does! I wish I had had this type of video to turn too when I first became a parent because it would have made me feel a lot better and more confident about what I was doing than the other content I was consuming that left me with more self-doubt than when I began my research.
How is the new series of parenting video “Conversations with Rosie Pope” different from previous videos you’ve posted?
No professional make-up! But seriously that sort of sums it up: It’s me un-plugged, no filter, telling you what you need to know and quite frankly, what you don’t!
What have been some of the most common questions or topics that moms want to know about?
Sleep, potty training, sex after pregnancy, trying to conceive, introducing solids, breastfeeding, sushi, discipline, soothing, and colic are just a few.
What has been your favorite thing about the new video series?
It actually makes me laugh and when I watch it I honestly think: “Wow I wish I had has this when I was pregnant!” And believe me, I am a harsh critic of myself!
What has been the biggest challenge?
Finding the time to make as many of these videos as I really want to—believe me there are many, many, many still to be made!
Do you use different methods to take care of your four children? You mentioned in one of your videos that: “we have to adopt the parenting to our child.” How should mothers decide what kind of parenting method they should use?
Yes absolutely. All of my kids are very different and so I have to parent them differently. You can’t figure this out ahead of time but really you adapt the techniques you are using that clearly aren’t working. You have to try different things that feel like a good idea. That’s the thing about parenting, you have to remain flexible in your approach to getting a desired result. Children are different—people different—it doesn’t mean you can’t teach them the same values you just might have to do so in different ways. And that I think is a beautiful thing if you can embrace it and have confidence in your abilities.
For any readers not familiar with your MomPrep resources and Rosie Pope Maternity, tell us about what’s new with you, professionally.
My maternity line continues to expand and while being offered in my stores on the East and West coasts it is also available at nordstrom.com and shopbop.com and of course rosiepope.com. I will also have an exciting announcement in nursing to be made soon so stay tuned! Rosie Pope Baby and Rosie Pope Baby The Collection are available across America—at everywhere from Buy Buy Baby to Nordstrom and Lord & Taylor, Bloomingdales and Macys.com as well as many others. MomPrep (my prenatal and postpartum education resource) as partnered with The Pump Station on the West Coast and Birth Day Presence on the East Coast to offer an amazing curriculum of classes in my stores. So lots of exciting things going on as well as many great partnerships for 2015 and 2016.
Could you tell us your New Year’s goal for parenting education?
My goals for the New Year in parenting education is to provide more and more evidenced based education that doesn’t scare people or make them feel judged but instead, empowers them to make their own decisions and to know that they can do this.
To check out Rosie Pope’s new videos, visit youtube.com/user/Rosiepope!
