033 | Coffee Stains, Milestones, and Big Ideas with Becca Wood

In this episode, Becca Wood, a creative entrepreneur and project management enthusiast, talks about the ups and downs of parenthood and balancing business life. Becca opens up about the everyday challenges of raising a child, like the infamous coffee spill in a stroller caddy, and how these little hurdles are just part of the journey. 

The conversation shifts to Becca’s entrepreneurial side, where she dreams of launching tech companies that could revolutionize project management tools and help busy creatives and parents like herself. 

With humor, heart, and actionable insights, this episode is a celebration of both motherhood and the creative hustle. It’s about finding joy in the present while looking ahead to what’s next—whether that’s solving everyday problems or dreaming up big tech innovations.

Highlights

• Parenthood Reflections: the joys and challenges of raising young children, from potty training to watching them grow out of their stroller phase.
• The Spilled Coffee Dilemma: light-hearted but relatable discussion on how small, everyday problems (like coffee spilling in a stroller caddy) become part of the parenting experience.
• Embracing Life’s Phases: embracing each phase of her child’s development with excitement and curiosity, without dwelling too much on nostalgia or past phases.
• Tech Dreams and Innovation: her aspirations to launch tech companies, particularly in the realm of project management software, and how she envisions making life easier for creatives.
• Entrepreneurship and Creativity: importance of creative thinking and problem-solving in both parenting and business.
• Parenting Milestones: excitement over her daughter’s achievements, like crawling and reaching new milestones, while Kate talks about her own experiences with her older children.
• The Search for the Perfect Product: love for innovative ideas—like an anti-spill coffee cup holder for strollers or a universal project management tool.

Connect with Beca Wood online: 

• Website
• Instagram
• Tiktok

Connect with Kate Christy:

• Website
• Website (Podcast)
• Instagram (Podcast)
• Instagram

Transcript

Note: We use AI transcription so there may be some inaccuracies

Kate Christy: Hi, Becca. Hi. Welcome back. We have our first returning guest to the pod. I am so honored. I'm so excited to chat with you because, well, we've got a lot of ground to cover because when we first recorded part one was you were preparing for your first maternity leave. And now, baby traces.

A year old, 

Becca Wood: she turned one yesterday. 

Kate Christy: what is the saying? The road to hell is paved with good intention 

Becca Wood: on 

Kate Christy: both of our parts. Yeah, we, we totally wanted to do a recap on What went well, what didn't pan out the way that you thought it would for maternity leave and kind of,your transition into motherhood.

And let's see for those listening, I was going to pull up our 1st episode. So if you haven't listened to that, you can go listen to that. You put a little pause on right now and go. listen to that one first and then you can come back here and listen to how things went well or things went wrong.

Becca Wood: We'll find out. 

Kate Christy: Okay. Let's see. This was episode

 22 planning for maternity leave as a solopreneur. So Okay, now that we've got that, housekeeping out of the way, hi, Becca, how are 

Becca Wood: you? I'm doing great. My daughter's at the sitter, so I have full focus and a quiet house to chat with you 

Kate Christy: today. I'm so excited. I know how precious that time is.

So I'm really thankful that you're giving it to me right now to, to chat about what your life is like when your daughter's around.

Becca Wood: She has to go somewhere else for us to talk about what it's like to live with her. 

Kate Christy: Yeah, 

Becca Wood: that was funny. . 

Kate Christy: sometimes you don't like to say the things in front of the children. , they're always 

Becca Wood: aware 

Kate Christy: they are even at a young age. Little sponges. They are. okay, so you had your first daughter in this time last year?

 uh, precisely October of last year. Yep. October of last year. And we chatted, before that and talked about what you were planning for maternity leave and I think you did it right from my perspective at that point in time, because I had zero plans for any maternity leaves for myself.

 Therefore, I didn't take one. You had some financial plans in place and you had some expectations going into it. So let's just, jump in right where we left off with that. taking the time off, like, how did that look and feel as a business owner? Because, when you're in it by yourself, you take time off, everything stops.

So let's go back to that point in time. 

Becca Wood: Yeah, I think that is the best, description is that everything stops and. In a way that is such an incredible blessing because I had the time and the space to heal and to bond with my new baby and to, get new routines in place and just get used to this massive change that just occurred in our lives.

 but if we're putting aside the emotions and the process of bringing home a child on the business side of things, literally everything to a grinding halt. And I think that was one of the things that I kind of expected, like I had the thought in my mind. but I forgot how much of business, at least in my experience, is based on momentum.

 And for me, when my momentum is really going and I'm getting lots of leads in, and my marketing is going well, and I have lots of projects, it just seems to kind of continuously fuel itself. And when that's not happening, it is so hard to climb up that hill. and get started rolling back down it again. So that was my, biggest lesson learned is weighing how important it is in the future.

If I were to do this again, or, if you're listening, planning your maternity leave, how important it is for you to truly have that block of time and that peace and that bonding and that amazing connection. Time period with your newborn versus how hard the climb is going to be after because you also have to put it in perspective that this time the climb isn't just you.

 It's you managing a newborn or a not quite newborn, but still a tiny baby, depending on when you come back to work. 

Kate Christy: talking about momentum, it kind of feels counterintuitive. Like when you're super busy, like what you want to do is pump the brakes, right? And then when you pump the brakes, then you're like, Oh, wait, I was pumping the brakes way back then.

And now the pond has dried up. so I think that that's like An interesting situation being because, you're going to have to stop it all the way, or at least, push things so far down. But that gap, as it relates to marketing is like, this could affect my business 3 months from now, 6 months from now, 9 months from now, you kind of have to.

 Think about that, but then also, not let that, overwhelm you. Yeah. Because you're right, taking that time to just be and exist and transition into motherhood is. So important like I said, I did not do that. I joke that I might still take that maternity leave someday. I'll be like, you should 50 years.

I'll be like, I'm going on my maternity leave folks. but you never know the world is my oyster. you make the rules. I make the rules. Yeah. I was just talking about that this morning while I was walking with my friend about how, we get to make the decisions, like we get to Run, our lives instead of our lives running us, but sometimes it doesn't pan out that way.

 so you knew that you were going to take this time. You're planning to take this time. So, like, once that time arrived and baby was here and business was stopped, how are you feeling around putting that on pause where you like, man, I really am missing this aspect of being a creative or I'm missing this aspect of working did any of those feelings come up for you?

Or was that? Later on. That's a really interesting 

Becca Wood: question. I do think it was tough for me at the beginning to fully, fully pause and in full transparency. I had a couple of designers that I work with who were like, Hey, I know you're on leave and you can totally say no. But if you have time for this thing that will take 1 or 2 hours.

 So I had a couple of projects like that that I was kind of Weaving in, which I think me still feel like I had that piece of me that I knew really well. so I did do a couple of those projects, not like probably in the first month, but maybe in the second month, I would say I did more of those.

 I do think that I started to really feel that, the idea of like, I, as a person have fundamentally changed and like, what that mean for me as a human? What does that mean for me as a business owner? I think My business was what was familiar and so I was saying yes to those smaller projects because.

 I knew it and I felt comfortable and it was easy and in relation to all of the other things that was learning at the time, I didn't really have to think about it in the same way. It wasn't a new skill. I was developing. Yeah, I don't think that I expected to miss it, and I think that I missed it more than I thought that I would.

Kate Christy: Mm hmm. Yeah. I think that that's something that I struggled with as well, where you tether a bit of your personality to creativity, and if that's what you do for work, and then all of a sudden it's like, obviously you just made a baby, like, that's a big thing to make. it's this piece of you that, It becomes really hard because there's all this mental emotional stuff going on.

And, there's no way to describe that mental state that you come into, and there's no way to prepare you for it. even if you've already had a child, like on my third child, I get into it. I'm like, Oh, I forgot. I forgot doing this again. I forgot what this was like. 

 that's something that feels like it, has always tethered me to the person I always was is creating and producing and, not from like an ego perspective, but just from a like, I have to make things. I like to make things. And if I'm not making things, then I'm grouchy, but I think that's cool that you were able to, dabble in it a little bit, right?

And it felt like very low stakes, right? Because you weren't bringing on clients, you weren't managing expectations and client relationships and things like that. It was, behind the scenes. Hey, can you help me with this project? Or hey, can you jump in on this project? And I actually, at this point in my business, really love when I get that opportunity.

 Because it feels like a brain break, I guess, because you're not managing that mental load of, clients and scheduling and all this stuff. You're just executing on the creativity part of it. And so I've been slowly bringing that a little bit into my business behind the scenes. that was definitely something that, Whenever I became a mom, I was like, Oh, I have to be full on mom mode.

And then when those feelings of I want to be creative again, this is wrong. Or is it too soon? Or should I be having these feelings now? Et cetera. And I think that, balance is the, message I'm looking for. Yeah. How long did you take off for your maternity leave?

 So 

Becca Wood: I took off about two and a half months, I think, when all of a sudden done. I think my goal was to do two, but the way that the holidays fell, I just kind of started back in January. So, 

Kate Christy: And did you feel like that was enough time or did the time, like when the clock ran out, you're like, no, it's over.

Or were you like, Yeah, it's over. 

Becca Wood: Well, I think, just as a reminder, if it's been a while since you guys listened to the first episode, my daughter is still at home with me, so she has never gone to daycare. We do have a sitter now, we didn't start that until, gosh, she was probably like six months.

 So even when I came back to work, she was still, With me 24 seven. there was a reason I went down that path in my brain. 

Kate Christy: We can get there. no, I asked if you were excited to go back to work or if you were like bummed about going back to work. 

Becca Wood: Well, so I think that the beauty of being an entrepreneur is that I had the opportunity to shape work into what works for my life at that point in time.

 So at that point in time, I. Had the baby home with me. I was suddenly Climbing back into restarting this business. And so I think the 1st month back was extremely, extremely part time. basically, it was a few client requests that had come in while it was on maternity leave. And my autoresponder said, hey, I'm not doing this right now.

 come back to me in January. So I had a few little things like that. And then it was a lot of like marketing and kind of getting the word out. So it wasn't really taking on full on projects. So I think that let me transition back slowly so that I didn't feel overwhelmed because I truly had that, dual role didn't have daycare.

I didn't have somewhere that she was going and I didn't have 8 hours a day, but I could dedicate to my business. so I think it was exciting, but also I was able to do it in a way that worked for me, and I think that was the key to not feeling overwhelmed. 

Kate Christy: Mm hmm. Yeah, and your business model, I think, I'm pretty sure we talked about this on part one, but you offer sprint projects, basically, it's not long, frames, it's, was one week in the beginning, and then it went to two weeks.

 It was one day. Holy moly. 

Becca Wood: I started as a side hustle, so I did one day websites, and when I went full time in my business, I changed to one week websites, and then when I realized I was pregnant, I changed to two week websites because I thought a little 

Kate Christy: more time might be good. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Smart move.

Okay. Mm hmm. So then, you were so accustomed to working. In that way prior to a kid, because this is something that I've slowly transitioned into offering is it used to be very long, four, six, eight weeks, depending on the project scope. And then I started offering more condensed ones and I was like, Oh, I can do this.

But it took me a long time to wrap my head around. I can promise a short time, like turnaround deliverable to someone because I always felt like, I've got to pad in this extra time for kids getting sick, school getting closed, etc, etc, right? There was always this wild card variable with three children where I thought Maybe I shouldn't offer this because maybe I'm not going to be able to deliver on it, but yours is the opposite where you knew, you kept giving yourself more time and I used to be able to do a website in a day.

I used to be able to do a website in a week and now I'm, expanding it to two weeks because I know I'm bringing on a baby. So then when you got back into the swing of things, were you like, man, I hope I can do this in two weeks. Or were you like, no, he's a cake, 

Becca Wood: you know, I would say, I thought I was fully capable and I think there were definitely times and projects at the beginning where I was humbled and I didn't see that coming.

 but I would say about 90 percent of my clients are mothers and they got it and showed me so much grace. And think we talked about this in the first episode that I Subconsciously, slowly have shifted my client base into primarily women and primarily mothers. And it's because even before I knew I was pregnant, I was like, moms, get it they don't mess around.

They don't have time to mess around. they show up, they get stuff done. They get me feedback quickly. Like I love working with moms. Now, I love working with them for a million and 1 other reasons, but primarily because when I say, oh, we're teething or we're going through a sleep regression and I'm so sorry.

I know. I said, I would get this to you today, but it's going to be tomorrow. they go. I get it say less. I'll see it tomorrow. I'll see it the next day if you need it. you tell me and we're good. don't worry about what the contract says, which I hate not worrying about what the contract says.

 but just having the right audience to show me that much grace in those moments was the key to surviving this past year in my 

Kate Christy: business. Yeah. And I think this is something that We've chatted about before around just setting those expectations, communication. I think that's something that's a big strong suit of yours in how you operate and how you do business is you're very, very good communicator and, prepping people.

Yes. That's one of the things I admire about you back as the person who I'm like, how do I handle the situation? Help me draft an email. but just preparing people. instead of coming behind after the fact, after you've missed the deliverable or gone way past the window, you're saying, hey, this is what's up.

This is what's up. And, I have found in most every relationship that I've ever had in life, business, personal, whatever, keeping people abreast of the situation, there leaves much smaller room for people to get upset or people to get frustrated than if it's this after the fact thing, 

Becca Wood: Yeah, and 

Kate Christy: because they're, caught off guard or they're surprised or, not necessarily angry, but you're giving them a lot more fuel, to be upset, I guess, if you're not communicating those things up front, Which is sometimes hard though, Because you don't say anything. They won't. 

Becca Wood: it's particularly hard once, a tiny baby or any age child, but I haven't gotten past tiny baby. Really. you don't know the nights where they're not going to sleep and you don't know when they're suddenly going to start.

Teething and only wanting to be held by mom and nothing else suffices those things so, I definitely always have done my best to communicate but there have been times over the past year where I just had to fall on the sword and say, I'm sorry it's just not happening. I think just being honest and as upfront as you can be, and again, having the right audience, and I don't mean to say that people who aren't moms wouldn't understand or wouldn't, respond in the same way, but when you've been there and you get it and you know what it's like to have an unexpected night of literal zero hours of sleep, you're going to show a lot of grace in those situations 

Kate Christy: because you have 

Becca Wood: been there.

So, 

Kate Christy: yeah. And I find as a mom, when it's someone else, who's a mom, who's explaining their trials and tribulations, the only emotion I ever feel around that is like, I'm glad it's not me. You know, like before I had kids and I went out, you know, to a restaurant, there'd be kids screaming. I'd be like, Oh my gosh, can you believe that?

And now I'll go out and I'm just like, Apologies for you and the situation that you're in. I'm so sorry for you, but I'm just happy that this is not me in this situation.

Oh, that's hilarious. I'm just so glad that's not me right now, because it could be any second. Right, right. True, true. Maybe that's of a backwards gratitude process. Yeah. Let's call it gratitude.

Yeah. Okay, there we go. Like that. I go on a whole tangent about, how we're projecting our emotions and feelings about behavior in public on our children and they're just acting the way that they know how to act because they're children. they're dealing with emotions the way that 2 year olds deal with emotions.

I feel like I'll get there 1 day, but 

Becca Wood: I don't have much to say on that topic yet.

Kate Christy: this is like an aside, but have not really taken our children out and about post COVID just because we got pregnant shortly after, like the big year. and then it just got really, uh. hard to go and do things, like to go out to eat and it was just like, we just stopped doing those things.

And then we went to a brewery with my dad and his wife. cause I was like, we can order We can sit outside. we're not going to disturb anyone kind of thing. so we went there and there was live music and I was like, Oh, this is exciting. I guess, I don't know. We'll see what happens.

And the kids Absolutely loved it. They were like, this is the best place ever. We can do a McDonald's here. Let's come here all the time. Yeah, 

Becca Wood: they 

Kate Christy: were super jazz. but I found myself sitting in that situation being like, It's okay. We can go and do these things again. It's doable. Yeah.

 Everyone's behaving themselves Maz and Locke were dancing up a storm. They were really into the live band aspect of it and yeah, there were kids and there were dogs everywhere and I was like, oh, it's People just out here living their lives. we can do that too. 

Becca Wood: We, spent this summer away from Texas.

We spent two months in the Midwest with both of our families. my husband's family, dines out pretty often and we hadn't really taken our daughter out too often. just because she was little, little, and then we just kind of. Job in the routine of eating at home and it was fine. and at the beginning, was like, I'm not sure how this is going to go.

And I was prepared for all the scenarios. And then I realized, wait, I have the chillest baby in the world. And she just hangs and she plays with her toy we can do that. And we could do it at home when it's just the two of us, or the three of us. She counts. She's a human. Yep. She's a person. so yeah, it's funny once you have that experience of, oh, wait, it works and it's okay. You can run with it. 

Kate Christy: Yes. And I'm going to advocate for public training your child right now, instead of when they're seven. It's a lot harder, to put them back into society.

no, I'm, being hard on my children. they're lovely human beings. But yeah, you kind of get in this headspace of it's going to be stressful. we can't do this. And it's funny thinking back to we were just chatting with some people this past weekend.

So I'm going to tell a long story long like I do. when my brother in law, my husband's brother got a promotion. He was in the Marines and he just retired this past weekend. And so we were going to all those celebration things. but when we went to his promotion ceremony, We had just had Cain and he was like, toddling around.

I don't quite remember how old he was, but anyways, he was the only child we had and we went to His ceremony, or it was at his office, though, and it was a secure location. And so we had to keep, going through these, like, security clearance and, get put in a smaller room and a smaller room.

And it was, like, this process, even get into the place to begin with. And then we're in there and they put us in this room. It's like, full of computers, full of telephones, like, full of all kinds of electronic stuff, and Cain's just like, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, just like, and I'm just like, ugh, I'm dying inside.

 And, I have like, first child syndrome, where I'm so self conscious of his behavior, like how it reflects on me and now I don't know, like third kid, I'm just having a tizzy in the grocery store. I'm just like, that's her problem. That's not mine, so we get in this room and we had to skip nap time and it was like, because we had to drive to get there.

It was just this perfect storm and we're in there and we're just like waiting and waiting and waiting and nothing's happening. And I'm we got to get out of here, we got to get this thing over, we got to get out of here. And then we leave and they're like, we're going out to eat. And I was like, what?

 The hell we are! And so then we go out to this restaurant, and there's this like long table, and the waitress keeps coming, and I'm like, okay, let's order food. And she's like, would you like a drink? And I'm like, I don't want a drink. then she leaves, and then she comes back, she's like, let's get appetizers!

And I'm like, no, let's get our food! Let's eat so we can go home before the explosion happens! So we ended up getting our food to go. yeah, I was just like, we got to get out of here and looking back on I'm just like, Oh, silly Kate. that was like nothing. but then cut to this past weekend where we're out to eat and my brother in law and his wife are there they have twins who are three.

 And. That's them. they're in that situation right now. And Collins and I went, Sam's kids. 'cause we're like, No thank, you're messing around this time. mom and dad are going out on the town by ourselves tonight. Thank you. And so we were there and the waitress comes, she's like, drinks. I was like, yes, please.

She's like, appetizers, like, yes please. . it, brought up that memory of that experience where it was just like, such in a tizzy about it. Mm-Hmm. . I think that, we'll get in our own ways a lot about, this, restrictions around what we can go and do with children and, how we respond to the environment.

And, now, like I said, I'm like three kids in where I'm like, oh, it's fine, whatever. But I'm like, oh, I could have been, it's fining and whatevering like this whole time. but alas, here we are at the beginning of public training.

Becca Wood: Public training. I feel like, they say that people have those camps, like they have grandma camp for their kids or they have life skills camp. You can have public training camp. 

Kate Christy: Yeah, we were joking with my dad after he came off the trail that he needed to go through public training.

 He did not think it was funny. We did. How many months was he hiking? Six months. Yeah. So yeah. We were like, you forget some things in six months. you need to learn the ways of the world again. you all can go out to eat now as a family of three. So that's good news. That is good news.

 We got way off topic there. Oh, that's my middle name. so you get back into business, you're easing yourself back in, and then you're starting to book projects again, like your two week website projects again. So, at this time, are you, kind of walk us through this process? How things are evolving, how you're feeling, what it's looking like behind the scenes, are you getting in there?

And you're like, okay, we can do this. Are you getting there? And you're like, we can't do this. 

Becca Wood: I would say the period between about three months and when did we leave for the summer? She was probably eight months about to turn nine months when we left. that was great. She was so happy to just be in a carrier to be on me at the beginning.

And then she was so happy to be in her bouncer or, just playing on the floor. And I think I said this, I'm recalling right back to the original conversation, that all of my plans hinged on having the most chill baby in the world. And I luckily had the most chill baby in the world. You manifested it.

 I did. I don't know how I did it. But, from a young age, she's always been okay, with independent play. And she loved tummy time and, all of these things that can be challenges for Certain babies, she was just happy to do. So there were so many days where, she was just on her little mat next to me and doing her thing and I'm, typing away or whatever I needed to do that day.

 I will say, if we fast forward this conversation to. Now, where she is a very, very active crawler, I cannot get a single thing done while she is awake. So we are at a crossroads again, and I'm happy to have that conversation of my thoughts and my plans and how I'm going to handle that next stage of, I guess, she's 1.

Is she a toddler? 

Kate Christy: Does she have to toddle to be a toddler? No, I think that's a good classification. 

Becca Wood: I think everything is about to change again. But if we just look at, like, immediate. babyhood, I think I manifested the calm baby and was able to really do a lot of effective work because of her demeanor and, and if she wasn't that demeanor, I didn't have a plan B.

 I did say this earlier too. There was a point when she turned about 6 months. I think that we did start sending her to a sitter. She's another mom in the neighborhood who has. has a son who's three weeks older than our daughter. So that was really the perfect and she's absolutely wonderful.

She used to be a teacher and it was the perfect match and the perfect find. So we did that about 1 to 2 days a week. when it started to get a little bit more difficult to work with her, but even on the day she was home with me, I was still able to, work and to get things done. So, 

Kate Christy: Yeah. Does that answer your question?

Mm practically, what did the schedule look like to get your work done, to get enough time to do the, things that you needed to do to deliver your two week websites? Was it, like, getting up early, staying up late, it in any kind of 

Becca Wood: window of time?

 that's a hard one to answer now because it changed so much depending on her age and her nap schedule. Mm hmm. she was waking. In the middle of the night, or I had to wake her because she's teeny little peanut and we had some weight gain issues until she was about 6 months. So I was not waking up early.

I was getting as much sleep as I could get, especially while she was still having those overnight wakes. But really, it was. It was just when she was happy to be laying there, I would sneak in a little of this, a little of that, and then it was mainly her nap schedule was whenever she was sleeping, I would just open my computer and get to work.

Kate Christy: Yeah, that's something that you had figured out as well. I did not do the sleep training situation. I don't know why that's so silly to say out loud, but we'd be like on a call and Becky would be like, Oh, I gotta go put her down for a nap. And she'd be gone for like a minute and she'd be like, okay, I'm back.

And I'm like, what? 

Becca Wood: What is this sorcery? I know that there are a lot of thoughts on sleep training. For me personally, and this is not, you have to be so careful how you talk about these things. It's not a judgment on what anyone does or doesn't do with their own child. But for us and our situation, it was.

 The best thing that we ever did, hands down, I had my sanity because I knew when she would sleep still to this day and I don't want to jinx anything. But I know when she's going to be asleep. I know when she's going to be awake. And there was a period before we sleep trained. Probably after that 4 month sleep regression was about when we decided to start doing it, where it was taking forever to get her to go to bed, and it was a process and it just added so much stress and I had to weigh, How much do I think it will help her in the long run, but also what is it doing to my mental state in the long run?

 And I do think that I'm trying to say this as PC as possible. When you are. Working and taking care of your child full time, and you literally have zero break from any of it. there are times where you have to weigh your own mental state as much as how much you think a decision will affect your child.

 That's my philosophy. 

Kate Christy: No, I mean, I think that there's so much truth in that is. You have to be able and capable and mentally stable to take care of children. So there is this level of self care that needs to happen in order for, all the wheels to be greased and everything to be moving according to plan.

 So I think that's something that, We all struggle with in as mothers is making it okay to do things for ourselves, even though we know if we're looking at it, black and white on paper, like, oh, yeah, that makes sense. But we're still having this inner monologue of Is this selfish?

Should I be doing this, which is kind of 

Becca Wood: crazy. Yeah, I do have to say because of her personality, she made sleep training so easy on us. It was probably two days of fussing and it wasn't even that much fussing. So I can't imagine, you know, Iknow that sometimes it takes. Days or weeks or longer and some children.

It just doesn't agree with. But, because it was kind of like a quick process. It's something that I have not had a single regret about. 

Kate Christy: Yeah. We moved into our house when Cain um. 11 months old, and I remember he went through this like insane freakout if we walked into a different room, like he was unsettled.

 And so trying to get him to go to sleep in his new room, he was like, Hi, what are you doing? 

Becca Wood: Oh, no. And you're so aware. And that's when separation anxiety, it 

Kate Christy: it was something that I did not think about at all. It was like, why would I have thought that he was going to think he was being abandoned in some strange place?

I'm like, this is your room, duh! anyway, so yeah, we tried that when we moved and it was like, mm, pass. Yeah. But it's funny, to this day, like, we still sleep with our children. and he will just put a hand on you and be like, Oh, you're still there. That's great.

 but like lock when he was, coming up as they say, he was like, put me down. Don't touch me. I'm going to sleep. Goodbye. I was like, is new. It's 

Becca Wood: crazy how just like personality dependent. Like some kids just have higher needs in certain ways and some kids are like, cool, I'm going to bed. See you later.

Kate Christy: I was like that as a child. I think, I mean, I don't know what degree I was, on the cuddly scale. People will say I'm not very cuddly now, but, I would, if I was tired, I was like, this is silly, I'm going to go to sleep. I'm not going to fight this. I'm going to go to bed.

And I remember when we were, like in elementary school, my parents were guess what? You all are this age now. You get to stay up later. And we were both like, pass. We're going to bed. Bye. 

Becca Wood: Oh my gosh. I was the kid that my mom just stopped giving a bedtime because it didn't work. I would just like come crawling back into, not crawling, probably walking and be like, I can't sleep.

And she was like, you've got to be kidding me. 

Kate Christy: Are you a night owl? Does your brain work at night? this is interesting conversation I want to have. Yes. So pre kids night out. Like, could you stay up and work and accomplish things? Or did you just like to stay up but not actually do anything?

 I could accomplish things. 

Becca Wood: But if I didn't do anything yet. Was working too late. It would keep me up significantly later because I couldn't shut my brain off. Okay, so I had to Balance. Mm 

Kate Christy: Yeah now after kid. Are you like, oh, she's asleep I'm gonna get all my stuff done or are you like, oh, she's asleep.

My brain is mush. My brain is mush Okay. Okay. 

Becca Wood: I definitely am the most productive in the morning. I'm vacuuming. I'm unloading the dishwasher I'm doing all the things and then once it's Five o'clock and my husband is done working. I'm like, I'll see you later. 

Kate Christy: He's like, Oh, okay. 

That was one thing that I really struggled with transitioning into motherhood and working was like, okay, I would tell a lot to myself every day. he's asleep, I'm going to Get all the stuff done that I didn't get around to today and then 7 o'clock rolls around and I'm like, it is time for bed also for me.

 And so then I had to, flip my schedule where I was getting up early, get up 4 in the morning or 5 in the morning and do no. Yes, because I just could not function later in the day. I'm still like this to this day where. I can get 10 times more done if I get up early, I can roll out of bed and like walk to my computer and do stuff.

 old was your youngest child when you started getting up at four in the morning? Zero. Uh,

 yeah, because that's, I was still working for someone else at that time and they thankfully let me keep him home with me. And, so I was like, okay, I've got to figure out how this works or else they're going to make me send him to daycare but then it got to, so we moved, where we live, we were pretty isolated.

 We didn't have community. My husband was working an hour away from where we lived. And so now we actually live where he works now. And so. trying to find someone to help me felt like this huge, unattainable thing, which is silly looking back on it. But when we moved, it was at that point where I was like, I cannot do this anymore.

 this is just, Too much and it was overload too, because Collins worked an hour away. So that meant he was commuting for 2 hours every day. He was working for 8 hours and I'm at home by myself with a baby trying to do my job and doing all the domestic stuff too. And I'm just like, I don't think I was made for this life.

Becca Wood: honestly can't imagine. but I think that that's a totally different conversation to have. When you're fully alone all day long, for me, my husband is home working from home all day. So if I need a minute, and I have something I have to accomplish, I'm like, you got her for 30 minutes.

 there's given a take that I have that a lot of people don't have that flexibility. And I think that's another big thing. Big reason that this has worked for so long. but I cannot imagine absolute complete alone. 100 percent of everything on you until your husband comes home.

Kate Christy: Yeah. And I mean, like from his perspective too, he's like, I'm beat. I just put in 10 hours and I'm like, okay, cool. save me. He's like, no, but we moved. So that was lovely. That was definitely an improvement in the quality of life. And at that point in time, we've got to find someone to help because otherwise I'm going to lose my mind.

 Because, like, you're in that now where there's so much mobility, so much curiosity, getting into everything right and left. and Cain was an easy child as well in terms of, like, he was not mischievous like Maz. She's a maniac. She's like, you take your eyes off of her. She's like, got a marker drawn all over the wall.

 And I'm like, what are you, what are you doing? And she's like, nothing. I'm like, that don't look like nothing. so she's much more vivacious than any of the children have been so far. And just, she's got a zest for life and breaking the rules, which I feel like will serve her well as an adult, but as a two year old, almost three, it makes it very difficult to manage her.

Oh, we ended up getting help after I did that, it was just this, like, big exhale, but at the same time, there's so much emotional and logistic stuff that goes with that, and also financial stuff that goes with trying to get someone to help you, because then you're weighing, depending on how much it costs, and, like, you and I were talking about this just the other day around how much it costs, and it's like, I even going to be able to, work enough to make enough money to pay for This child care, so I can work which is lesser of two evils here. Yeah, I think we 

Becca Wood: should have that conversation here. Okay, let's do it. Okay, so this is what I was saying to Kate the other day. I am At point where I'm realizing because our daughter is so mobile and move so much.

And luckily, she does still have about 3 hours of naps throughout the day. so I am still able to work, but, it's also kind of at the point where we're realizing, she could benefit from being around other kids and the socialization aspect. And so we are considering options and. mother's day out programs and whatnot.

 But the thing that made me mad at myself because I'm the one who had this thought was I'm sitting here looking at my business revenue and how profitable I am. And when I was looking at my expenses, I was like, Oh, if I have to have increased childcare, I need to make more money to make sure my business is as profitable before child care as it is after child care.

And then I thought, hold the phone. My husband is not thinking that way. He's not thinking, oh, let me go get a part time job to Justify the cost of childcare, right? Like he's just allocating it in terms of what he makes from his salary. So why do I feel as an entrepreneur, I don't know if it has anything to do with being the mom in the relationship versus the dad, but as the entrepreneur in the relationship, why do I feel that I have to justify.

 The increased cost of child care with making more money. Like, it would be nice, obviously. It would help even things out. Like, there's a reality. You spend more money. You kind of need to make more money. But why do I feel like it has to affect the profitability of my business? It's not a business expense. 

Kate Christy: so I had similar thoughts around that. And I think it's because you're currently doing it without it. So you have this, going through that series of reasoning with yourself and justifying. expense or is it worth it or I could keep on doing things the way I'm doing and also In motherhood you start to learn everything is just this phase and then you'll move through it And so things come and go quickly some phases are longer than others but so there's always this in the back of your mind.

It's like I could just keep doing it this way Even though it sucks or it's hard Or it's not the best case scenario, it's like, I'm doing it today, so I could just keep doing it tomorrow and then I could do it the day after that. And you keep putting it off because your current reality. You're like, okay, I'm making it work.

But if you actually step back and look at you're like, Oh, my current reality is I'm not Getting to put as much time into my business as I need to, or I want to write to deliver the service that I want to to my clients. And also, on the other side of that, my daughter's not getting to go.

 Socialize with other kids or be a part of other, environments. And I've always looked at child care as a positive thing, not this negative thing. I know there are definitely a lot of schools of thought around this, but I've always. Looked at it as if it's available to you and you can do it.

It's a positive thing for your child where they're getting another person who gets to love on them, who gets to be a part of their lives, who gets to influence them. Right? And obviously this, person has to be a good person, But I look at the, woman who kept Cain in lock, like she was a stay at home mom who, when she had her first baby, like 20 some years ago, she was like, I don't think I'll be going back to work.

No, thank you. And so she figured out a way to not have to do that. And that was watching other people's children, but she loved them. And still loves them to this day, like, her own kids. And I felt so good about having her in their lives and then all the little friends that they made. I never felt guilt around, Oh, someone else is raising your kid.

And I was like, well, no shit. All kinds of other people raise our children. Like, we don't do this. A child is not raised in a vacuum, Think about all the influence that your grandparents or your, Cousins and aunts and uncles and all those people, if they have access to them influence and then think about their teachers at school, their friends at school, their coaches there's all kinds of people who help raise our Children, right?

Whether we want to believe it or not. And I just always looked at that as Oh, like this person Mhm. Getting love on my child and take care of my child and build a relationship with my child and vice versa. And I'm benefiting from this also because I'm getting to not be torn between being a business owner or being a worker being a mom.

Like I get to put these two things in boxes. Instead of having it bleed all over each other and getting really frustrated and, trying to shove things in time and being overworked and overtired and all this stuff. Okay. Anyway, this is a tangent. 

Becca Wood: I think it's an important conversation.

And frankly, I've never understood. The argument of, somebody else is raising your children and, like, faults in, people for using childcare, um, like, what is our favorite phrase when people have children is it takes a village and then we fault people for finding a village, whether it's paid or not. 

I've never logically understood that, but that's a whole other conversation. But for me, part of the decision is. Because I have so many demands on my time, trying to both work and raise a child, and keep a home, and find some form of exercise to keep myself healthy, I think one of the things that I didn't would come into play once she got a little bit older, I guess two things.

Was. Number one, how much time it takes to feed a child 

 I don't feed myself real meals. And so I am suddenly in that point of like, oh my gosh, she needs food. and so I ended up outsourcing it. I got those, little spoons. Is that what they're called? Those little frozen because I just kept finding that I was so stressed around meal times I was like, uh, I guess she can have yogurt and banana and this and that and like, whatever I saw, but I was never actually cooking her food and letting her experience different flavors and, a variety of foods and things like that.

So, that is 1 thing that I think if. We had a little bit more support and I had more time in my schedule that I wouldn't prioritize. The other thing is I feel like she's getting to the age and I'm not saying that everything needs to be structured and be a lesson and whatever, but I don't have the knowledge.

 To help her progress in all of her different, social, emotional, physical, muscle development, like, gross motor skills, I don't know all of the activities and the things that she should be doing. And so I could spend. Her nap times, prepping food and figuring out activities for her to do when she wakes up, or I can spend it working.

Mm-Hmm, or I can spend it working out. And so I'm at the point where I just literally have enough time to do all of the things that I need and want to do well. Mm-Hmm. . So that is a big consideration when we're looking at increasing our childcare and the support that she has is that. There are experts who know those things far better than I do, and they can give her those activities and those things that she needs without having to research them and figure them out.

It just comes naturally because they know. I think that, there's a reality that like, as a mom, you're. Especially as a first time mom, but even as a third time mom, you don't know everything. We don't all have early childhood degrees. we're not all experts and pediatric nurses.

And, there are people who are highly skilled in these things and it's okay to admit that, you can use support from someone who knows more than you. And I think of that in my business too. Like I outsource so much more in my business now than I ever have. So why am I okay to outsource in my business because I need more expertise in certain areas, but I find it harder to outsource with my baby.

And it sounds funny to call it outsourcing, but that's effectively what it is, is finding experts to help fill gaps that you can't Mm hmm. 

Kate Christy: Yeah. And I think that that's like I said, in a good situation, That's only bringing good things to both you and your family. okay. I'm glad you brought up outsourcing because you're in your outsourcing era.

Oh, I am and I love it. So I want to talk a little bit about it's like, you're kind of on this. Path of what's this next phase of business and life look like bringing in child care. Also reevaluating how you're doing business and something that I know that children have taught me is the value of my time, I want to spend my time, how I don't want to spend my time.

 what were those mental shifts for you after having a kid and realizing, You had a limited amount of time to do the things that either you want to do or you need to do. And now looking into this next phase of business, how are you feeling? what kind of plans do you have in place?

 What's going on behind the scenes? 

Becca Wood: Oh, this is a, this is a juicy question. I think this is the first time in my business where I don't necessarily know exactly what's coming next. And if I'm going to be honest, that scares the hell out of me, because we are in this phase of, we do want to have another child and continue to grow our family.

 And having gone through and now more fully understanding what it does to bring a new child home to our family life and our personal life and my business as well. Knowing that whatever changes I make, I want to be changes that would work in the future if, another baby does come home one day, and knowing that it's not the same.

Having one baby is not the same as having two potential babies, and suddenly when you think, oh, I can work on naps, but their naps are opposite. There's always a baby awake, you know, those are considerations that you have to make. So, at this point I play the time versus money conversation in my head often.

 So in the immediate, I am outsourcing a lot more than I ever have because I could spend five hours working on something and honestly not focus on it super well because I'm in this era of Another transition. I feel like that's the other thing. motherhood is just all transitions. It's just continuous transitions.

And I didn't expect that one. I thought like I would get into a group and figure it out and we would be good. But that's funny. Just to say out loud now with hindsight. Currently outsourcing. so I could spend five hours on something, not do a super well, or I could hand it off to someone who can do it in one or two hours and do incredible and have happy clients who love the outcome.

And. Yeah, I pay a little bit more money. I have a little bit less profit, but my time and my piece have been preserved. And so for me, at this point, that is a higher value. What I don't know in the future, and this is one of the things that I would say about my maternity leave, which we. Kind of got sidetracked from this conversation, but, I feel like I'm at the stage where I might start looking more into productizing my business than offering services.

 And, I know that there's a whole conversation about it's still a lot of work. It's just a different kind of work and it's more marketing, et cetera, et cetera. but for me, one of the things that I'm realizing is. I could fall behind on things that only affect me, like the ability to market a product, or I could fall behind on things that directly affect a client who's waiting on a deadline, needs to launch website ASAP kind of a thing. and I'm not saying that I always fall behind on things now, but there's, that reality. So, I don't know what it looks like, but I think that's kind of the direction that I'm headed in because in this phase of my life. I see it working better for our family and making more sense for our family than continuing to have to put an extreme amount of hours into project based work.

Work. 

Kate Christy: And I think there is this safety or this feeling of safety you know, you have so much expectation on you from your family, Not that it's necessarily spoken, right? And a lot of this might just be like, we're self imposing it. But, um. To have that in your home life and then have that in your business life where the clients are depending on you and your interaction with them and how that relationship goes, but then to think, Oh, my gosh, how nice would it be if I was just behind the scenes making stuff and then selling it to people, right?

 I have that fantasy also. I 

Becca Wood: it's still a pressure, but it's a different kind of pressure. It's not a one to one, you can have an off day and it affects you because maybe you sell less, but it doesn't directly affect a customer or a client. 

Kate Christy: Yeah. do you have any sneak peek preview of what product has service?

 Might be. No? 

Becca Wood: I, no, I don't because I feel like the obvious answer in our line of business is to create website templates. I'm wildly successful at that. Your templates are beautiful. So in that case, you are successful 

Kate Christy: creating them, not selling them. 

Becca Wood: Well, that's the whole discussion, right? Is that if you want it to become a huge template shop, then you have to run your entire business as if it is a template shop that you are constantly promoting.

 I feel like you may have told this to me whenever I was like, Hey y'all, I'm going to make templates. And you're like, Kate, do you have time to market those? I was like, probably not, but watch me go. But sorry, I have a 

way of doing that. 

Kate Christy: She has a way of calling it like it is, and she's right, 99.

9 percent of the time. but you know what has benefited me in that regard is I've been able to use them internally. And I've also been able to use, it was a learning experience for me and building in a much more, User friendly. Yeah, like user friendly, like global way rather than customizing for a specific section for a specific page, need, etc.

Right? Like looking at it from a how can this work in different ways. So like my clients now who I'm doing custom stuff for they're getting a much more versatile end product, so it was a good beneficial thing for me to do from a learning skill set standpoint. but I guess they're still there and I guess I could still sell them also.

So if you're listening to this and you need a website template, I have them in my shop, folkfounded. com. I sold one not too long ago and I got the email and I was like, this is a scam. Like, I got like a best 

Becca Wood: part about products, like surprise money. 

Kate Christy: It's like, Oh, let's go spend that on something. It's not real money.

It's fake money. Right. It didn't exist. It's real money. No, but it's like, I wasn't expecting this, I'm gonna go buy that pair of jeans that I wanted. You know? I see, I see. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's girl money. That's what I mean, right? It's fun money. That's what I like to call it. 

Becca Wood: My Nana calls that mad money because you can save it up and go mad with it.

Kate Christy: I feel like that is a generational term because I feel like I have heard my grandparents use that exact phrase. That's funny. anyways, productizing businesses, outsourcing, etc. That's what we're talking about. I think that that is the ultimate goal as a mom to have that, I don't want to say low stakes because that makes it sound like you're uninterested or like not invested but like creating the thing Then people are gonna come and buy rather than creating the thing real time with someone with real emotions and opinions 

Becca Wood: Well, that's the other thing right is like it takes the creative pressure off because it exists.

They know what they're getting Mm hmm, so it's not a surprise They know that they like it. That's why they purchased it. 

Kate Christy: Yeah. Yes. Yes. A hundred percent. in taking your maternity leave for baby number one, the lessons that you learned, the things that you feel like you got right. are you keeping this list or this running?

 If this happens again, this is what I'm going to do differently, or if it happens again, I need to make sure that I double down on this because that was a good call. So, 

Becca Wood: I think, there are a couple lessons. Financially, the strategy that I had. to just tuck away a little bit of money each month and then be able to give myself a paid maternity leave worked extremely well.

 I also think depending on what happens after baby arrives, and how fully you return to your business, that strategy may be a first child privilege. 

Kate Christy: Hmm. 

Becca Wood: at this point I am not working full time. And that's intentional, of course, because I am taking care of our child full time. so I'm not making the same that I made pre baby.

 and I don't know that that would be possible for a second maternity leave. But I think that it was a wonderful luxury that I gave myself and a wonderful gift that I gave myself because money gives you the gift of time. and so. If you are able to do that strategy and you're listening, highly recommend it.

 the other lesson. And this is like a unique situation, is not to depend on anyone but yourself, because I ended up having an offer to work essentially full time for an agency, and I did a little bit of work for them before maternity leave, thought things were going great, had like a signed And the day before I returned, they said, oops, never mind.

 And so I thought that I had A guaranteed income for a long time after I came back and then suddenly I had paid myself three months worth of maternity leave and had to restart my business because I had literally done nothing because I thought that I had this offer to work for this agency. So I would say.

Just make sure, and that's a hard lesson in entrepreneurship, you just have to make sure that you're taking care of yourself, and I don't want to say, don't trust anyone else, but, that was definitely a harsh reality for me and a very vulnerable time to have to contend with and realize that, you I now have no projects. I have no more money that I had saved because I thought that I would be making, you know, a decent wage through this contract. so having to figure that out on the fly was, you Not the best time. Mm-Hmm. . it all worked out in the end, but it definitely gave us a couple of months that were a pretty low income that we hadn't intended or planned for.

 let's see. I would say I did really like my mom was kind of in the back of my head, with this one, but the fact that I was. Doing those little odd projects here and there. She was kind of like, you're on maternity leave. let yourself have maternity leave, but I did like doing them and I don't regret doing them because 

I think we talked about this, I think, on the 1st episode when you have. Multiple priorities, it kind of helps keep things in check. And so I think that it kept me from having this, all consuming. I'm in the newborn stage and recovering from postpartum and, that was in my head, 24, 7 and to have these kind of brief interludes of, let me just go focus on this thing that, like, I know and I can do and I'm good at.

 think was really good for me. So, I think that will depend person to person, but I would do that again for sure. 

Kate Christy: well, I think to just your maternity leave is your maternity leave, it doesn't have to look like anyone else's. I think we could just let go of beating ourselves up for, for things that, if that was bringing you, um, joy, peace, fulfillment, et cetera, that's what you needed to be doing in that moment in time. and that bit that you said around, um, not depending on other people. That is something that one of those key lessons that I really resonate with not like in a toxic way though. I think this goes back to communication and being transparent and upfront with people.

And then, they don't have room to be upset. Right. I think it's like, If you're depending on someone to carry part of your load for you, you're not in control of them, so there's always that possibility that They're going to let you down. And so trying to find, like, a healthy way around that, If I'm taking charge of the situation, or I'm trying to be in control of the situation, then I'm not letting in these potential upsets or these potential situations where I'm going to be let down, or I'm going to get blindsided by something.

 And I think that is a big lesson in motherhood. and one thing that we struggle with with our daughter is she's in daycare, but she's in daycare, not in a facility where they have employees who are there and it's open unless, there's something huge going on, It's open five days a week.

Same hours. But now she's in a, you know, home with a woman who has kids and keeps kids, so we're subject to her chaos, too, Of, oh, my daughter's sick today, or, oh, something happened, or, oh, whatever, like, gotta cancel, and so then it's like, I wasn't planning on not having child care today, or I was not planning on not having child care this whole entire week, because Shit hit the fan over at your house, I don't mean that in like, a nasty way, but you know, like reality, you have to rely finding a, guess like a safe and healthy way to mitigate that so that it doesn't cause chaos in your life.

 Something that I've realized around that, but like I'm very, very bad at is margins, creating really healthy margins in your life. if you do get the rug pulled out from under you, you're like, Oh, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay because I have some like safety built in to my schedule.

 that's my goal. 2025 margins. I feel like I was saying this this time last year, that your year? Margins, yeah. Heard it here first, that is an important lesson or like something to keep in the back of your mind, too, is finding that healthy balance of how much trust orwhat's the word I'm looking for?

 that you are going to put into other people showing up for you in the way that you need them to show up for you, it sounds shitty saying this, I don't mean this in a negative or toxic way, but there is so much truth 

Becca Wood: to it. Yeah, it's like, you have to find your people, but you also have to prepare that, like, humans are humans and things are going to happen.

And, having those plan B's ready to go 

that's the key to surviving 

Kate Christy: margins and plan B. 

Becca Wood: and we didn't touch on that, this at all, this episode, but we did a lot in the 1st episode was, how much communication my husband and I had pre baby and obviously continued into post baby.

 And just really making sure he understood my experience and where I was at postpartum. and he has stepped up and continued to step up in so many ways. I mean, I don't think that I have taken our dog out more than a handful of times since our daughter was born. he is just 100 percent taken over dog duties and, so much more around the house and really made sure, like, if I said, I just need to sleep, then he's like, okay, got it.

You go sleep. and part of that is, you know, we are lucky that he does work from home and he has that flexibility and the ability to do those things, kind of last minute. And when I really need them, and if I was ever on the verge of a breakdown, He was there, I know that I was very lucky that he is literally physically present when a lot of times that doesn't happen to be the case.

But, I would say just the other big thing is really healthy communication will get you so far and get you so much support because people can't read your minds. And I think I would say that he. Has learned more about me in the past 2 years, I'll include pregnancy and than probably in the entire 10 plus years.

We've been together I'm a pretty closed off person, which is funny that you praise me on communication. I feel like it's healthy to have a little mystery in relationships. But the mystery is gone, and it's actually been a good thing. So, that's my other takeaway, is just if you have that support in your life, to actively, continuously tell them how they can be a support, and they'll rise to the occasion.

Kate Christy: Mm 

Becca Wood: hmm. 

Kate Christy: Well, I think there's some depending on the environment that you were raised in, right? Or what was modeled for you that it can be scary to communicate how you're feeling, especially post baby. You're like, I'm feeling all kinds of weird ways. should I say this out loud? Probably not. I don't know.

 it's a mess up in there in your head. I'm pointing to my head folks. when you have a baby and it can be scary to, communicate all those things, the catalyst for this podcast was the conversations I was having with my best friend, where we would say something to each other and we'd be like, to other people say these things to each other.

 are they also feeling this way? you know, it'd be stuff like, I'm having a really hard time being a mom right now. I do not want to be a mom today. And it's like, I allowed to say that? am I going to get canceled by society if I, have children and say or feel that I don't Want to be momming today that I'd rather be, just being a human for myself today, or I'd rather be working today or vice versa.

Right. I'd rather be momming than I'd be, dealing with, my business. Right. And that I 

Becca Wood: have other priorities other than my children. 

Kate Christy: Mm hmm. Yes. Gasp. What? But it can be really scary. To say those things out loud from an ego perspective to of I need help, I can't do everything by myself, even though prior to having a baby, I was on top of it, like, white on rice, 

 I kind of feel like we share that personality trait about how we operated in the world prior to children. Then you get hit with this, Oh, you can't do everything all the time and stay on top of it. And, this new thing comes along that you're maybe bad at, yeah, you're learning, you're learning, right.

And it's so hard as an adult to be bad. It's, 

Becca Wood: yeah, it's been a long time since I was in school and learning new skills and doing things. And suddenly you're right back in that position of being unsure of yourself and you're like, you're in things out and. You're like, Oh, I don't think I like the way 

Kate Christy: this feel.

Yeah, this is uncomfortable. Not knowing if I'm doing the right thing. Oh, that's funny. you said, being in school, which made me think about this. my kid has been grilling me about hobbies. And what I do for fun. And this has been like this ongoing theme, which clearly there's a message here that I need to pick up on that.

I don't have any hobbies. I need to get them. and I was telling him when the last conversations that we had around it, I was like, I just want to learn things that's something that interests me is having that space to just learn something new, but also to feel like I have that Freedom of time and energy to actually carve out that space to be like, Oh, I'm going to go learn something new or I'm going to dedicate this time to learning something new.

 But that's one of those things that gets pushed so far to the back burner of. Okay. If it's not making you money, it's a, That checklist that we go through as moms and business owners to whether or not something gets pushed through to a priority. And so that was once one thing that we were talking about and they were also like griping about having to go to school and I was like, I would give anything for school to be my job right now.

Becca Wood: I used to say that when I was in college and people were like, what's your major? What do you want to do when you graduate? I was like. I wish I could just stay in college and learn forever. 

Kate Christy: And they were 

Becca Wood: like, ha, ha, ha, go get a PhD. And I was like, don't tempt me with a good time.

Kate Christy: but you forget. and I think being a designer and like creating that very specific niche for yourself in terms of, your style or deliverable or whatever you're doing, right, like you get, you really hone that skill and then you're like, Oh, I want to try this other thing. And you try, you're like, I suck at this and this is uncomfortable.

Yeah, 

Becca Wood: yeah. It's the same thing in business, and in life, I think that's why I'm so uncomfortable with this idea of like, I need to shift my business again. And it's been a while, I did slightly do that while I was pregnant with the development thing, but that was like a tangential skill, it was like a branch off the tree.

 Right now, if I'm thinking like, oh, I need to go in an entirely new direction, it's scary and it's gonna take a lot of time and a lot of figuring out. 

Kate Christy: So I have a really random question now so i've been going through this, Process of asking myself all these crazy questions over the last couple weeks this is my new hobby kane is asking myself existential questions thinking about changing your business i'm sure you've had these thoughts of You Well, if I'm changing this, I could do anything.

Yeah. Like, are you having, daydreams about crazy stuff? 

Becca Wood: I did think, what if I just shut everything down and start an Etsy shop? But then I realized I would just get really mad at the Etsy fees. 

Kate Christy: Mm, mm hmm. What would you sell on the Etsy? 

Becca Wood: I was gonna do playroom art. Because I have been redesigning our playroom and I did not like any of the art.

So I thought I could just make that. And then I realized that I don't want to.

 there is a little bit of like, do I keep doing website design? But then there's also a little bit of, it took years to create a healthy business that is sustainable. Even in, the past year postpartum, I have done very minimal marketing and because my business is so volume based, it has been sustained on referrals from past clients and connections.

 I have been very lucky in that sense, that it is kind of like a self service. Propelled machine right now. And I am banking on that. If I'm being completely honest. I know the reality of creating a business from scratch. And I know the reality of restarting that business from a total standstill.

 there's the reality of. Do I do something similar and in line because I have that base? Or do I like start something entirely new? I'm not sure. And then it's like, what would you do? I don't know what I would do if I didn't do this. Mm hmm. that was a non answer, but see, this is the thing that is happening right now.

I have so little time to think about these things. Tell me 

Kate Christy: about 

Becca Wood: it. Because I'm not thinking about it when I'm like playing stacking cups, so then someone gets started and asks me these questions and then I do all of my thinking out loud. So there are no formed thoughts. is, this is live.

Kate Christy: Mm I was just having that conversation this morning around because my friend and I were going to walk and she's like, what do you want? I was like, good question. I don't have an answer because I can't. Put one thought in front of the other it's just like what's right in front of my face the to do list for today The client load that I have right now what kind of clients do I want six months?

Mm hmm. what do I have to do today to get to tomorrow? exactly And I guess, all that to say that's okay because this is the season of life that we're in and a healthy level of acceptance in motherhood will serve you well. things are going to be harder.

Time's going to be crunched and you're going to be shoving things in pockets here, there and everywhere. And that's okay for now, Whenever, you come to another transition, things are going to change again and things are going to change again. And yeah, I just kind of like part of it's riding the wave and, being okay with.

Becca Wood: that's the other thought that's always at the back of my head now is now that I realize how much changes so quickly. It's like, how do you plan for change that you can't predict? And how do you know that in a year or two, the plan that you created is still going to be the best plan for that stage?

Like you don't. It's almost an impossible situation and an impossible question. So, I don't know. what the answer is, but it's how do you create the most flexible business possible? That's the answer. 

Kate Christy: I was gonna say that exact word flexible. I think, prior to kids, there was this like rigidness about the way that I wanted and needed my life to be Because I was just in charge of myself. There's just one person and I could call the shots and within reason, right? I worked for someone else. So there was that wild card, but it was like, okay, I can kind of Set the pace for life, and then when you have kids, you're like, oh, the kids kind of start setting the pace, and then the more children you have, you realize, like, oh, these are different human beings, even though they came from the same place, they're totally different, totally different sets of needs, the way they respond to situations, and that was, like, one of the biggest gotchas of parenting, in my opinion, is that, you can't just parent all your children the same way, you have to do it differently, because kids respond to things differently, Like, my first kid, it was so easy to, it sounds terrible to say out loud, it was so easy to punish him or reprimand him for things.

 The second one, he's like, I don't give fuck. and it was like, oh. Oh, what do I do now? I don't know how to discipline you. Your brother was so easy. so then that started breaking down this, rigidity of this is how we need to be.

This is how things are going to go. This is how we're going to do things. And all that to say, like, there, Is a huge place for rules and routines and structure and all of that, but loosening grip a little bit on that and allowing for things to be more flexible in life and in business. I was like, Oh, this is a much more enjoyable existence for myself, not like white knuckling everything so hard all the time.

 the opposite end of that is, I probably could just like, get after it and make things be the way that I wanted them to be. but at what expense being a little more loosey goosey has been, has been beneficial for my mental health.

Becca Wood: but also for your children too, I'm sure, especially as they're older and more aware of you and your stress level and how you're responding to things Like, right now, I think, our daughter is very much, she's becoming more aware, but not really, she's in her own little bubble of her own little world, but as they get older, trying to white knuckle your way through life.

 It's not going to be the best. 

Kate Christy: No, and think about what habits they're going to pick up from seeing that model. Oh, I don't want to think about that. 

Becca Wood: Yeah. So, what's the most flexible business we can create? I think that's the question if you're listening. And you have suggestions. Please tell us. 

Kate Christy: We shall be selling rubber bands, folks.

Becca Wood: You heard it here first. 

Kate Christy: Oh, no. And I think that, talking about that's one thing, right? But actually living that an, as another thing and something, one of the best pieces of advice, and I've probably said it on here before, and Laura Grace is the one who said it, to me, a mutual friend of ours.

 I was, White knuckling something in my business and she was like you can put it down Kate. I was like, oh Wait, that's an option and and she's like you don't have to finish this thing that you started just because you started it just because you told people you were going to do it if you don't want to do it anymore and it's not bringing you fulfillment joy or if it's not a positive result whatever you know that outcome looks like she's like you can put it down you can walk away from it you can leave it unfinished and I was like oh wow you Okay, that's a possibility.

 silly me. I did not think of that before. and so I think when it comes to business, you get on this path and then you're like, Oh, well, people know me as this or people know I offer this or people are accustomed to my process being like this or my prices being like this and then being like, Oh, everyone.

Pause, we're, taking a right turn here and we're changing things up. But every single time I've ever seen someone say that, I'm like, Oh, cool. My thought has never been like, Can you imagine the nerve of her to change her services or change her pricing structure or change this or change that?

 none of that has ever from the outside looking in on someone else's life has ever been. Can you imagine can you believe, you know, but here we are, telling ourselves, you can't do that. It's not going to be received. Well, 

Becca Wood: I feel like I'm not telling myself that I'm telling myself.

 do you figure out what comes next? 

Kate Christy: yeah, that's a whole other question. Sorry. I'm no help on that front. Yeah, 

Becca Wood: I don't know. I feel like I have pivoted in my business in the past. So, like, it doesn't scare me. I guess I just answered my own question because I said I've pivoted in the past and I can and will pivot again and probably multiple times, but the sense of finality of I've got to figure out what works for my life now and in the future.

 It almost feels like picking your college major all over again. 

 but then again, the thing that I, tell my younger cousins when they're going through this is it's not permanent. you can choose to be an engineer and you can go work for like an engineering firm or you can go work for like a tech company who needs your engineering skills.

or you could decide not to do that at all and go be an artist. it doesn't matter. So maybe I just need to remind myself that a little bit too. 

Kate Christy: I think the moral of the story is we can change our mind and then we can change it again. 

Becca Wood: Yeah. 

Kate Christy: Right? And then we can change our business.

Becca Wood: Yeah. And then we can change it again. We 

Kate Christy: can change it again. Okay. Rubberband business is on hold, folks. Sorry. I know you're excited. Oh, no. Oh, no. That was quick. We're it can be and scary too because you're making that decision where sometimes. when you actually stop and you're like, am I going to move forward?

You can get hung up in that and ruminate on that because, the more time you linger on the thought, the more time you have to tell yourself, Oh, this won't work. Or maybe this will work. Or what if it goes wrong? But. The reality is you're not going to know unless you make a decision and do it and move forward in any direction.

 I think it is scary when you are at that point and like you were at that point with, maternity leave, you're like, Ooh, I'm at a full stop right now. I can continue to keep going in the direction I'm going or I can make A different decision, And then you kept going in that direction.

And now you're like, maybe we need to make a change. Maybe we don't so I think It can be scary, but also it can be very exciting. I think this is something that gets me nervous about changing or making decisions or picking something new up or putting something down is getting stuck in that ruminating around it and being like, what if I invest time and energy into this thing and it doesn't work out or I don't like it or I'm unhappy with it.

 And then you realize. Maybe I've wasted that time, because time has become this very elusive thing after having kids, everyone has a finite amount of time, That is the truth for everyone. 

 But you're like, okay, I have these little pockets of time that I'm going to make this decision and do this new thing and go on this path.

 But what if it's the wrong path? And I've wasted my minuscule amount of time that I have for this new dream or this new idea. that's the thing that I get hung up on for myself. do you have similar feelings or thoughts around that? 

Becca Wood: Uh, you just put that thought into my head. Oh, I'm 

Kate Christy: so sorry. 

Becca Wood: Let me take it back out.

Kate Christy: Strike it from the record. 

Becca Wood: I think the thing, that I am very aware of is that the stakes are higher financially, 

 now it's not just me and my husband, we have who's depending on knowing that The decision I make could negatively or positively impact her life rather directly, makes it a lot harder because I have pivoted in my business in the past and one of those pivots didn't work out very well and I learned the hard way of, That experience is so I'm not just going into it with blind optimism of I'll just make this change and I'll just do the thing and everything will be fine. I've seen when it's not fine. And I've seen what that does to my business and to me emotionally, Like, there's an element of, 

Kate Christy: 

Becca Wood: I guess pride of like, Oh, picked the wrong thing. I made a mistake. and then it's amplified because it doesn't just affect you. So, I think all of those things are in the back of my head. A little, 

Kate Christy: a little head trash. The other side to that, though, is.

 With the stakes being higher, with children involved, I find that more often than not, moms figure out how to get it done. if you get thrust into a situation or you feel like you made a wrong decision, right? You're like, I'm gonna rectify this. ASAP. I'm gonna make it work.

I'm gonna figure it out. I'm gonna make it, I'm going to write this ship. so that there's a silver lining. There 

Becca Wood: you go. for a long time, earlier, you said, this is just an aside. I love that. I love asides. you said oh, would you do anything else? You know what? I tried so hard for the whole first, six or seven or eight months of her life.

I was like, All of these companies, from these moms that were like, realized something because they were a mom, and then they like, built a company, and they built a product, and now they have this huge brand. I'm like, I'm gonna be that person. Like, I'm gonna figure out the hole, and I'm gonna make a miraculous product, and then that's gonna be all I have to do for the rest of my life.

 there are no holes. Everybody's made all the things. 

Kate Christy: This is my daydream also, this one thing to rule them all, It's this one thing that never goes out of style, that people always need, right? But it's this very, very specific thing. And all you have to do is focus on that one thing. And I'm like, that's the dream.

What is the one thing? Who's to say? I don't know. 

Becca Wood: I don't know. The best I had was the summer when we were gone, we had an Airbnb in this like super walkable area. So we would walk to get coffee every morning, and they would put the two little coffee cups for me and my husband in my little stroller caddy.

 And then I would walk back on the bumpy sidewalk and it would like splash all over. because they didn't have stoppers. They had these, stickers that you put on top of, the little hole. But then it was coming out, like, you know how there's, like, a tiny dot on the other side?

 Then it was coming out of that. So then I was, like, cleaning out my stroller caddy every morning. So I was like, what if I made, a silicone lid? But then I was 

Kate Christy: like, that already exists. Okay, this is funny because my mind went to, have you ever seen one of those I don't know what they're called, but they're kids bowls where it's on this spinny thing and it's like, they can tilt it to the side and the bowl like swivels with it.

Yeah. So it never spills. So I'm like, that's what the cup holder needs to be is this thing that's like, no one can see what I'm doing, but I'm doing the, way you're the wave for the way. 

Becca Wood: in the stroller caddy. 

Kate Christy: Yeah. So like that's the cup holder thing, where you put your stuff in there and it's moving with the oh my gosh, there's like a name for this thing.

 It's riding the waves. I want to say zero gravity. that is not correct though. That's incorrect. I don't know, 

Becca Wood: but do 

Kate Christy: we have a 

Becca Wood: business? Are we starting a business? If you guys are listening, well not if, you're listening. you're listening. Would you buy this? Do you also have the problem of drinks spilling in your stroller, Katty?

Kate Christy: Yeah. so this is an aside to your aside. Okay. so I have a very strong opinions about mouthfeel in cups, Like if the coffee mug, if the lips too thick, blech, no, thank you, my husband bought the kids and himself a water bottle.

He's like, you want one? I was like, I would rather die. That thing feels atrocious on my mouth. No, thank you. Like a fat silicone straw, blech, no, no. Okay, anyways. Clearly, I'm airing all my dirty laundry about my neurotic mouthfeel and drinks. Okay, I appreciate it. Apologies, everyone, if you're listening. Only if.

 when I go in the car and I take Maz to daycare in the morning, I will take my coffee mug, like my, regular coffee mug, 

Becca Wood: Mm hmm. 

Kate Christy: And My husband's like, you're gonna spill it. And I'm like, I'd rather spill it than drink it on one of those nasty things with a lid.

 And then I saw some dude on social media the other day, on a reel, it was like, These people are just walking around out here with like real cups. Not to go cups. He's like, that is the energy I want to bring into this world. And I was like, see, people respect this, Collins. 

Becca Wood: You know what's so funny is when I'm walking through the neighborhood in the mornings, have started just bringing my whole coffee cup.

So I like push the stroller with one hand, hold the coffee cup with the other. I'm like, this is how we're doing it because otherwise it's just going to spill. 

Kate Christy: Oh, yeah, this is why I was saying that too, is because I remember when I was in High school, my parents were divorced. so we'd spend a week with my mom and a week with my dad.

But my mom lived like an hour away from where we went to school and where she worked. So we get up and we all have our hot tea. We were like, very posh children, apparently drinking hot tea on the way to school. but we would have our mugs ceramic mugs. And so we'd be riding in the car. And again, listeners, you can't see this, but, We would just like hold it and like, instead of setting it down, the liquid would spill if it was just like sitting down, Because it was open. But if we were holding it, our body was moving with the car. Therefore, the liquid wasn't moving. The mug was moving. That's the thing that needs to happen in the stroller. 

Becca Wood: Mm hmm. Mm 

Kate Christy: hmm. Okay. Tie that up with a bow. I a real 

Becca Wood: issue. I'm right. 

Kate Christy: No, it is because I had that same exact thing happen to me when I was going on a walk with Maz as well and had a coffee and my coffee had a lid thing on it, a stopper and so my solution was to dump half of the coffee out Oh, 

Becca Wood: no, 

Kate Christy: because I was like, I can't have 

Becca Wood: that's so funny because I would just let it happen and then just clean up the stroller caddy every day.

Kate Christy: Well, this is a problem that you need solved, but. Funny enough, and back to this whole point about things being phases and transitions, There's going to be a time where you'll be like, Oh, remember when we used to push our child in a stroller?

Becca Wood: Yeah. 

Kate Christy: I bet it's 

Becca Wood: coming to an end sooner than 

Kate Christy: I think. Yep. Oh, well, it's always exciting the next phase though. Always get excited about the next phase instead of grieving the previous one. I will. Maybe I'm not there yet. Maybe that'll come later in life, but I'm not gonna worry about that.

That's future Kate's problem. 

Becca Wood: I don't know. Everybody always tells me like, Oh, are you so sad? Blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, why would I be sad? Look at what she's doing now. she's crawling all over the place. She's reaching up on the couch and scooting along. And like, look how cool this is. And look how cool that is.

Like, I don't, I'm the same. I've never had that, like, nostalgia I thought it might get me on her first birthday. Because you see all these TikToks of like, oh, and everyone's singing her happy birthday. this is what you see. And it's like flashback clips to labor and birth and newborn and whatever.

 And I'm like, I didn't get it. It didn't 

Kate Christy: happen to me. Yeah, that's good. 

Becca Wood: I like it. Like, I feel like I'm always In the present or excited for the future. So I don't know, but I was like, maybe I'm broken. 

Kate Christy: No, I would much prefer to be excited about what's happening now and what's coming than be sad about what's already happened.

 Yeah. 

Becca Wood: There's a little book, a kid's book called, if I could keep you little, and it kind of talks about the same thing. Have you read it? Okay. I'm going to paraphrase it and probably mess it up, but it basically is like, If I could keep you little, I'd hug you near to me real close, but then I'd miss you, like, running off and playing with your friends.

Mm hmm. and it's kind of, like, the opposite of all the things. if I could keep you little, I would, love this moment all the time, but then I'd miss you, making friends with kids you like who like you for you. Mm hmm. all of these, fun future things, so. Yeah, that's my favorite book to read with her.

Kate Christy: I currently have Maz's favorite book in front of me. Potty? Good book.

Becca Wood: she likes the book. That means the end of diapers are near. 

Kate Christy: Phrase B. She's a smart little cookie, but she's not quite gotten a grasp on how this works. well, Lockpotty trained himself, which was so fabulous. And I was like, haha, look at us. Last child, potty trained himself, suckas. I got this thing figured out.

Famous last words. Yeah, and then, now she's like, I want to go to the potty. And I'm like, well. We should have thought about that before you pooped in your diaper. Because now there's no need. You missed the boat. You got a little ahead of yourself. 

Becca Wood: Oh, she'll get there. 

Kate Christy: Yes, she will. Because I can say that both of my children, who are nine and seven, they no longer wear diapers.

So I'm pretty sure she'll eventually grow out of it as well. Yeah, odds are good. Oh man, we've been chatting for quite some time. I've loved every single second of it. I hope those of you Who are still listening. Have as well. If you're still listening. If you're still listening, Becca, tell the people where they can connect with you online and become your internet friend and work with you.

Becca Wood: Oh,at, I am Becca Simone everywhere. And my website is BeccaWood. com. And. DM me and tell me if your coffee also spills in your stroller caddy. That's what I really want to know. 

Kate Christy: Yes. Let us know if this is a dire need that, you know what though, a side note, Becca and I always do talk about the one thing that everyone needs and that's the perfect, Project management software. 

Becca Wood: Oh, don't get me started. If I had a million dollars, I would start so many tech companies. I have so many ideas for tech companies. Those are my five dreams. Yeah. But developers are expensive and that's maybe happening in a parallel universe. So stay tuned. 

Kate Christy: Rubber band company or tech company?

 We don't know. or, 

Becca Wood: or coffee. Anti spilling company. Yeah. 

Kate Christy: The anti-Gravity cup holder on, your stroller. Universal. 

Becca Wood: Those are, those are the only options, guys. It's gotta be one of the three. 

Kate Christy: These are unique dreams we have for ourselves. . 

Becca Wood: Wow. This conversation really went in an unintended direction. , 

Kate Christy: you know what they all do?

I love it. I love it.