Hi, I am Anna, founder of Bonsie. I thought it would make sense to introduce myself and share the story behind the brand. We hope this blog emerges into a place where we can share stories, inspiration and useful information. We have a handful of experts lined up in a variety of fields related to parenting, child development and health who will aid us in building this blog, hopefully, into a valuable resource for you and your family.
So let's start at the beginning...
The idea for Bonsie emerged after the birth of my first child, Crew, who is now almost 6 years old (both the shortest and longest 6 years of my life)! I learned about the importance of skin to skin contact while in the hospital. I had read several books on caring for newborns prior to his birth and even worked as a therapist for young families, but somehow missed learning about this particular important practice.
While in the hospital, nurses pushed skin to skin to help initiate breastfeeding, stabilize Crew's blood sugar, heart rate and temperature while helping both him and I adjust to this new world together. Another benefit to skin to skin was the release of Oxytocin, which is called "the feel-good hormone." It was recommended to keep the practice of skin to skin going at home and I needed as much "feeling good" as possible; never had I been as sleep deprived, overwhelmed and scared as I was the first night he was home with us.
As I attempted to to practice skin to skin as much as possible, I found the process of removing his clothing then finding a blanket to wrap his back and finally re-dressing him when he fell asleep or we needed to move on with the day, difficult.
That's when the idea emerged: a footie that can expose the baby's chest easily while keeping the rest of their body warm and then easily close it all back up, even if they are asleep (as every mom knows, you never wake a sleeping baby). I talked about the idea with friends and family and drew up a variety of ways I could design the product. I even had my mother in law sew me a prototype! I researched manufacturers and got price quotes for the completion of a prototype package and that's where I stopped.
For four years, I let the fear of failure and excuses of being too busy and too overwhelmed by my lack of knowledge in design and manufacturing prevent me from moving forward. I convinced myself to let it go even when family and friends would offer to help. The idea of having 1,000 Bonsies in my basement, rotting, because no one wanted them or I didn't have time to market them correctly was too much for me.
That was until my second baby, Willa, was born. I was reminded by my attempts to do skin to skin with her that Bonsie was a damn good idea! Her birth snapped me out of my fears in a lot of different ways, this being one. I'm not exactly sure why, but maybe just feeling more competent in parenting her and no longer having time to wallow in my fears and regrets. If I wanted to do it, then why not do it?
I needed to do it!
I am blessed to have friends and family who have helped me reach the goal of building Bonsie to where it is now! The first few months after our launch definitely threw us some hurdles and it took nearly 18 months for our first usable prototype, but we can discuss those deatils in a future blog post...
Bonsie allows us to spread the word about, not only the benefits skin to skin has to offer, but also the overall magic of attachment and bonding, which is a passion I have had since learning to be a family therapist in graduate school.
Anyway, that’s where we came from and we are so excited you have taken notice and time explore our brand!
💕Anna