Real talk with real moms: Dealing with mom brain, bathtime, baby skincare, and more

Four moms get candid about motherhood and parenting. Catch the highlights here

Have you ever wondered what real moms talk about when they’re having casual conversations?

In the Real Mom Talk Show: Discovering the Realities of Motherhood, host Patti Grandidge-Herrera had an interesting chat with other moms Vanessa Matsunaga Sunga, Jes Tan-Gan, and Tricia Centenera. Presented by Mommy Mundo and Baby Dove, the Facebook Live event explored the joys and struggles of motherhood and parenting.

After introducing themselves and sharing about their children, the four moms moved on to play the “Guilty/Not Guilty” game. As a way to “get real about motherhood,” Patti read out some statements and all of them shared whether they are guilty or not guilty of these habits.

According to Patti, “We have our own parenting styles–our unique way of doing things. But everything is born out of the love we have for our kids. There is no wrong or right way; you just do whatever works best for you. I love that Baby Dove has that underlying message.”

On keeping things under control

All four moms pleaded guilty to looking calm on the outside but sometimes feeling like a duck with feet paddling underwater. Shared Vanessa, mom of two, plus one on the way, “A lot of the time, we find ourselves not knowing what to do.”

Jes, who has three children, agreed, saying that challenges are always changing with every stage of their childhood. At the end of the day, Tricia, mom of two, said that “You put on a brave face because you don’t want them to see you [struggling]. Just trust in the present and pray that you don’t mess up your children.”

Is “mom brain” real?

All moms admitted to experiencing “mom brain,” whether it’s forgetting to pay for hotel reservations on a much-awaited vacation, or thinking that she had replied to a question from her husband while in the car when she actually didn’t.

Patti said she used to think “mom brain” was just some made-up concept. “Our to-do list is ongoing. There’s so much in our bandwidth that we’re bound to forget something. It’s crazy how you just go blank, walking into a room and wondering, ‘Why am I here again?’ If it’s not written down, it’s not going to happen.”

Taking advice from other moms

Moms, especially those with young babies, are flooded with tips and advice from other more experienced mothers. Whether Patti, Tricia, Vanessa, and Jes trust these–they were quite unsure how to answer. Tricia admitted, “It’s nice to listen to advice, but in the end, you’re the parent, and the decision is yours.”

Vanessa says she always listens, but then goes with her intuition. Patti couldn’t agree more. “You [hear] things you think would work for you, and you hear things that are just not going to work for you. You can choose.”

Bathtime blues

The answer was unanimous–guilty–when it came to this statement: “I love spending time with my kid during bathtime.” In fact, for Vanessa, bathtime is a double battle, since she has to convince her kids to go in–and once they eventually enjoy taking a bath, she has to convince them to get out. Vanessa considers it an opportunity for bonding and connecting with her children as well. “Bathtime is fun if you have good products, knowing that your kids’ skin gets [some real TLC],” added Vanessa.

For Tricia, bathtime happens more than once. “We have a bath when we come back from the park in the morning, and at the end of the day, we have a bath [again]. I can’t just use any product because my kids’ skin gets dry. If you don’t have time to put moisturizer on them every time, there’s moisturizer in Baby Dove soap.” Baby Dove is made with ¼ moisturizing cream and 100% skin natural ingredients.

“Have you ever caught your kids using Baby Dove as their bubble bath?” asked Jes. “With other brands, their skin gets really stripped. With Baby Dove, I noticed that bathtime can be fun and healthy for them.”

Tricia playfully added: “I’m the one who puts Baby Dove at the bottom of the bathtub and pumps the bottle!”

A treat for online viewers

Those who watched the Facebook Live event were also given the chance to join the discussion through the comments section. At the start of the program, they were invited to post the live feed in their respective Facebook accounts and share their #SwitchToRealCare story. They even tagged their friends in their comments in order to spread the word!

Here are some of their stories:

As the Real Mom Talk Show wrapped up, Jes shared a bit of wisdom that new moms can think about. “There’s no perfect mom. That’s a lesson for the kids–to see that we also fumble–for them to not be too hard on themselves when they fumble. It’s important to them that when we make mistakes, we can also say ‘I’m sorry.’ We’re sort of gardeners, feeding them the tools, not necessarily orchestrating who they will be. We just have to enjoy and love the place we’re in!”