Akamee has a degree in Mechanical Engineering and is the founder and CEO of As Girls Grow, a company that offers a line of toys to get girls interested in science and engineering at a young age. Her goal is to captivate young girls and build their interest and confidence to inspire them to become future leaders in STEM industries.
- After having kids, what product can you not live without?
Evenflo Advanced Plus Angled Bottles. After 8 weeks of fussiness and gas, we switched to these bottles, and my sanity has been restored!
- What was the best kid friendly vacation or day trip you’ve been on recently?
This past year, we made it to Los Angeles and NYC. Neither one are particularly kid friendly, but our daughter Vivienne had a blast nonetheless. She was infatuated with the bright lights in Times Square, and the beaches in LA. I truly believe that any vacation can be kid friendly, as long as the kids enjoy it.
- What tools do you use to track your child’s milestones? (ex. baby book, notebook, spreadsheet, etc.)
Sometimes I flip through the thousands of pictures on my computer. Good thing my phone dates the pictures, otherwise I wouldn’t have tracked any milestones.
- What are your kids’ favorite books right now?
At two months old, Adam’s favorite book is anything his 2.5-year-old sister, Vivienne, will read to him. Vivienne currently loves anything Doc McStuffins.
- What is the grossest thing you’ve ever had to clean up?
I think the obvious is poop, puke, and pee. All mamas and daddies can relate to that. The next grossest thing was a big, fuzzy, juicy, greenish/bluish/blackish blob of putrid stench at the bottom of a lidded canister. After nearly vomiting when I found it, I thought about a few weeks earlier when I asked my toddler to put her half eaten peach in the trash. I didn’t realize she put it in the never-used trashcan in the spare bathroom, until it was too late.
- What’s a really useful product that you don’t see on a lot of registries
The best gift I got at my baby shower was a hospital bag packed with everything I would need for delivery. It had snacks, gum, toothpaste and toothbrush, chapstick, dry shampoo, hair ties, headbands, a brush, fuzzy socks, a robe, soap, deodorant, baby nail clips, pads, and a planner, all packed into a reusable gym bag. It wasn’t a gift for the baby, but it was the most thoughtful gift I received.
- Do you love your stroller and/or baby carrier, and would you recommend it?
I absolutely love my Baby Bjorn carrier! I have tried several other carriers, and this is THE ONE! I get so much done with it on (and baby in it, of course). And, as an extra bonus, I get a great workout when I squat to pick up toys with baby in the carrier.
- What is your kid’s favorite toy right now?
Anything that another toddler is not letting her play with at that moment. We are working on sharing.
- What is something about having kids that you didn’t expect you would love?
Sucking boogers out of my baby’s nose with a nasal aspirator. There is something strangely satisfying about sucking out all those yucky boogies, and then seeing the “mind blown” face my baby makes afterward.
- What advice would you give to first time moms?
This is a tough one. I would say to trust your instincts. Everyone is going to try to give you advice and put in their two cents, even strangers in the grocery store. You know what’s best for your baby and your own sanity. Even if books, websites, blogs and your mother-in-law think they know what’s best, you are ultimately the one who spends the most time with your children, so you are the one who knows what works and what doesn’t.
