Tamra Johnson is a serial entrepreneur who lives in Venice, CA with her husband and 14 month old son. She is one of our BabyPage alpha users, and she’s helping us make the BabyPage product and experience awesome. Thank you, Tamra!
1. What product can you not live without?
BOB jogging stroller – We go out on runs 3 or 4 times a week, and it’s a great way for him to see the world and for me to get back to and keep in shape.
2. What was the best kid friendly vacation or day trip you’ve been on in recent years?
Japan was great! Isaac was 10 months old. The country is very organized and logical so it feels comfortable with a baby. The Japanese people loved seeing an American baby and were very kind and friendly. We used Airbnb to find apartments with cribs/high chair to minimize what we brought along, and also took public transit so only had to travel with an Ergo to carry him.
3. What tools do you use to track your child’s milestones?
Old school baby book for the first year. I set up a gmail for him, and have sent some notes to it, but have been mostly too busy with him to send him emails for the future. I’ve also taken videos on my iPhone, and have sent them to my own YouTube channel for the future.
4. What are your kiddo’s favorite books right now?
Anything with trucks, flaps he can look behind, and textures to touch.
5. What is the grossest thing you’ve ever had to clean up?
Poop in the bath tub at the end of the bath when the water is almost all gone.
6. What’s a really useful product that you don’t see on a lot of registries?
Dropcam has been great for monitoring Isaac when he is sleeping or in his crib – it sets up easily on your home wifi, you can check it from any online device, and it sends you notifications when there is noise or movement.
7. Do you love your stroller and/or baby carrier, and would you recommend it?
BOB is great for running, a bit big for every day stroller use. I end up carrying him a lot instead (extra exercise for my arms!). The Ergo is good for airport travel. You can leave the baby in while going through security.
8. If you had an extra hour of time in the day, what would you do with it?
A little more of everything – exercise, work, time with my family. Each day I give it my best and get done what I can on all fronts, so I think I would end up with a little more done every day.
9. What is something about having kids that you didn’t expect you would love?
A somewhat changed perspective. Things that seemed like a big deal before, especially on the work front, don’t seem like such a big deal anymore. It’s not to say that things aren’t important, but that it isn’t worth getting too worked up about things in the bigger scheme.
10. What advice would you give to first time moms?
You don’t need as much baby specific stuff and gear as you think. Try to minimize things on your registry, and then ask those who have had kids recently what they really used (especially for more than a month or two).
