The idea for How Fast They Grow was born out Cathy Bennett’s frustration with traditional paper scrapbooking after the birth of her son in 2004. As most moms know, there is an enormous amount of social pressure for mothers to create a baby book, baby scrapbook or otherwise memorialize their child’s first year. Cathy thought there should be a beautiful, easy way to make a baby book from one’s own computer using digital photos.

How Fast They Grow™ allows its members to easily create 12 by 12 inch pages by dragging and dropping their digital photos into pre-designed templates. They can send a link of their pages to friends and family, free. Then, they can order their pages for $7.50 each. Commercial photo websites sell books, not pages, so it is impossible to build a baby book over time. How Fast They Grow members start their books when they are pregnant and usually order 3-6 pages at a time. To date, How Fast They Grow has over 7,000 active members, and the number is growing every day.

Find How Fast They Grow here: http://www.howfasttheygrow.com

My name is Lisa Brown. I’m a widowed mother of two children: Joey, age 11 and Sarah, age 9.  I am also a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner who has learned through my work the importance of active parenting and the significance of the guided development our children need.  My life has taught me the value of love and family.
 
While driving to work after another harried morning of breakfast, making lunches and some strong encouragement for teeth brushing, I found myself reflecting on how difficult it is to find time to just sit with the kids and talk. The idea hit me to design a tool that would do just that - help us communicate and make the most of our precious time together.
 
That night I told the kids!  My son’s response “you already work too much!”  My response - “That’s why we’re going to do this together.” We went out to dinner and started brainstorming for topics and questions and here we are!
 
We have learned a lot together about product design, setting up a web site and the like.  We have enjoyed Mat Chats with each other and with dinner guests.  Mat Chats has brought us some challenges, increased our quality time together and allowed us to share some laughs.

www.matchats.com  

L’il Darlins was born in mid 2006 as my mother, Jeanne Roth and I set out to design children’s specialty items that were creatively constructed and designed to hold up against wear and tear. Our products reflect who we are…mothers looking for children’s products that are appealing to the eye, washable, grow with your children, and are all around fabulous! We’ve actually expanded our line with two new accessory purses, one for teens and one for breastfeeding moms on the go!

Having a Master’s degree in education, I’ve been around children for many years, however, it was my three daughters that inspired us to create this adorable children’s accessory line. My partner, my mom, has owned many successful businesses and between the two of us, we have created a children’s line of accessories that Moms will love.  ALL of our products were thoughtfully designed because we know first hand how important a good quality bib, burp cloth, cozy blanket, kids apron, and accessory purse really is.  For more information about L'il Darlins, LLC please visit our website at www.lildarlins.org or contact Leslie Smith directly at 610-420-4546 or lil_darlins@lildarlins.org

Dimpleskins Natural Body Care Inc. was created from Jennifer Casey's need for a 100% natural product for her own two babies. After the birth of her first baby in 2001, Casey combined her background in Make Up Artistry, with a new study in Aromatherapy, and cooked up her now most famous product, BUM BUM BALM in her own kitchen. After some great press, and through "word-of-mom" advertising, Casey's creation can now be found at over 250 independent Retailers across North America. "As most parents are taking a more green approach to baby care," says Casey, "Dimpleskins Naturals products are a must!" To date, Dimpleskins Naturals products are made fresh daily in its own Skin Care Bakery. They are committed to using only pure, organic, and cruelty-free ingredients to create effective and wholesome products for babies and children.

For a list of Retailers and more info, visit www.DimpleskinsNaturals.com

Phylana Stowers is the guiding force behind Stowers Swaddlers & Stationery. This wife and mother of 5 children graduated from the University of Pittsburgh and worked as a labor and delivery nurse who made her first product for her sister when she was having trouble swaddling her new baby in 2003.

"After helping thousands of parents and caregivers learn how to swaddle their new little ones, I was sure I could make something that could help my sister be able to do and maintain a snug swaddle and get a good nights sleep. The Stowers Swaddler worked wonderfully and we started giving them for shower and new baby gifts. After many happy caregivers told us of the swaddling success they had with The Stowers Swaddler we went on to enter and win the gold medal for children's products at the Impex International Invention Convention, was used on The Dr. Phil Show and by many happy rested parents."

Stowers Swaddlers & Stationery now includes: Baby Buddy Burp Cloths and Pillow Talk Note Cards and other gifts that are the newest products for the company that sync quality, beauty and distinction. In addition to spreading the word about swaddling, The Stowers Swaddler and Stowers Stationery, Phylana also works as a nanny.

Phylana is married and the mother of 5 children aged 11-8-6-4-4

Meet Aviva Goldfarb, the Founder and CEO of the Six O’clock Scramble, an online meal planning service for easy, nutritious, delicious family-tested meals.

A freelance writer, advocate for better nutrition for children, and mother of two, Aviva started the Scramble in 2003. She runs the day-to-day operations, creates Scramble recipes in her own kitchen and writes several columns on healthy eating. Aviva has been cooking professionally since 1998, always emphasizing easy, healthy and delicious meals. She has written three cookbooks, and is a regular contributor to several family health and nutrition publications.

Aviva is active in the local and national movement to improve school lunches, make food sources healthier and safer for people and the environment, and alleviate hunger.

"I love to make healthy Southwestern fare, but I also love combing cookbooks and websites from across the globe to get ideas for International flavors and combinations that can still meet The Scramble's criteria of easy, healthy and delicious."

"I remember when subscribers first started flooding in from the Oprah magazine article, and didn't stop flowing for a couple of months. It was then I knew that The Scramble had reached a whole new level and I might be able to keep doing what I loved for at least a while. Nearly every day, I receive emails from satisfied subscribers, and it really keeps me energized and inspires me to be creative and keep producing the best recipes and online menu plan for families that I possibly can--I don't want to let thousands of subscribers down!"

Once every 20 minutes a baby is lost in the US to stillbirth, the least talked about pregnancy complications.  Dr. Diep Nguyen, a board certified OB/GYN and mother of three, supports kick counting which recommended by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists as a way for moms-to-be to check on their baby's well being.  

Diep’s mission to create awareness and drastically reduce stillbirth is fueled by a personal passion. She has lost a sister to stillbirth and another sister had luckily avoided a tragedy by noticing decreased fetal movement through kick counting.  In her own practice, she is able to intervene timely in many cases thanks to moms’ vigilance of the baby’s movements.

Diep founded the BabyKick Foundation (www.babykickalliance.org) to provide research information and work with international organizations to educate moms, health care providers, and policy makers about the importance of decreased fetal movement in reducing stillbirth risk. To make kick counting convenient and reliable, she designed a digital kick counter called kickTrak (www.babykick.com). Moms-to-be use the hand-held device to record and store their daily kick-counting sessions as well as tracks pregnancy progress and times contractions.  kickTrak is a 2007 iParenting Media Award Outstanding Product and recipient of Creative Child's 2007 Seal of Excellence. A portion of proceeds from the sale of kickTrak is donated to First Candle and MISS Foundation.

Robyn Moriarty is the woman behind MeMoBaby.com, or is it the other way around? The mom of one year-old daughter, Merrik (lovingly dubbed "MeMo"), Robyn is a Cambridge, MA-based stay-at-home mom. After devoting many years to the marketing and advertising world, Robyn became a tad antsy during MeMo's long daily naps. Hence the launch of MeMoBaby.com, an earth-friendly company offering an exclusive line of high quality infant onesies boasting unique and humorous slogans.

MeMoBaby.com operates as an environmentally conscientious company and donates a portion of its monthly proceeds to a variety of children's charities. Additional company and product information can be found at www.MeMoBaby.com.

Robyn shares her Cambridge 840 square foot estate with husband Joe, MeMo, three cats and lots and lots of plants.

There is no more important choice than that of selecting a person to care for your children when you are cannot be with them. Brooke Barousse founded Lexington Nannies because she understands not only the gravity of this choice, but also the wonderful connection that can be made when a family is matched with the right caregiver.   

In addition to extensive coursework in child psychology and early childhood development, Brooke has spent countless hours working with families and caregivers and brings a wealth of industry knowledge and experience to the company.  A former professional nanny herself, Brooke’s ability to listen and understand the needs of her clients has resulted in hundreds of successful matches throughout her career as a placement consultant.

In addition to nannies, Brooke has also placed a wide variety of domestic professionals, including personal assistants, housekeepers and private chefs.  Her professionalism, discretion and commitment to helping families find the perfect match for their domestic needs has earned her a reputation as a respected and trusted industry professional.

In addition to her passion for her business, Brooke is extremely active in her community and is a strong supporter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, for which she has raised over $12,000 and participated in numerous fundraising events, including a recent marathon. Find out more: lexingtonnannies.com

Margaret Pressler is a reporter for the Washington Post, where she writes for the newspaper’s highly-acclaimed KidsPost page, aimed at 8 to 13 year old readers. She also writes a weekly column called "Making It" for the Washington Post Magazine, profiling people who have improved their finances. Prior to joining KidsPost, Margaret was a business journalist for the Post, covering consumer products, the retail industry, entrepreneurs and small business. She also anchored early-morning business newscasts for the NBC affiliate in Washington, D.C. and wrote a daily column on the stock market for washingtonpost.com. She has been named Small Business Writer of the Year by the Small Business Administration and Entrepreneurship Journalist of the Year by the Women's Economic Roundtable. She has twice been a finalist for the prestigious Livingston Awards. She received her B.A. from Georgetown University and lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and three children.

Back in 2006, with the mission of providing parents of babies and young children products that will help solve their everyday parenting problems, Margaret Pressler founded Williamboy Products Inc. Williamboy's first product line is the revolutionary BurpCatcher™ burp cloth, the only burp cloth on the market that features an innovative pocket to catch a baby's spit up. BurpCatcher burp cloths offer protection and peace of mind while providing a clean solution to burping babies. To find out more: burpcatcher.com