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Milk Street Baby has the honor of partnering with Lala Kent with the creation of her beautiful nursery room for her daughter Ocean.
Lala captivated us with with her inspiring journey as America’s favorite TV personality, best-selling author and powerhouse business woman. It's been the most rewarding partnership to be able to spread love with Lala and give hope to other single mamas out their doing their best!
She has opened up to Milk Street Baby with her #1 job as Mom to Ocean. If you’ve been listening to her podcast and following her life unfold on camera, it's now time to be taken away by Lala's genuine heart while raising one little remarkable, happy, and independent 10 month old mini! We look forward Ocean's growing milestones as she converts her crib into a tot bed, and before we know it, into a full size bed.
In her words…
"I don't think you realize how impactful something so simple as getting furniture from Milk Street Baby, for Ocean’s nursery, was for me. I'm so grateful because it's where my baby sleeps and I feel safe with her there. When my world was turned upside down, Milk Street Baby is what helped me make sure that my baby had a place to sleep. Without getting emotional, I love you guys, and I f... with you very hard. "
~ Lala Kent
Milk Street Baby Team | Julie Knisley and Katie Ntasios
Interview with Lala Kent
Discovered one amazing "Superwoman" that is ruling Ocean's universe right now and inspiring others. Explore a tender dose of Lala with her strong heart as she shares some amazing Mama thoughts.
How has Milk Street Baby impacted your life?
Well, Milk Street Baby came into my world when my life changed in seconds. Everything that I knew as my home was no longer my home, and I had to start from scratch. It would be one thing to go out and find a place and just create my home, but I have a ten-month-old. The first thing I thought about was how I would make a safe space for my baby where she's going to sleep. It's her room. I want it to be her happy place. All moms can relate to the fact that they forget about themselves. It's all about finding a safe place for my baby to go and with furniture that's also going to represent something. I'm very into that, and energy and certain pieces in my home have to offer something unique. When I found you guys, not only was your furniture gorgeous, but I loved the fact that you had such a fantastic backstory. I knew right away from the changing table to the convertible bed where I could transform for stages of her life; this was perfect. Then the dresser where you know, as moms we got one kid on the hip we need effortless pull, and we need easy access to clothes. I was like, this is amazing! So even though it is to some people just furniture for a baby's room, you guys saved me with that furniture. When I found you guys, you offered me a place to put my baby when my life was in shambles. I’m so grateful. I love her room.
What emotions do you feel when you enter Ocean's nursery room?
Oceans nursery is the happiest place on earth. It is. You walk in and just want to sit down and be there. She loves her room; she has toys in her little Safe Zone downstairs. I put her in the nursery, where she is so happy. She has never been into a crib. She's always been into her pack and plays more than a crib. This is the first crib that I've put her in where she sleeps. For 10 hours! I'm fortunate she takes amazing naps in there too. She has the best time in her crib. Just the room’s energy is like it's the happiest place on earth. Disneyland is not. Oceans room is!
How do you view being organized, and what tips would you give other moms regarding the nursery room space?
Being organized as a mom is essential because it is so chaotic. Being a mom, you know, babies don't care whether you have errands to run or are late for something. They have a blowout, you know, like organization is key. When I'm changing her, I know I can't take my eye off of her for one second. I've got to be able to reach under on that changing table, grab her diapers without even looking, grab her wipes without looking. So organization for any mom, listening takes time while your baby's either napping or you have some free time to get organized. I like to think of what does she use the most. She always wears her socks. She always needs a onesie. I always put that in an easy to get area. Labels! Get a label maker for the drawers. It's so genius. I have to say I had someone come in to teach me how to organize. She's the one that taught me about the label maker. So, of course, I Amazon one. It just makes it so easy. Anytime you get a little chaotic, you're like, okay, well, I know, my wipes will always go near my diapers. You can do it without even thinking with your label maker.
How have you grown as a woman since you've become a mom?
Oh my gosh! Great question. You know, I would say, I'm still Lala. But now, when I make certain decisions, you know, I consider Ocean first. The goal for all of us, as moms, we want our kids to grow up to be healthy, happy human beings. We want them to be productive people in society. So even though they're so young, you can't help but go to that faraway place where they're in community and going out into the world. They need to make a difference. I try my best to make decisions based on that.
What something surprised you about Ocean?
That girl is so independent. I look her dead in her eyes, and I'm like, you have your whole life to not love on your mom and be independent. She looks at me like I want to do everything on my own. I have now taught her the word cuddle, and she'll lay her head down for about five seconds. Then she's like, I gave you a cuddle and back to being an independent little girl. So that's what surprised me. I didn't realize kids were so independent at ten months.
What's one way you have witnessed yourself becoming your mom? Those Mom Phrases that you may be now saying to Ocean.
It's not so much of a word. It's more of like a noise. "Uuunhh Uuunhh!" My mom says that all the time, whether it was us when we were kids or now to her dogs. I'm constantly saying "Uuunhh Uuunhh" to Ocean, and I'm like, I'm my mother. There we are!
What quirky things about you that you hope Ocean doesn't pick up, but she probably will?
Oh, people will watch me say this and probably want to put my head in a hole. After everything I've been through and things that I've done in my past, you know, I am proud of the woman that I am. If Ocean were to turn out like me, I think I would be very proud of her. I can't say that. I would like to cut back on my swearing in front of her because I don't want her going into pre-K cussing out the teacher. But everything else, I mean, and I'm sure people will be like, That is such a weird egotistical answer. But when I think about my life and what I've done, I think, Oh, that was a mistake; I wouldn't be where I am right now. A proud, independent mama. I would be so proud of her if she turned out to be like me. I'm just in that zone where I look at everything I've done. I'm like, how did I do all of this, all of it. I used to dream about things that I was doing when I was in Utah. Then the second that my life came crashing down, I was so strong. I think women need to look at themselves like that more. Give yourself some credit. I look at my daughter every day. I'm like, of course, I can do this. Look at her. I would do anything and everything for her. I'll never lose this strength because I have her.
What would you share with other single moms that no one shared with you?
I don't think women, especially single moms, ever fixate on our strengths. We hear a lot about how tough it is. We hear someone's a single mom, and we kind of go, oh, that must be so hard. And damn right! It's hard! But there's nothing more vital than a single mom. We need to stop falling into this place. I'm in the zone where I talked about the mind being a powerful thing. It can talk us into a very dark place. But if it's strong enough to take us into a dark place, it can undoubtedly take us out of it. So I think we need to get into this zone where we are unbreakable. I know days get hard. When your kid goes down for the night, self-care, take a bath, and give yourself a facial recharge because tomorrow we got to pick up and move on. Our kids are not waiting for us, and we have to remember our strength. We're like superheroes. Like no one can tell me that I'm not a superhero. Just letting you know that. Where is my cape? I want all single moms to feel that way!
Do you have daily rituals or affirmations for yourself or something that you do to recharge yourself when you're having that drained moment?
I'm very big on prayer, no matter what your higher power looks like. I'm very big on taking a moment to talk to someone more significant than yourself. I take moments like that often because I sit here and talk about how I feel like a superhero. We should all feel that way. But we are human beings. I don't want anyone to beat themselves up over having those moments. Take a moment to remind yourself that you’ve got this, and nothing can break you because that's the truth. I say that daily. Even at night, I'm sitting there with all of these thoughts in my mind. Asked me - How am I supposed to sleep? How am I supposed to wake up in the morning? I've got a jam-packed day. I still have to be a mom to Ocean. I remind myself you've got this, and nothing will break you. It works! When you say something to yourself enough, there's nothing that can talk you out of that feeling. It's something so simple. That is so profound.
How has Milk Street Baby given you a feeling of support, helped conveniently raise Ocean, or offered peace?
Well, as I said before, I'm obsessed with the quality, and it's so chic. I walk into her room, and I'm like, this needs to be adult furniture as well. I need this in my bedroom. I love knowing that if I need five seconds to go throw some makeup on and Ocean’s all over the place, I can put her right in that crib. I put some toys in there. I know she's safe. I love that. Again, it’s a convertible bed so that it can grow with Ocean. It came at the perfect time. You know, something that I knew for so long was instantly shattered, and the only thing I thought about is where is my baby going to sleep? That was the first thing I thought about, and it literally changed my life and hers. I know it sounds so strange because we're talking about furniture. But your kid is your everything. It matters where I'm changing my baby. It matters where I'm putting her on clothing. Because of you guys, I can walk my baby up to her nursery and feel so happy that she's in there. All the peace in the world, and she loves her crib. She coos in there all day long.
If you wish upon a star for Ocean, what would you wish for?
I want her to be happy in life. I want her to feel supported. I want her to live a happy life. That's enough.
