The early days of parenthood are unlike anything I had experienced before in my life. After dedicating my entire adult life to a career in finance, I finally decided to take the plunge and enter the wonderful (and scary) world of motherhood. I became a new mom with no experience on how to care for an infant. I quickly made a stark realization: this motherhood business was going to be a lot more demanding than I ever could imagine. Between feeding, changing diapers, and caring for my infant, I barely had the time to play with her. I was afraid I was missing out on a crucial opportunity to create a long-lasting mother-daughter bond, as well as to support her intellectual development.
This is when I made an unexpected discovery leading me to believe that effective mother-infant bonding doesn’t have to be hard - yes there is a better way! I am going to expand on that shortly, and tell you how that inspired me to create my very first parenting product under the Ami & Pash brand.
Babies need constant attention and contact because they are unable to take care of themselves. They cannot keep warm, move around or feed themselves. It is their extreme neurological immaturity at birth and their slow maturation which seek the important parent-child relationship. They also rely on us and our interaction with them as a means to learn about the world. Like every new parent, my husband and I bought so many toys and books to keep our daughter entertained. We also got very creative and created many games to keep her busy and entertained. I share some of the games we developed in this post. However, I noticed that above everything else, she just wanted to interact with us. It was amazing to watch my daughter watching me like I was the best thing since sliced bread (or breastmilk in her case). I noticed how attentively she would look at the bright shirts I was wearing. She loved anything that had a bold design, sometimes simple like a single shape, sometimes complex like words or intricate drawings. She would grab my nose, scratch my eyes (ouch), and open my mouth to look into it. Our house was a gallery and I was the star exhibit!
Don’t get me wrong, she also loved her toys. Especially once she was able to grasp them between her hands and hit them against surfaces. She loved looking at books, picture cards, and other displays. But she would get tired of them after a short while. Babies naturally have a short attention span. Even older babies between 8-15 months will be distracted by any new activity, but they can usually attend for one minute or a little longer to a single toy or activity. However, my daughter could watch me all day long, talking to her, making funny faces, and doing mundane tasks like drinking a glass of water. So I thought “why am I spending so much time looking outward for tools to entertain and educate my child when she clearly prefers me as the source of her learning and amusement?”. I figured the best way to reinforce our bond was to wear shirts that capture her interest, while I was caring for her.
I would no longer have to choose between caring for her and entertaining her. I could let her observe me as much as she wants while wearing a design specifically made to fire up her brain functions.
The idea of creating a design line was not entirely new to me. As a kid, I had 2 favorite pastimes: reading and drawing. I loved drawing faces and clothes. My desire was to grow up and be a fashion designer. At 16 years old, I started modeling, and soon discovered I hated it. I did not like how superficial the modeling/fashion world was. I always considered myself a bit nerdy and bookish. I was tall, lengthy, and uncoordinated. So when I started being valued because of my physical appearance, I had a negative reaction. This is not a general commentary on the fashion world, only my personal experience. Many of my model peers really loved it and enjoyed every second of it. Now that I reflect back on that time, I realize how much I learned about the world through travel, and about myself, and I can appreciate that time of my life. However, for a while, I did not want anything to do with the world of fashion and design. Instead of pursuing a fashion design career, I chose a business career. It happened that I also always enjoyed algebra, statistics, and economics. Talk about “right brain - left brain” right! But as I got older, the desire to create never left me. I kept drawing and painting. And when I saw the opportunity to combine my passion for design and my desire to make the most out of my time with my daughter and her formative years, I knew I had to do it.
That’s how Ami & Pash was born. My daughter (who is now 2.5 years old) was my first test subject. Since then, she got a younger sister who is still an infant. With the help of the two of them, I come up with new designs constantly. I look at the world through their eyes, see what interests them, and capture it in a new design.
Creating a business as a young mom, working full-time was no easy feat. However, I managed to find decent suppliers, I registered my business and after the initial fear and hurdles, I finally created my brand. The learning curve is still great, but I wake up every day excited about the challenges lying ahead. My desire to create, and learn, surpasses my fear. Every challenge I'm faced with now, becomes a greater learning experience.
Ami Dieye
Ami & Pash Founder
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