Spotlight on.... JILL!

Today we are starting a new series to introduce you all to our employees J These are the faces you see when you walk in the store. First up is Jill Mills… 1: Give us a little about you! I'm Jill - owner of Heartlove Photography :)I grew up in Pasadena, MD, spent the last 4 years at Camp Lejeune and now we’re back home in MD. I am married to Zack and together we have Miss Delilah, 2, and Madeline, 9 months, plus 2 crazy mutts, Crimson and Clover. I am a 2011 graduate of UNC Wilmington with a bachelor's in Elementary Education - I joke that it makes me a highly qualified Mom since I do not plan on teaching in the near future. I'm a self-taught photographer - I went to the University of CreativeLive & Google. 2: How did you start using cloth? When I was pregnant with my first, I had a great friend who introduced me to the crunchy parenting world. She made me my first sling, showed me how to fold a prefold and coached me through those tough first days of breastfeeding. I was very reluctant at first, but once I knew about the benefits of cloth diapers, breastfeeding and babywearing – it’s the only decision that made sense for our lifestyle. 3: How did you come to work at Soft & Cozy? After being away for a few years, we moved back to MD and none of my old friends had children yet. After finding friendship at a diaper store in Wilmington, NC – I knew I’d find like-minded moms at a similar place. In February, I googled “Baltimore Cloth Diapers” and Soft and Cozy came up. I packed the kids in the car and we left immediately – Stephanie and Tova greeted me and they mentioned the store was hiring and that I could bring my nursling. The next day I applied and by the end of the week I was working with come other incredible moms and have lucky to meet new friends everyday! 4: Everyone has an opinion these days – what’s your best parenting advice? From every angle, many moms feel their parenting decisions are under attack – the media, their own parents, their friends (sometimes friends who don’t even have kids yet!), even strangers tend to weigh in out in public. I think the best advice I have is that you do not have to put down other moms to validate your own decisions. Be positive and let love guide the words you say – vaccines, circumcision, epidurals… no matter if you are for or against, there is no reason to put another mom down for her decision. We can’t imagine the road another took in their journey to motherhood; you don’t know what drove them to make the decisions they did or how they may regret the way things have worked out. It’s easy to be defensive about your choices when so many are weighing in, but you can stand for your beliefs without tearing others down. 5: and a picture: