On getting back up on her feet through building her own brand

MY STORY IS …

For as long as I can remember, I’ve always loved fashion and communications. Things started looking up for me when I interned with a high fashion magazine which eventually landed me my first job in public relations at a luxury brand. I was on the fast track towards ticking my goals off as I gradually climbed the corporate ladder. But life came to a big pause for me in 2014 when I discovered during a medical checkup that I had a breast lump. I remembered how that fast-paced life I led slowed down right before me as I tried to digest every word the doctor was saying back then - ‘operate’ and ‘cancerous’. Thankfully, after an operation was done and scheduled a week after, it was discovered to only be benign.

I left the industry shortly after and had a temporary career change to realign my priorities and focus on myself again. Fast forward to a few years later, I became a mother and returned to the industry servicing local and international brands. But that dream too was short-lived.

A few weeks shy from my firstborn turning one, I suddenly lost my job and had just found out the night before that I was pregnant with my second child. It felt like life had taken me a step back once more. All I could think of was – “what now?”. How do I help support my family too? It didn’t help that with my situation then, I was met with other challenges that caused me a lot of anxiety and self-doubt during my first trimester.

I was hurt, confused and felt like my self-worth had been stripped off. It took me a while to get back up on my feet. But thankfully with support from family and friends, I channeled my energy into building a business that I had founded because of my firstborn - and so Cradle & Suckle began.

I’ve had plenty of setbacks along the way but being a mother has been one of the most gratifying and fulfilling journeys that gets me going every day and night. Cradle & Suckle is more than just an online business to me.

It fuels me with purpose to know that we are helping and can do more for mothers.

If anything I’ve learnt from recent events and setbacks is that motherhood can sometimes feel like an isolating journey which is why Cradle & Suckle is dedicated to supporting a community of mothers from all walks of life regardless of their parenting choices and journeys.

My crazy is that I’m pretty aggressive and resilient and growing up as a girl and the eldest, my dad raised me tough. I used to rebel a lot and I never understood the rules they had for me but looking back now and thinking about the obstacles and sacrifices they had gone through to raise us has given me a clearer understanding since I’m now a mother myself. So I make sure that with every hit I take in life, I get up and get going again. Sure, healing is tough and a long process.

Forgiving myself and those who have hurt me is tough. Fighting my own inner demons is even tougher. Motherhood has been life-changing and it has taught me that I have two girls looking up to me –– what is the example that I’d like to set for them? I guess it’s this -- that Mama makes mistakes and that’s okay. We all fall and stumble.

Baby steps; I’m showing my girls that chasing persistence is better than chasing perfection in life and to redefine failure according to our own terms.

photography Zahwah Bagharib