Meet Leonora Bamford: My Baba & Baba West Co-founder

We got to know Leonora Bamford in our latest interview. Leonora is a mother of three, publisher of leading parenting website My Baba and co-founder of Baba West.

1) Leonora, you are a very busy lady - how do you balance motherhood and business?

I wish I could say I’ve nailed it, but the balance is almost impossible. I think everyone’s so busy these days   Whether it be work or personal information, we’re all being hit on so many different platforms with things that seem to need a constant reply. I want to be more like my husband who does it really well.  Holiday time with the family though, I really switch off and just check in once a day and apart from that focus just on the kids. 

Every year I have a New Year's resolution to turn my phone off at dinner time and then leave it off until the next morning. I’ve failed dismally this year, maybe I can start the clock again tomorrow!

2) Tell us a little bit more about the UK's no 1 for parenting advice - MyBaba

My Baba makes me so proud, I have a small but brilliant team and a collection of incredible experts.  I like to think that if someone has a question about anything from fertility and pre pregnancy all the way up to tween skincare and Neurodiversity in kids, we have you covered.  The categories are really simple to navigate so hopefully it’s easy to find what you’re looking for.

 

 

3) We are fans of Baba West too, what was the inspiration behind the brand?

I was desperate for a probiotic for my firstborn when he was little and on antibiotics and I couldn’t find any that weren’t full of sugars.  I went to ask Zita who simply said, ‘let’s make one.’  We did and then when Covid hit we launched a wider range including Vitamin D for babies and kids, balms, beautiful organic oils for pregnancy and mamas, pregnancy and postnatal loungewear and our latest hero product has to be our Strawberry Fruit Bears made out of fruit pulp dusted with probiotics so they’re great for little tummies and work perfectly as a snack.

4) Why is nutrition so important for little ones?

I really do believe that you are what you eat and I believe in moderation. The first 1000 days of a baby’s life is the most important time and it’s easier than you would think to make the magic happen at that time. A good pregnancy supplement is a good way to start, including fish oil. I would always suggest a probiotic and Vitamin D supplement from birth.  I loved the weaning process and enjoyed batch cooking with delicious seasonal veg.  The gut is like your second brain and if you start with good building blocks you’ll be giving your little one the best start.

5) What is your top tip for any Mummy's out there?

 I often get asked this and it’s always the same.  ‘A mothers instinct is rarely wrong.’  If you’re worried about something, get it checked out.