BCM - How did your life change when you became a mom?

Danielle - Things came into perspective a whole lot more than they had been before. Stuff rolls off my back a whole lot easier nowadays. I just don't have the emotional space or energy to let nonsense bother me as much as it used to.

BCM - What has been your most memorable moment (s) as a mom?

BCM - What has been the biggest challenge for you in motherhood.  Any advice for new moms? 
Danielle - I constantly struggle with my own selfishness. Their needs and desires trump mine but sometimes I just want to do what mama wants to do. I love my family but I also love working and I love sleeping so something has to give and usually it's sleep.

BCM- You manage social media for incredible companies like giggle, Healthy Child, Healthy World, and are the editor-in-chief of Bravado Designs' breastfeeding blog.   How did you get into the business?  
Danielle - My success was born of boredom and broodiness. I started Celebrity Baby Blog because my husband was busy with his blog, the Food Section (www.thefoodsection.com) and I wanted to have my own. I also wanted to have a baby.  Instead I did the next best thing, I created a blog about famous people having babies. Fast forward to 2008 when I was introduced to Twitter around a campfire at SXSW by one of my blog friends/idols Darren Rowse of Problogger. I didn't really get it for a year but once I did, I was hooked. I had also really gotten into Facebook as a way to share photos of Anya with friends and family. I soon learned that both are great tools for brands to communicate with future and current customers. 

BCM- Can you share advice for someone who wants to start a blog or getting into the social media space?

Danielle - Do it because you love it, not because you want to make money from it. 

BCM - How do you manage your work life balance?
Danielle - I don't. I'm always neglecting someone or something. 

BCM - What types of activities do you like to do w/ your kids?
Danielle - They're not really at an age where they both enjoy doing the same out-of-the-house activity and probably won't be for a while because of their four year age difference so I enjoy one-on-one activities the most.
I love having "Girl's Day" with Anya. It doesn't have to be an entire day, just some activity that's just the two of us. I took her for afternoon tea last weekend and then food shopping and it was so much fun chatting with her - something we usually don't have time to do one-on-one.
This is going to sound boring but my favorite thing to do with Asher is to wear him in a front carrier and run errands. I love having him on my chest and have him point at stuff he's interested in. A recent trip to TJ Maxx had him wanting to hug a lot of stuffed animals and touch a lot of shoes.

BCM- What has been your favorite Big City Moms event to date?

Danielle - I like the Biggest Baby Shower. I wish I had gone to one when I was pregnant with Anya! I think the New Mom Lunches are brilliant. Every city needs a Big City Moms organization to help them prepare for motherhood in an urban environment.

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FUN FACTS:   

I’m totally obsessed with….

Danielle - Dark chocolate and malted milk balls. I blame my co-workers who got me hooked.

My favorite drugstore buy is...

Danielle - I've been brushing my teeth with Tom's of Maine toothpaste for years. I used to like it because it wasn't ridiculously minty or sparkly like conventional toothpaste but now I really appreciate that it's free of a lot of the chemicals and junk that most toothpastes have like parabens, propylene glycol and artificial sweeteners

Products I can’t live without...

Danielle - Hand lotion (my hands are very dry)

My guilty pleasure is...

Danielle - Right now I really like the genre of NJ-based reality shows like Cake Boss, Jerseylicious and Jersey Couture. They're stereotypical but I find them to be oddly comforting. I grew up in Queens so I enjoy the accents and drama of these shows.  

Favorite restaurant….

Danielle - #16 Mott Street in Chinatown. I've been going there since I was a baby - my parents used to take us all of the time. Sadly, I don't have much opportunity to go to Chinatown because we live in NJ now but I love going to any Chinese restaurant where I'm the only non-Chinese person. It's a sign of really good authentic food.