Chriselle and Joan are the co-founders of Bümo, a community and weekly digest that works to make lives easier for busy parents around the world. Their bümoDIGEST newsletter delivers the latest news on parenting, hacks, and important reminders straight to your inbox on Sundays. Bümo will also be bringing licensed childcare to the workplace for busy parents so that they can both work and be a present parent in early 2020! We recently caught up with them to learn about their inspiration for Bümo and got some hacks on holiday travel with little ones.

What inspired you to launch Bümo?

Joan: For me, it was definitely so personal. When I had my first daughter, I went back to work two-weeks postpartum. Then, with my son, I did the same. I had started my own company and was still hyper-dedicated to it, but, at the same time, I wanted to be a good mom. I wanted skin time. I wanted to *try* to breastfeed (even though I ended up pumping due to latching issues). I was thrown into a whirlwind of emotions, and I felt so utterly lost. In all the things I did, I felt confident; in parenting, I did not and still do not sometimes feel that way. So, I wanted other parents who might feel the same to feel supported as well. That all of us parents trying so diligently to get to this elusive perfection are doing just fine, even if we are far from perfect.

Chriselle: I had so much guilt going back to work after I had my daughters. I wanted to work and build my career but still be a present mother and not miss out on the little moments. Childcare options are so limited and I knew that it didn’t have to be that way. With bümo, we are bringing childcare to the workplace enabling parents to excel in both.

What makes Bümo such a unique resource for new parents?

Joan: It’s real. It’s raw. It’s easy. Bümo is inclusive — it’s not super mommy and not super daddy; it’s not even super mommy-daddy. We really try to represent the modern family, which is so varied. We give easy-to-digest, relatable content straight to your inbox.

Chriselle: Our first physical location will be opened early next year in Los Angeles. But for now, bümo is an incredible digital resource for parents looking for community and a resource/guide to all things parenting. We offer access to exclusive content by pediatricians, nutritionists, child psychologists, and real-life parents who are going through it themselves.

As parenting pros and with holiday travel right around the corner, what are your best tips and tricks for traveling with little ones?

Joan:

So, I decided to be super ambitious and take my two-year-old daughter to a mommy-and-me summer Europe trip. Sounds fab, right? It was as fabulous as it was a nightmare. Here are the travel tips I learned from this summer trip:

#1: Pack efficiently. I was carrying around luggage and my daughter. I made sure I put everything in one luggage and packed a super duper light stroller.

#2: Call a car service with a car seat. I used an app called Blacklane, and they provided a carseat for my daughter.

#3: Pack the snacks and food — I know you can go to the market but pack ENOUGH. We stayed in an AirBnB the whole time. My daughter woke up at 5am for “dinner.” Thank goodness I had some Annie’s Mac-n-Cheese because I would have been in for it — a toddler tantrum and mommy guilt for having a hungry one.

#4: Pack doggie waste bags — I used these in the airport for trash, on the airplane for direct diapers, and out and about to just collect trash.

#5: Use pull-ups! It’s easier to change your little if they are standing up! Sometimes you have to change in an icky restroom. So it’s sometimes more sanity to have your little one standing up instead of lying down and touching everything!

Chriselle:

1. Find an amazing stroller that is compact and easily foldable. That is soooo key when traveling.

2. Pre-pack a ton of snacks from home so they don’t end up eating so much junk food on the road! Full bellies also mean fewer meltdowns!

3. Wrap a few “surprise” toys (They don’t have to be lavish. It could be as simple as crayons and stickers). I’ve learned that kids love unwrapping! My kids love the idea of unwrapping a gift more than the gift in itself.

How does your Colugo make traveling easier?

Joan: It’s light and it’s durable! There are very, very light strollers out there. But you have to know what you’re getting into. I bought a light stroller and the breaks didn’t work; I thought it was going to break on me. But Colugo handles so well that I just told my best friend to get a Colugo for her family Hawai’i trip, and she did!

Chriselle: It’s super lightweight and compact!

Where do you spend the holidays?

Joan: We live for staycations. Work is so demanding so getting away for a few days is SO nice. We love to randomly go onto a hotel booking app like Hotel Tonight and see what good deals there are and spontaneously book a weekend in Palm Springs or Santa Barbara!

Chriselle: Now that we have two little ones we try to stay pretty local. We’ll do a trip up north to the Bay Area to see my parents. This year we are thinking about going glamping!

What is your favorite holiday tradition?

Joan: For Christmas, we love decorating our tree. My husband proposed to me with a glass ornament with strips of paper that read “Joan will you marry me?” So for our wedding, we had guests write on strips of paper and put them in the glass ornaments. We put these ornaments up every Christmas.

Chriselle: We have a gingerbread house decorating contest with the whole family! We also do a fun closet purge where we all donate items that we don’t want to one another or to charity.

What is your favorite Colugo stroller feature?

Joan: Okay, not a fair question because I truthfully love so many features. I love that there’s a strap so I can carry it over my shoulder. When carrying a kid, a diaper bag, you don’t want to do the “Let me hold this stroller up with my pinky” challenge. I also love that the canopy actually COVERS. Other strollers have “canopies” that are useless! And, of course, I love the design. I have the camo one and as much as I love it, my husband loves it soooo much more. My husband thinks it’s the coolest stroller — no joke!

Chriselle: The easy one button click to strap the baby in and out also the fact that you can fold the stroller down with one hand!