Being a Mum, Building Zojee, and Everything In Between

There are days when I look at everything we've been doing over the past few years and wonder how we managed to fit it all in.

Being a mum. Working part time. Looking after our family. Organising therapies. Finding the right therapists. Talking to childcare. Advocating for our daughter. Trying to understand what she needs and what works for her.

And somewhere in between all of that, we started building Zojee.

It has been exciting, exhausting, overwhelming and honestly, a little scary.

But most of all, it has been a journey.

Being a mum means planning everything

Sometimes something as simple as going out to an event can take days of planning.

I'm thinking about what my daughter should eat beforehand.

Will she be hungry while we're there?

When should she have her nap so she isn't overtired or cranky?

What toys should I bring?

Is the tablet charged?

Have I packed enough snacks?

What if she becomes overwhelmed?

What can I do to help her feel comfortable and regulated?

These are things that can easily go unnoticed from the outside.

It might look like we're just going to an event.

But in my head, I've already planned half the day around making sure my daughter is comfortable and has what she needs.

And sometimes, even after all that planning, things don't go to plan.

That's parenting.

Finding what works has been a journey

Our daughter is neurodivergent and has a speech delay, so we've spent a lot of time learning how to understand and support her.

We've organised therapies, searched for the right therapists and tried different approaches to find what works best for her.

There has been a lot of trial and error.

Some things have worked beautifully.

Some things haven't.

And sometimes you think you've finally found something that works, only for things to change again.

We've learnt to pay attention to the little things.

How she's feeling.

How she's communicating.

What helps her feel comfortable.

What she needs when she can't quite tell us herself.

It can be exhausting.

But it has also taught us so much about patience, listening and looking beyond what we see on the surface.

Advocating for your child

A big part of being a parent is learning to advocate for your child.

We've had conversations with childcare, asked questions, explained what our daughter needs and tried to make sure she feels supported while she's there.

Sometimes you have to speak up.

Sometimes you have to ask again.

Sometimes you have to explain something that you wish people already understood.

And sometimes you go home wondering if you did enough.

I think many parents know that feeling.

You just want your child to be happy, comfortable and understood.

You want the people around them to see the child behind the behaviour and understand that there is often a reason for what they're seeing.

For us, learning about our daughter's needs has changed the way we think about care in general.

It has made us much more aware of how important gentleness, comfort and consistency can be, especially for sensitive children.

And then there was Zojee

Somewhere in the middle of all of this, we started building Zojee.

It wasn't something we set out to do because we thought we needed another thing on our plate.

If anything, our plate was already very full.

But the idea stayed with us.

We wanted to create gentle skincare for sensitive family skin. Products that felt thoughtful, simple and reassuring.

The more we learnt about the skin barrier and skin microbiome, the more we realised how much there is to consider when creating skincare for sensitive skin.

You can read more about this in our Gentle Guide to Sensitive Skin in Children and our article on What Is the Skin Microbiome and Why It Matters for Sensitive Skin at Every Age.

And the more we learnt, the more particular we became about what we wanted Zojee to be.

We didn't want to create something just because an ingredient was trending.

We wanted every ingredient to have a reason for being there.

That is part of why we chose postbiotics for Zojee and why our formulas include ingredients such as ceramides, niacinamide and glycerin to help support the skin barrier.

You can read more about our approach in Why We Chose Postbiotics for Zojee.

Building a business while being a mum

The reality is, I am still working part time.

And building Zojee has meant fitting a dream into an already very full life.

There are work days, therapy appointments, childcare conversations, family life and all the little things that come with being a mum.

There have been long days, lots of decisions, plenty of research and more conversations than I can count.

Sometimes I've been working on Zojee when I'm tired and wondering how I'm going to fit one more thing into the day.

But there have also been so many moments when I've looked at what we've created and thought, We actually did this.

That feeling is pretty special.

It hasn't always been easy

There is a version of starting a business that you see online.

The beautiful branding.

The finished products.

The launch countdowns.

The exciting announcements.

But behind all of that are the ordinary days.

The days when you're tired.

The days when your child needs you.

The therapy appointments.

The childcare conversations.

The work days.

The days spent researching ingredients or answering emails after everyone else has gone to bed.

The days when you're trying to balance everything and wondering how you're going to get it all done.

And then you do it all again the next day.

I think that's what this journey has really taught me.

You don't always need to have everything figured out.

Sometimes you just keep going.

We are so proud of what we've created

Our launch is getting closer, and I have so many different feelings about it.

I'm excited.

I'm nervous.

I'm proud.

And if I'm being completely honest, I'm a little scared too.

We have put so much time, thought and love into Zojee.

From the very beginning, we've wanted to create something that feels genuinely thoughtful for families with sensitive skin.

Something that we would feel comfortable using on our own family.

Something that feels gentle, simple and reassuring.

And now we're almost there.

When I think about everything we've managed to do while navigating work, family life, therapies, childcare and all the everyday things that come with being a mum, I feel incredibly proud.

Not because everything has been perfect.

It definitely hasn't.

But because we've kept going.

And because we've created something we genuinely believe in.

This is only the beginning

Zojee started with a dream.

A dream to create something gentle and thoughtful for sensitive family skin.

But somewhere along the way, it became much more than that.

It became a little piece of our family story.

A story about motherhood.

About learning as we go.

About advocating for our children.

About trying to find what works.

About being exhausted and still showing up.

And about having a dream even when life is already very full.

As we get closer to launch, I'm allowing myself to stop for a moment and appreciate how far we've come.

We're almost there.

And I think that's something worth being proud of.

We'd love for you to join us as we launch Zojee on 8 August 2026.

Thank you for being here and being part of the journey with us.