Some assuredly staggering percentage of New Year’s resolutions include some form of “bettering yourself” via healthy changes. Marketing teams, and the health and wellness industry as a whole, salivate over the idea of “New Year, New You” and aim to sell us on everything that promises to make your resolutions easy to follow and require very little effort.

I’m sure that many also have good intentions; where I get stuck is on a “new” you. 

I like the current me. Reinventing myself actually sounds exhausting. And aren’t we supposed to believe that “there is only one you - stop trying to be like anyone else - they are already taken”?

So this year, I’m making sure that our brand isn’t suggesting a “new you” but encouraging the perfect you to reach for whatever goals you have while still being true to the you that you are.

That goal could be as “simple” as getting outside for a few minutes each day (hello, new moms!) or as ambitious as running your first or 30th marathon. You do you.

Not that long ago, the first example I gave was a HUGE stretch for me. I had Cassidy the first week of January and live in Vermont. A few things were working against my intentions, and want to get outside.

COVID = keep your baby away from others = stay home.

Vermont in winter = cold = keep the newborn inside and warm.

A rocket-fast birth = my pelvic floor was shot.

Even if I could go out, I didn’t want to… I was in diapers myself 24/7. Ironic, I know.

I couldn’t put Cassidy in a front carrier and go for walks, even inside, because the pressure on my bladder shamed me even when no one else could see.

This made me realize that my product, StrollRunner, was not just going to help you. It was going to help me. You see, I didn’t create this for me, and I created it for running, which I certainly was nowhere near doing again yet, but walking was something I hadn’t yet considered using it for. When I say I didn’t create it for me, I mean that at the time I created it I thought I was done having kids. Surprise!

I found that if I went to the bike path on a decent day, and it was clear of snow, I could bundle Cassidy in her car seat, put that in the stroller (they make handy attachments for this!), attach StrollRunner and go for walks without the pressure on my bladder. 

Could I walk without using StrollRunner and be ok? Yes. But using it gave me the ability to swing my arms while walking and practice a more proper form to help support my pelvic floor. I did not want to wear these diapers forever! I was using it to recover.

It’s important for me to make sure Cassidy doesn’t stay holed up in the house and gets outside in the world. It’s essential for my mental well-being to do so, as well. I’d dare say StrollRunner saved me from some serious depression once I picked it back up and gave myself the freedom to move.