Amanda Hunt is a mom of two, designer, and the powerhouse behind Davin and Adley - a modern label focused on nursing and maternity intimates. Amanda combined her passion for fashion and fitness with her motherhood experience, and created a brand with a mission to inspire and support other moms. She radiates incredible energy, joy and positivity that you can pretty much feel through the phone screen. Amanda's raw authenticity, her journey as a mother building a business strikes a familiar chord with me. I hope it resonates with you, too. 

Tell me a bit about yourself before you became a mother, and how did you change after becoming a mother?

Before becoming a mom I was always interested in fashion, modeling, beauty and fitness! You would usually find me at the gym or shopping with my group of girlfriends and grabbing brunch and a latte afterwards. We all ended up getting pregnant around the same time as each other, so our brunch dates turned into baby playdates! I wouldn’t change this for the world. It’s really beautiful going through huge stages of life at the same time as your closest friends! After becoming a mom, I started hating the times I spent away from my babies. I changed my routine to do more of my favorite things at home instead of being out all the time.

What does your absolute dream version of motherhood look like?

I’ve always dreamed of working from home and having the flexibility to be with my kids. It’s interesting how different it feels now that I have this during COVID-19. Its amazing and crazy and exhausting, but I am loving being with my babies more. My only wish is for a better division of personal life and work and that’s hard when we’re all home everyday together. 

What societal or cultural messages about motherhood frustrate you and how would you like to see them changed?

I’ve always been frustrated by the divided lines. Formula vs breastmilk, sleeping in the crib vs bed sharing, cry it out vs soothing a child to sleep. The list goes on. I wish for all mom shaming to stop and let everyone do what works for them. I’m personally a breastfeeding, bed sharing and soothing mama and I felt very judged for my parenting decisions with my first child. I’ve learned to push the negative comments aside and just do what works for my family.

What do you do well? What’s really works for you? Do you have a secret? Your mom super power?

I recently feel like we’re a hot mess over here!!! Motherhood is not perfect, especially juggling pre-k homeschooling, a 1 year old, and working full time. There are no secrets!! It’s hard!! My best trick is to stop working in the early evening, spend quality time with my family and then work really late while they sleep. It’s hard on me physically but my kids still get the time with mama they deserve.

How do you take care of yourself? How do you deal with mom guilt?

I’m not sure I’m doing a good job at this part! It’s hard to take time for myself when my business takes so much time. Fortunately, I love what I do. But when I have the opportunity to, I love to have a beauty day - hair & nails or take a yoga class. As far as the mom guilt goes- still working on accepting that! 

What’s a topic related to motherhood, or life after becoming a mother, that you wish we talked about more?

The emotional journey immediately following birth. Everyone expects you to say how great you feel after having a baby and with my first - I was an emotional wreck. Thanks to Instagram, we are starting to see more realness about this phase. I am dedicated to talking about this phase more often with my brand.