Gingham - For a new or soon-to-be mum, a beautifully-crafted baby carrier never goes wrong. Crafted in organic linen with vegan hardware and coming in three colourways, Sia Baby’s signature carrier is adjustable and certified ‘hip-healthy.’ Simple, chic and safe.

Mama Mia: "I travel on the reg with little kids. Here are 12 things I always pack to make life easier".

On the topic of being hands-free, a baby carrier is also a must. Contact naps on the go become the norm at airports so you’re going to want something comfortable for both you and bub. I’m a big fan of Sia Baby’s super-chic and practical gingham carrier. It’s got multiple ergonomic wearing positions, a baby bottle holder, plus the best feature for travel –pockets! I repeat, pockets, so you can easily access your passports without having to turn your bag upside down. A carrier will be your go-to when you’re on holiday, too. It’s the ideal way to explore off-road terrain that might not be pram-friendly.

Sia baby I Mamas I Muses I Moguls

Meet Mama Muses  - childhood friends Alexandra and Chantelle co founders of Sia baby. Sia baby are best known for their premium, luxurious carriers that have practicality to match.

We sat down with the girls to chat about all things business, parenting and learn more about Sia baby and their journey so far.

How did Sia baby come to life - was this something you always wanted to do? 

We are childhood friends, who had always spoken about starting a business together, but it wasn’t until we were both pregnant and then on mat leave together, that we really started exploring the art of the possible!

From the get-go, we both had clear swims lanes on how we could approach a business relationship. With a background in Primary Teaching (Chantelle) and Marketing (Alex), we knew our key differences would in fact be our strengths.

From the moment we both had children, we knew we wanted to create a life for ourselves that was more flexible – allowing us to spend more quality time with our families. And while we both still have day-jobs, our passion to develop Sia baby quickly became all consuming.

As many working mums will agree, you become a professional multi-tasker quickly! So any chance we got (from early morning and late night calls to countless weekends hijacked), we were in the land of Sia baby.

When was the moment that you felt like it was something that was all coming together and gave you the confidence to take that leap of faith? 

After having children of our own, and trying various baby carriers, nothing on the market seemed to have what we needed as new parents. It soon became our mission to design a baby carrier that not only looked stylish, but also had a range of unique functions that would make parenting just a little bit easier!

During the product development stage, we allowed ourselves to entertain lots of wild ideas, and go down many rabbit holes. We agreed, we didn’t want to rush the process to get our carriers to market – we wanted to create something that really delivered on what we said it would. We had to create a product that would actually help make life easier for parents.

It was about six prototypes in before we had that goosebump moment! We put the carrier on and didn't have to say anything to each other…the pure joy & satisfaction was written all over our faces.

I know personally on my journey with little, there are times where I struggle with “Imposter syndrome”  is this something that you encountered in the early days, or even still deal with now? How do you deal with this when it pops up and what advice can you offer those women who are in the same headspace. 

Alex: Returning to full time work after maternity leave, I had a massive identity crisis. I realised my priorities had shifted and while I had always been driven by success in my career– it no longer defined me. I wanted to spend every waking moment with my little girl! Coming back to a high-pressure role, with lots of responsibility scared me – and I really questioned ‘how on earth am I going to do XYZ and still be a good wife and mother’.

And the answer then lay in the question. Why do women feel they must ‘do it all’?

Mum guilt is such a real thing, and my biggest advice to mamas is to be kind to yourself and give yourself time to adapt to your new normal. I would also say you will surprise yourself – and often working mums are the hardest working, most dedicated people at the table!

Read the rest of our chat with Little here.

BEHIND THE BRAND: When two best friends make baby carrier magic

When childhood best friends Alexandra Caisey and Chantelle Lewis became mothers, they noticed a gap in the baby carrier market. Sure, there was a whole range of functional carriers out there, but where were the fashionable ones?

“We wanted to feel more like ‘us’ again and felt a lot of the carriers on the market made us feel frumpy and didn’t have the functions you need with a growing family,” the Sydney-based business owners explain of their lightbulb moment when they dreamt up their business idea four years ago. 

Enter Sia baby — comfortable, functional, and stylish baby carriers made from luxurious linen. With three hand-illustrated and gender-neutral prints, Sia baby is the ultimate babywearing accessory for the fashion-forward mum or dad. Because who said we can’t look good while soothing our unsettled newborns to sleep?

With three daughters between them, Chantelle and Alex know exactly what a busy parent on the go needs and the Sia baby carriers boast a slew of game-changing features, including easy-access pockets for all your essentials (think nappies, wipes, phone), a baby bottle holder, and multiple ergonomic wearing positions. 

Read more about our journey and top tips for starting a business here.