What does your 11pm look like? We sit down with powerfully lovely A DOMANI friends, ask them the same 11 questions, and capture the beauty, passion, compassion, and occasional chaos that happens from dawn to dream—and everything in between.
For this week’s 11 at 11, we sit down with Sarah Gould Steinhardt, Co-Founder of nonprofit Welcome Baby (welcomebabyusa.org) and a mama in the throes of the hormonal and sleepless fourth trimester. Welcome Baby was founded in late 2018 to provide necessities to low-income families for their newborn baby’s first 4 weeks of life.
“With no state or federal subsidies available to pay for basic, critical essential items [like diapers, wipes, bottles, onesies, pacifiers], new mothers and newborns are left abandoned and isolated. Welcome Baby exists to fill in the devastating gaps in this aspect of maternal and newborn health.”
1. What is your morning ritual?
Mornings are an exercise in time management. We usually wake up at 6:45 and I immediately start making breakfast for my 5 and 7 year old sons (avocado and egg on toast or oatmeal are pretty standard). While they eat, I get them dressed and get their backpacks ready. At 7:15, I microwave the coffee I made a half hour prior, listen to The Daily while my 4 month old hangs in his bouncy seat, and I answer as many emails as I can in the span of about 20 minutes. Then, baby goes into the Baby Bjorn carrier and my husband and I each take a kid to school. The work day begins when I get back to my home office and start figuring out what the day requires.
2. Breaking a sweat while sleeping=not fun. Fun=Breaking a sweat while ____.
Kickboxing… it’s the perfect workout and the BEST stress reliever.
3. What do you always have on your bedside table?
A small notebook to capture all the things I forgot to do that day, La Neige lip mask, a 32 ounce jug of ice water, and a collection of 10 books that I’m reading simultaneously.
4. Where was the best night's sleep you've ever gotten?
I have strong, vivid memories of a few amazing “sleeps.” One on Nantucket when I was in my late teens and without a care in the world, and another night years later in Montauk with the sound of the ocean filling the room.
5. What are you reading/watching/listening to?
Anderson Cooper’s podcast, “All There Is,” which will devastate you and make you think so much more deeply about grief and death; "White Lotus,” which is just plain brilliant; always listening to vintage live recordings of Springsteen’s concerts; and reading too many books at once - from Erik Larson to WS Merwin to Elizabeth Strout.
6. When are you most happy?
When I have my kids in my arms.
7. What can you not sleep without?
A memory foam pillow for my head and neck, an A DOMANI sleep dress, and a dark, cool room.
8. What does your perfect night look like?
A long, beautiful dinner sitting outside at Le Voltaire in Paris with my husband, followed by a walk back to our hotel along the Seine.
9. Early Riser or Night Owl?
Who knows?! I’m just coming out of the “fourth trimester,” so every day and night is a little different. I’ve been both an early riser and a night owl in my life, so ask me again in a few months.
10. Midnight snack y/n.
Nope. That’s a slippery slope!
11. What are you dreaming of at the moment?
I’m dreaming of a country that provides sufficient support for new moms and newborns. A country that ensures every baby has the basic necessities he or she needs to thrive. A country that makes women and children a priority, instead of an afterthought.
*All provided links are solely for your browsing convenience. We do not partake in or benefit from any affiliate programs.
