Parents in the open air | La Presse

Just because you have a brand new baby doesn’t mean you have to give up on the outdoors. Quite the opposite. Each in their own way, Aurélie Cabon and Amélie Davidson L’Espérance took advantage of their maternity leave to find ways to help other new moms (and dads) get back to nature.

After giving birth to little Léa, Aurélie Cabon realized how much equipment was needed to venture into the outdoors.

“I had absolutely nothing,” she recalls.

It was winter, it was difficult to go out with the stroller in the snow. Until she discovered the PremierSki miniskis, which can be fixed under the wheels of the strollers.

“It saved my winter! I thought these products could be useful to other parents.”

There were also bike trailers, jogging strollers, hiking baby carriers. All of these are expensive and take up considerable space in a home. So Aurélie Cabon decided to create a rental company for outdoor and travel equipment for parents of young children.

They can pick up the rented equipment at relay points, which are family product stores that have a storefront. For now, they can be found in Montreal and Quebec City, but Aurélie Cabon hopes to find relay points elsewhere in the province.

“When you dig a little on Facebook, you see that there are rentals that exist, but I find that super dangerous,” explains M.^me Cabon. You don’t know who you’re going to, you don’t know what happens with your deposit. There, you’re dealing with real stores that cater to the same clientele, and that puts them in the spotlight.”

Aurélie Cabon’s small business, Bébé Solutions, has built up a good portion of its stock with used equipment, carefully inspected to ensure it is safe.

The small business, however, purchased some new equipment when it was not possible to find safe items on the resale market.

At the end of her maternity leave, Aurélie Cabon decided not to return to her job at Desjardins. “I called my boss and told her, ‘Listen, I started my project…’ She told me, ‘I know, if you don’t continue, you’re going to blame yourself for the rest of your life. But know that I’m behind you.’”

Aurélie Cabon called on a coach business to refine its business model. And involved her partner in the adventure. “I used his 20 years of sales at Bell. And for me, my experience as a web project manager at Desjardins makes me very independent. It’s becoming bigger than just the two of us.”

It was also during maternity leave that Amélie Davidson L’Espérance had the idea for her Facebook group MOMent Nature.

She targeted her region, Orford. At first, there were four or five mothers. Then, quickly, around fifteen.

“In Magog and Orford alone, there must be about 60 of us,” says Mr.^me Davidson L’Espérance with enthusiasm. At each activity, there are about 25 of us mothers.

The group has had offshoots in other cities in Estrie: Bromont, Sherbrooke, Granby.

“Mothers are starting to organize activities in their respective cities,” explains M.^me Davidson L’Espérance. I post on the MOMent Nature Facebook page and moms come together. It’s always free, it’s for all levels, it’s pressure-free.”

Amélie Davidson L’Espérance is a preschool teacher by profession, with an outdoor component. She already knows the benefits of the outdoors for children. However, many young mothers also need a big breath of fresh air.

“There is a lot of anxiety and depression in the postpartum period,” she observes. “So it helps mothers to find themselves, to create a network of mutual aid and support. It also helps to play sports and move to reduce stress and anxiety. And even more so in the outdoors. I really believe in the benefits of immersing yourself in nature to relax.”

So the group goes hiking, biking, running, yoga. While baby breathes fresh air.

Visit the Bébé Solutions website