Influencer Arielle Charnas of Something Navy has become one of the most popular bloggers in the world and the mother-of-two shared all of her parenting tips at an Aveeno Baby event in New York City on August 21. The 32-year-old started her fashion blog, Something Navy, back in 2009 and in the beginning, it was all about her until she had two of the most precious little girls with her husband of five years, Brandon Charnas, 32-year-old co-founder of Current Real Estate. Arielle spoke at the event, which HollywoodLife attended, about the everyday struggles she faces being a parent to Ruby Lou, 3, and Esme, 1. At the event, which was held at The Little Wing, to announce the launch of the new Aveeno Baby Sensitive All Over Wipes, Arielle spoke candidly about being a mother, alongside pediatrician, Dr. Alberto Cotton. While Arielle admitted there are a few things that are challenging, such as changing diapers and eczema, she had one piece of advice for all new moms or future mothers. “My biggest tip for new moms would be when you’re working, be 100 percent in your work and when you’re a mom, be 100 percent a mom. If you can, try to find some time in your day to take care of yourself. For me personally, I don’t think I would be able to be the mom that I am if I didn’t give myself that time. So, trying to find that little moment for you. Even if its five minutes, take anything you can get,” she advised.
One of the biggest struggles Arielle faces is changing diapers, she admits. “Diaper change for me is about how fast can I get through this moment because my kids hate it. They hate it more than anything. It’s pretty much just me holding them down and not letting their bodies just convulse off the table because they just can’t sit still,” she shared. “At first, I started singing and playing with them, because in the first six months they don’t really do much so they’re ok with sitting still, but then they get smarter. So, what else can I throw in there to keep them staying still? I give them things that I don’t normally allow them to play with, like a bottle of cream or lipstick or keys – anything that I don’t normally let them play with,” Arielle continued. “Then they get smarter again and then it turns into, for me, an iPhone. I know it’s not ideal and probably not the best decision, but it gets me through diaper changes. At this age now, she’s [Esme] only 15 months, so we’re moving her onto the floor because it’s just not happening on the changing table and we’ll just do it really quickly. Sometimes the strap is up high on one side and the other’s down low, but it’s on and it’s happening on the floor, so I’m happy with that.”
Despite Arielle’s daughters being two years apart, she said they’re actually quite similar. “I always thought that if my first child was a certain way, then there’s no way that my second one will be the same, but that’s wrong. Both my kids hate diaper changing, but as they’ve gotten older, it’s definitely gotten a little bit easier. With my toddler, now she wants to do it herself and wants to help out with my baby, so it’s definitely easier as they get older, but it’s still a challenging part of the day,” she confesses.
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Aside from diaper-changing, Arielle’s kids have also experienced eczema, which posed another obstacle. “At first, I always thought that eczema was always a given because they’re babies, they’re being exposed to new things and their skin’s reacting. With Ruby, that was the case for me because she had eczema for 8-10 months and that’s when I started to look into the market for great products that were soothing for her skin and helped relieve it, and it worked, that’s how I found Aveeno. With my baby, she’s got a lot of allergies, so eczema is all over her body. She’s now 15 months and it’s kind of never-ending. I noticed it from the start, it was kind of always there for both of my girls but the Aveeno cream has been the best thing ever because it kind of tames it and it’s soothing for them.”
Another factor of parenting that Arielle found out was bad from Dr. Cotton, was giving your children a bath every day. “I bathe my kids every day, but Dr. Cotton told me that’s not good and you’re really not supposed to. I guess it really depends – right now we’re in a summer home and it’s humid, there are bugs, and they’re wearing sunscreen every day, so I feel like I have to,” she admitted. “The only thing we really do for their skin is that I put the Aveeno Baby cream on every night after their bath and Desitin for diaper rash. Other than that, I’m not really applying anything to their skin just because it’s so new and fragile, I’m afraid to test out any other new products. I just want to stick to what I’m comfortable with,” Arielle concluded.