April 29, 2025 • 47 mins
Calm the Chaos of parenting in this episode. Marva Soogrim, renowned as the "Nanny to the Stars," graces our podcast with her extensive expertise in newborn care and parenting, gained over four decades. She explains the profound yet often tumultuous journey of parenting, emphasizing that, despite the absence of a comprehensive guidebook, parents can indeed cultivate their innate capabilities with appropriate guidance. She has worked with Julia Roberts, Reese Witherspoon, Courtney Cox, Sheryl Crow, Kristin Davis, and Laura Dern, just to name a few. Marva brings "Calm to the Chaos" of parenting with her unique approach. She helps parents tap into their own abilities with encouragement and advice. In Marva’s spare time, she visits hospitals to hold newborn babies and has traveled to many states to support military moms through Operation Homefront. She has offered parenting advice on The Today Show, CBS, and various podcasts. Marva has also written about parenting for The Huffington Post, SheKnow,s and Today's Parent. She also develops products to bring ease to new parenting through her company Marvalousbabies. Marva's unique methodologies, which she has applied successfully with notable celebrities, provide insights into establishing a serene environment amidst the inherent chaos of raising children. By fostering self-care, creating structured routines, and emphasizing calmness, she equips parents with the tools necessary to navigate the complexities of early parenthood. Join us as we delve into Marva's remarkable experiences and invaluable advice that can help transform the parenting experience into a more manageable and fulfilling endeavor.
https://www.marvalousbabies.com/
https://www.instagram.com/marvalousbabies/
https://www.facebook.com/MarvaSoogrim/
https://women-road-warriors.captivate.fm
https://womenroadwarriors.com/
https://womenspowernetwork.net
#Parenting #ParentingInfants #MarvaSoogrim #NannyToTheStars #MavlousBabies #ShelleyJohnson #ShelleyMJohnson #KathyTuccaro #WomenRoadWarriors
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
This is Women Road warriorswith Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.
From the corporate office tothe cab of a truck, they're here
to inspire and empower womenin all professions.
So gear down, sit back and enjoy.
(00:23):
Welcome.
We're an award winning showdinner dedicated to empowering women
in every profession throughinspiring stories and expert insights.
No topics off limits on our show.
We power women on the road tosuccess with expert and celebrity
interviews and information you need.
I'm Shelly.
And I'm Kathy.
(00:44):
Parenting is one of the mostrewarding careers and one of the
most challenging.
Kids don't come with aninstruction manual, but we can learn
from the experts.
Marva Sugrim has been calledthe nanny to the stars.
She's a newborn care andparenting expert with over 40 years
of experience.
Born in Trinidad, Marva cameto the United states in the 1980s
(01:06):
at the age of 21.
With medical assistanttraining and impeccable references,
she began her career as a babynurse and nanny to some of New York's
most prestigious families.
News of her novel and calmapproach to caring for babies spread
and she quickly became thenanny of choice for celebrity parents.
She's worked with JuliaRoberts, Reese Witherspoon, Courtney
(01:28):
Cox, Sheryl Crow, KristinDavis, and Laura Dern, just to name
a few.
Marva brings calm to the chaosof parenting with her unique approach.
She helps parents tap intotheir own abilities with encouragement
and advice.
Marva is a trailblazer.
She specializes in multiplebirths and has dealt with many premature
babies.
(01:49):
In Marva's spare time, shevisits hospitals to hold newborn
babies and has traveled tomany states to support military moms
through Operation Homefront.
She's offered parenting adviceon the Today Show, CBS, and various
podcasts.
She's also written aboutparenting for The Huffington Post,
SheKnows, and Today's Parent.
She also develops products tobring ease to new parenting through
(02:11):
her company, Marvelous Babies.
As a mother of four, Marva cantap into the deep instinct that every
parent has and help guide themin a way that fits their individual
needs.
She teaches parents ways tomake a daily schedule to follow that
brings calm to the householdand leaves room for the parents to
take care of themselves andeach other.
Marva is an amazing lady andwe wanted to learn more, so we invited
(02:34):
her on the show.
Welcome, Marva.
Thank you for being with us.
Thank you, Kathy and Shellyfor having me.
Yes, welcome, welcome.
My goodness.
Oh yeah.
To be here.
Oh, this is so cool.
All I can say is wow.
You've had an incrediblecareer and wealth of experience and
You've helped so many people.
(02:55):
Yes, it's 44 years, to be exact.
Wow.
You know, we have a lot ofquestions, and first of all, I know
our listeners would like toknow what's it like to be a nanny
to big celebrities.
I bet you've had some amazing experiences.
Yeah, I would say.
I would say, you know, they'rehuman beings, and they do some extraordinary
(03:19):
work, and they get toentertain us, and we love it.
And to live with them and workwith them and travel with them, it's
very extraordinary.
I would not have seen theworld the way I have.
I have seen it, you know,traveling with them.
I remember going to Paris withmy daughter, and she was like, mom,
(03:40):
you know, here I.
I just didn't know where we were.
So it was.
You know, I've had fourdecades plus of, you know, amazing
experiences and very richexperiences, you know, both in my
work and seeing the world andseeing different cultures and their
(04:04):
traditions and.
And.
Yeah.
So now I'm ready to expand onwhat I've been doing and to help
the world of new parents tobring calm to their chaos.
Oh, gosh.
Calm to chaos.
That's music to a lot ofpeople's ears, for sure.
(04:24):
You know what I have writtenon my writing board, it says, out
of chaos comes creation.
That's right.
That's what happened to me.
I had to be very creative.
Creative because, you know, you.
Every family, you know, thatI've worked with, and every family
in general have differentdynamics, and, you know, they're
(04:45):
all.
We are all different in theway we do things and understand things
and comprehend and, you know, process.
And so it's a dance of sorts.
And so I had to bring calm tomy chaos, my own chaos, because my
chaos is my God.
I'm gonna work for these people.
I don't know them.
I.
(05:06):
I have no idea, you know, whatthey're like.
But I have to move in todayand stop working with them.
So, you know, I've done.
I've done lots of that.
Like I said, I have lots ofexperiences, and there's no challenge
I would back down from.
That's excellent.
Do you have any interestingstories about when you were working
(05:26):
with celebrity families?
I'm sure.
And people would love to know that.
Oh, yeah, I have this one.
I have this one.
We got to the Paris.
We were doing a world.
A world tour, a world premiere.
And in my client at the time,she was pumping, and she tried to
pump right before she left forthe premiere, and the pump blew up
(05:51):
in the hotel.
Oh, gosh.
And I had known where I hadjust seen a pharmacy.
And, you know, it's in Paris,so it's.
It's spelled in French, but Iknow it's pharmacy.
And so I just grabbed a cardfrom her husband and I just took
off down the street.
I didn't know where I wasgoing, but I knew how to get there,
(06:14):
so I ran.
And the pharmacy had justclosed, and they were sweeping on
the inside, you know, and Ijust stand outside and I held my
breast and I'm showing them Ineed to pump because I do have, you
know, big breasts.
Thank goodness for that day.
(06:34):
And so they ran to the doorand they opened the door, you know,
I'm holding my breasts.
You should see how I'm holding.
And I said, my palm blew upand I need to put on a dress that
would not fit me otherwise.
I'm talking all this English.
They can understand that, youknow, a dot of what I was saying.
But, you know, they saw meholding my breasts, so they took
(06:55):
me to the breast bumps.
I bought two, and I ran backto the hotel.
She plugged it in, she pumpedher milk, you know, and she was able
to get to the premiere on time.
She was able to fit in her dress.
So, yeah, I have some, youknow, very exciting and fun filling
stories.
And it's all about how, youknow, how moms and dads parent and
(07:20):
how the journey sometimes canbe very challenging.
And I can go right into anychallenge and help, you know, bring
that peaceful calm to the household.
And that's what I want to dofor the rest of my life, to be honest.
How do you do that?
Yeah, you had some tremendoustraining ground.
(07:42):
Because I would imagine withcelebrity families, there's no.
There's a lot of calm.
There's so many demands withtheir careers.
Yes.
They've got tons of, you know,the people that work twin, they are
in demand.
They are the creme de la cremeof the entertainment world.
And so you have, you know,different people coming in to take
(08:03):
care from stylists and hairand makeup and, you know, a chef,
a trainer, you know, makingsure they're prepared for the stage.
And I'm in the middle with the baby.
So, like I said, I'm a verygood life dancer.
So I have to bring the babywhen there's a break.
I have to bring the baby whenthe baby needs to be fed.
(08:25):
Mom might be getting her hairdone, but she can breastfeed.
And so I just make sure thatthey're living a normal life in all
the chaos and is able to takecare of their babies, you know, while
they do it.
They want to see me do great.
How were you able to do that?
I mean, because obviouslythere were constantly different daily
(08:47):
challenges.
Yeah, yeah.
It takes a kind of person.
Not everybody could do what I do.
Everybody can learn how totake care of a baby, but not everybody
knows how to do that chaotic dance.
It's very chaotic because, youknow, besides taking care of the
baby and, you know, workingwithin the schedule of the parents,
(09:09):
you have constant travel,constant international intercontinental
travel.
And you've got to be.
You got to bring your A game,you know, and my A game has no sleep
in it.
Oh, my.
You know, I take littlesnoozes here and there, but I'm very
energized, thank God, from theparents I had.
(09:33):
You know, my dad was like that.
Just very energized.
Yeah.
Not in a hyper way, but we cancarry our load and we're ready anytime.
So a nanny really doesn't geta whole lot of sleep, especially
if there's a newborn involved.
Yeah, there's no.
No proper sleep.
But you have to be born to dothis, because you'll break.
(09:55):
It will break you.
Well, I think new parentsreally have a tough time when they
have a newborn.
I mean, they're so excited.
The mother is exhausted after childbirth.
It's very, very exhaustingbecause you give birth to this baby
and you become a mother, andyou have no idea how the hell to
be a mother.
You've never been a mother before.
(10:17):
So you are also, you know,there's a birth that is given to
you, and it's called new mom.
Yeah.
So you have a new baby, a newmom, new dad, new partner, and the
person that stands in the needof great help, you know, physically,
(10:37):
psychologically, mentally,spiritually, and otherwise, is the
person who had the baby.
Oh, yeah.
And because I have fourchildren myself, I know from where
they're coming in terms ofwhat they're going through, and I
know exactly how to tap, tapthem and help them to, you know,
(10:59):
go into places that it's not ordinary.
And, you know, we go lie down,go rest, go whatever.
I help them to go within andreally touch base with this new part
of that new part of themselvesand to realize that this is here
to stay and also to realizethat there is a path forward and
(11:25):
to help them not to be sooverwhelmed and not to, you know,
not to panic.
Because I think when you panicbecause you don't know what you're
doing, it just Gives you adelay on, on your, the, the, your
bliss, you know, yourparenting bliss gets delayed because
now you're just struggling andworrying and feeling clueless and
(11:49):
feeling the shame and feelingall of that because you feel like
you're supposed to knowsomething more and you don't know
it and you look stupid.
And that's just all mind games.
New brands don't know that,but I'm gonna help them to learn
that and to dismiss thosevoices in their heads and to be very
(12:13):
unapologetic for being a new parent.
There can be so manychallenges with a newborn.
And of course you're playingthe guessing game.
The child can't speak.
You've got to figure outwhat's going on.
And if you have a colicky baby.
Woo.
Yes.
And there's also differentways of parenting.
Right.
Different viewpoints.
(12:35):
Mom might think one way anddad thinks another way.
Right.
Or grandma pops in with her way.
Yeah, exactly.
And then grandpa is like,okay, you could stop now, honey.
Let's now, you know, and givethem a moment to try and figure out
something because, you know,they're stumbling a lot.
(12:55):
Yeah, it's very, very, very challenging.
But I'm here to make all those challenges.
You know, most of them dissipate.
Well, you kind of play therole of like the extended families
of years ago where you had thegrandmother who could come in or
the mother of the new motherwho could say, okay, this is what
(13:16):
I found worked, you know, andyou are giving people the insight
they need.
Because when you're in themiddle of dealing with a child that
is screaming at 2 in themorning and you have to get up at
6:00am yes.
Oh, it's chaotic.
You can't think straight.
You're sleep deprived.
Yeah.
And once you sleep deprived,you start thinking that you even
(13:39):
you had something to drinkwhen you didn't even have something
to drink.
Or you like most times I wouldbe drinking something from a glass
cup, whatever, and then I comeback and I'm like trying to drink.
It's all gone.
You know, you're so much inautomatic that you do things that
you're like, oh my God, did Ido that already?
(14:01):
Because you're going on nextto nothing stream, especially in
the first three to four months.
I want to put a dent in that.
I want to have that greatly.
How do you help that?
Because I think that that.
Kathy, would you say that'sone of the biggest challenges with
a newborn?
No sleep.
Oh my goodness.
Oh, my daughter's 30 now, so Igotta think way back, but no sleep.
(14:26):
Yeah.
I think how I help that with,with my clients is I first have to
get the parents to be calm.
And when I say I have to getthe parents to be calm, it's not
like they're flailing andgoing out of their minds in the household.
But they can't rest becausethey have to feed in two hours.
(14:50):
So I help them to get a littlerest in between those two hours.
And I have helped women overthe phone.
I have helped other peoplewhere I'm not in their home, you
know, with them for many, many years.
I've done that, too.
And they have found solace in,in, in my work and in our work together.
(15:13):
So I want to bring that outinto the world.
And a lot, a lot they willhave to tune in for.
Stay tuned for more of WomenRoad warriors coming up.
Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.
I have one question for you.
(15:34):
Do you want to stop worryingabout the irs?
If the answer is yes, thenlook no further.
I've been around for years.
I've helped countless peopleacross the country, and my success
rate speaks for itself.
So now you know where to findgood, honest help with your tax problems.
What are you waiting for?
If you owe more than $10,000to the IRS or haven't filed in years,
call me now at 888-455-7-4020or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free
(15:58):
consultation and get your life back.
Industry Movement TruckingMoves America Forward is telling
the story of the industry.
Our safety champions, thewomen of trucking, independent contractors,
the next generation oftruckers, and more.
Help us promote the best ofour industry.
Share your story and what youlove about trucking.
(16:18):
Share images of a momentyou're proud of and join us on social
media.
Learn more@truckingmovesamerica.com.
Welcome back to Women Roadwarriors with Shelly Johnson and
Kathy Tucaro.
(16:40):
If you're enjoying thisinformative episode of Women Road
Warriors, I wanted to mentionKathy and I explore all kinds of
topics that will power you onthe road to success.
We feature a lot of expertinterviews, plus we feature celebrities
and women who've been trailblazers.
Please check out ourpodcast@womenroadwarriors.com and
click on our Episodes page.
(17:00):
We're also available whereveryou listen to podcasts on all the
major podcast channels likeSpotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon,
Music, Audible, you name it.
Check us out and bookmark our podcast.
Also, don't forget to followus on social media, on Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, Pinterest,LinkedIn, YouTube and other sites
and tell others about us.
(17:21):
We want to help as many womenas possible.
Parenting is one of the mostfulfilling jobs in the world, but
let's face it, it's also oneof the toughest.
Kids don't come with aguidebook, but we can always turn
to the experts for advice.
Marva Sugrin, known as thenanny to the Stars, is one of these
experts.
With over 40 years ofexperience in newborn care and parenting,
(17:43):
she has truly seen it all.
She brings calm to the chaosand helps parents to go within and
touch base with theirparenting and not be overwhelmed
and achieve calm.
She quickly became the go tonanny for some of New York's elite
families and eventuallycelebrity parents like Julia Roberts,
Reese Witherspoon and Courtney Cox.
Marva's calm, steady approachto parenting has earned her a reputation
(18:07):
as a true expert.
And she's got a knack forhelping parents tap into their unique
strengths.
Whether it's guiding familiesthrough the chaos of multiple births
or supporting military moms,Marva is a trailblazer who's made
a profound impact on theparenting world through her company,
Marvelous Babies.
She even creates products toease the transition into parenthood.
(18:27):
Marva's message is simple.
With the right tools, a littlecalm and some self care, parents
can create a peaceful home forthemselves and their children.
Marva's been sharing herinsight with us, especially the importance
of calm.
Marva, you know, being calm, Iwould think is really important.
Infants can sense if you're tense.
Yes, yes, they can.
(18:49):
And that can make them more.
Yeah.
Irritable.
Yeah, yeah.
And then, you know, and thenthey're crying.
You don't know what they'recrying for.
And then you're crying becauseyou don't know how to calm them.
And all it is, you have tobecome the calm person in the house.
And then the family has to,like, you know, there's an adjustment,
(19:13):
you know, process.
And some, there are familieswhere, you know, there's loud music,
there's lots of light in the house.
And so some things have to be adjusted.
What is the best way for a newparent to work with an infant so
that they can still take careof themselves?
I mean, do you have some tips?
(19:34):
Yes, I think for sure, gettingsleep when the baby sleep, I mean,
I know it sounds very clicheand women get upset, but I think
the first nap of the day,let's say you could take a little
20 minute snooze.
And the thing about it, youhave to put the Phone away, shut
(19:55):
the phone volume off and turnit down and at least relax without
touching the phone.
And let's say the next timethe baby takes a little bit of a
nap, then you can throw in aload of laundry, you can do a couple
of those things, you know,wash yourself.
It's all about blocking outthose little bits of time when you
(20:17):
have a baby and the baby is alot of care.
So the little windows that youget has to be spent on self care
and you know, house care,laundry care, I should say more laundry
and you know, replenishing thediapers, replenishing, you know,
(20:40):
having water in your room andmaking sure that there's some self
care.
Because not every woman hashelp and those are the women I'm
also going to be helpinggreatly, you know, from my phone
doing like Instagram lives,you know, helping them to, to do
things at a certain time ofday so that their nights they can
(21:02):
sleep, get sleep at night.
And I'm going to be doing thatin the next week or two.
I'm going to be doing thoselives at night, you know, helping
them, walking with them andbeing with them to you know, guiding
them how to take care of thebaby and themselves.
Because the nights can be very challenging.
(21:23):
After working all day you wantsleep at night and then the baby
doesn't want to sleep.
So I'm going to be helpingthem to crack their own codes and
their babies.
Is it possible to get newbornson a schedule?
Obviously they're hungry everyfour hours but I imagine that they're
variations depending on the infant.
Yeah, I get them on a scheduleschedule anywhere between three and
(21:45):
four weeks.
I begin that.
How do you do that?
I, I make sure.
Well in the, in, in thebeginning they, they eat on demand
if it's a full, on a fullgrown newborn because some kids are
premature and you have to youknow, feed them on demand for a little
while longer but if it'sanywhere from seven, seven between
(22:09):
seven and eight pounds bythree weeks they're beginning to
a full on schedule, like athree hour schedule because in the
beginning they're going towant to eat every hour, hour and
a half and then that goes totwo and it stays on two for a while.
And you know, so I help myparents not to keep them on two hours
for a while because they'regoing to get burnt out really badly.
(22:32):
So how long do you stay withthese families?
Like just while the babies areup until a year or.
Yeah, most times, you knowit's, it's a year I go in for six
months.
It turns into a year.
I just finished twins and they.
I was there for a year.
Wow, that's a lot of moving around.
You know, families different.
(22:53):
Yeah, it'll be hard on you.
Yeah, I have.
I am totally a nomad woman,and I love it.
And I think that's how I wasborn to be anyhow.
You know, I never stay oneplace too long, and I've.
That's.
I.
I think that that helped me tobe very successful because I adjust
(23:14):
very quickly to a new place, anew country.
You know, wherever it is, I'm.
I'm fine.
It's like I'm home.
How did you raise fourchildren and do this as well?
Well, well, I had, you know, acouple of family members, a couple
of friends.
I had my own little village,and my kids were not with me for
(23:37):
a bit, so I was able to, youknow, go it without them.
And when.
When they came here, then Ihad people to help me, and I.
I worked in the city, inManhattan, so I would see them pretty
often.
When I moved to Los Angeles,they were.
The youngest was 18.
(23:57):
Okay.
Do you have parenting tips forthe different stages of children?
I mean, the terrible twos?
That's just one stage.
Yeah, I think.
I think the most challengingtime is in the first three to four
months.
Yeah, in the first three tofour months.
If you follow my teachings.
(24:21):
If you follow, you know, what I'm.
What I'm guiding you to do.
The terrible tools.
Doesn't.
They don't really happen too much.
Oh, really?
Interesting.
Yeah.
So the child isn't alwayssaying no, because that's usually
the first word they've heard.
So that's the first word they say.
(24:41):
Yeah, but you're the parents.
You're the parents, and you'rethe one who are going to teach this
child how to be in the worldone day.
And coming from a time wherewe had no idea what, how to even
parent because they just, youknow, they just.
(25:03):
Like we.
We just raised kids and therewas a lot of information we did not
have.
So since I have thatinformation, I can help.
You know, it's.
It's not a hack, but it's a.
It's a great.
It's.
I have developed, you know,many different ways to help new parents
(25:25):
to have just a smooth timewhen it comes down to cultivating
their newborns and beyond.
My work is not just for sixmonths to a year.
I have done triplets for sevenand a half years.
You know, so I've had a lot Alot of experience.
Experiences with helping tocultivate children.
(25:47):
And yes, they will have alittle tantrum here and there, but
my charges, you know, they don't.
Don't really have tantrums.
How do you deal with tantrums?
You can actually, based onwhat you teach, maybe prevent some
of that.
That's what I'm talking about.
A lot of it is not happening.
And when it does happen, it'sgoing to happen once in a while.
(26:10):
Mm.
Once in a while.
And when it does happen, itmight be because of sleep.
They didn't get proper sleep.
So then.
So then you make sure.
If they're gonna throwthemselves, you make sure that if
they will.
If they had to lie on thefloor for a minute, you held them
down gently and let them cryfor a few.
(26:30):
So they get their littlefrustrations out.
And once that's out, they'llbe fine again.
And then you kept them, youknow, in the car and you drive home
or you get them to bed.
But most times when kids arehaving tantrums, it's because they
might have had too muchstimulation of, let's say, TV or
(26:57):
phone, or they might have hadsomething sweet, too much, you know,
sweets in their diet.
And they might have skippednaps, or sometimes they want to skip
naps, and then the adult don'tknow better, so they have them skip
their nap and it becomes awhole, you know, combination.
(27:21):
Combination of just not knowing.
I think it's a not knowing.
Knowing how to do what youshould do.
And once they start knowing these.
These different, you know,ways in which to do things a bit
differently than how we dothings now, then you'll find more
(27:44):
peaceful households.
You know, couples are going toreally get along better.
Well, that's huge.
Yeah.
So would you say structure isone of the important things, starting
with infancy?
And it definitely must havestructure, but the people who are
going to have to have realstructure is the parents.
(28:06):
Yeah.
You can't just have the day go anyhow.
And the kids must havestructure within the chaos.
I remember my mother alwaysbelieved in that.
I entered the bed at the sametime for years.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I remember it frustrating mewhen I was little and it was summertime,
it was still daylight, and Ihad to go to bed.
(28:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's how it is, you know.
And today, you know, a lot ofthe kids are having their babies,
like, do what they want.
You don't want to do this,that's fine.
And so I was telling mygranddaughter, you have to help him
to do certain things.
Because when he gets to be acertain age, he's going to be too
(28:47):
hardwired in not wanting to dothe things you are asking.
So you have to help them at avery early age.
And it starts from the cradle.
Children are little sponges.
They get used to certain things.
Yeah, those, those littlebehaviors are hard to break.
Oh, yeah.
Well, yeah.
Once that becomes a habit.
(29:08):
That's right.
If the infant is used tohaving you cub every time they cry
too, then, uh, yeah.
Do you find the mothers arereally receptive to the way you teach
them?
Mothers are becoming more andmore receptive because they are damn
tired.
They want a break, they needto sleep, they need to rest, they
need to like not have thosebags under their eyes.
(29:30):
So they're like, okay, I goahead, you know, and, and they have
been very successful with.
Because I'm, I'm, I'm sureyou, you've come across some mothers
who might be.
More protective, might be more.
No, that's my baby.
Let me hold her.
I don't take away the babiesat all.
You can hold the babies asmuch as you want only when it's nap
(29:53):
time or when it's, you know,we, we want to create structure so
they, I'm not that person who,who makes them, you know, I'm not
that controller who comes inand they take the baby and, you know,
and then they dictate for you,the parents, so you hardly get to
(30:13):
touch your baby.
Stay tuned for more of womenroad warriors coming up.
Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.
I have one question for you.
Do you want to stop worryingabout the irs?
If the answer is yes, thenlook no further.
I've been around for years.
(30:34):
I've helped countless peopleacross the country and my success
rate speaks for itself.
So now you know where to findgood, honest help with your tax problems.
What are you waiting for?
If you owe more than $10,000to the IRS or haven't filed in years,
call me now at 888-557-4020 orgo to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free
consultation and get your life back.
(30:56):
Industry movement Truckingmoves America Forward is telling
the story of the industry.
Our safety champions, thewomen of trucking.
Independent contractors, thenext generation of truckers and more.
Help us promote the best ofour industry.
Share your story and what youlove about trucking.
Share images of a momentyou're proud of and join us on social
(31:17):
media.
Learn more@truckingmovesamerica.com.
Welcome back to Women Roadwarriors with Shelly Johnson and
Kathy Tucaro.
Marva Sugrin, Nanny to theStars, teaches parents everywhere
(31:38):
how to tap into their ownunique strengths and sidestep the
overwhelm.
She brings calm to the chaosof new parenting or parenting multiple
births.
She's been a highly soughtafter nanny to many major celebrities.
She works with military momsand many others on how to create
a peaceful home for themselvesand their children with the right
tools, a little calm and selfcare, things like napping when the
(32:02):
baby sleeps or doing choreswhen the infant sleeps, blocking
out little blocks of time forself care.
Marva also knows how to getinfants on a schedule very early.
As a matter of fact, parentsthat follow Marva's instructions
will find that terrible twosreally don't happen as children become
toddlers.
Her company, Marvelous Babies,even creates products to ease the
(32:24):
transition into parenthood.
She has a serious knack withbabies and little ones.
She's been giving ustremendous insight.
Marva, what are some tips thatyou could provide our listeners right
now on parenting, newparenting and well, obviously if
they haven't had your helpfrom the very beginning, they may
have some things that theyneed to restructure with their children
(32:45):
too.
Yeah, I think how I can reallyhelp people, I have a website, I
have, I have a website, I have Instagram.
But I'm going to say in, inthe, I know some people are late
in the game, but I can helpthem to turn around sleep issues.
I can help them to, to, youknow, put some structure in their
(33:10):
day.
From next week, I'm going tobe doing that on Instagram Live.
So people are going to be ableto talk to me.
People are going to be able tosend media issues and I'm going to
be answering them.
This is going to be my work.
So I would say, you know, justtake 15 minutes, go in the closet
and hide and take 15 minutesand breathe and just get in touch.
(33:34):
Stay in touch with who you are.
Stay in touch.
Don't lose hope because it'sonly for a short time that you're
going to go through this sleepdeprivation and this and then we're
going to bring you on theother side up and you'll be fine.
And before you know it, youhear a family, yeah, I'm pregnant
again.
I know what to do this time.
(33:54):
That always helps.
But it's challenging when youhave more than one.
You still have the first childthat says, hey.
And of course then there's thejealousy factor.
Yes, you have that.
But like I said, you know, wework on all Those things.
And you hardly find thatbecause with all my experiences,
I know how to help every parent.
(34:16):
Yes, I know how to help them,but I have to get them to be able
to help them because everysituation is different.
If I give advice, it's going.
It might serve a few people,but it may not touch a whole lot
of people because it's not there.
It's not there happening.
And no child responds the same way.
(34:37):
Yeah, you have that.
So I think the best way for meto help people would be to communicate
with those people in person online.
And like I said, that's whatI'm going to do for the rest of my
life.
You have marvelous parentchats on your website.
Yes.
Yeah, those are one on one chats.
(34:58):
I can, I can help par.
I can help to guide parentsinto just what we're talking about.
They get on the phone with me,give me their questions, we go over
everything and then we couldcheck back and see where they are
and help them.
I used to do that, you know,back in probably like 25 years ago.
(35:22):
I used to have my littlenotebook and write down names and
times and week, you know, youknow, sessions and all that stuff.
I'm used to doing that.
I'm a hard worker and I canhelp, you know, parents.
But like I said, I would sayto find, you know, a few minutes,
if it's 10, 15 minutes a dayand you know, go in a, in a quiet
(35:46):
space and just be withyourself, breathe and understand
that this is, you know, thisis something that you have wanted
and some parts of it are notgoing to be pretty or feel pretty,
but it's just a temporary situation.
(36:08):
And once you get, once you getback on your horse, then you're riding,
you're riding freely and happily.
That would definitely helpwhen parents get frustrated.
Obviously when you've got achild that's being obstinate and
all of that and you've had aheck of a day and you're tired.
Yeah.
You end up yelling at them andreacting in a way that is not productive.
(36:30):
That's right.
No parent never has ever done that.
Of course not.
Yeah.
Well, I could say, I couldsafely say that I had been the master
of that.
So, you know, you get to learnhow to do better, how to be better
and how to help people start out.
Great.
(36:50):
Well, you've had a realchallenge being a nanny.
You're walking into asituation where you don't know the
children, you don't know thepersonality, you don't know the parents
and their personalities.
You just have to hit theground running and then figure out
how you're going to make it work.
It's tough, man.
That's really tough.
And I have aced that one.
That one.
That's why I could help theworld of new parents now because
(37:13):
I have had so many challenges.
Challenges that, you know, Iwouldn't find them being a challenge
because I just welcome it.
I just welcome it and I breezethrough it and I'm like, okay, this
is what we do.
I also stay in touch with mytuition, so that have really helped
my success instinct.
(37:35):
It helps me to know what youwant and how you want it, and all
of this is what I'm going tobe teaching my.
My new parents.
You would be really good tomaybe give some people some tips,
like, even in high school, ifthey're, you know.
Yes.
On.
On parenting.
And this is what you're goingto be looking at down the road.
(37:55):
Not now, but because, youknow, I look around and it seems
like there are a lot ofparents that have kids that have.
They have no control.
These kids are just.
They're.
They're all over the place.
And a friend was advising me,when I get back to California to
start going to the colleges,you know, giving them a call and
(38:16):
letting them know what I'mdoing and, you know, that I could
come in and speak with thekids just like I did with the military.
I'm going to do that with theschools and with the spots where
they have the teenage moms,you know, kind of like shelters and
just places where new moms getto stay.
(38:37):
You know, teenage moms, andthey have, you know, they have babies.
I'm really talking to a lot of people.
Teenage moms have a huge challenge.
I mean, they're still kids themselves.
That's right.
Yeah.
I just came.
Could you imagine?
I.
I left my work on the last day.
Last day of work to hop on aplane recently to come to, you know,
(39:02):
help care for my daughter.
She got diagnosed with breastcancer, and she a couple of weeks
ago had a double mastectomy.
So there's never a moment parenting.
My goodness, that's tough.
It's wonderful you could help her.
Yeah.
How old's your daughter?
She's 47.
47.
(39:23):
Yikes.
Yeah.
And she has two kids and.
And one grandson was born this year.
So we are all here having afun time these last couple of days,
because I'm heading toCalifornia tomorrow, and then I'm
gonna be starting my Instagramlive where mothers can, you know,
(39:47):
really, the mothers who reallyfeel that they need help and they're
open to listening to what Ihave to say.
They're gonna be, you know,they're going to be happy.
They did prayers to yourdaughter for quick recovery.
I love what you're doing, Marva.
You help so many people.
Operation Homefront withyellow Terry moms and all of that,
(40:07):
and going into hospitals andhelping, it's so necessary.
I think a lot of people wouldhave loved when they thought about
being a parent or became aparent to meet you years ago.
Your knowledge is just fabulous.
And the Instagram chat wherepeople can reach out to you, that's
super helpful.
Yeah, I'm gonna be one of thethings, like I said, I think I mentioned
(40:29):
that earlier.
I'm going to do like threeInstagram lives and I'm gonna have
a guest, maybe one guest, oneprofessional guest every two weeks.
And then I am going to do likenight lives, like, let's say midnight
at 2:00am you know, moms canjoin me and talk to me online, tell
(40:54):
me about their babies andwhat's happening, and I'll let them
know, kind of like how to helptheir situations.
So I'll be up at night with.
With my moms, with mymarvelous moms.
I love it.
And it's marvelous mindset,Marvelous babies.
I love the name of it.
Marvelousbabies.com People canget more information about you.
(41:15):
There's a picture of you onyour marvelous mindset page.
You just look so sereneholding that baby.
You really do.
I have gotten jobs because Iwould go someplace with one client
and then somebody else saw mefrom afar.
And one gentleman inparticular, a huge deal in the business,
(41:37):
in the entertainment business,he called me and hired me.
He said, you know, I saw youat xyz, you know, place, and the
way you, you.
You took the baby from the momtold me a whole lot about you.
You know, it's true ifsomebody doesn't know how to hold
an infant and they're suddenlyhanded that infant, the infant can
sense you don't know what theheck you're doing and will start
(41:59):
crying.
Yeah, yeah.
So it's hard to say, like,right away, you know, what is going
to work for someone unless Iknow, like, what's happening.
But some tips I could.
I could give is like, makesure you're hydrated.
Because when you are takingcare of children, two things you
(42:22):
do not do is drink water and pee.
You know, so making sureyou're hydrated, making sure.
Having some snacks, if you cansit down to eat, but please make
sure that you, you're makingyour meal by drinking lots of liquids
and that your, your mind is ina good place and, and you feel good
(42:45):
and strong.
And these little tips, youknow, go for a walk, take the baby
for a walk.
These things are going tomentally build you for parenting.
Well, when you go for a walkyou're probably building endorphins.
Those are the grift, feel goodhormones, that's always a good thing.
And fresh air, happy hormones.
That's right.
And when you're sleepdeprived, you're not always happy.
(43:08):
Oh no.
But with sleep deprived youget up, you wash your face with cold
water and you just kind ofwalk in place for five minutes.
These are the things I dobecause remember I'm not sleeping
when I would work, I'm notsleeping so I would wash my face
or jump in the shower.
I'm not telling new parents,new moms, but you know, after a while
(43:30):
you just open the warm wateron you and then close it off and
open the cold water in you andthat really gets you going.
So people can go to yourwebsite@marvelousbabies.com that's
spelled M A R V A L O U S B Ab I e s.com and you have chat sessions,
you have actually 90 minutesessions you can do with people too.
(43:53):
Yes.
And like I said, they can askme all their questions and I'll give
them, I'll give them guides sothat they can integrate it in, in
their daily lives.
And then next chat we'll seewhere we are and you know, but you'll
get fast results.
I'm not going to have a parentjust hanging on and coming on, coming
(44:15):
on sake to pay me.
You're going to have, youknow, quick results.
Oh gosh.
You're just what the doctor ordered.
And so you won't be callingthe doctor every five minutes.
Sure.
I mean that's always the fear.
What's my baby doing?
Because babies bodies are alittle bit different than adults.
There's also the fear of crib death.
(44:37):
Right.
I mean that's a real thing.
So you know, people getparanoid and now, you know, they
have like so many differentmonitors which are great but what
that does.
The parents can't sleepbecause now they're watching the
monitors all the time.
Yeah, yeah.
Every little movement theypanic, they get a ping on their phones
(45:00):
and they're like oh my God,you know, so you have that too.
So there's a lot for us to, alot of work for us to do.
And I'm ready.
I think it's a blessing thatyou're here to help so many people.
You truly have a wonderful talent.
Thank you.
This has been marveloustalking to you, Marva.
Yes, it has.
(45:21):
Same here.
Same here.
Kathy and Shelley and I look forward.
To seeing what else you're doing.
Definitely keep us posted.
Yeah.
I'm gonna follow you guys on Instagram.
I think I did.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah.
When we're on Facebook andLinkedIn and Twitter and Pinterest
and YouTube all over the place.
So.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah.
(45:42):
So you'll see what's happening.
That's terrific.
Thank you, Marva.
It's been great having you onthe show.
Thank you.
I look forward to talking toyou again in a bit.
We hope you've enjoyed thislatest episode.
And if you want to hear moreepisodes of Women Road warriors or
learn more about our show, besure to check out womenroadwarriors.com
(46:02):
and please follow us on social media.
And don't forget to subscribeto our podcast on our website.
We also have a selection ofpodcasts Just for Women.
They're a series of podcastsfrom different podcasters.
So if you're in the mood forwomen's podcasts, just click the
Power network tab onwomenroadwarriors.com youm'll have
a variety of shows to listento anytime you want to.
(46:25):
Podcasts Made For Women WomenRoad warriors is on all the major
podcast channels like Apple,Spotify, Amazon, Audible, YouTube
and others.
Check us out and please followus wherever you listen to podcasts.
Thanks for listening.
You've been listening to WomenRoad warriors.
With Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.
(46:47):
If you want to be a guest onthe show or have a topic.
Or feedback, email us@sjohnsonomenroadwarriors.com.
This is Women Road warriorswith Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.
From the corporate office tothe cab of a truck, they're here
to inspire and empower womenin all professions.
So gear down, sit back and enjoy.
(00:23):
Welcome.
We're an award winning showdinner dedicated to empowering women
in every profession throughinspiring stories and expert insights.
No topics off limits on our show.
We power women on the road tosuccess with expert and celebrity
interviews and information you need.
I'm Shelly.
And I'm Kathy.
(00:44):
Parenting is one of the mostrewarding careers and one of the
most challenging.
Kids don't come with aninstruction manual, but we can learn
from the experts.
Marva Sugrim has been calledthe nanny to the stars.
She's a newborn care andparenting expert with over 40 years
of experience.
Born in Trinidad, Marva cameto the United states in the 1980s
(01:06):
at the age of 21.
With medical assistanttraining and impeccable references,
she began her career as a babynurse and nanny to some of New York's
most prestigious families.
News of her novel and calmapproach to caring for babies spread
and she quickly became thenanny of choice for celebrity parents.
She's worked with JuliaRoberts, Reese Witherspoon, Courtney
(01:28):
Cox, Sheryl Crow, KristinDavis, and Laura Dern, just to name
a few.
Marva brings calm to the chaosof parenting with her unique approach.
She helps parents tap intotheir own abilities with encouragement
and advice.
Marva is a trailblazer.
She specializes in multiplebirths and has dealt with many premature
babies.
(01:49):
In Marva's spare time, shevisits hospitals to hold newborn
babies and has traveled tomany states to support military moms
through Operation Homefront.
She's offered parenting adviceon the Today Show, CBS, and various
podcasts.
She's also written aboutparenting for The Huffington Post,
SheKnows, and Today's Parent.
She also develops products tobring ease to new parenting through
(02:11):
her company, Marvelous Babies.
As a mother of four, Marva cantap into the deep instinct that every
parent has and help guide themin a way that fits their individual
needs.
She teaches parents ways tomake a daily schedule to follow that
brings calm to the householdand leaves room for the parents to
take care of themselves andeach other.
Marva is an amazing lady andwe wanted to learn more, so we invited
(02:34):
her on the show.
Welcome, Marva.
Thank you for being with us.
Thank you, Kathy and Shellyfor having me.
Yes, welcome, welcome.
My goodness.
Oh yeah.
To be here.
Oh, this is so cool.
All I can say is wow.
You've had an incrediblecareer and wealth of experience and
You've helped so many people.
(02:55):
Yes, it's 44 years, to be exact.
Wow.
You know, we have a lot ofquestions, and first of all, I know
our listeners would like toknow what's it like to be a nanny
to big celebrities.
I bet you've had some amazing experiences.
Yeah, I would say.
I would say, you know, they'rehuman beings, and they do some extraordinary
(03:19):
work, and they get toentertain us, and we love it.
And to live with them and workwith them and travel with them, it's
very extraordinary.
I would not have seen theworld the way I have.
I have seen it, you know,traveling with them.
I remember going to Paris withmy daughter, and she was like, mom,
(03:40):
you know, here I.
I just didn't know where we were.
So it was.
You know, I've had fourdecades plus of, you know, amazing
experiences and very richexperiences, you know, both in my
work and seeing the world andseeing different cultures and their
(04:04):
traditions and.
And.
Yeah.
So now I'm ready to expand onwhat I've been doing and to help
the world of new parents tobring calm to their chaos.
Oh, gosh.
Calm to chaos.
That's music to a lot ofpeople's ears, for sure.
(04:24):
You know what I have writtenon my writing board, it says, out
of chaos comes creation.
That's right.
That's what happened to me.
I had to be very creative.
Creative because, you know, you.
Every family, you know, thatI've worked with, and every family
in general have differentdynamics, and, you know, they're
(04:45):
all.
We are all different in theway we do things and understand things
and comprehend and, you know, process.
And so it's a dance of sorts.
And so I had to bring calm tomy chaos, my own chaos, because my
chaos is my God.
I'm gonna work for these people.
I don't know them.
I.
(05:06):
I have no idea, you know, whatthey're like.
But I have to move in todayand stop working with them.
So, you know, I've done.
I've done lots of that.
Like I said, I have lots ofexperiences, and there's no challenge
I would back down from.
That's excellent.
Do you have any interestingstories about when you were working
(05:26):
with celebrity families?
I'm sure.
And people would love to know that.
Oh, yeah, I have this one.
I have this one.
We got to the Paris.
We were doing a world.
A world tour, a world premiere.
And in my client at the time,she was pumping, and she tried to
pump right before she left forthe premiere, and the pump blew up
(05:51):
in the hotel.
Oh, gosh.
And I had known where I hadjust seen a pharmacy.
And, you know, it's in Paris,so it's.
It's spelled in French, but Iknow it's pharmacy.
And so I just grabbed a cardfrom her husband and I just took
off down the street.
I didn't know where I wasgoing, but I knew how to get there,
(06:14):
so I ran.
And the pharmacy had justclosed, and they were sweeping on
the inside, you know, and Ijust stand outside and I held my
breast and I'm showing them Ineed to pump because I do have, you
know, big breasts.
Thank goodness for that day.
(06:34):
And so they ran to the doorand they opened the door, you know,
I'm holding my breasts.
You should see how I'm holding.
And I said, my palm blew upand I need to put on a dress that
would not fit me otherwise.
I'm talking all this English.
They can understand that, youknow, a dot of what I was saying.
But, you know, they saw meholding my breasts, so they took
(06:55):
me to the breast bumps.
I bought two, and I ran backto the hotel.
She plugged it in, she pumpedher milk, you know, and she was able
to get to the premiere on time.
She was able to fit in her dress.
So, yeah, I have some, youknow, very exciting and fun filling
stories.
And it's all about how, youknow, how moms and dads parent and
(07:20):
how the journey sometimes canbe very challenging.
And I can go right into anychallenge and help, you know, bring
that peaceful calm to the household.
And that's what I want to dofor the rest of my life, to be honest.
How do you do that?
Yeah, you had some tremendoustraining ground.
(07:42):
Because I would imagine withcelebrity families, there's no.
There's a lot of calm.
There's so many demands withtheir careers.
Yes.
They've got tons of, you know,the people that work twin, they are
in demand.
They are the creme de la cremeof the entertainment world.
And so you have, you know,different people coming in to take
(08:03):
care from stylists and hairand makeup and, you know, a chef,
a trainer, you know, makingsure they're prepared for the stage.
And I'm in the middle with the baby.
So, like I said, I'm a verygood life dancer.
So I have to bring the babywhen there's a break.
I have to bring the baby whenthe baby needs to be fed.
(08:25):
Mom might be getting her hairdone, but she can breastfeed.
And so I just make sure thatthey're living a normal life in all
the chaos and is able to takecare of their babies, you know, while
they do it.
They want to see me do great.
How were you able to do that?
I mean, because obviouslythere were constantly different daily
(08:47):
challenges.
Yeah, yeah.
It takes a kind of person.
Not everybody could do what I do.
Everybody can learn how totake care of a baby, but not everybody
knows how to do that chaotic dance.
It's very chaotic because, youknow, besides taking care of the
baby and, you know, workingwithin the schedule of the parents,
(09:09):
you have constant travel,constant international intercontinental
travel.
And you've got to be.
You got to bring your A game,you know, and my A game has no sleep
in it.
Oh, my.
You know, I take littlesnoozes here and there, but I'm very
energized, thank God, from theparents I had.
(09:33):
You know, my dad was like that.
Just very energized.
Yeah.
Not in a hyper way, but we cancarry our load and we're ready anytime.
So a nanny really doesn't geta whole lot of sleep, especially
if there's a newborn involved.
Yeah, there's no.
No proper sleep.
But you have to be born to dothis, because you'll break.
(09:55):
It will break you.
Well, I think new parentsreally have a tough time when they
have a newborn.
I mean, they're so excited.
The mother is exhausted after childbirth.
It's very, very exhaustingbecause you give birth to this baby
and you become a mother, andyou have no idea how the hell to
be a mother.
You've never been a mother before.
(10:17):
So you are also, you know,there's a birth that is given to
you, and it's called new mom.
Yeah.
So you have a new baby, a newmom, new dad, new partner, and the
person that stands in the needof great help, you know, physically,
(10:37):
psychologically, mentally,spiritually, and otherwise, is the
person who had the baby.
Oh, yeah.
And because I have fourchildren myself, I know from where
they're coming in terms ofwhat they're going through, and I
know exactly how to tap, tapthem and help them to, you know,
(10:59):
go into places that it's not ordinary.
And, you know, we go lie down,go rest, go whatever.
I help them to go within andreally touch base with this new part
of that new part of themselvesand to realize that this is here
to stay and also to realizethat there is a path forward and
(11:25):
to help them not to be sooverwhelmed and not to, you know,
not to panic.
Because I think when you panicbecause you don't know what you're
doing, it just Gives you adelay on, on your, the, the, your
bliss, you know, yourparenting bliss gets delayed because
now you're just struggling andworrying and feeling clueless and
(11:49):
feeling the shame and feelingall of that because you feel like
you're supposed to knowsomething more and you don't know
it and you look stupid.
And that's just all mind games.
New brands don't know that,but I'm gonna help them to learn
that and to dismiss thosevoices in their heads and to be very
(12:13):
unapologetic for being a new parent.
There can be so manychallenges with a newborn.
And of course you're playingthe guessing game.
The child can't speak.
You've got to figure outwhat's going on.
And if you have a colicky baby.
Woo.
Yes.
And there's also differentways of parenting.
Right.
Different viewpoints.
(12:35):
Mom might think one way anddad thinks another way.
Right.
Or grandma pops in with her way.
Yeah, exactly.
And then grandpa is like,okay, you could stop now, honey.
Let's now, you know, and givethem a moment to try and figure out
something because, you know,they're stumbling a lot.
(12:55):
Yeah, it's very, very, very challenging.
But I'm here to make all those challenges.
You know, most of them dissipate.
Well, you kind of play therole of like the extended families
of years ago where you had thegrandmother who could come in or
the mother of the new motherwho could say, okay, this is what
(13:16):
I found worked, you know, andyou are giving people the insight
they need.
Because when you're in themiddle of dealing with a child that
is screaming at 2 in themorning and you have to get up at
6:00am yes.
Oh, it's chaotic.
You can't think straight.
You're sleep deprived.
Yeah.
And once you sleep deprived,you start thinking that you even
(13:39):
you had something to drinkwhen you didn't even have something
to drink.
Or you like most times I wouldbe drinking something from a glass
cup, whatever, and then I comeback and I'm like trying to drink.
It's all gone.
You know, you're so much inautomatic that you do things that
you're like, oh my God, did Ido that already?
(14:01):
Because you're going on nextto nothing stream, especially in
the first three to four months.
I want to put a dent in that.
I want to have that greatly.
How do you help that?
Because I think that that.
Kathy, would you say that'sone of the biggest challenges with
a newborn?
No sleep.
Oh my goodness.
Oh, my daughter's 30 now, so Igotta think way back, but no sleep.
(14:26):
Yeah.
I think how I help that with,with my clients is I first have to
get the parents to be calm.
And when I say I have to getthe parents to be calm, it's not
like they're flailing andgoing out of their minds in the household.
But they can't rest becausethey have to feed in two hours.
(14:50):
So I help them to get a littlerest in between those two hours.
And I have helped women overthe phone.
I have helped other peoplewhere I'm not in their home, you
know, with them for many, many years.
I've done that, too.
And they have found solace in,in, in my work and in our work together.
(15:13):
So I want to bring that outinto the world.
And a lot, a lot they willhave to tune in for.
Stay tuned for more of WomenRoad warriors coming up.
Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.
I have one question for you.
(15:34):
Do you want to stop worryingabout the irs?
If the answer is yes, thenlook no further.
I've been around for years.
I've helped countless peopleacross the country, and my success
rate speaks for itself.
So now you know where to findgood, honest help with your tax problems.
What are you waiting for?
If you owe more than $10,000to the IRS or haven't filed in years,
call me now at 888-455-7-4020or go to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free
(15:58):
consultation and get your life back.
Industry Movement TruckingMoves America Forward is telling
the story of the industry.
Our safety champions, thewomen of trucking, independent contractors,
the next generation oftruckers, and more.
Help us promote the best ofour industry.
Share your story and what youlove about trucking.
(16:18):
Share images of a momentyou're proud of and join us on social
media.
Learn more@truckingmovesamerica.com.
Welcome back to Women Roadwarriors with Shelly Johnson and
Kathy Tucaro.
(16:40):
If you're enjoying thisinformative episode of Women Road
Warriors, I wanted to mentionKathy and I explore all kinds of
topics that will power you onthe road to success.
We feature a lot of expertinterviews, plus we feature celebrities
and women who've been trailblazers.
Please check out ourpodcast@womenroadwarriors.com and
click on our Episodes page.
(17:00):
We're also available whereveryou listen to podcasts on all the
major podcast channels likeSpotify, Apple, YouTube, Amazon,
Music, Audible, you name it.
Check us out and bookmark our podcast.
Also, don't forget to followus on social media, on Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram, Pinterest,LinkedIn, YouTube and other sites
and tell others about us.
(17:21):
We want to help as many womenas possible.
Parenting is one of the mostfulfilling jobs in the world, but
let's face it, it's also oneof the toughest.
Kids don't come with aguidebook, but we can always turn
to the experts for advice.
Marva Sugrin, known as thenanny to the Stars, is one of these
experts.
With over 40 years ofexperience in newborn care and parenting,
(17:43):
she has truly seen it all.
She brings calm to the chaosand helps parents to go within and
touch base with theirparenting and not be overwhelmed
and achieve calm.
She quickly became the go tonanny for some of New York's elite
families and eventuallycelebrity parents like Julia Roberts,
Reese Witherspoon and Courtney Cox.
Marva's calm, steady approachto parenting has earned her a reputation
(18:07):
as a true expert.
And she's got a knack forhelping parents tap into their unique
strengths.
Whether it's guiding familiesthrough the chaos of multiple births
or supporting military moms,Marva is a trailblazer who's made
a profound impact on theparenting world through her company,
Marvelous Babies.
She even creates products toease the transition into parenthood.
(18:27):
Marva's message is simple.
With the right tools, a littlecalm and some self care, parents
can create a peaceful home forthemselves and their children.
Marva's been sharing herinsight with us, especially the importance
of calm.
Marva, you know, being calm, Iwould think is really important.
Infants can sense if you're tense.
Yes, yes, they can.
(18:49):
And that can make them more.
Yeah.
Irritable.
Yeah, yeah.
And then, you know, and thenthey're crying.
You don't know what they'recrying for.
And then you're crying becauseyou don't know how to calm them.
And all it is, you have tobecome the calm person in the house.
And then the family has to,like, you know, there's an adjustment,
(19:13):
you know, process.
And some, there are familieswhere, you know, there's loud music,
there's lots of light in the house.
And so some things have to be adjusted.
What is the best way for a newparent to work with an infant so
that they can still take careof themselves?
I mean, do you have some tips?
(19:34):
Yes, I think for sure, gettingsleep when the baby sleep, I mean,
I know it sounds very clicheand women get upset, but I think
the first nap of the day,let's say you could take a little
20 minute snooze.
And the thing about it, youhave to put the Phone away, shut
(19:55):
the phone volume off and turnit down and at least relax without
touching the phone.
And let's say the next timethe baby takes a little bit of a
nap, then you can throw in aload of laundry, you can do a couple
of those things, you know,wash yourself.
It's all about blocking outthose little bits of time when you
(20:17):
have a baby and the baby is alot of care.
So the little windows that youget has to be spent on self care
and you know, house care,laundry care, I should say more laundry
and you know, replenishing thediapers, replenishing, you know,
(20:40):
having water in your room andmaking sure that there's some self
care.
Because not every woman hashelp and those are the women I'm
also going to be helpinggreatly, you know, from my phone
doing like Instagram lives,you know, helping them to, to do
things at a certain time ofday so that their nights they can
(21:02):
sleep, get sleep at night.
And I'm going to be doing thatin the next week or two.
I'm going to be doing thoselives at night, you know, helping
them, walking with them andbeing with them to you know, guiding
them how to take care of thebaby and themselves.
Because the nights can be very challenging.
(21:23):
After working all day you wantsleep at night and then the baby
doesn't want to sleep.
So I'm going to be helpingthem to crack their own codes and
their babies.
Is it possible to get newbornson a schedule?
Obviously they're hungry everyfour hours but I imagine that they're
variations depending on the infant.
Yeah, I get them on a scheduleschedule anywhere between three and
(21:45):
four weeks.
I begin that.
How do you do that?
I, I make sure.
Well in the, in, in thebeginning they, they eat on demand
if it's a full, on a fullgrown newborn because some kids are
premature and you have to youknow, feed them on demand for a little
while longer but if it'sanywhere from seven, seven between
(22:09):
seven and eight pounds bythree weeks they're beginning to
a full on schedule, like athree hour schedule because in the
beginning they're going towant to eat every hour, hour and
a half and then that goes totwo and it stays on two for a while.
And you know, so I help myparents not to keep them on two hours
for a while because they'regoing to get burnt out really badly.
(22:32):
So how long do you stay withthese families?
Like just while the babies areup until a year or.
Yeah, most times, you knowit's, it's a year I go in for six
months.
It turns into a year.
I just finished twins and they.
I was there for a year.
Wow, that's a lot of moving around.
You know, families different.
(22:53):
Yeah, it'll be hard on you.
Yeah, I have.
I am totally a nomad woman,and I love it.
And I think that's how I wasborn to be anyhow.
You know, I never stay oneplace too long, and I've.
That's.
I.
I think that that helped me tobe very successful because I adjust
(23:14):
very quickly to a new place, anew country.
You know, wherever it is, I'm.
I'm fine.
It's like I'm home.
How did you raise fourchildren and do this as well?
Well, well, I had, you know, acouple of family members, a couple
of friends.
I had my own little village,and my kids were not with me for
(23:37):
a bit, so I was able to, youknow, go it without them.
And when.
When they came here, then Ihad people to help me, and I.
I worked in the city, inManhattan, so I would see them pretty
often.
When I moved to Los Angeles,they were.
The youngest was 18.
(23:57):
Okay.
Do you have parenting tips forthe different stages of children?
I mean, the terrible twos?
That's just one stage.
Yeah, I think.
I think the most challengingtime is in the first three to four
months.
Yeah, in the first three tofour months.
If you follow my teachings.
(24:21):
If you follow, you know, what I'm.
What I'm guiding you to do.
The terrible tools.
Doesn't.
They don't really happen too much.
Oh, really?
Interesting.
Yeah.
So the child isn't alwayssaying no, because that's usually
the first word they've heard.
So that's the first word they say.
(24:41):
Yeah, but you're the parents.
You're the parents, and you'rethe one who are going to teach this
child how to be in the worldone day.
And coming from a time wherewe had no idea what, how to even
parent because they just, youknow, they just.
(25:03):
Like we.
We just raised kids and therewas a lot of information we did not
have.
So since I have thatinformation, I can help.
You know, it's.
It's not a hack, but it's a.
It's a great.
It's.
I have developed, you know,many different ways to help new parents
(25:25):
to have just a smooth timewhen it comes down to cultivating
their newborns and beyond.
My work is not just for sixmonths to a year.
I have done triplets for sevenand a half years.
You know, so I've had a lot Alot of experience.
Experiences with helping tocultivate children.
(25:47):
And yes, they will have alittle tantrum here and there, but
my charges, you know, they don't.
Don't really have tantrums.
How do you deal with tantrums?
You can actually, based onwhat you teach, maybe prevent some
of that.
That's what I'm talking about.
A lot of it is not happening.
And when it does happen, it'sgoing to happen once in a while.
(26:10):
Mm.
Once in a while.
And when it does happen, itmight be because of sleep.
They didn't get proper sleep.
So then.
So then you make sure.
If they're gonna throwthemselves, you make sure that if
they will.
If they had to lie on thefloor for a minute, you held them
down gently and let them cryfor a few.
(26:30):
So they get their littlefrustrations out.
And once that's out, they'llbe fine again.
And then you kept them, youknow, in the car and you drive home
or you get them to bed.
But most times when kids arehaving tantrums, it's because they
might have had too muchstimulation of, let's say, TV or
(26:57):
phone, or they might have hadsomething sweet, too much, you know,
sweets in their diet.
And they might have skippednaps, or sometimes they want to skip
naps, and then the adult don'tknow better, so they have them skip
their nap and it becomes awhole, you know, combination.
(27:21):
Combination of just not knowing.
I think it's a not knowing.
Knowing how to do what youshould do.
And once they start knowing these.
These different, you know,ways in which to do things a bit
differently than how we dothings now, then you'll find more
(27:44):
peaceful households.
You know, couples are going toreally get along better.
Well, that's huge.
Yeah.
So would you say structure isone of the important things, starting
with infancy?
And it definitely must havestructure, but the people who are
going to have to have realstructure is the parents.
(28:06):
Yeah.
You can't just have the day go anyhow.
And the kids must havestructure within the chaos.
I remember my mother alwaysbelieved in that.
I entered the bed at the sametime for years.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I remember it frustrating mewhen I was little and it was summertime,
it was still daylight, and Ihad to go to bed.
(28:26):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And that's how it is, you know.
And today, you know, a lot ofthe kids are having their babies,
like, do what they want.
You don't want to do this,that's fine.
And so I was telling mygranddaughter, you have to help him
to do certain things.
Because when he gets to be acertain age, he's going to be too
(28:47):
hardwired in not wanting to dothe things you are asking.
So you have to help them at avery early age.
And it starts from the cradle.
Children are little sponges.
They get used to certain things.
Yeah, those, those littlebehaviors are hard to break.
Oh, yeah.
Well, yeah.
Once that becomes a habit.
(29:08):
That's right.
If the infant is used tohaving you cub every time they cry
too, then, uh, yeah.
Do you find the mothers arereally receptive to the way you teach
them?
Mothers are becoming more andmore receptive because they are damn
tired.
They want a break, they needto sleep, they need to rest, they
need to like not have thosebags under their eyes.
(29:30):
So they're like, okay, I goahead, you know, and, and they have
been very successful with.
Because I'm, I'm, I'm sureyou, you've come across some mothers
who might be.
More protective, might be more.
No, that's my baby.
Let me hold her.
I don't take away the babiesat all.
You can hold the babies asmuch as you want only when it's nap
(29:53):
time or when it's, you know,we, we want to create structure so
they, I'm not that person who,who makes them, you know, I'm not
that controller who comes inand they take the baby and, you know,
and then they dictate for you,the parents, so you hardly get to
(30:13):
touch your baby.
Stay tuned for more of womenroad warriors coming up.
Dean Michael, the tax doctor here.
I have one question for you.
Do you want to stop worryingabout the irs?
If the answer is yes, thenlook no further.
I've been around for years.
(30:34):
I've helped countless peopleacross the country and my success
rate speaks for itself.
So now you know where to findgood, honest help with your tax problems.
What are you waiting for?
If you owe more than $10,000to the IRS or haven't filed in years,
call me now at 888-557-4020 orgo to mytaxhelpmd.com for a free
consultation and get your life back.
(30:56):
Industry movement Truckingmoves America Forward is telling
the story of the industry.
Our safety champions, thewomen of trucking.
Independent contractors, thenext generation of truckers and more.
Help us promote the best ofour industry.
Share your story and what youlove about trucking.
Share images of a momentyou're proud of and join us on social
(31:17):
media.
Learn more@truckingmovesamerica.com.
Welcome back to Women Roadwarriors with Shelly Johnson and
Kathy Tucaro.
Marva Sugrin, Nanny to theStars, teaches parents everywhere
(31:38):
how to tap into their ownunique strengths and sidestep the
overwhelm.
She brings calm to the chaosof new parenting or parenting multiple
births.
She's been a highly soughtafter nanny to many major celebrities.
She works with military momsand many others on how to create
a peaceful home for themselvesand their children with the right
tools, a little calm and selfcare, things like napping when the
(32:02):
baby sleeps or doing choreswhen the infant sleeps, blocking
out little blocks of time forself care.
Marva also knows how to getinfants on a schedule very early.
As a matter of fact, parentsthat follow Marva's instructions
will find that terrible twosreally don't happen as children become
toddlers.
Her company, Marvelous Babies,even creates products to ease the
(32:24):
transition into parenthood.
She has a serious knack withbabies and little ones.
She's been giving ustremendous insight.
Marva, what are some tips thatyou could provide our listeners right
now on parenting, newparenting and well, obviously if
they haven't had your helpfrom the very beginning, they may
have some things that theyneed to restructure with their children
(32:45):
too.
Yeah, I think how I can reallyhelp people, I have a website, I
have, I have a website, I have Instagram.
But I'm going to say in, inthe, I know some people are late
in the game, but I can helpthem to turn around sleep issues.
I can help them to, to, youknow, put some structure in their
(33:10):
day.
From next week, I'm going tobe doing that on Instagram Live.
So people are going to be ableto talk to me.
People are going to be able tosend media issues and I'm going to
be answering them.
This is going to be my work.
So I would say, you know, justtake 15 minutes, go in the closet
and hide and take 15 minutesand breathe and just get in touch.
(33:34):
Stay in touch with who you are.
Stay in touch.
Don't lose hope because it'sonly for a short time that you're
going to go through this sleepdeprivation and this and then we're
going to bring you on theother side up and you'll be fine.
And before you know it, youhear a family, yeah, I'm pregnant
again.
I know what to do this time.
(33:54):
That always helps.
But it's challenging when youhave more than one.
You still have the first childthat says, hey.
And of course then there's thejealousy factor.
Yes, you have that.
But like I said, you know, wework on all Those things.
And you hardly find thatbecause with all my experiences,
I know how to help every parent.
(34:16):
Yes, I know how to help them,but I have to get them to be able
to help them because everysituation is different.
If I give advice, it's going.
It might serve a few people,but it may not touch a whole lot
of people because it's not there.
It's not there happening.
And no child responds the same way.
(34:37):
Yeah, you have that.
So I think the best way for meto help people would be to communicate
with those people in person online.
And like I said, that's whatI'm going to do for the rest of my
life.
You have marvelous parentchats on your website.
Yes.
Yeah, those are one on one chats.
(34:58):
I can, I can help par.
I can help to guide parentsinto just what we're talking about.
They get on the phone with me,give me their questions, we go over
everything and then we couldcheck back and see where they are
and help them.
I used to do that, you know,back in probably like 25 years ago.
(35:22):
I used to have my littlenotebook and write down names and
times and week, you know, youknow, sessions and all that stuff.
I'm used to doing that.
I'm a hard worker and I canhelp, you know, parents.
But like I said, I would sayto find, you know, a few minutes,
if it's 10, 15 minutes a dayand you know, go in a, in a quiet
(35:46):
space and just be withyourself, breathe and understand
that this is, you know, thisis something that you have wanted
and some parts of it are notgoing to be pretty or feel pretty,
but it's just a temporary situation.
(36:08):
And once you get, once you getback on your horse, then you're riding,
you're riding freely and happily.
That would definitely helpwhen parents get frustrated.
Obviously when you've got achild that's being obstinate and
all of that and you've had aheck of a day and you're tired.
Yeah.
You end up yelling at them andreacting in a way that is not productive.
(36:30):
That's right.
No parent never has ever done that.
Of course not.
Yeah.
Well, I could say, I couldsafely say that I had been the master
of that.
So, you know, you get to learnhow to do better, how to be better
and how to help people start out.
Great.
(36:50):
Well, you've had a realchallenge being a nanny.
You're walking into asituation where you don't know the
children, you don't know thepersonality, you don't know the parents
and their personalities.
You just have to hit theground running and then figure out
how you're going to make it work.
It's tough, man.
That's really tough.
And I have aced that one.
That one.
That's why I could help theworld of new parents now because
(37:13):
I have had so many challenges.
Challenges that, you know, Iwouldn't find them being a challenge
because I just welcome it.
I just welcome it and I breezethrough it and I'm like, okay, this
is what we do.
I also stay in touch with mytuition, so that have really helped
my success instinct.
(37:35):
It helps me to know what youwant and how you want it, and all
of this is what I'm going tobe teaching my.
My new parents.
You would be really good tomaybe give some people some tips,
like, even in high school, ifthey're, you know.
Yes.
On.
On parenting.
And this is what you're goingto be looking at down the road.
(37:55):
Not now, but because, youknow, I look around and it seems
like there are a lot ofparents that have kids that have.
They have no control.
These kids are just.
They're.
They're all over the place.
And a friend was advising me,when I get back to California to
start going to the colleges,you know, giving them a call and
(38:16):
letting them know what I'mdoing and, you know, that I could
come in and speak with thekids just like I did with the military.
I'm going to do that with theschools and with the spots where
they have the teenage moms,you know, kind of like shelters and
just places where new moms getto stay.
(38:37):
You know, teenage moms, andthey have, you know, they have babies.
I'm really talking to a lot of people.
Teenage moms have a huge challenge.
I mean, they're still kids themselves.
That's right.
Yeah.
I just came.
Could you imagine?
I.
I left my work on the last day.
Last day of work to hop on aplane recently to come to, you know,
(39:02):
help care for my daughter.
She got diagnosed with breastcancer, and she a couple of weeks
ago had a double mastectomy.
So there's never a moment parenting.
My goodness, that's tough.
It's wonderful you could help her.
Yeah.
How old's your daughter?
She's 47.
47.
(39:23):
Yikes.
Yeah.
And she has two kids and.
And one grandson was born this year.
So we are all here having afun time these last couple of days,
because I'm heading toCalifornia tomorrow, and then I'm
gonna be starting my Instagramlive where mothers can, you know,
(39:47):
really, the mothers who reallyfeel that they need help and they're
open to listening to what Ihave to say.
They're gonna be, you know,they're going to be happy.
They did prayers to yourdaughter for quick recovery.
I love what you're doing, Marva.
You help so many people.
Operation Homefront withyellow Terry moms and all of that,
(40:07):
and going into hospitals andhelping, it's so necessary.
I think a lot of people wouldhave loved when they thought about
being a parent or became aparent to meet you years ago.
Your knowledge is just fabulous.
And the Instagram chat wherepeople can reach out to you, that's
super helpful.
Yeah, I'm gonna be one of thethings, like I said, I think I mentioned
(40:29):
that earlier.
I'm going to do like threeInstagram lives and I'm gonna have
a guest, maybe one guest, oneprofessional guest every two weeks.
And then I am going to do likenight lives, like, let's say midnight
at 2:00am you know, moms canjoin me and talk to me online, tell
(40:54):
me about their babies andwhat's happening, and I'll let them
know, kind of like how to helptheir situations.
So I'll be up at night with.
With my moms, with mymarvelous moms.
I love it.
And it's marvelous mindset,Marvelous babies.
I love the name of it.
Marvelousbabies.com People canget more information about you.
(41:15):
There's a picture of you onyour marvelous mindset page.
You just look so sereneholding that baby.
You really do.
I have gotten jobs because Iwould go someplace with one client
and then somebody else saw mefrom afar.
And one gentleman inparticular, a huge deal in the business,
(41:37):
in the entertainment business,he called me and hired me.
He said, you know, I saw youat xyz, you know, place, and the
way you, you.
You took the baby from the momtold me a whole lot about you.
You know, it's true ifsomebody doesn't know how to hold
an infant and they're suddenlyhanded that infant, the infant can
sense you don't know what theheck you're doing and will start
(41:59):
crying.
Yeah, yeah.
So it's hard to say, like,right away, you know, what is going
to work for someone unless Iknow, like, what's happening.
But some tips I could.
I could give is like, makesure you're hydrated.
Because when you are takingcare of children, two things you
(42:22):
do not do is drink water and pee.
You know, so making sureyou're hydrated, making sure.
Having some snacks, if you cansit down to eat, but please make
sure that you, you're makingyour meal by drinking lots of liquids
and that your, your mind is ina good place and, and you feel good
(42:45):
and strong.
And these little tips, youknow, go for a walk, take the baby
for a walk.
These things are going tomentally build you for parenting.
Well, when you go for a walkyou're probably building endorphins.
Those are the grift, feel goodhormones, that's always a good thing.
And fresh air, happy hormones.
That's right.
And when you're sleepdeprived, you're not always happy.
(43:08):
Oh no.
But with sleep deprived youget up, you wash your face with cold
water and you just kind ofwalk in place for five minutes.
These are the things I dobecause remember I'm not sleeping
when I would work, I'm notsleeping so I would wash my face
or jump in the shower.
I'm not telling new parents,new moms, but you know, after a while
(43:30):
you just open the warm wateron you and then close it off and
open the cold water in you andthat really gets you going.
So people can go to yourwebsite@marvelousbabies.com that's
spelled M A R V A L O U S B Ab I e s.com and you have chat sessions,
you have actually 90 minutesessions you can do with people too.
(43:53):
Yes.
And like I said, they can askme all their questions and I'll give
them, I'll give them guides sothat they can integrate it in, in
their daily lives.
And then next chat we'll seewhere we are and you know, but you'll
get fast results.
I'm not going to have a parentjust hanging on and coming on, coming
(44:15):
on sake to pay me.
You're going to have, youknow, quick results.
Oh gosh.
You're just what the doctor ordered.
And so you won't be callingthe doctor every five minutes.
Sure.
I mean that's always the fear.
What's my baby doing?
Because babies bodies are alittle bit different than adults.
There's also the fear of crib death.
(44:37):
Right.
I mean that's a real thing.
So you know, people getparanoid and now, you know, they
have like so many differentmonitors which are great but what
that does.
The parents can't sleepbecause now they're watching the
monitors all the time.
Yeah, yeah.
Every little movement theypanic, they get a ping on their phones
(45:00):
and they're like oh my God,you know, so you have that too.
So there's a lot for us to, alot of work for us to do.
And I'm ready.
I think it's a blessing thatyou're here to help so many people.
You truly have a wonderful talent.
Thank you.
This has been marveloustalking to you, Marva.
Yes, it has.
(45:21):
Same here.
Same here.
Kathy and Shelley and I look forward.
To seeing what else you're doing.
Definitely keep us posted.
Yeah.
I'm gonna follow you guys on Instagram.
I think I did.
Oh, thank you.
Yeah.
When we're on Facebook andLinkedIn and Twitter and Pinterest
and YouTube all over the place.
So.
Yeah.
Thank you.
Yeah.
(45:42):
So you'll see what's happening.
That's terrific.
Thank you, Marva.
It's been great having you onthe show.
Thank you.
I look forward to talking toyou again in a bit.
We hope you've enjoyed thislatest episode.
And if you want to hear moreepisodes of Women Road warriors or
learn more about our show, besure to check out womenroadwarriors.com
(46:02):
and please follow us on social media.
And don't forget to subscribeto our podcast on our website.
We also have a selection ofpodcasts Just for Women.
They're a series of podcastsfrom different podcasters.
So if you're in the mood forwomen's podcasts, just click the
Power network tab onwomenroadwarriors.com youm'll have
a variety of shows to listento anytime you want to.
(46:25):
Podcasts Made For Women WomenRoad warriors is on all the major
podcast channels like Apple,Spotify, Amazon, Audible, YouTube
and others.
Check us out and please followus wherever you listen to podcasts.
Thanks for listening.
You've been listening to WomenRoad warriors.
With Shelly Johnson and Kathy Tucaro.
(46:47):
If you want to be a guest onthe show or have a topic.
Or feedback, email us@sjohnsonomenroadwarriors.com.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.