Today we’d like to introduce you to Lora Palmer
Hi Lora, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
This Product/Business has basically been 5 years in the making that transpired through multiple life events. When I had my first baby, I really needed the convenience of baby wipes (as I was working as a VET Tech along with being a new mom). My Son hated baby wipes being used to clean little acorn and nuts and when he switched to solids the poop was like glue. I had previously been a hair dresser and my mom decided to transform my hair cutting station into a diaper changing station (right before my son was born). I remember when my son was about 6 months old I was in a rush to get to work and He had the poop of all poops. I didn’t have time to put him in the tub but the wipes were not cleaning anything. I looked over my shoulder and there was my spray bottle filled with water that I had used for cutting hair. I grabbed it, sprayed his little bum first and then wiped his bum. It was the EASIEST poopy diaper change I had ever experienced. My husband and I tried to keep the spray bottle method in our routine but always lost the spray bottle and never had it when we needed it.
Fast forward 2 years later and I went into Labor with my little girl. The labor was extremely tramautic, A huge mistake from the Nurse anesthetist left me hospitalized for days and bed ridden for weeks after having my daughter. When she was 5 weeks old things got even worse as my baby girl was hospitalized for 5 days due to a UTI that had entered her bloodstream. The doctors recommended bathing her after every poop because poop can get into the hard to reach places and wipes don’t do a good job at cleaning those areas (even if you are wiping correctly).After all this combined trauma, guilt, and fear, I fell into a deep depression causing me and my family to uproot ourselves from our beautiful lives in charleston SC back to Utah (where we both had family). We needed to be closer to family. I had fully lost my love and joy for being a mom because I was in such a state of depression and suffering from sever PTSD. I had LOVED being a Mom in the past and all I wanted was to feel that joy again. I was constantly paranoid about my baby girl getting a UTI again, we were experiencing difficulties with my son as he was 2.5 and still not talking yet, and I was doing everything I could to get out of depression and find a way to enjoy parenting again. I worked extremely hard at putting myself back together. I noticed that the more simple I could make day to day tasks of parenting, the more I could let go of frustration and focus my energy on enjoying my kids again. It took about a year, but I was finally starting to find the love of being a mom again.
Around the same time I remembered the Spray bottle hack I had used on my son and started implementing it with my daughter. Once again the clean was SOOO much easier and way less invasive then the wipes. I felt so much more confident that I was actually cleaning her when I used the spray bottle first compared to just using wipes. The problem once again though was that I could never keep track of the spray bottle and it got so frustrating when I didn’t have it on hand when I needed it.
A year later in 2023, My 3 year old son was diagnosed with level 2 autism. When He was diagnosed i thought about the life I expected for him and how that was all different now. I worried about if he would ever be able to have friends, find love, or live independently. All I want to do is be able to take care of him no matter what, and that became a huge drive for me. Thankfully, we found an incredible program that has been instrumental in his development. And he is the most incredible human that has taught me how to find so much joy in the little things. We literaly say his super power is joy. You have never met a child who exudes so much joy. One day, after picking him up from school, I went to change his diaper and noticed remnants of poop still stuck to his bum. It’s like every moment I just shared with you about the hair changing station, my punctured spine, my daughters UTI, Simple Parenting all just swirled together in my mind and I knew that I needed to create a way to give parents EASY access to a spray bottle of water that was just as Convenient as baby wipes. Had someone at the school had easy access to water during his diaper change, he would have had a totally clean bum. That fire and desire I have to give my kids an amazing life lit up inside of me and I got to work.
I remember talking to my incredible husband about my idea to invent a way to attach a portable spray bottle that will be filled with just water, around any wipes pack. I worked for months surveying moms, asking them to use a spray bottle and to tell me if they noticed a difference. Every mom that tried it was amazed by how much easier it was to clean a babies bum with water then with just wipes. But they all needed what I needed, a way for it to be with her wipes at all times. I networked like crazy to learn from people who had found success in starting businesses, I spent everyday listening to podcasts about marketing, business startups, and sales. I decided to start an Instagram account even without the product being made yet so that I could share every journey of starting this business with others.
Eventually I landed on the name Bonobo baby (thats another long story) and worked on trying to design my idea. I remember there was one day in particular I was sitting with my friend Lauren (an extremely successful entrepreneur). I had expressed to her my concerns about not wanting to spend a ton of money to get this made and wanting to do things slowly. She then said to me “find a way to make this yourself.” And that’s exactly what I did.
I reached out to my mom, and we got to work trying to figure out how to design a way to attach a spray bottle onto wipes. I had no clue how to sew, so I had to youtube videos and read sewing manuals to learn stitching and how to sew certain fabrics. It was a very stressful time filled with lots of failed designs. I remeber when I thought I had it all figured out and my husband said ” this is too complicated, it should be simple.” He was right and it’s like the design all came together.
Every aspect of this product was designed to be simple and convenient for parents. The neoprene fabric was selected because it is durable, waterproof, and holds its shape. Making it so that parents can do things with one hand. The spray bottle was selected because of it’s flat top. It does not need to have a cap or to open or shut, and it is the perfect compact size yet holds the perfect amount of water. The spray radius was also extremely well thought out because I needed something that provided enough water to get the poop off, but not so much that you soak a babies bum. Then came the elastic cord with the cord lock. I new I wanted a way to implement the viral rubber band hack ( a way to make it so that only one wipe comes out at a time) and I had to figure out how to make it so that you could keep the spray bottle on your wipes pack as your wipes pack decreased in size. This was by far the best way to put all those needs together. All these things came together to create the Bonobo Baby Bidet. A spray bottle that fits securely around any wipes pack making it so that parents can provide their babies with an easier, gentler, and cleaner diaper change, that is just as convenient as baby wipes.
Currently I have the portable spray bottles manufactured, but I sew every pouch they go in myself. It is A TON of work especially as orders have continued to grow. I am working on getting the pouch manufactured now and have a patent pending on the design.
It is extremely important to me that I find the joy in parenting especially after having lost that feeling for a while. . I need things to be convenient but I also want better for my babies and that’s what I’m offering to other parents when it comes to changing poopy diapers. Take out that frustration of rubbing your babies skin raw with wipes, the irritation of pulling our a handful of wipes, the aggravation of using 10 wipes on one poopy bum just to have it still not be clean, and allow yourself the space to focus your energy on the joys of parenting. Spraying water first is better for babies and for parents, and now it’s just as convenient as baby wipes.
I am where I am today because the strength of my daughter, the beautiful perspective on life from my son , the love of my husband, and the support from my friends and family.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, I think everyone who is starting a business experiences highs and lows. Especially this early in the game. This has only been a reality since June of 2024. The mental battle of not letting the negatives get me down is probably the biggest struggle for me. I’m not gonna lie, I care what other peoples opinions are about me and if they don’t LOVE the product, I think oh wow i suck and then I can get down. My husband is always the one to speak logically with me and pick me up when I’m down.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m a Mom of 2. A 5 year old boy and a 2.5 year old girl. I used to be a Vet Tech while we lived in charleston SC. The funny thing is that I loved looking at Poop under the microscope. My coworkers used to call me the Poop queen because I was the one to always find the parasites floating around. It’s seems only fitting that now I invented a way to better clean a poopy baby.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I was a very a very driven athlete. I played soccer in high school and college. I was a 2 time all American in Soccer at Southern Virginia University (a very small school). I was pretty much competitive in every aspect in my life. Whether it was sports or school, I wanted to be the best. I think I have always had the desire to create something of my own. Even when I was a little girl I used to play games where I would be a business owner. I was definitely a big tease and always and still do diffuse awkward situations with humor. Having a good sense of humor is extremely important to me because it makes the challenges in life a bit easier.
Pricing:
- Single Bonobo Baby Bidet is 15.99
- Bundle and save with a 2 pack 29.95 or a 3 pack 42.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bonobobaby.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.bonobo.baby/
