Perspective Is Everything
Episode 10: Perspective Is Everything with Hunter & Cam Premo of @hunterpremo & @cameronpremo owners of Premonition Goods
This week on the podcast Rachael has well known Instagram husband and wife duo, Hunter & Cam Premo, as guests! They talk all about the parenting transition from 1 to 2, why they co sleep and how it works for their family, and the importance of perspective while navigating not only parenting but also social media.
Join Rachael, Hunter & Cam to talk about:
how they prepared for the transition from 1 to 2 kids
the power of your own intuition when parenting
how to support moms during postpartum
why cosleeping works for them
how a child’s temperament affects parenting style
what it’s like working with your partner
& so much more!
Hunter is a fashion and lifestyle influencer from Nashville and Cameron is a professional photographer and videographer. They are high school sweethearts who are now married and parents to two adorable boys, Remy & Radnor! They recently launched Premonition Goods, which is an online mercantile featuring high quality handmade goods to wear, use, and gift. You can find them on instagram @hunterpremo and @cameronpremo.
To find the courses discussed in this podcast, you can visit Dr. Becky’s website here or click on the following links to view the courses:
To get 10% off your next order from Bodily, use the code: NOONETOLDUS for 10% off of orders of $100 or more! You can also click on the link here to use the discount code!
Rachael is a mom of 3, founder of Hey, Sleepy Baby, and the host of this podcast.
Listen to the full episode
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Rachael: Joining me today are high school sweethearts, Nashville natives, entrepreneurs, creatives, and parents of two, Hunter and Cameron Premo. Hunter is a fashion and lifestyle influencer and her husband Cameron is a professional photographer and videographer, which makes you guys an amazing team. Together they recently launched Premonition Goods, an online mercantile featuring high quality handmade goods. Hunter and Cam are parents of two adorable boys. Three year old Remy, I cannot believe he's three and five month old Radner. Oh my gosh, it goes by so fast. How are you guys doing?
Hunter: We're doing great.
Rachael: Good. It's so nice to have the in -laws or the parents there to help. It's like I could not survive without that. Do you guys use your parents a lot?
Hunter: Yeah, we're like 10 minutes between both of them.
Rachael: Oh my God.
Cam: They love it , too. It's awesome. Yeah, Remy spends three days a week with my parents and then he starts school this fall.
Rachael: Oh my God. That is such a big deal. Wow. Well, thank you guys so much for joining. I just absolutely love your page and we've been kind of connected on Instagram for a while now because you are one of those few influencers that I feel like is just so refreshing and honest about parenting and in particular sleep was how we kind of got connected at first because you guys co -sleep. And that is something that you don't really hear a lot about in the influencer world where it's a lot of people talking about different sleep training methods and things like that. So yeah, I just love that you're so open and honest about your breastfeeding and co -sleeping journey. Was that something that you guys had planned on before having kids? That arrangement?
Hunter: No. Well, it's funny because before we recorded this, I was like, it's hilarious that we kind of became this like people in all my Q &As. It's all about co -sleeping. I was like, wait a minute. This is not one of what we ever set out to do. Or to be known for. Yeah, we actually didn't start co -sleeping with Remy until he was 14 months. We were on a beach vacation and he had a really high fever one night. I was like, I just feel more comfortable with him being with us. And then that whole week, we were like, we all slept so great. And then ever since then he's been in bed with us and we absolutely love it. - Yeah, I kind of had this feeling that we might end up that way because Hunter slept with her parents until she was like 12 or something like that. I was like, are we gonna be those parents? - I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. - I know, it's been so sweet. And then now with Radnor, so Remy still, he just turned three, he's still sleeping between us. And I was so nervous for how that would go with bringing a new baby home, but it's been great. Like we had one night where Radnor's crying woke Remy up at the very beginning and I was like, oh no, how are we gonna get through this? And then we kind of learned to take Radnor out of the room for diaper changes and things. And then after about six weeks, that kind of ended. I think Remy's just now kind of accustomed to if he does cry, like I think they drive a truck through our house and Remy wouldn't like that.
Rachael: Well, and I mean a baby's cry is pretty loud. Like my kids are in their own room and the baby still wakes them up sometimes, right? So it's even if they're in their own room, that might, you can't avoid that at all times.
Hunter: And Radnor's in a little co -sleeper bassinet next to Cameron's side, which I think that was, did you talk about that? Like not putting the baby to bed? -
Rachael: Yeah, I was just gonna ask, yeah. So that's technically the safest way to do it. So if you are bed sharing with your older child and you're bringing in a newborn, usually that's what I recommend, 'cause the newborn, I mean, some newborns are really, really kind of like clingy and need touch and need to be held and sleep on parents' chest for like weeks, but others are really good at a bassinet for the first few weeks. So usually that's the safest. And then that way the toddlers, like normal routine isn't being too disrupted 'cause the new baby being there is kind of enough for them to handle.
Hunter: Yeah, there were a few nights I went to the couch with Radnor, just when I felt like he really needed me and then ever since then, he's, I mean, and I will note that he's a really good sleeper, knock on all the wood.
Rachael: I'm knocking on wood for you.
Hunter: Yeah, but it's been really good so far and I feel like everyone's happy in their own spaces.
Rachael: That's great. And so why do you feel like people connect with you so much about that? or like associate you with that so much that they're asking you about it in all your Q &As because you're not a parenting page officially, right? Like you talk about your daily life and you talk about your kids and your family life, but you're not a parenting page. So why do you think people are asking you so much about that?
Hunter: I think it's just not the norm. And so people are so curious about it. But what is fascinating to me about that is we've always just with everything and parenting done what's felt right for us and like really leaned into like what is intuitively right for us and I think people are just looking for those answers and it's always just been very like what's felt natural to me. I never was trying to go against the norm. Same with, I breastfed Remy until he was over two and I hoped that breastfeeding went great, but like no one in my family really breastfed, never saw it. I had very low expectations and then suddenly I'm getting all these questions and comments about extended breastfeeding and it's just fascinating to me because it's always just what has felt natural and it seems to me like a lot of parents in our generation just over complicate things.
Rachael: Yes. Oh my God, 100%. Yeah. And I think there's so many like parenting accounts and sleep accounts and rules and people are, you know, hearing different stuff from pediatricians or whatever and they're getting so much information that I think they feel like they have to do things based on this set of rules. And then when they see someone who's maybe not following those rules, quote unquote, they're kind of intrigued and like, oh, like if this person's not following the rules, maybe I don't have to either, let me hear more about that. And I also think, like you said, like it's not necessarily the norm or it's a little bit taboo, but I actually really think that it's more common than we think and people just are not as comfortable talking about it. And I think that's why they're so fascinated by you guys because you are just so open and you just are like, yeah, this is what we do. Like we'll talk about it. We'll share. And I think that's really refreshing for people to see.
Hunter: And what I love about your account too and I thought that's how we are, like, just because co sleeping works great for us, I definitely know that does not work great for everyone. And what I love about your account is that you just empower parents to make their own choices based on what works for them in that phase of life, like we both work from home, we have flexible jobs, no one's totally counting on us to be somewhere at seven a .m. So like, there are those days where we can sleep in a little bit, there are so many factors that go into why this works great for our family, our boys temperaments, that's a huge one.
Rachael: Yeah, what are their temperaments? What do you think?
Cam: Rad is the most chill guy in the world.
Rachael: Really?
Cam: Oh, so happy and so if he's crying, you can settle him down. You just look at him. He just wants you to look at him.
Rachael: He's the cutest with all those little dimples. I just cannot deal.
Hunter: And Remy had a pretty similar, I mean, he wasn't quite as chill, but like both of them really just like snuggly contact naps, like just want to be close to us. So that's why it works really well for us. Remy's like, as he's gotten older, he's a little more on the sensitive side and just so curious and adventurous and just all boy.
Cam: A little hard headed. I think he gets it from Hunter.
Rachael: So Cam, I would love to hear your perspective on this because I obviously talk to parents about sleep every single day. And one of the, because I think you're very similar with my husband, like love co sleeping, you're just willing to do like whatever is going to make it easier on the mom, which is so refreshing and wonderful. But unfortunately, based on what I hear and see is that not a lot of, I'll say at least male partners out there are as accepting of this type of arrangement and they really want baby to be independent and they want baby to be in their own bed and and all of that. So how did you kind of come around to this arrangement or was it always just like not a big deal to you?
Cam: So yeah, it honestly never was a big deal to me and I'll preface this with, Hunter saying like this like intuitive thing and trusting your gut, I've said this to people- Hunter and I've been together for 14 -15 years now. I've told anyone and everyone I trust Hunter’s gut more than anything in this world Oh, she called me and I'm driving my truck. She said hey, you need to turn left right now. I'm gonna turn left because I don't know what's gonna happen, but I need to listen to her. So, you know with her gut saying hey, I think Remy needs to be in the bed with us tonight, his temperature is like 103 degrees like we need him close so we can check on him… For me it was it was like honestly a breath of fresh air because I'm like, oh I can check on them because both the boys slept on my side of the bed when we were co -sleeping and Radnor still co -sleeping In the bassinet.
Hunter: So co -sleeping next to us. Yes, right not bed sharing, right.
Cam: Right. And that part of that was my love language is servitude and doing for others. And I think that me being able to help out with you know nighttime feedings, that kind of stuff, getting Remy or Radnor out of their crib bassinet and bring them to Hunter and then I'll go do the diaper change. But I'm also that parent that would wake up a thousand times a night and like check and feel and make sure they're breathing and like , you know those first weeks with Radnor. I was the exact same way every single night and like with Remy- Like there's still nights where I'm like, all right you good, buddy? Yeah, just making sure and I think that having them that close and in the room like it takes that stress off of me and I know it takes other stresses off of Hunter.
Hunter: You always talk about those moments that we would be there.
Cam: There's so many special little moments at night and in the morning and even in the middle of the night like that Remy'll wake up like now. He's potty -trained and he's like, "Hey, daddy, I gotta go potty. "Can you carry me to the bathroom?" Like, "Oh, buddy." There's just so many sweet little, you know, moments that, you know, say it's nine o 'clock and we're falling asleep, that he's still just being silly in bed or we're wrestling that if I had put him in his room down, like, we wouldn't get that with him.
Rachael: He's so sweet.
Cam: I'll never take it for granted.
Hunter: And I always think to when they're older, like, when he's 12, 14, like, I know that I would kill for them to be in our bedroom with us, and that just really sticks out to me.
Rachael: Yeah, I love that perspective too, and I always think about that, too. Like, these days are so limited, and I think some people don't like that message 'cause they're like, I don't want to enjoy every minute. Like, this is also really hard, and I'm not gonna miss certain parts of this, but there are parts that we will miss and that we don't get back, and that's kind of just the reality.
Hunter: But when you look back, you tend, especially like the newborn phase, like, you tend to forget the harder moments. I mean, in my DMs and Q &As, people are always like, "What about you time? "What about time for the two of you?" And we do make time, like, to watch our shows at night, like our routine is sort of everyone fed, bath, lay down, turn all the lights off, turn the TV off, Remy falls asleep, Radnor falls asleep in my chest, and then we'll turn the TV back on and watch two episodes of the show. And sometimes we just fall asleep with them, so we're at 7:30. But again, like, we have the rest of our marriage, the rest of our lives to. Of course I miss, like, snuggling him at night, and like, also there's other rooms in the house.
Rachael: Right, exactly. You can get creative with it, right? I know, that's kind of the thing that always blows people's mind, is like, they'll tell me, like, "Oh my God, your poor husband has a baby in his all the time?" Or, you know, "What about time for your relationship?" And I'm, I don't know. We are just, like, not tripping on it. Like, we are so fine with this being our life right now. We're, like, exhausted by 9 o 'clock anyway. Like, what are we gonna do? So, I don't know. I mean, everybody's relationship is different, and some people really do need that, like, quality time, just the two of you as partners. And I get that, and I respect that. But I don't know for me, it's never really been an issue. And I think people get really confused and like flustered when I say that like my husband truly does not care.
Cam: Yeah. I could not care less. Like it's, it is what it is.
Rahael: It is what it is. They're your kids. Like they're, you know, I don't know. We just we like hanging out with them, not 24 /7, but we don't mind them being in our bed. And actually I wanted to go back to something that you just said, Cam, because I love the idea of you having the baby on your side of the bed. And I don't think that's an arrangement I hear about very often, but you're right. Like it does give you this sense of also being needed and involved in the nighttime care and in the feeding. And I think that's one thing that's really hard, especially for first time, new dads where they feel like, especially if mom's breastfeeding, like they just don't have a job. They don't have a place. They don't have a role. And I think a lot of times they get kind of like, jealous or feeling left behind or just feeling kind of useless. So that's a really, I think, great idea for an arrangement with a newborn at least.
Cam: And I think on the flip side of that too, it helps Hunter not have resentment towards me. She's like, well, I'm gonna feed you this baby. He just hasn't stopped crying tonight. Like I'm able to at least do what I can do to help her out, you know.
Rachael: Yeah. You're right there with her.
Hunter: Well, I think the diaper changes started from my C -section at first because I couldn't do it. But then I was like, okay, this feels like we're both really, like you even said that in the hospital with Remy, our first, you're like, I'm really glad I got to be so hands on because you really couldn't move around the room and he did those first diaper changes. And I feel like it gave you a sense of pride.
Cam: Yeah. It gives me a way to connect to him, as well. Both the boys. Yeah. It just, it just makes sense. And like Hunter and I have never been, and we've always told ourselves, we are not gonna to be the parents that are like well I changed that last diaper you got to change the next one… it's always just do it.
Rachael: You're a team.
Cam: It's kind of like it comes back to me like something I learned back in college I was in a fraternity and and our whole thing was like the whole motto is do unto others as you would have them do unto you. I thought to be my duty. and it's like just do what you have to do. Just do what needs to get done. just just step up and do it you know.
Rachael: Yeah I absolutely love that and you posted a reel and a blog post recently about your advice for mom's postpartum or how dads can help and get involved postpartum and kind of care for not just baby but care for mom. Do you want to share some of your ideas and then Hunter which ones meant the most to you or were the most important to you?
Cam: Yeah honestly I think the biggest thing is making sure that she's as stress -free as possible and I don't know that I'm not saying there's any science behind this but I feel like stress from her ends up being in the milk like all of that. I'm like I want you to just be chill so the baby will be chill.
Hunter: Yeah I will say people always compliment and comment on how chill our boys are. I do think a lot of it is just their natural temperament and I also think that parents' stress can stress them out.
Rachael: Yeah well and part of it's genetic too so if you guys are more chill in temperament or more high strong in temperament like that's also more likely to get passed down but then also yeah like what is your household vibe like like kids are little sponges and they do pick up on everything including how stressed we are right and that's not like a guilt thing… it's not like you can't ever be stressed because that’s life but yeah but you're right.
Hunter: Yeah and like with I think it with sleep too like all of my new mom friends, I feel like they're just worried about a schedule and a nap schedule. And when I get DMs all the time, it's like, what's your breastfeeding schedule? I'm like, I don't, I don't know. Like eat when he’s hungry or napping. Like we're in that phase now where like all of Radnor’s naps have been contact naps in a carrier. And we're like, okay, he's five months. Like, when do we start putting him down? So, we really don't follow a schedule. And I think that it works for boys' temperaments and it just works for our family dynamic. And I think it has possibly contributed to them being a little more adjustable.
Cam: I noticed, I get upset with our dog when our big dog tries to eat Remy's food and I can see that wearing off on Remy, like the way he treats one dog over the other, You're like, that dang dog. He's like, that dang dog ate my food again. And I'm like, I know, that dang Puddles buddy.
Rachael: My kids have been known to yell at our dog too. And I definitely know they learned that from me. So, yeah.
Cam: So, you know, minimizing stress on Hunter, which then minimizes stress on the rest of the family. I'd say just making sure that, you know, her daily necessities and needs are taken care of whether that's making sure she has snacks. Like I love to cook and that's just how it is. I think her whole family's married men that love to cook,
which is awesome. Hunter is a great cook. She just takes a little longer than I do.
Hunter: Yeah, you'll whip up a gourmet meal in five minutes.
Cam: Yeah, making sure that that kind of stuff's taken care of, like all of her little night necessities are there.
Hunter: With breastfeeding, it can just feel like you're, especially when you want to spend more time with your child there, you just feel a little bit like stuck, especially in the newborn phase when you need the boppy and like the whole thing. And I kind of forgot about that second time. I had nursed Remy for so long that you forget it.
Rachael: Yeah, It's different with a newborn. You need all your gear. You're like tied to the bed for hours.
Hunter: I was so hungry. So just having those snacks, like when I'm thinking back to this postpartum experience with Radner, like those are the things that stick out or just him like checking in and like having my Stanley cup ready or making snacks and things like that.
Rachael: Those little things do make such a difference and make you just feel cared for so that you can then care for the kids, right? And so did you find that it was different after your first baby to after your second baby? Because I know a lot of people say like when a second or third baby comes, Maybe the partner or the dad is having to take on more of those duties so he's not as available to mom to help her with the newborn or help her with her own stuff because he's preoccupied with the toddler or like how did that kind of go for you guys? Did you feel like that transition was harder or was it harder when you first became parents?
Hunter: We knew a lot as a family when Radner was born. We took, Do you follow Dr. Becky?
Rachael: Yes, of course
Hunter: Okay, we took her sibling transition course and I really think that set us up with a totally different mindset. I really recommend that course.
Rachael: Oh, cool. Okay. I'll link it.
Hunter: Yeah. Yeah, or I guess really any type sibling. Even two to three or whatever. But we we did a lot of things like sort of prep Remy, but I would say overall and I think Cameron agrees too, One to two was so much better than zero to one, and we had a great transition from zero to one Yeah, but Remy was born in 2020. So it was just I felt like I was a lot more anxious because visitors, you're worried about masks, you're worried about everything, so it was a crazy time.
Rachael: It was a crazy time Yeah.
Hunter: So overall like being able to have more visitors to share our new baby with was such a great experience too. And then we just really try. I didn't want Remy to feel like when the new baby came, that mom was just like taken away by this new baby. So we really tried to like to do everything as a family and we did prioritize some one -on -one time with Remy too.
Cam: I get that too. like so you know a typical morning for us…. Remy & I get up early because I'm usually packaging orders for Premonition before they get up but you know maybe it's 5 5:30 most mornings, well Remy has decided that 5:30 is his wake up time or six. You know I get you know an hour to 30 minutes in the morning by myself which I kind of need that time anyway and then next thing I know I hear little footsteps coming upstairs.
Rachael: Oh so cute.
Cam: He helps me finish my work which I let him like you know just mess with the boxes and stuff and then we come downstairs and we're usually playing with toys, magnet tiles, reading a book, coloring so it's honestly it's created a stronger bond between me and Remy because we get this little moment in the mornings by ourselves and then we let Hunter and Radner sleep in a little bit and let them keep resting because I know you know how much of a how much of a toll breastfeeding can be.
Hunter: And at that point that's when Radner and I go co-sleep which I love too.
Cam: Yeah that's one of the morning times they get about an hour together, 45 minutes which it's necessary. I think it's great for Hunter's mental health. I think it's great for Radner. it's you know, the rest is what you need because you're breastfeeding all the time
Rachael: Of course. I think it sounds like you guys have come up with like such amazing systems and schedules and like not schedules but like rhythms to your day it just sounds like you are such a team and like I just think that that's so incredibly inspiring. It sounds like you guys are just doing amazing. Is there anything that you feel like it has been more of a struggle since Radner has been born because it's been about five months now so like is Remy doing okay with him how are those sibling dynamics?
Hunter: I like what you said rhythms because I never know how, because we do have we fall into these rhythms, but it's not like we purposefully created them but just kind of what it is. To me the hardest transition from one to two is getting out of the house.
Rachael: Oh my God.
Hunter: It feels like every time we're trying to leave it doesn't matter if we're trying to leave 30 minutes earlier It's like the diaper bag doesn't have diapers or Remy forgot his toys or Remy’s snacks and then the other day we left with just Radner and we completely forgot a diaper bag.
Cam: We're telling you where we're, we're somewhere now. We're like, okay. Well, we will be here until we can’t be here, we’ll be here for a little bit, but we have to go. we're on the clock.
Rachael: Yeah, I started keeping like a whole diaper pack in my car and wipes because like in just the tucked in the back because we forgot the diaper bag so many times. And I was just like this is ridiculous. And we've had to like buy new outfits being out because there's been like a blowout and we just forgot all our stuff. It's like I don't know when when you have your first kid. It's like the diaper bag is so important to you and you have it like Fully stocked at all times and then I don't know what happens, but it just becomes less and less Important or like top of mind.
Hunter: Yeah so getting out of the house and then in like probably the first six weeks postpartum and then was it when it's worse, but then still now is like it's not postpartum anxiety, but it's like just complete over simulation. Yeah, dogs are barking, the baby's crying. Remy wants my attention. We're trying to figure out what's for dinner. It's like every few days at like 5 p .m. I'm like what is happening right now, like just over complete over simulation. So I don't really have a solution for it yet. It's just
Rachael: I don't know that any of us do it's just like it's life with multiple kids and like dogs and businesses and all of that Yeah. The overestimation is about to happen.
Hunter: I think my business is like the amount of stuff that comes with having multiple kids and then running our businesses out of our home. So stuff everywhere. I need stuff for my try -ons. Our whole guest bedroom is now our Premonition Goods storage facility and then just the stuff that comes, like I'm looking at a whole pile of magna tiles right here, stuff that comes along with having two kids in such different phases, like we need the tummy time set up.
Rachael: Right, you need all the toddler toys, but also all the baby stuff. And the baby stuff is, there's so much.
Cam: Yeah. And I would say the hardest part for me is just trying to be, you know, with the newborn, it's so easy. Like, they can only do something if you're doing it for them, right? Like you can, we can put Radnor in this little bouncer or like let him on his little tummy time mat, like all that, but in the back of my brain, it's always like, okay, is the dog licking him. Is Remy, Remy's like the most loving big brother ever. And like too loving. And he wants to just go and hug him and lay with him in tummy time on him. And like roll him over. And now that he's rolling, he wants to like roll him over.
Rachael: Oh my God. It sounds exactly like my three year old with the baby. It's just like, she's constantly trying to hug her, roll her, pick her up, or move her. It's, yeah, we can't leave them alone.
Cam: That stress is always like, you're like, one ear, one eye, like always.
Hunter: That's where they live, he lives in the carrier.
Rachael: Exactly, gotta keep them safe up there.
Hunter: And I think, speaking, I took my phone out to look at my one to two transition advice. So it was Dr. Becky's sibling course. Every day we would prioritize like one -on -one time for both of us with Remy, without our phones completely. Just like, and it would be five minutes or 10 minutes. I remember I would just go sit in his sandbox with him. And it just made me feel better. And you could tell he really liked it and enjoyed it. Baby wearing with the second. So I think you talked a lot about that too. And the ones I had.
Rachael: Oh my God. I don't know how people don't do that. Like what other option is there? I don't understand.
Hunter: Yeah. Because I still felt like I was really like having that sweet snuggle time with Radner but also making Remy feel like a part of it all.
Rachael: Do you have a favorite carrier or wrap that you love? I know I've seen you with the Solly.
Hunter: I have just like pretty much replaced everything with that Wildbird Ariel.
Rachael: Okay, that's like the tan one you have, right? It's newer, yeah.
Hunter: It’s sort of the same style as an Artipoppe, which I love my Artipoppe and I use that the most with Remy. But it's like, I'm 5 '1", so it's really compact where the neckrest or headrest is more firm. So it's a little bit better for naps too or support's his neck, but yeah, I love it.
Rachael: Cool, all right, cool, 'cause yeah, people are asking me about my Artipoppe all the time and I'm like, I'm so sorry, I really love it and I would recommend it, but it's so expensive.
Hunter: So expensive, and I think this one is like under $200.
Rachael: Oh, great, okay, I'll start recommending that one too.
Hunter: And I have both, and people are like, is the Artipoppe worth it? I'm like, yes, I think the Artipoppe has more fashionable, stylish prints-- but I keep reaching for the Wild Bird.
Rachael: Okay, interesting, all right. And then you were talking about one to two advice, was there anything else on your list there?
Hunter: Oh, trying to keep just like smaller routines the same, 'cause I think they make a big impact, like bath time, and just like, one of the things I was really stressed about with my second C -section was Remy and I bathed together every day and I was like, I don't want this huge transition to be a big deal, and so what we started doing was showering together. So you could shower after a C -section, and now that's like staying the same. So it just was a small part of his day that I knew he would appreciate and would be the same.
Rachael: Yeah, yeah, I love that. And so you guys were mentioning that you work together, obviously, you've been doing this influencer thing for a really long time now, like what, six years?
Cam: Starting in 2016.
Rachael: Okay, so even longer, and then you've recently launched a new business, so how does that all go, with spending all of your time together?
Hunter: We're so used to it now, like, we started, I mean, I had a PR job right out of college and then that wasn't even a full year, so like pretty much our work -life experience has been working together, and I love it. We've gotten really good at just saying exactly how we feel all the time, like almost maybe to a fault to where I can't understand why other people don't do that. Like if they're feeling a certain way, I'm like, we'll just tell them.
Cam: And so I think one thing is that Hunter and I have always been best friends. We were friends for over a year before we even started dating. And I think that that is helpful. And then like I've always been better friends with girls. She's always been better friends with guys. So we just like clicked in that sense. And yeah, I think like over the last couple of years, we've gotten very, very good at communicating with each other. And I think that comes from working with each other and like, you know.
Hunter: And many mistakes.
Rachel: Of course. Yeah. Of course.
Cam: Sometimes there would be work conversations and disagreements and arguments that end up seeming like husband and wife conversations and arguments. I'm like, let's pump the brakes. We're talking as employees right now.
Hunter: He was like, we were talking about something late at night when I was like, we'll have a meeting in the morning.
Cam: We'll have a meeting first thing in the morning. I was like, you wouldn't say this to one of our employees. Right.
Rachael: Coworkers are not chatting with each other at nine o 'clock at night.
Cam: Yeah. So I think about figuring that out. And then also just being honest, like if either of us has an issue, it's like, we're just telling the other person. It's like, okay, I accept that or no, I don't really agree with you. And here's why. And we just talk it through.
Hunter: And figuring out our roles. I think it was a big one because Cameron was a photographer and videographer before I started this whole influencer thing. So it wasn't like, I became, I feel like it happens the opposite a lot right now these days. And so just making sure that he always got to keep that photo video like creative.
Rachael: His own thing. Yes. Yeah.
Cam: It's a double edged sword because then I'm like wanting to overproduce everything. She's like, no, the algorithm has moved to iphone.
Rachael: It has to be real and relatable. Yeah, exactly.
Cam: And it's just quick format. And I'm like, I can't do it. And now I'm just like, I hardly pick up my camera anymore. It's just for video. It's just home video of the boys that will look back when we're 60 and cry.
Rachael: Oh, that's amazing. Oh my gosh, you're so lucky Hunter. I wish that I had that. I think every mom probably wishes that their husband or a partner would be like, I mean, it sounds like you're an amazing chef and an amazing photographer like what more could you ever want.
Hunter: Okay, maybe by the time, maybe by the time this comes out, he will start posting more. But I have a TikTok name for him and it's the do it all dad.
Rachael: Oh, that's genius.
Hunter: But he has so many more hacks and like our friend was over here the other day and she's having a baby and he was like, hey, have you ever seen this? And it was like the breastfed baby poop in the sun trick.
Rachael: Yes. Oh yeah, where you bleach the stains in the sun.
Hunter: Yes. And so she left and then he asked me to send her the picture of the clean onesie. And she was like, Cameron needs to write a dad book. I'm like, I know, you know.
Rachael: Honestly, like my husband is so sensitive that he could never have like an online presence because I think he would just be like way too sensitive to trolls. I'm gonna have him do a few podcast episodes with me, but I tell him all the time, like I wish that like you could or someone like you, like he's very emotional, like seems very similar to Cameron. I feel like dads need other dads like that to kind of like look up to. I think that would be so amazing.
Hunter: And he just has so many hobbies, like outside of parenting, like woodworking and just, I'm like…..I don’t even have one hobby!
Rachael: Oh my gosh, you would have a great following. I was gonna say… I don't either. You'd be a great follow. I think this TikTok thing needs to happen. Hopefully by the time this episode comes out, it's already a thing.
Cam: The problem is there's just so many other things in the day that I need to be doing.
Rachael: Well, and I think people think like influencers or lifestyle content creators, it must be so easy 'cause they just live their life and they just film it and pop it up, but there's so much more that goes into it, right? As you guys obviously know, it's a lot.
Cam: While being able to be running a business from home and not to mention doing everything for our business that I do.
Rachael: Exactly.
Cam: That's a perfect preface of something I thought about earlier. And I think that the whole social media world, I think everyone understands this now. It's very easy to compare yourself to someone else's life.
Rachael: So glad you brought this up, yeah.
Cam: How do they do all this? And we were talking about how, you know, the male partner ends up like, how can I help? Or like, no, the baby needs to sleep in their room 'cause I have to get up because, you know, I have to go to work in the morning and I gotta go to the gym before I go to work. And I think one thing that we are blessed with is the ability to both work from home and have that. 'Cause if tomorrow morning we don't wanna get up and do anything for work, we could just sleep in if we wanted to. Obviously, Remy’s gonna wake this up, but I could literally call her mom and my mom and be like, "Hey, can you come get Remy?" It's 6:45, they’re like, "Yeah, for sure."
Rachael: Yeah, that is such a blessing, right?
Hunter: Yeah, there are a lot of factors. And anytime I give even moms in my life or online, like, here's my advice, this might not work for you for a number of reasons. And you asked about things that we've struggled with too. And I got a message yesterday, it made me so sad and it was a girl and she was just like, you make it seem like you guys don't struggle. And I was like, I never want anyone to feel that way. And my personality, like my college best friend to this day will call me when she's like, "I need a little perspective, "can you help me see like the good in this?" That is my personality where I always try to find the good. So of course we have these super hard days. Of course we've really struggled sometimes in the transition overall from one to two, but my mindset has always been just to try to find the good in those days. So I never want anyone that follows me to think that we don't, but like when I look at my whole day, that's not the moment that I really want to share. It's just, it's just, I'm not, I'm not sitting there.
Cam: People are wanting to share the real stuff.
Hunter: And of course, and we have, we've shared when we went through a miscarriage, like I'm just the type of person that needs to like process things on my own a bit. I never want that to come across as if we have things to figure out because we do not have things figured out.
Cam: There's been plenty of times over the last six, eight, 12 months that Hunter looks at me, she's like, you okay? I'm like, and I'm usually, the most calm person. Like I am, I weather any storm and she's like, and I think that's why a lot of why we're able to get through a lot of issues. Cause she's like, I'm gonna be good. Cam's not freaking out.
Hunter: When Cameron's stressed, I really freak out cause I'm like, he…
Cam: But I think that I basically what I do, and it kind of, I realize it now, it's like, what was that show we just watched? It was on Apple TV with their - - Shrinking? They just like to sit there, go listen to a sad song and cry for five minutes and then pull themselves back together. Get it out, yeah. I'm just gonna keep going on like, I know that there's a lot of, and that's not saying in the giving anyone struggles.
Hunter: Right, I feel like I can say it because I, in the past have struggled with eating disorder, struggled with depression, struggled with anxiety, all of these things, and I've worked really hard to get to this point where I can get through things.
Rachael: Yeah, and I think people assume that if you're a presence on social media or if you have a large following that you have to show everything, and that if you're not showing it, it must not exist, right? And I have to remind my followers of this all the time where it's like, just because you're not seeing me having an absolute meltdown or, you know, my kids being feral, wild animals, like doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, it's just that I'm not gonna show that on social media. And like, whether you're an influencer or not, like everybody is showing exactly what they want to show on social media right? So you just have to always look at things with that perspective in mind, and know that like, everybody has struggles and everybody has bad days and everybody has bad weeks or months or years. And just because you're not seeing that doesn't mean that it is not there or that there's something wrong with you for having those hard moments. It's not that everybody else has it so much easier. It's just that social media gives us this weird warped sense of other people's lives. And I think with parenting, it's so hard too, because it looks like everybody else has this like perfect routine or like amazing sleeper or great relationship after their baby. And it's just not the reality for most people.
Hunter: And like, if you'd asked us three years ago about tips for working together, like, I don't think we would have had them because we were like, just figuring it out. So we really had to work through those struggles to get to a good point where we feel confident and actually hear some advice.
Cam: And to your point, Rachel, too, I think that this isn't, I don't think this is true for everyone. But for us, and I think a lot of people that you can pick up on how real someone is based on social media and their stories and stuff. And that just because we don't share the hard times all the time, doesn't mean that we're trying to portray a life of we're just perfect and everything.
Rachael: You're not trying to be fake.
Hunter: You just have to go through things privately.
Cam: By posting only the good, it's not we're not trying to say it's all good. It's all good. Like we're just like this. We just don't really care to share that because, you know, I feel like the world just needs more positivity.
Hunter: I always want people to come to my account for a source of inspiration and positivity. And like, of course, we'll share like when we were potty training, we like sharing the highlights and the things that weren't also the things that weren't so good. But I just never want my problems to be put on other people too. I'm more the type of person that once I go through something, I will share it.
Rachael: You have to process it yourself first sometimes and sometimes that takes a long time.
Cam: We’re going through it right now with Remy. There's a little bit of a meltdown almost every day.
Rachael: That’s three -year -old. Oh three is something else. I don't want to scare anybody out there that has a two -year -old or a one -year -old but three is it just it's different. I feel you guys, yeah. I think Remy is almost the same age as my middle Noe. I think so.
Hunter: He just turned three in June.
Rachael: Yeah she turned three in January and it was like overnight like on her birthday she went to sleep this adorable sweet easy -going little two -year -old and then she woke up and she was three and she's like I'm gonna like fuck your shit up. I'm done with that and yeah it's hard but again, I don't feel the need to share like how much she's terrorizing me on a daily basis because it's not gonna serve anybody. I'll share about it sometimes to make people feel less alone but I'm not gonna harp on it all day long.
Cam: And let me go through it long enough to figure out an answer.
Rachael: Yes and to share some insight right.
Hunter: I have shared like we haven't gone into details of you know tantrums but I will say Dr. Becky's courses have really helped me. They really have, like she has, that she's amazing, the deeply feeling kid workshop, we're like everything is so Remy, and I love how she puts it in her perspective, she's like there's so many amazing things about how your kid is deeply feeling.
Rachael: Yeah I love her too… She's wonderful. I'm hoping to have her on the podcast soon too. Well thank you guys so much for being so open and honest and I just absolutely love watching you and your relationship and your kids are the cutest. Before we totally wrap up I would love to hear one thing that you feel like no one told you about parenting that you wish they had told you before either before you had your first or before you had your second.
Cam: I mean one for sure is that it doesn't matter honestly it doesn't matter what anyone says your child is going to be different than every other child that came before them. Yeah you know Radnor is completely different from Remy in a lot of ways and he's very similar in a lot of ways and it's like.. And it's this is a this is a mindset that I've always taken is prepare for the worst and expect the best. Yeah, just just roll with the punches, but I think that one thing I would tell people is just don't sweat it. Don't stress the small stuff. It's not gonna last forever and there's a video that I just watched the other night on my phone. I mean Remy loves looking at old videos of himself and there's this video of him sitting on my chest And he took a sip of my water and he's sitting there with his mouth and I'm like don't do it. I'm like, I would have been upset if he spit that water on me.. but now I look at that video. It's something hilarious and if he had spit it on me, it would have been an even better video. don't sweat the small stuff, and perspective is everything.
Rachael: Yeah, love it.
Hunter: I would say no one told me that I would have all the answers I needed. I felt like I looked to outside sources so much more the first time around and even throughout pregnancy and then when I had my boys, I realized that I was the answer to those questions and no one else could be because no one else knows them as well we do.
Cam: That falls back into what you said in the very beginning of this is intuition, trusting your gut, doing what feels right.
Rachael: Yeah, it's so true I love it. Well, thank you guys again so much. I will link all the stuff we talked about in the show notes and everybody make sure you check out Premonition Goods. It's an amazing business that you guys have started. You should be so proud and I'm so impressed that you work together. Honestly, I don't know how you do it. I Love following you guys.
Hunter: My favorite follow. I tell everyone to follow you.
Rachael: Oh, thank you so much. I actually I've gotten so many followers from your mentions so I really, really appreciate it. People come to me all the time and they're always saying that it's just nice to see a different perspective. So I really appreciate you sharing about it and being, again, just so open and honest with everything, but especially with parenting and things that some people are like scared to talk about. So I really just appreciate you guys a lot.
Hunter & Cam: Well, thank you.
Rachael: All right, have a good rest of your day. Bye. Thank you!
