15 mama-innovated products that are total gamechangers

Because moms know what moms need.

by Sara Goldstein

Updated: March 1, 2022

Source: 15 mama-innovated products that are total gamechangers (mother.ly)

Imagine a world without disposable diapers.

OK, don’t. No one needs that kind of stress right now. Instead, let’s take a minute for a brief history lesson.

In the 1940s, cloth diapers reigned and the best option available for keeping leaks to a minimum were rubber “baby pants” pulled over the top. Effective? Sure. Breathable or comfortable in any way? Nope. Diaper rash was a guarantee and the less than cozy design dug into squishy baby legs and bellies.

Enter Marion Donovan—a stay-at-home mom who had given up her career as an assistant editor at Vogue and a woman predisposed to ingenuity. After giving birth to her second daughter and totally fed up with diapers that soaked the sheets every nap time, she set out to create a solution. As she stood in her bathroom one day, the shower curtain sparked an idea. One pair of scissors, countless shower curtains, a sewing machine and three years later, she’d perfected the Boater—a reusable diaper cover made from nylon parachute cloth that kept leaks at bay without discomfort.

Not surprisingly, they were an instant hit when they made their debut at Saks Fifth Avenue in 1949.

She didn’t stop there. Guided by the simple question “What do I think will help a lot of people and most certainly will help me?” Marion Donovan went on to set the wheels in motion for the fully disposable diaper (an innovation which wouldn’t hit the shelves for another ten years as none of the male executives she pitched believed they would sell) the Zippity-Do (an elasticized zipper that allowed women to zip up the back of their dress unaided), a hanger that could organize up to 30 skirts and pants in a small space along with nearly a dozen other patents.

While it’s true that necessity is the mother of invention, it’s also true that few groups of people are more inventive than mothers—especially when it comes to innovating the needs of mamas and babies. These days there are countless brilliant products on the market that make mom life easier, invented by mothers who could no longer abide by poor design or inconvenience.

We’ve rounded up some of our favorite stories and mom-innovated products that might not yet be as commonplace as disposable diapers but who knows? Only time will tell.

Ollie World: Smarter swaddling

Launched by founder and tirelessly dedicated foster mom Hindi Zeidman in 2009, the Ollie swaddle was borne of her own need to find something that would work for Oliver, the little one in her care. The swaddles she found either didn’t hold him correctly, were not strong enough to apply a comforting pressure, or left his legs unwrapped. The product she created slowly began to turn things around for him. He started to sleep, eat and gain weight. He began to reach the developmental milestones he had been missing and she knew she had created something that needed to be shared. She was right.

Since their launch they’ve become a must-have for Houdini-esque babes and sleep-deprived parents, selling out time and time again.

The Ollie World

Swaddle

$59