Getting to know… Courtney Adamo

Adventurers, entrepreneurs, activists. Each month our founder, Maya, will be speaking to a woman with a story that inspires. It’s a chance to celebrate achievements, both big and small, to share valuable nuggets of wisdom, and to find motivation in other women’s success. 

This month, we’re speaking to Courtney Adamo, the founder of the Babyccino parents’ community. She was raised on a tulip farm in the USA and started her career as a journalist in LA.  After a stint in London, she, her husband and their four children packed up and set off on a year-long adventure around the world. They ended up in Australia, and now live just outside Byron Bay. She has since had another child. She loves surfing with her family, hopes one day to create a cookbook based on the family’s travels, and creates e-courses and eBooks that cover a wide variety of parenting experiences that include pregnancy, birth, post-partum life and adolescence.

Where do you live and who do you share a house with?

I live in a little town called Bangalow, just 15 minutes from Byron Bay, Australia. I’m married to Michael, and together we have five kids:

Easton (16), Quin (14), Ivy (12), Marlow (8), and Wilkie (4).

How do you describe what you do?

I’m the co-founder of Babyccino, a family lifestyle website, blog and shopping directory. I’ve been working and writing in the parenting world for the last 14 years. Recently I’ve turned my attention to creating e-courses and eBooks for parents. I really enjoy the community learning aspect of what I do, and love connecting with other parents from around the world.

What inspired you to create e-courses?

Over the years, through blogging and Instagram, I’ve received so many questions and comments about family life. It is clear people are craving connection and inspiration! This new platform of community learning is a way to dive a bit deeper and explore different topics with an engaged community of parents who are all in the same phase of their parenting journey. My BLOSSOM course covers pregnancy, birth and the first year postpartum, so it brings together a group of mothers who are all in that special season of their lives. I’ve just recently launched a new course for parents of TWEENS & TEENS, so it will bring together a community of parents to help prepare and support them through adolescence.

Could you give us three words that best sum you up?

I’m adventurous, determined, and mindful. 

What’s the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

‘Done is better than perfect.’  I am an eldest child and a lifelong perfectionist. Sometimes this desire to do things perfectly, especially in terms of work and projects, can be quite limiting. I’ve learned I have to give things a go and relax a little bit — start where I am, do what I can, improve where I can, but don’t expect perfection. We learn so much every time we try something new, even if it doesn’t always go well. If we expect perfection, it would be too scary to start. 

Is there a single piece of advice you’d give to someone else?

Just do it. Stop overthinking or worrying about what might go wrong. Often I ask myself, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’, and often the worst isn’t even so bad. This always helps me to feel more bold in my decision making and life changes.

If you could send your 16-year-old self a short message, what would it say?

Stop worrying about what everyone else thinks of you!! (Again, I’m an eldest child, I’ve spent my life hoping to be liked.) The older I’ve gotten, the more at ease I’ve become with myself, I care less what strangers think, and I’ve learned to trust my inner voice. It’s one of the most wonderful things about getting older!

What do you do when you want to give yourself a little self-care?

I go surfing! It’s my favourite way to switch off, be present, connect with nature, and move my body. Every time I come out of the water I feel so much more calm and centred.

What’s the single best thing you’ve ever bought?

I don’t know if this technically counts as a thing we bought, but in 2015, we sold our house in London and bought round-the-world airplane tickets for our family. We spent 18 months travelling together before settling here in Byron Bay. It was the best thing I’ve ever done in my life — the most magical, wonderful time. We met so many interesting people, discovered beautiful new places and cultures, and learned so much. We still constantly talk about our travels and recall memories from our adventures. That was definitely the best money we have ever spent, hands down.

Where is your happy place?

On a surfboard in the ocean: light winds, good swell, consistent waves.

What are your plans for the future?

We don’t have any big plans. We love living here in Byron so much, I can’t imagine we’ll ever live anywhere else. It’s a very grounding feeling to think of growing old in one place. I’ve never felt this way until we moved here! Hopefully next year we can travel to see our families in the U.S., as it will have been a few years since we’ve seen them due to Covid.