A Mom Minute with Sara Baxter of Paperclip
An honest conversation with Sara Baxter, CEO and Co-Founder of Paperclip, about mornings, balance (or the lack of it), and building a business while raising three kids.
A question that comes up again and again in our community: How do you balance the career, the kids, and your own well-being in the middle of it all?
That question is exactly why we launched the Mom Minute Interview Series: short, honest conversations with mom founders and business owners about what real life looks like behind the scenes.
For our very first episode, I sat down with Sara Baxter, CEO and co‑founder of Paperclip, a brand known for its eco‑friendly baby products designed for modern parents. If you’ve ever seen their wildly popular diaper backpack with a built‑in changing pad, you already know Paperclip. What you may not know is that the brand has expanded far beyond diaper bags, now offering silicone feeding products (including the first and only color‑changing silicone feeding products on the market) and a high chair that launched earlier this year.
Sara is also a mom of three, which makes her perspective on work, motherhood, and balance especially relatable.
The 5:00 a.m. Wake‑Up That Changed Everything
Instead of chasing a perfect work-life balance, Sara focuses on being intentional with her time and honest about what she needs in each season.
For her, that realization started with mornings.
Sara admitted (very candidly) that she hated being woken up by her kids in the morning. The chaos, the rushing, the feeling of starting the day already behind, it just wasn’t working.
So she made a bold shift: she started setting her alarm for 5:00 a.m.
That quiet hour before her kids wake up is now hers. She uses it to:
Get ready in peace
Meditate and journal
Work out
Shower
By the time her kids are up, she’s grounded… and fully present. For the next hour to hour and a half, she’s all in on breakfast, school prep, and connection. Once they’re out the door, she shifts fully into work mode.
A Schedule That Supports Her Life (Not the Other Way Around)
Sara typically works from around 9:00 a.m. to 3:45 or 4:00 p.m., and she shared something I know many moms struggle with: She doesn’t feel anxious about ending her workday to pick up her kids.
That peace didn’t happen overnight. The routine took nearly a year to truly settle into, but the payoff has been huge. Her mornings are calmer, her days feel more focused, and she no longer feels pulled in a million directions at once.
But What If You’re Not a Morning Person?
I had to ask because I am very much not a morning person.
Before this shift, Sara said she used to just let her kids wake her up, anywhere between 5:45 a.m. on a rough day and 7:00 a.m. on a good one. The key to making 5:00 a.m. work? Going to bed early.
Sara now goes to sleep religiously between 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. She emphasized that adjusting her circadian rhythm took consistency and time but that it is possible, even if you don’t consider yourself a morning person.
Movement as a Mental Health Tool
We also talked about exercise, specifically how hard it can be to prioritize movement when work is busy and life feels full.
Sara didn’t sugarcoat it: working out has been a game changer for her.
It helps set the tone for her day, reduces anxiety, and supports her mental health. Rather than seeing it as optional, she treats it as foundational.
Why This Conversation Matters
What I loved most about this conversation with Sara wasn’t the routine itself, it was the permission.
Permission to admit something isn’t working. Permission to design your day around your needs. Permission to let go of the idea that balance has to look a certain way.
If you’re a mom navigating work, business ownership, or just trying to feel a little more like yourself again, I think you’ll see pieces of your own life reflected in this episode.
🎥 Watch the full Mom Minute interview with Sara Baxter above.
