Ask any new parent and they will tell you the hardest part of having a newborn is the lack of sleep. The interrupted nights, the long days and small naps in the hard-to-come-by pockets of quiet, never seem like enough and when there is more than one child, a good night’s sleep becomes nothing but a distant memory.
Local Adelaide mum-of-two, Karissa de Leeuw, knows this reality all too well and it was on a Winters morning earlier this year when she found herself begging a motel to let her rent a room for a few hours just to get some peace and quiet, that she realised there had to be a better way.
“It got to a point where I just needed some alone time so I found myself calling a local motel asking for a room for just a few hours and funnily enough, the receptionist told me that the request was actually quite common,” explains Karissa.
It was then that the idea for the MyRnR app was born. The booking program works similarly to Air BnB but instead of staying for the night, parents can book for just a few hours to get in some much-needed shut-eye.
Four host accommodations are already signed up, one of which is a portable caravan that will come directly to you. “The benefit of this is that you don’t actually have to go anywhere, instead a quiet place will come to you,” says Karissa. “This will be really helpful for parents that don’t want to be too far away just in case.”
The app itself is free with each of the hosts setting their own rates. “We’ve had a really great response from the hosts because a lot of them are parents themselves and completely understand the need for something like this so they’ve overlooked the costs of turning over a room and instead are just charging an hourly rate.”
Sleep deprivation can have some major effects on one’s health, both physically and mentally, with almost all new parents experiencing it within the first 2 months of parenthood.
“Being a parent is hard, it’s hectic. You’re so busy trying to do everything that’s best for your kids but then it’s you and your body and mind that takes a back seat,” says Karissa. “But to be the best version of yourself for your kids, you need to look after yourself.”
Karissa has been raising money to help fund her idea with her crowdfunding campaign looking to raise $6000 to cover the costs of launching an online platform.
“I’m not in this for the money at all. I have no idea how I’ll profit from this – or if I will – but I don’t really care. I just want to make my life and every other parent’s life easier.”
MyRnR is set to launch on November 6th in line with Perinatal Mental Health Week which runs from November 6 – 12.
To donate to MyRnR visit the website here and follow along on Instagram for more.
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