Meet a Mom — Nikki Reed - The North County Moms

Nikki Reed is best known for starring as vampire Rosale Hale in The Twilight Saga, and for her breakout role as a teenager in the critically acclaimed movie Thirteen. More recently, however, she’s focused on other roles, including founding Bayou with Love, a sustainable jewelry line, serving as creative director of Loci Wear, an eco-friendly shoe brand, working with Leica (including acting as their first photographer to shoot a global campaign), and as a strategic advisor for Genexa (a clean medicine brand).

 She’s also mom to a five-year-old daughter and has another on the way with her husband, actor Ian Somerhalder. In this week’s Meet a Mom interview, Nikki talks about her career shift, motherhood and more.

Congratulations on your pregnancy! How are you feeling?
It’s honestly such an honor to be able to experience this in life—being a woman and being able to carry life is such a cool thing.

Has it felt different than your first pregnancy?
No, not noticeably different, except maybe your own recognition in your body is different.

That makes sense! What’s a typical day like for you?
I have four roles I play in four different companies, so I ‘m a busy bee. I talk a lot about slowing down but could use my own advice! I wake up at 5:30 to jump into work before the school rush. I try to do a stretch or a walk, then work for an hour, and then it’s pedal to the metal: breakfast, school lunch packing, drop off and then I work all day until school pickup. I then work after I put my daughter to bed and pick up hours on the weekend. I’m an entrepreneur so the hours which you can make your own can also be endless at times.

Would you let your kids go into acting early on like you did?
I moved away from being in front of the camera to a place of creativity behind the camera and I think that speaks volumes in and of itself. I would never want to stifle their creativity or path but I’m definitely not steering them into acting. We are a no-screen household and I’m all about farm life and being outside.

We’re seeing so much about screen time and the effects on the brain, and we know being in a rhythm with nature is less likely when you’re constantly in front of screen. I want them to get outdoors and get their hands dirty and learn compassion, love and connection.

Do you have a motherhood mantra?
I connect with the notion of staying compassionate with yourself, your space and your time. Kids are human beings; adults are human beings and we’re all trying to navigate it. We’re not striving for perfection.

How would you describe your husband as a dad and how would he describe you as a mom?
I would describe him as incredibly present when he’s not traveling. Obviously, the world knows he travels and flies 3+ days a week. When he’s home, he’s incredibly present and he would probably describe me as the anchor or super devoted, caring and thorough. There is no stone left unturned. If there is something that needs researching, I’ll talk to every doctor.

On that topic, why is clean living such a passion for you?
About 10-15 years ago I became interested in that food body connection – what are we eating and what is the impact of that? And then, what I was putting on my body – lotions, deodorants etc. I even started making my own products.

My daughter had an allergic reaction to medicine that was labeled as clean, that I gave her prior to finding Genexa.  I was just a mom who was a customer and a fan [before I started working with them].  My husband won’t take anything else. You don’t have to convince people of it. It has the active ingredients without all the crap in it, artificial dyes and sweeteners. I wrote Genexa and said I had to be a part of it.

There was a long period of time where everyone assumed if something was available – from food to medicine – it was safe because surely someone was testing it for efficacy and other effects on the body. But we’ve learned that going beyond just a label is important.

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