With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I’ve been thinking about the past year and life as a mother of two. I made the decision to pause my career and be a home parent, truly altering my normal. This significant day hits a little different this year, but in the best way.
Before Vivienne was born, the thought of maternity leave and “time off” wasn’t quite top of mind. As I anxiously awaited getting through each week, we slowly and cautiously began to share news of baby number two. “Time off” was put on the back burner.
December rolled around and Vivi could technically come early. So, I needed to figure out my postpartum plan, fast. I wasn’t sure what the appropriate amount of “time off” should be, since I’m self-employed and work from home. Meanwhile, I was just coming off my most stressful work project to-date and we decided to do a last minute renovation to turn the home office into Vivi’s room. At that point, I just needed a breather. So, we waited a bit more to decide.
Alas, our sweet Vivienne was born the day of her (postponed and rescheduled) baby shower. I was now a mother of two! My world had changed forever.
Once settled at home and adjusted to a new routine, the questions of “what will I do with Vivi when I go back to work?”, “who will watch vivi?”, and “could I juggle working from home and taking care of new baby?” were overwhelming me.
To be honest, when Vivi arrived I still was not clear on my decision, but rather was going to play it by ear and potentially take on a little work at the two month mark. That did not happen. In fact, those next few months would be pretty life changing.
I’ll save some of the details for future posts, but I’ll specifically point out that although life seemed very uncertain during those weeks and months after Vivi was born, there was a huge shift within me. I was certain that I needed to be home with Vivi. The work, emails, late nights, and outreach to sustain my business would be put on hold. And that was that.
My priority was our children and home life. I felt a sense of relief, but also worry. I would love to share more about this journey and the continued transition of taking a career pause to lean into motherhood and being a home parent.
Sounds easy, maybe for some it is, and what is it about the outdated “stay-at-home” mom stigma that I’m now finally starting to shake off. This pause and shift isn’t a step back, but rather a rebirth to see and do things differently, reorganize whats most important to me in this season of life, while still being creative, ambitious and productive.
Celebrating motherhood and this new path forward is more than just a pat on the back on Mother’s Day. I’m proud of myself for making a courageous step outside of what I thought was impossible. Being a home parent for my precious kiddos and continuing to learn and grow, all while doing valuable and impactful work … motherhood.
