As An Artist & A New Mom, My Life Has Become All About Adapting

Before becoming a mom, my work life was the most time-consuming part of my world. As a music manager and fashion photographer, I was constantly on the go from meetings to photoshoots. Every buzz of a new email from my phone, every call with another creative or producer... I love everything about it. But what I’ve always loved most about my career is that I get to work with my best friend and husband, LeTrainiump, and create art that captures people so boldly. My husband is a pop musician and I create and manage for him, so it doesn’t even feel like working at all. We get to imagine — and simultaneously build — a family business together.

When I found out I was pregnant, I was worried the physical strain of this fast-paced work would be too much for me to handle, especially with the time we would spend on the road touring. We weren’t planning to have a child yet, so I was also nervous that the toll of every day pregnancy would slow down what I was doing. Pursuing this career as a family unit has always been a priority of ours, and suddenly we felt afraid that starting our new chapter as parents might change that.

All of my fears as a working mom were heightened even more when the pandemic hit. I was seven and a half months pregnant when the world shut down, and I wasn’t planning to begin my maternity leave until a month later. COVID left me to cancel all of my work and stay at home. Becoming a mom during a pandemic seemed like the most terrifying thing in the world to me, and at the time, it was hard and scary. I had to be alone with my husband for delivery, and that was difficult. Our mothers couldn’t be in the room with us and we didn’t get the opportunity to have many visitors after. I was so excited for everyone to meet our daughter, Wesley, and to establish new mom friends, so not experiencing that much-anticipated part of the new-mom journey was very lonely.

But ultimately, the break that came after my daughter was born wound up being one of the best things that could happen for me. It was just me, my husband, and my baby, and having that one-on-one time with my daughter and husband made the transition into motherhood so much easier. It allowed us the time to learn how to lean into parenthood and bond with our daughter before jumping back into the busy-ness of working in the music and fashion industry.

When the time came for be to begin working again, it was a strenuous transition. I was going from being able to schedule my days on a whim, which gave me a large sense of freedom, to meticulously planning each week around our new baby. But to my surprise, having Wesley here gave me a huge sense of purpose to what I was already doing.

Losing time after having a baby made me more productive during my work hours. Since pursuing our careers as a family has been a goal of ours since day one, we’d inadvertently built a foundation that allowed us to include Wesley in a great deal of what we do; whether that’s her tagging along for business meetings, or wearing her in a carrier during a photoshoot. It means so much to be able to hands-on teach my daughter skills I know and spend quality time together doing it.

I’ve loved bringing Wesley into my on-the-go career, but that transition didn’t come without its own set of lessons. These days, I’ve learned to stock up on products that are reliable and efficient, like Pampers Swaddlers diapers that have a color-changing indicator that makes it simple for me to check a diaper when I’m on a job. My daughter stays comfortable and happy, and as a result my work gets to be even more fulfilling than it was just over a year ago.

I don’t know what a post-pandemic world will look like, but I’m grateful to have the opportunity to prove you can be a mom and still do what you love. My heart has always been with my family and career, and now it’s just grown a little bigger.

Parenthood will always be unpredictable no matter how much you plan it out; challenges will always make you question if you you are doing what is best. But if you feel that way, you’re not alone. Most parents struggle through learning to face the challenges, but it’s so important to just do it. And for me, my struggle is facing the challenges to always do what I love, even if it isn’t easy. But my reward is also that I get to do what I love every single day: create art and be with my family.

This post is sponsored by Pampers Swaddlers.