One year ago, I became the mother of Nash. I always wanted to have children so getting pregnant was the best thing that could happen to me. Combining being a fulltime mom with having your own business may sound very complicated. But I’m not planning on writing down horrible new mommy stories in this blog post. It wasn’t terrible for me to combine those two things. So I’ll tell you with pleasure, how I tried to make this work.
I prefer to follow my gut feeling and do whatever seems best for me, so I always try not to listen to hard to other people opinions when it comes to being a mommy. Some woman who already experienced their first time as a mom wanted to prepare me for what was going to happen. I tried to ignore the horror and picture perfect stories and focus myself on my pregnancy. Which was (believe it or not) like a dream for me. No complications, no morning sickness, just a happy feeling in my tummy when I could feel the baby kicking and be alive.
As an entrepreneur, I don’t have a paid maternity leave so staying months at home, was never an option. Not that I wanted that to be an option. Our brand is also our baby so pregnant or not; I will always be working and thinking about everything that has to do with I.Ma.Gi.N. I stopped working one day before labor (the baby came ten days quicker than expected). And after giving birth to Nash, I asked my mom to bring my laptop so I could work while he was asleep. That may sound crazy to other people, but for me, that (big) part belonged to my daily routine. So I continued working.
When we arrived back home, our world changed. We had to take care of a baby but honestly, the moment I had Nash in my arm, my mother instinct appeared, and it all felt so natural. There was no time to overthink the situation, and so I started taking care of him while working at home. Nash was never a crybaby, so again, lucky us. After a while, I began to take him everywhere with me. When I had a meeting, when I had to visit one of our stores or worked at the office. He was everywhere, and that felt so great. He brought that positive vibe to the work environment, and everyone loved it.
Now he can crawl, the work environment is not that safe anymore. So he stays home with our family, or he remains at the crèche. Working fulltime and combining a mommy life isn’t easy but it’s not impossible as long as you work together and make good engagements. But of course, it’s a huge adjustment. We go to school to learn everything except learning how to be a mother. But that’s ok. Trust your instinct, don’t read all the books or go to every possible class for mommies to be. For me, the not being prepared tactic worked. You can’t be the perfect mom, that doesn’t exist. I accepted I don’t need to buy expensive clothes for my newborn. It’s ok, to buy one euro shirts that will be dirty after a burp or a poo accident. My tip: Invest in a good buggy you can use for your next child. But don’t buy 20 different teddy bears and expensive clothes your baby can wear for one month. It’s not necessary. Some people may advise you to take all sorts of various tools. But wait till your baby is there before you buy unique must-haves. You’ll find out what they need (or doesn’t need) while taking care.
A first child and our own business didn’t scare us at all so yes, we want to expand our family and make things work with two children. It’s not the easiest way, but honestly, you get so much love and appreciation back. It’s worth it.
My conclusion? Don’t let people with bad experiences scare you. Don’t stress too much, don’t plan everything and try to explore together what works the best for your new family. You’ll see, it will be alright.
I hope I’m not responsible for a huge baby boom right now but if you want to, go for it and enjoy the ride :)
With love,
Margaux
