2025 life updates as a new mother

What's good beautiful people?! It's been a hot minute and as I reflect on my life so far in 2025, I see a wave of changes that have emerged from my transition into motherhood. This journey has not only transformed my daily routine but also reshaped my priorities and relationships. Each year brings its own challenges and wins, and this year is no different. Let's dive into some updates from my life that I believe will resonate with fellow and aspiring moms, travelers, and lifestyle enthusiasts. Grab your favorite cup of tea (or coffee), get cozy, and let’s dive in!

1. I became somebody's momma

That's right. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I became a whole mother back in January. My Little One (LO) was due at the end of December but decided to make her debut into the world in January. My birth story was mostly what I desired so yay! I'm super grateful because I while I really preferred a home birth, the hospital birth worked out. I'll share my birth story one day, but just know that in order to have my desired birth experience, I had to be my strongest advocate. Back to my baby now. This child has been such a joy in our lives. She's got plenty of personality, loves to babble and coo, laugh, and is super curious/inquisitive. I'm working on using the word "curious" instead of "nosy" to promote more positive and neutral tone language about her as a person. We know that some words carry negative connotations and I don't want to labeled in this way. In just a few months of being a mother, I'm already observing how my perspectives on certain matters are taking on a new level of seriousness for me. More detail to come on that in separate blog post, but I'll touch on it a little here.

2. A Whole New Sleep Schedule

"Sleep," you say. "What is that?" I ask. Motherhood has completely altered my sleep routine. Before becoming a mother, I had many late nights filled with random TV watching and getting in some "me" time. I scrolled through my phone reveling in the fact that I no more obligations of the day. Those late nights are now replaced by 4 AM alarms reminding me to wake up to pump. The plan is always to pump then go back to sleep before the work day starts. It happens most times, but not as often as I'd prefer. Interestingly, I now appreciate those early mornings. Waking up before my LO gives me a peaceful moment to myself. I feel two ways about it though-- I embrace the "me" time and the fact that my creative juices start flowing. On the other hand, I need more sleep before starting work since I burn out easily. I think the answer is going to bed earlier, but I've yet to meet my ideal bedtime. I do crash about an hour earlier than I used to though, so that's a plus.

According to a study from the National Sleep Foundation, new parents lose an average of 44 days of sleep in their child’s first year. This resonated with me as I'm discovering that even if your baby, like mine, sleeps through the night, you still need to wake up to pump if you're breastfeeding to maintain your milk supply. For the record, I get some sleep, but it's just not the same. Broken sleep is whew, tough.

3. Priority Shifts

So my perspective on certain things have shifted -- small in some things, but tremendously in others. Becoming a mother has impacted the shift more than anything. My daughter is helpless at this tender age so everything else (apart from God, myself, and my husband) comes as a lesser priority. During my pregnancy, I had to exercise my prioritizing muscle when my sister asked me to travel to the DC area and stay with our ill father for a week while she traveled out of the country. I experienced severe nausea/vomiting during that time and could barely function if I weren't on medication. You know I'm not a fan of taking medication. Sometimes the meds didn't even work. Long story short, I had to decline traveling to be with my father when he was vulnerable and needed help. I was prepared to accept any potential negative opinions from him and other family members, but it was necessary decision for both me and my unborn child. I am grateful for the experience because I know prioritization is a skill I'll have to exercise repeatedly not only as a parent, but in various real world situations.

A few other areas in which my priorities have become even more important to me now that I'm a mother, are relationships, food quality and access, safety, how my child is educated, where and how we live, and the importance BEing who you really are meant to be. I think these things deserve more conversation so I'll expound on them another time.

4. I enrolled in a Photography Class

I love looking at beautiful things. Who doesn't? Not only do I love looking at them, I also love creating them. For years now, I've gotten compliments on my photo-taking skills although I'm not very knowledgeable about photography. I just know what I think looks good and artistic. I've owned a DSLR since sometime after 2005 (Canon Rebel T1i), and last year, I purchased a Canon M50 mirrorless camera. I figure I need to learn how to use the things properly. For me, taking a class in person seemed to be the most effective-- I like being able to get out of the house, being on a specific schedule, having the ability to interact with the instructor and other students, and just the accountability piece that I do show up. Classes started last week. They're an hour and forty-five minutes per session, for four weeks. So far, so good. Practical, small class size, and one-on-one hands on help from the instructor. We have a small homework assignment this week and I'm looking forward to completing it.

5. Having A Child Doesn't Stop Travel

Ahhh, I just love, love, love to travel. I wondered how it would change when God blessed me with a baby. I knew that she would for sure hop on a plane as an infant and that travel would become a part of her life. Before she was born, I grappled with when the right time would be for her first international flight. My husband and his family thought I was crazy for wanting her to fly across the pond at just a bit over 6 months old. My family thought it was fine, but that is our norm seeing that we have no choice but to travel outside of the US if we want to see some close relatives. I was kind of torn, but let me tell you that when we did first travel with her (domestically), it was the right time. And by right time, I mean 4 months old. It was a short plane ride and she did great on both flights to and from our destination. We plan to travel with her at least 3 more times this year. While I'm not sure if she'll make it across the pond in 2025 (bc me and daddy probably will), she'll still be earning her miles/points.

Given our love for travel, I imagine my daughter will be similar as we plan to continue flying with her. I want the world to truly be her oyster, allowing for her to respect different ways of being. I want her to envision living wherever she feels most at home, to learn various languages and cuisines, and to experience this beautiful world filled with the diverse people that God created. The list goes on. All that said, our travel plans are not stopping just because we had a baby. In fact, they may pick up over time as I align more and more in just BEing.

6. Interior design tings

In my Instagram stories and highlights, you might have seen floor plans and other design tings in my stories. I'm still working on completing my Interior Design certificate through the New School at Parsons. To be honest y'all, I almost picked up two classes this term. Yes, two. Alongside the photography class and a full-time job with an infant. Am I cray? Nah. I said I almost picked up two. I'm on the wait list for one class and hoping a spot will open up. After that class, I'd have four left and voila-- certificate. I'm enjoying the program so far, but had to back out for a few terms because I was pregnant with the bad nausea/vomiting, then planning baby shower stuff, getting the nursery together, you get the picture. By the way, the nursery came out beautifully. See pic below. Told you I just love creating beautiful things. ::wink:: Looking at things that are visually appealing make me feel sooooo good. Not sure if that's the case for most people, but it is for me. If I have to look at it, it needs to be as beautiful as can be. It just fills my cup.

7. not superwoman?

So you know how I told you I almost signed up for two interior design classes on top of the other stuff I have going on? Well, oddly, now that I'm a mother and juggling several things, I sometimes feel I can do ALL the things. Like taking three classes while working full-time and caring for baby. There were times when I'd feel like superwoman before becoming a mother and I think it's honestly how I was able to accomplish several things in life, but it's on a different level now. Don't get me wrong, my a$$ is tired a good bit of the time, BUT the energy is there for some of the things that really spark joy for me. As my good friend and coach, Nichole Lee, has said-- it's about energy management. You look at energy management versus time management. You can talk to one person for five minutes and by the end of the conversation, you feel depleted. On the other hand, you can talk to someone for an hour and by the end of the conversation, you feel energized. Same with tasks. It really is about what sparks joy for you. What you have energy for/what gives you energy. This gives you a good bit of insight into how you can plan your daily or weekly schedules. See how I said we plan to take at least three more trips this year? How I was looking at taking two Interior Design classes, how I've been up for the past now four hours to pump and write this blog post? LOL. Listen, I am not superwoman in the sense that I can do all the things, but I'm learning that I can have the energy do the things that allow me to be more of who I am and what sparks joy for me. I thrive off of learning, travel, creating and basking in visual aesthetics, etc. So for these things, I have the energy.

That's all for now folks. There's so much more that I want to share, but I think these are top of mind for me at the moment. Comment below and let me know if anything resonated with you and what you'd like to hear more about. Cheers to me being more consistent with these posts. Have a fabulous Sunday!