Motherhood, Surrender, and Starting Again

I’ll never forget the first time I became a mom.

The chaos, the magic, the identity crisis no one warns you about. And the guilt—for not loving every minute, for not bouncing back, for feeling like you don’t know what you’re doing. 

On this episode of Work in Progress, I talked with Amanda Thomas, a creative consultant, designer, event planner—and mama to a 3-year-old, with baby number two on the way (by the time you are reading this, Amanda gave birth to a beautiful baby girl!). She’s one of those people who glows with honesty. Not the kind you post on Instagram. The kind that makes you breathe a little easier because it’s real and comforting.

Amanda didn’t sugarcoat anything. Her first pregnancy was unplanned. Her birth experience was traumatic. Her postpartum months were dark and lonely.

And yet—what stood out wasn’t just the struggle. It was her surrender.

“When life feels uncertain, that’s when the real adventure begins,” Amanda told me.

She shared how she focused so intently on preparing for birth (studying to be a doula, setting the mood, controlling the moment) that she forgot to prepare for what comes after. For the shaking. The sleeplessness. The tears. The distance.

Amanda described those early days as feeling like she had been thrown to the wolves. I nodded because I’ve been there too. Maybe you have too.

But her healing came when she stopped resisting the change and started allowing it.

She didn’t fix it all overnight. She found a therapist. She built a community—one park conversation and story time chat at a time. She stopped believing she had to wear separate hats for work, motherhood, and creativity.

She just let herself be whole.

“We don’t need to compartmentalize our lives,” she said. “We can be all of ourselves at once.”

That one stuck with me. Because I think so many of us—especially women, especially mothers—are conditioned to believe that our roles need borders. That we need to choose. That one part of our identity has to dim for another to shine.

But maybe it’s not about balance. Maybe it’s about blending.

Amanda now runs a successful creative business. She coexists with her daughter in her morning rituals. She’s not afraid to say no to the wrong clients. She’s built a life with room for interruptions, for joy, for messiness.

She’s doing it again—pregnant with baby #2—and this time, she’s not gripping so tightly. She’s trusting her body. She’s staying curious. She’s present.

And it made me reflect: the greatest lesson I’ve learned as a mom is this—it all changes.

Just when you think you’ve got it down, the baby becomes a toddler. Then a tween. Then a teenager, who wants to talk about the meaning of life at 10:30 PM.

You will change, too.

So whether you’re preparing for your first, surviving your third, or figuring out how to blend your passion and your parenting… let this be your reminder:

You don’t have to do it perfectly. You just have to do it honestly.

And if you’re feeling alone—you’re not.

Come find us.

Much love,

Gayle