I’m so excited that one of my Substack mum-friends Mica Keeney decided to write about finding her own version of motherhood — Mica is a mum of a little girl and a DJ, has a very cool career in fashion and a Substack called Motherhood Muses. She also honestly just knows how to enjoy life (with and without her baby!).
So here it is, Vol. 16 of our series!
I now realize how many preconceived notions I had going into motherhood. Pretty naive assumptions about what it would involve, but more than anything, about what it would do to me. I have always been so excited about having a kid, but that didn’t take away from the fact that I was scared of becoming “just another mum.”
As I understood it, motherhood was going to be a limitation or a step backward from everything I’d built so far: my career, my lifestyle, my friendships, my identity.
But I was determined for that not to be the case, so I put pressure on myself to get “back to myself”, rushed back to work just 10 weeks postpartum and tried to go to dinners with friends at 9pm. Pumping in the bathroom of a client photoshoot, running on very little sleep, telling myself I can still do this while loving and caring for my newborn baby.
Then I realized that what I needed wasn’t to live in the past, but to embrace and explore the new version of me, as a mother.
It goes without saying that there are certain things I just can’t make happen anymore, which is of course frustrating at time, and priorities have shifted. But now I see how much motherhood has helped me grow in ways I could never have planned for.
Instead of holding me back, it’s also pushed me forward and intersected with my life in so many ways. I guess I assumed it would live in a separate lane? But that’s definitely not been the case:
# I started writing again and have my own creative outlet with my Substack Motherhood Muses
# I became part of a mothers’ circle, a weekly group-therapy type session that fills my cup and has helped me learn about myself
# I work with parents and kids brands and feel deep in tune with how to do a brilliant job for those clients
# I go to the same parties and social arrangements, but with more intention (and a curfew!)
I am playful, nurturing, more patient, and clearer with my energy, my time, and my boundaries than I ever was before.
Of course, that comes with the exhaustion, frustrations, and all the rest - but I am here to take the positives as much as possible and let this new motherhood journey inspire me wherever I can. We all think it’s the parents teaching our kids, but I’m grateful to my daughter Maelie for what she’s taught me as well.
So if I once thought making motherhood my personality was cringe or something to be wary of, how wrong I was. It’s not just one part of my identity, it’s a core part of who I am now and I wear that with a badge of honor. My version of motherhood isn’t one I anticipated, but I’m here to make it mine.
The Plnty Listening Edit
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December 31, 2025
2025 ends today — and it’s been a massive year for podcasts. Not just more of them, but better ones. Long-form conversations (here on Substack and in podcast-world) have quietly become one of the most trusted places for (mostly) nuanced thinking, credible expertise, and honest discussion, particularly around health, hormones, parenting and work.
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