I first met Amy when her son, Henry, was one-week-old. You could tell— even then, that underneath the exhaustion, overwhelmed and awestruck feelings brought up by early motherhood—she was a #MightyMama. This is confirmed in Amy’s candid and thoughtful reflections of motherhood. But she admits she struggled to believe that she could have anything unique or helpful to contribute to other mothers.

Meet Rachel Chaimovitz this week's #MightyMama and mother to 16-month old, Leavitt. Rachel opens up about her motherhood journey, including unexpectedly becoming a stay-at-home mom when she had been planning on returning to work Rachel has embraced full-time motherhood and her baby boy, Leavitt, and shares how he has helped her become the best version of herself.

Chelsea Sahai is an immigration attorney for a non-profit serving low-income New Yorkers. She is also mom to toddler, Niam. Chelsea talks about balancing work and motherhood, “Balance is really important to me, and something you have to look at in the big picture… Sometimes, a pay cut is worth the freedom from guilt for not being in the office 12-hours a day.” She shares the importance of setting boundaries, asking for help and engaging her young son in her work. Chelsea shares advice about how she conquers motherhood with a toddler, “I try to focus on our relationship to one another, celebrating him as an individual, giving him space to (safely) explore, and nurturing his own identity.” Read more of Chelsea’s powerful story!

Mothers can feel guilty about all kinds of things—things within their control and things outside of their control. Guilt can be a common symptom of the postpartum period. Mothers often strive to meet unrealistic expectations of parenting. When they don’t reach these unattainable goals, intense feelings of guilt arise. In this post, I will explore some of the reasons why mothers feel guilty, specifically when returning to work.