It’s ALWAYS a delight to talk to Jenna Walker from The Reklaws because she is about as REAL as it gets!
Which is why I KNEW she would keep it real when we caught up about her new role as a MOM!
Jenna and her husband welcomed their baby boy, Walker Ryan Watson, on January 1st at 10:13PM.
The shift to “Mom Life” is one that you CANNOT prepare for, no matter how much you try.
This is what I wrote about it, after my first child:
” There were parts of motherhood I expected;
I knew I would lose sleep, I knew I would struggle with hormones and baby blues – I even expected to deal with a little postpartum because I struggled with depression during my pregnancy.
What I did NOT expect was how lonely I would feel all the time. And this severe loneliness was mind boggling to me because I WAS NEVER ALONE. But yet I felt COMPLETELY alone, and that is the paradox of motherhood. (Note: I am saying ‘motherhood’ because I’m sharing my journey as a mother, this could apply to whichever parent is with the baby full time).
I mean, you have this love that is all-encompassing (literally, my daughter is my FAVOURITE PERSON, HANDS DOWN. I love her more than anyone. ANYONE! There, I said it), but in loving and giving that much you are expected to let go of every other part of you – your job, your hobbies, even your relationship with your partner – for the sake of bonding with your baby.
And for Lily and I, the bonding process hasn’t been easy. We struggled with breastfeeding, we struggled with sleeping, we struggled with colic, we struggled with digestion and what foods I could eat, we struggled together in SO many ways that I actually didn’t enjoy going to mommy groups, or spending time with other friends who had babies. It made me feel MORE alone to be around people who seemed to take motherhood in stride, while I felt like I was drowning. To see other babies who seemed to be happier, snugglier, more easy going than my daughter. What was I doing wrong? Why was this so hard for us?
Every moment was fraught with anxiety. Every decision felt like the biggest decision ever. And yet, my husband wasn’t exactly losing sleep at night over any of this. In fact, the only thing that really changed for him was that he had a little less ‘downtime’ at the end of the day. But he also got to come home to a baby who smiled and giggled the moment she saw him, he got to have play time and bath time. He got to work-out, and socialize, and if he wanted to go to sleep early there wasn’t anyone stopping him (whereas my schedule was whatever my daughter’s schedule was). No one expected him to set aside his needs, wants, hobbies, job, and identity in general for this perfect little person. While I became a shadow of my former self, if anything, my husband grew brighter. He was a DAD now – women went googly-eyed when they saw him walking around with our baby in a carrier (and, to be fair, seeing him with her does make me melt – he is a GREAT dad). And sure, he lost some sleep – you can’t share an apartment or house with a baby who cries several times at night and NOT lose sleep – but he did not lose himself.”
So, with that in mind, I was so excited to jump into the trenches of #momlife with Jenna.
When thinking about Motherhood, Jenna reflects on what she wishes she would have told her own mom:
Jenna opens up about all the things she did NOT expect about #momlife, because NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT:
Motherhood or not, Jenna plans to keep doing her thing on stage! So, WHAT’S NEXT:
And, finally, one of my FAVE things to talk about with new parents… there is one thing NO ONE talks about but *everyone* experiences at some point and it is that… you might hate your partner for a little while:
