What I’m Carrying Into this Next Season

While the rest of the world chases after Q1 goals, improved routines, and that New Year energy, I’m in a place of preparing for my second maternity leave, planning a long break, and welcoming our new baby into the family.

I remember feeling this way with Abel’s pregnancy too—when everyone else seemed to be speeding up, I had to totally stop. The world kept moving on while I was home figuring out how to nurse, how to function on no sleep, and how to spend my days alone with a newborn. With my first baby, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing every day (I still don’t really feel like I know what I’m doing tbh). This time around I’ll have a newborn and a toddler, but I feel just a little bit more equipped because I’ve had a newborn before and God saw me through that new season. I know He’s going to carry me through this next one. As I prep, I’ve considered how I want to go about this maternity leave differently. There are certain things I want to intentionally focus on, so I thought I’d share in the hope of encouraging someone preparing for the same season.

01.
Carrying Community

With my first postpartum experience, I was blindsided by how lonely I felt. Uriah only had one week off of work, so I was on my own with a newborn pretty quickly. Though I didn’t have PPD, I struggled badly with feeling isolated every single day for weeks. My mom would come over to play with Abel while I napped, but some days I wanted to push through and stay awake so I could just be with another person.

Don’t get me wrong, I had an amazing MealTrain set up and we had people coming over quite a bit! But I still felt a longing to be with another person while holding my newborn. I didn’t need a break from him—it as almost like I needed a break from myself if that makes sense.

This time around, I feel more prepared to invite people into my days as frequently as I need with no shame. Whether we sit on a couch and watch a movie, eat together, or go on a light walk, I know that I will need community to alleviate loneliness. Thankfully, I have family and friends close by to lean on, and I will be showing up to their houses with donuts if that’s what it takes.

02.
Carrying Nourishment

Last year one of my main focuses was getting healthy postpartum. I struggled with losing weight after having Abel and felt really uncomfortable in my own skin. It took over a year for me to find a healthy plan to nourish my body and begin to see both internal and external results. I’ve learned a lot about what foods, supplements, movement, and macros work for me, which has resulted in an amazing and healthy pregnancy.

My first postpartum experience was a lot about survival—I’d eat whatever was available or brought to me. Now I know how much nourishment helps me to flourish as a person, so I’m going to take that into my next postpartum season. I’m already working on a list of some freezer prep meals and snacks so I can conveniently give my body what it needs.

03.
Carrying Surrender

As I’ve considered this next season of life, I’m going to have to carry a lot of surrender and openness. I know I will have to lay down certain comforts (aka, sleep), routines, desires, dreams, and my business, entrusting all of it to the Lord. To be extremely candid, I have no idea what running this studio will look like on the other side of my maternity leave. I can plan all I want, but I don’t feel God calling me to plan—I feel Him calling me to live with my hands up in surrender. The same goes for the routines we’ve developed, the birth I’ve prayed for, the normal life we’ve nestled into . . . so many things must be surrendered, otherwise they will become little idols of my heart that I will long for and cling to rather than Christ Himself. 

Stopping design and client work is genuinely hard for me to do. I love what I do for a living, and have an entrepreneurial brain that never seems to turn off. I think of ideas, projects, concepts, etc. all the time. Surrendering work and putting a full stop on the business for 2-3 months is actually scary and hard for me, but I know surrendering my business will give me the space to soak in the fleeting newborn days and get adjusted to our new normal.

04.
Carrying Trust in the Lord

Surrender actually leads into one of the biggest lessons God taught me in 2025. I read the Bible for the first time cover to cover last year, and I was struck with this truth: God is worth trusting in, every single time. Scripture is full of accounts of God’s trustworthiness on display for His people. As I face the unknown of a new chapter of life, I’m grateful my heart has been steeped in that truth for over a year.

I have no idea how labor and birth will go, especially since we’re going a different route this time, but God is worth trusting in.

I have no idea how to mother a toddler and a newborn, but God is worth trusting in.

Finances will be tight as I close the studio for a few months, but God is worth trusting in.

I have no idea what will happen to the dreams and desires in my heart, but God is worth trusting in.

I don’t know how I will balance running a studio and a home, taking care of a marriage, serving others, staying in community, and raising two little boys, but God is worth trusting in.

I can surrender everything to God because He is worth trusting in.

If you’re approaching a quieter yet unknown season of life, I’m right there with you. It can feel both daunting and exciting. If there’s one thing I can encourage you towards, it’s to trust in God. He has proven He is worthy of our trust and surrender, and He has your best interest in mind.