Double Duty: Being a YP & Mom

YPs it is my pleasure to introduce YPAqua,  also known as, B. Nakia Garner, Editor-in-Chief  of DMV Spectrum, a YP Associate site apart of YPBlogSpot’s blogroll.  YPAqua is also known to her son as Mom as well as @LadyAqua4 on twitter.  I met YPAqua via twitter (which is one of the greatest networking and marketing tools if used correctly) via DMV Spectrum’s founder, Mr. Marcus Moore via twitter as well (LoL).  YPAqua touched base with a couple of weeks ago (via twitter) about submitting a blog regarding balancing working and motherhood.  This is a great blog in which YPAqua shares her take on the challenges of motherhood and being a successful YP.  I’m sure there are many women that can relate to YPAqua’s experience so I encourage you to share your thoughts and comments.  In addition, learn more about YPAqua beneath her blog and support DMV Spectrum.  Enjoy YPs! 

Double Duty: Being a YP & Mom

Back in the day, women had to make the choice to either work or start a family. It used to be unheard of for women to successfully conquer both. The theory was, if a woman had a career and children, one would suffer.

Fortunately, that is not the case anymore. The key, as with most things, is finding balance between what you have to do, report to work, and what you want to do, raise your children.

When I first got pregnant, one of my fears was that I would get so involved in my job that I wouldn’t or couldn’t make time for my child. At the time, I was an editor at a newspaper and my hours were nowhere near consistent.

My mother, though she loved my brother and I, was not around as much when we were younger because she worked so hard. I didn’t want to do the same to my son. I wanted him to know his mommy. I needed to be the first face he saw in the morning and the last face he saw at night.

When I got laid off from my job, my son was seven months old. I didn’t waste any time applying for positions and looking to bring in some money any way I could. I created a goal of how many jobs I wanted to apply to a week and I mapped out the people I would call every week for freelancing opportunities.

In the midst of me creating this stringent plan, I remembered that I had a baby who didn’t know or care that I had a schedule. It took me a few months to realize that I needed to not only put his needs first, but I needed to start making decisions with him in mind.

Finding that balance was not easy but it wasn’t impossible either. I am still out of work and my son is 14 months old. He knows who his mommy is and there isn’t a day that goes by when I don’t read to him, play with him or just spend time talking to him about life.

Because I have had this time to establish a bond with him, he knows when to be quiet and let me work and when to express his desire for me to spend time with him.

I am still editing and writing for other people and working on my debut novel. But now, I work around the feeding and sleeping schedule I set for my son. It helps to have parents that want to spend time with their only grandson. We’ve got things figured out at the moment, but I know once start working full time again, more adjustments will need to be made.

YPAqua, Young Professionals Guest Writer

Meet YPAqua: B. Nakia Garner

Tagged as: Achieving Goals, Balancing work & family, Building a Strong Foundation, YP Mothers, YP Parents