It’s almost 9pm and I am in my living room on my laptop. I didn’t shower today, am still working, and didn’t leave the house… not once. Such is life as a working mom during a pandemic. (Insert embarrassed emoji here!)

I had my son six weeks into our pandemic and a year-and-a-half after starting my business, Malibu Mylk. I had originally planned on taking a month off, but due to COVID that just wasn’t possible. The business was changing drastically day-to-day based on the demands on grocery stores and an ever-changing retail environment.

A week-and-a-half after giving birth to an 8.8 pound baby boy, I was diving back into emails, phone calls, and Zoom meetings.

But there was a silver lining…

Luckily, the pandemic meant no travel. Where in a normal world I would have had to be on planes within weeks of having a baby, now, the world was shut down. There was no going anywhere. My husband and I got to spend real, valuable time with our newborn that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

There was no fear of missing out. No parties to get back in shape for. I just got to wallow in lots of baby snuggles and slowly adjust to the glorious chaos of motherhood.

Remember the days before babies? I thought I was really busy back then with work, life, and relationships. I could go to the grocery store or take a bath, I could workout or read a book, watch a TV show or have lunch with a friend, I could lay around on a Saturday doing absolutely nothing.

But then I had a baby.

Being a parent robs you of any free time you had, and then some. Throw a job into the mix and they might as well call you an acrobat, because balancing work and kids (oh, and all the other things like house and home) is pretty much impossible. But while there are days that are super hard, it’s all also totally worth it.

As normal life starts to resume, I feel the pressures of working, socializing, and being a mom more than ever. I work from home, and most days don’t even leave my house — jumping from emails to playpen with ease. It’s a flow that both my son and I have come to know like a dance. His little face has popped up on more than one video call and for the most part, he’s blended into my world seamlessly.

I cherish our one-on-one lunches together, and also relish the work that I am doing for my business.

Now, more than ever, I am so incredibly proud to be making a product that I can trust, not only for my health and nutrition, but for my son’s. In fact, one of my son’s favorite moments of the day is when my husband makes our morning smoothie. Malibu Mylk blended with organic wild blueberries, frozen banana, whey protein powder, cacao, peanut butter powder, maqui berry powder, and more. I add his baby DHA and he downs it within minutes and usually wants seconds.

I received a frustrating email from a customer the other day. It crushed me. It was something that was out of my control and there was nothing I could do to change it. Moments later, it was time to start the bedtime routine with my son. We rolled around on the carpet together. I gave him a bath. We read a couple of books, cuddled, and I was able to completely forget about the disappointing work email. His infectious giggles gave me all the feels, and I was as happy as a clam just to be in his company.

Before having my son, that email would have eaten at me for hours and probably the whole night. But now, in this new land of parenthood, I realized that what was much more important was the present moment and diving into my son’s bedtime routine.

My son has quickly become my best friend. It’s a bond that is almost indescribable. I’ve looked at him several times since his birth and burst into tears of joy. My heart erupts with love for this little guy.

It’s not always perfect and there are days I want to pull my hair out… especially when he skips a nap or bumps his head (hello, goose egg!) and our schedule goes out the window. While the days can be long, in many ways the two different worlds provide the perfect break from one another.

I have found that being a working parent forces me to be more present with the task or baby at hand, which is a wonderful thing.

It’s the “me” time or social time that seems to have escaped me. I have far less time for long lunches with friends and far less energy to stay up late over drinks, as I know I have to get up early with my little one, and to emails before that!

On the hard days, I like to remind myself that this is just a phase and that in a couple of years my son will be in school most of the day and the house will be empty of his little baby noises and needs. Then I want to start crying because it’s all going by too quickly.

What I’ve realized more than anything in becoming a mother is that all parents are superheroes. It’s a selfless job most days, but somehow the most rewarding role I’ve had so far in life.

Malibu Mylk is the world’s first organic flax mylk made with only six ingredients. Full of fiber, omega-3s, and cancer-fighting compounds called lignans, Malibu Mylk is anti-inflammatory, sustainable, and excellent in cereal, smoothies, coffee and more.

Brittany Fuisz