What Moms Want You to Know

For this special Mother’s Day episode of The Paige Kornblue Show, I put out a simple invite to some of the incredible mom friends in my life: “Stop by the studio and share one nugget about motherhood.”

What followed were heartfelt, honest, and often emotional conversations - each one several minutes of wisdom, laughter, and truth.

From a brilliant doctor and brand-new mom who opened up about her struggle to conceive, to entrepreneurs building PR firms and Pilates studios, to seasoned moms navigating college-aged daughters and business meetings… this episode is a celebration of moms doing the work and living the juggle.

It’s a tribute to the many layers of motherhood — the quiet strength, the loud love, and the stories we don’t always get to tell.

Here are a few of the highlights……..

Jackie Reeves, Director of Retirement Plan Services at Bryn Mawr Capital:

Being present. You had some inspirational words at the onset and we have many tabs open and a lot of time our day is filled with many tasks and we're moving from one to another sometimes so quickly because we have to be so quick that we might forget to really be present for our children and really be mindful for maybe what happened before they got in the car when we were doing pickup line or before you saw them at the end of their work day. And so to just really try and be present for them is something that I would like to share.

New mom, Dr. Melyssa Hancock, plastic and reconstructive surgeon at the Nose and Sinus Institute of Boca Raton:.

“Keep going…. you have this baby and then you're in the hospital for a day or two and then they say here, take your human and go home and care for it and they don't give you really, I mean, they give you like a little instruction manual and you think you're prepared and you have all the things and the nursery and more diapers than you can count, but it's just, it's not until you get home and you're really with the baby that you realize that this is so, nothing can prepare you for it at all in the best way, in the best way possible.”

Melissa’s path to motherhood didn’t come easy. We talked about her struggle to conceive, a conversation she shares in hopes of supporting other women experiencing the same challenges.

“It really started when I made the decision that initially I was just going to freeze my eggs. It was about fertility preservation at that point. I had no idea that I would have difficulty conceiving. So my husband and I actually ended up freezing embryos and then we got married and then we tried for about six months and nothing was happening. So that's when we went back to the IVF doctors and you think it's just going to be ‘okay it'll be a month’... okay next month we'll be pregnant and then it turned into ‘okay six months we'll be pregnant’ and then it turned into ‘okay maybe this is the year that we'll be pregnant’ and it's really just a series of disappointments and heartbreaks and it's it's not easy and it's not a path that I would ever wish for anyone else to be on. It's a path no one chooses, but you really have no choice but to push through it. You find ways to really just celebrate those small wins, you know, you get an embryo from an egg retrieval, or you have mature eggs, or, you know, your lining thickens enough. It gives you a lot of perspective on the journey and a lot of appreciation for what it takes to be a mom,” said Hancock.

“One of the things I get emotional talking about… the journey itself is just such an emotional roller coaster but one of the things that I realized once I actually had this baby in my arms is… my heart will never forget how it broke during those years, but in that moment, I will always remember how it healed. And I think that's something to remember that your heart will heal. The end result is totally worth it. Find people who have been on that journey with you and reach out because we do want to talk about it. I don't think it's a topic that's so taboo anymore. And that's one of the reasons I have been vocal about it is that there are so many women out there struggling and I just don't think it's talked about enough. And it should be, especially as more women are pursuing careers and living out their best professional lives. So it's important to me to make sure that no matter how emotional I get about it, that I'm still open to talking about it and sharing my journey and the good, the bad, and the ugly about it. Because the end is worth it. It really is,” added Hancock.

“One of the other things that I've thought about a lot this weekend is that for those struggling with infertility, this weekend [Mother’s Day weekend] is really hard. I remember there were years that I used to dread this weekend. because every year I thought, okay, Mother's Day, my first Mother's Day will be this year or next year. And that's why when you sent me that text, I actually got emotional like, oh my God, I'm a mom now. So it is, it's a hard journey, but it's worth it.”

I asked Melyssa how she got through the difficult days.

“It was a kind of a day by day thing. Everybody struggles with something and you really never know what people are struggling with behind closed doors. So I think finding a way to give yourself grace and finding a way to give others grace just helps you keep things in perspective, but it's really hard. Some days were really hard. Some days, I just kind of wanted to stay at home and stay in bed and but I knew that wasn't going to get me anywhere so you just kind of like I said before you have to find a way to celebrate those small wins and no positive thing is too small to celebrate and you just try to focus on those moments, and remember that the big win is somewhere. It's somewhere at the end of this journey, whenever that is. Find a village, find people that will support you and help you, and really just come for you through those kind of dark times and tough days.”

Krista Jugs, Sales, Mom of Two:

“As a busy mom where I am and where my friends are in life right now we're just running and doing all these wonderful things and great adventures and enjoying all the fun and craziness of it all but you rarely stop and reflect on why. So your note was really why I thought well maybe I'll come in and share and the thought I had around it. I could probably share a bunch of funny and stories and challenges and so forth but really my mind landed immediately at gratitude. So I really had gratitude for the opportunity to be a mom, to have an incredible husband who like just makes me be a mom better. For a friend and friends that said, hey, stop and pause and really think about reflecting on what you do and how you do it and why you do what you do to be a mom. So that, and then obviously for my children, they're incredible and it's such a pleasure and gives me so much purpose, laughter and love to watch them grow and be their own unique and incredible individuals.

Kelli McLeod, Founder of Hype Marketing & PR:

“I feel like we're the glue. We're the ones making the appointments, scheduling the things, keeping that boat on a straight path, chugging along. And how often do we put ourselves last? And my advice is to find something that brings you joy. That one little thing that you can go and do and clear your mind and just kind of like bring you back to yourself. And whether it's going to a Pilates class, going for a run, taking an hour to read a book, go walking with a friend, just something that allows you to just center yourself and reset. We always say reset in our house. And when you find it, schedule it into the week.”

Danielle Hollander, Owner of Remix Pilates Boca Raton:

“I think that we do so much for other people as moms…. I know for myself, I devote almost every hour of my day to somebody else, whether it's my husband or the kids or the dogs, everyone, everybody, all the people who work at Remix and so to just take that 50 minutes, less than an hour for yourself. And then also try to block out everything else in your world and just set your intention on focusing that one hour for yourself. It does so much for me mentally and physically. And I just feel like, I feel like everyone should do it for themselves. Every mom should take one hour, whatever it is that it is for them that really does it for them - that makes them feel refreshed and that they've done something for themselves.”