I'm writing this from a plane. Without my son. And I have feelings about it.

On growth, criticism, solo trips, and what's coming in Q4.

Jul 29, 2026

Intrepid Museum ~ New York City

From My World This Week

I am writing this from a plane.

My first solo trip since becoming a mom. No car seat to gate-check, no snacks to negotiate, no tiny person asking me what that cloud looks like. Just me, my thoughts, and a level of quiet I had genuinely forgotten existed.

I was a little teary before I left. I want to be honest about that. I know the trip is good for both of us. I believe that clinically and personally. Time apart is healthy. Independence matters, for him and for me. And I still sat with the weight of it for a moment before I boarded.

He doesn’t know what he’s missing. I know exactly what I’m missing. That’s the particular math of motherhood.

He’s continuing Montessori two days a week through the summer, and the rest of the time New York is ours. Our first big summer adventure was the Intrepid Museum ; if you’re a New York resident, adult tickets have a solid discount and children 0–4 are free. He was fascinated. I was watching him be fascinated, which is its own kind of joy.

Outside of museum days, I’m weaving in more pre-writing activities at home. He is currently very consumed with his LEGOs, which I’ve decided counts; fine motor control, spatial reasoning, sustained attention. I’m choosing to call it curriculum.

Two Hats — The Provider-Mom Confessional

Something has been sitting with me that I want to share with you because you’re apart of this community and this is exactly the space for it.

The platform has been growing. And I’m going to be honest that has brought me equal parts excitement and anxiety.

Which sounds strange, right? Isn’t that the point? To grow, to reach more people, to help more families?

Yes. And also growth comes with a cost I didn’t fully anticipate. More eyes means more opinions. More opinions means more criticism. People critiquing not just what I say but how I say it, picking apart content that I built from a place of genuine care, from 16 years at the bedside and real lived experience as a mother.

I push through it. I want to be clear about that; I push through it anyway. Because the mom I’m trying to reach is not the one in the comments looking to argue. She’s the one watching quietly, feeling unseen, worried about her newborn at 2am, wanting someone with actual credentials to tell her she’s doing it right. That mom is who I show up for every single time.

But I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t cost something. It does.

What keeps me grounded is the foundation; evidence-based, delivered with love and respect. That doesn’t change based on who’s watching or what they think about it. The mission doesn’t shift.

I pray the community keeps growing on those same foundations. And I’m trusting God with the rest.

It’s Not Just You

If you have ever felt the tension between wanting to be seen and being terrified of what people will do when they actually see you, I want you to know that feeling does not go away at a certain follower count or a certain level of credentials.

Putting yourself out there is vulnerable work. It stays vulnerable. The goal is not to stop feeling it , it’s to decide that what you’re doing matters more than the discomfort of being seen.

You’re doing that every time you ask a question you’re embarrassed about, every time you admit you don’t know something, every time you send your baby to daycare and cry in the parking lot and then go back to pick them up like you held it together all day.

That is courage. It counts.

Real Time

Behind the scenes, I have been doing the work of trying to connect with hospitals directly', reaching out about ways we can improve discharge education and support for families leaving the hospital with a newborn.

This is the gap I know intimately. I have been on both sides of it; as the clinician who hands families their discharge paperwork and as the mom who got home and still needed to call a friend. The paperwork covers the basics. It does not cover the 2am spiral. CubConvos does. And I want it in the hands of every new family before they leave the building.

I’m not ready to share everything yet. But I will say this; I anticipate significant changes in the last quarter of this year for my family, and while we are still navigating what that looks like, I can tell you it’s a good thing. A really good thing. More when the time is right.

I Need Your Help

You’re here. You’re reading. And I want to give you more. I just want to make sure I’m giving you the right more.

The paid community exists because I wanted to go deeper with the people who actually show up. But I want us to be more interactive. I want to hear from you more. And I want to build what actually serves you.

So I’m asking directly:

What do you want more of inside the Inner Circle?

👉🏾 Reply to this email with your answer, or vote below:

Closing Thought

I’ll land in a few hours. I’ll probably check in on my son before I do anything else. And then I’ll exhale into whatever this trip is meant to give me; rest, perspective, a few hours of being just Kelly before I’m mom again.

I built this for the moms who needed someone to tell them they were doing it right. I still need that reminder sometimes too.

You are doing it right. Keep going.