If you’re a full-time mum looking to share your value again…
If you’re on maternity leave and questioning whether to return to your old job…
If you’re feeling lost in your current role, either at home or working long hours away from your family…
Then this blog might be exactly what you need to read.
Motherhood changes everything — your priorities, your schedule, your identity. And yet, so many of us are expected to just “bounce back” — to pick up where we left off before becoming a mum, as though nothing has changed.
Let me take you back to when I became a mother for the first time.
A Hard Re-Entry
After a well-paid maternity leave, we relocated to be closer to family. At the 9-month mark, I felt the familiar pull — the sense that I “should” return to work. So I took a part-time role.
On paper, it looked perfect. In reality, it was anything but.
Evening calls started creeping in during precious hours with my son. My breasts were sore because our feeding rhythm had been disrupted, and pumping didn’t work well for me. My son wouldn’t take a bottle, and trying to work while my husband juggled full-time hours and childcare left us both drained.
Paid nursery didn’t make financial sense, and my son felt too young to be looked after by someone else. I thought maybe after he turned one, we could reassess. But I didn’t even make it that far.
In my second week, I was in a car accident during the commute — someone crashed into the back of me. The shock of it, combined with everything else, made me question everything.
That same week, my first postpartum period returned, and I was a hormonal wreck. I hated being torn away from my son. When his first birthday came around, I wasn’t allowed to take the day off because I was still on probation. I’ll never forget pleading with my manager and being told how important it was that I was needed that day.
It was like a brick to the chest.
Was I going to miss his first birthday for a job that barely covered the cost of childcare, commuting, and a car repair?
I came home and cried.
Then, I did something I never imagined I’d do.
I walked away from my career.
More Than “Just Mum”
I became a full-time mum — and at first, I felt like I had to shrink myself when people asked what I did. “Just a mum”, I’d say. I started running a small yoga class once a week just to feel like I could still tell the world I was doing something. Something adult. Something for me.
My heart was with my son. Every minute mattered.
Then my husband got offered a new, higher-paying job. He took it, which meant less time with us. We went on to have our second child, and I knew in my bones that staying at home with them while they were little was the right path for me.
But it wasn’t easy.
Two under two. Long days. Long nights. A husband was often away for work. And a quiet erosion of my confidence.
I knew I was doing my best as a mum. I was proud of what I was giving my children, but I also missed myself. The ambitious, career-driven, creative woman who had once felt so full of purpose.
My husband was missing family time, and together we could see our days ticking by, unfulfilled promises echoing in our minds. On our wedding day, we vowed to live life as an adventure — to make the most of every moment. Had we really just… settled?
Was this the example we wanted to set for our kids?
Finding Our Way Back
That’s when alittlemoreoutdoor.com was born — a shared project where we got to use our heads and our hearts, where we got to show up in the world with our values and skills, and where we could help other families find a way to live more freely and more fully.
We knew families thrive when they spend more time together, not less.
And now, as a mum of three living children (yes, we recently welcomed another baby!), I look back and realise how far we’ve come. This time, there’s no panic about how we’ll afford time off. There’s no worry about how my husband will be present or how I’ll maintain my sense of value.
We’ve created a business that fits around our lives, not the other way around.
We work during naps. During clubs. In the evening, when the kids are in bed.
We have time with our children and time for each other.
And we’re earning more than we ever did in our traditional roles.
This isn’t luck. This was a choice.
We didn’t have loads of spare time or money to start with. We just had a vision — a commitment to make family life our priority. So we swapped Netflix for learning, and slowly (sometimes clumsily), we started building something real.
The Truth? It’s Possible
Today, I can…
- Create and run ads across platforms
- Write blogs and record vlogs
- Manage automated email marketing
- Source and sell products online
- Affiliate for other people’s products
- Understand how the online world works
- And most importantly, I also get to do this whilst spending time with our older children, being around for all the firsts with our newborn, and doing it as a family unit with my husband present every day. With a newfound confidence and so many more skills than I could have ever imagined!
None of this was part of my old career — it was all learnt during night feeds, nap windows, and those moments when I questioned if I was enough. Now, we home educate our kids. We travel when we want. We say yes to what matters. We have both value and time. Love and ambition. Family and freedom.
Could This Be Your Path Too?
If you feel torn…
If you’re missing your children but still craving something for yourself…
If you’re questioning whether you’re “allowed” to want more than just being a mum (even though being a mum is everything)…
Then maybe it’s time to explore something new.
We recommend the exact training that got us started — step-by-step, no guesswork. It’s for people willing to take imperfect action, to commit even just a few hours a week to building a life that makes space for your values and your family.
👉 Check out the training we recommend HERE
👉 Subscribe to our email series HERE
It’s not always easy. But it’s so, so worth it.
You don’t have to choose between motherhood and meaning.
You get to be both. Fully. Powerfully. Proudly. Because you are still valuable — and you always have been.
