Today we’d like to introduce you to Kaitlyn Nilles
Hi Kaitlyn, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
After my first daughter was born in 2017, I really struggled transitioning into motherhood. I had severe postpartum anxiety and experienced panic attacks for the first time in my life. I struggled to breastfeed, my baby cried basically non stop for 3 straight months and when I logged onto Instagram in the middle of the night while feeding my colicy baby, I saw images of what looked to be perfect mothers. Mothers who were in beautiful dresses with their hair and makeup done right after giving birth. They were smiling and didn’t look overwhelmed like I was. They made motherhood look so easy which made me feel like I was doing something wrong and that maybe I wasn’t meant to be a mother.
About six months after becoming a first time mom, I started therapy and later medication to treat my anxiety. After gaining some mental clarity, I realized that my experience was very normal and the images and portrayal of motherhood I was seeing on social media was curated and not reality.
In 2020, after the birth of my second daughter during the pandemic, I decided to start posting the realities of what it was like being a mom in hopes of validating the experiences of struggling mothers. I wanted to talk about the hard things in motherhood that many people at the time were too afraid to talk about. I wanted to talk about what it was like working at home with a baby during the pandemic because of the lack of childcare and the fears of having my baby exposed to covid.
Over the last 4 years, my account has grown into an incredible community where we can talk about anything and everything without shame or judgement. We can laugh about the difficulties of being a mom while also loving our children wholeheartedly.
In January, I started a podcast called I Didn’t Sign Up For This – Honest Conversations About Motherhood that is an extension of what I talk about on social media and I started a small business On Your Way which was created to design products that help mothers feel confident and comfortable in their new lives as moms.
While on maternity leave during the pandemic with my newborn baby and two year old daughter, I started posting on Instagram and TikTok about my real life experience as a mom.
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Fast forward a few years into the pandemic,
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No absolutely not! There were many times I wanted to quit and would often ask myself: why am I doing this? Becoming an online creator, starting a podcast and a small business takes a lot of time and energy that you aren’t getting paid for. I started all of this while working a full time corporate job, being a mom and going through a divorce in 2022. It was really challenging but I’m glad I stuck it out because now I can do something I love for work and connect with women all over the world.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
On Your Way is a small business I started in April 2024 to design products that would help mothers find their way to their new selves as mothers. As moms, our bodies and minds change so much after becoming mothers – I went from a Type A personality to someone who was a jumbled, disorganized mess and I wanted to share products and things that help me show up as the best version of myself.
I designed a six month planner that has everything you need to stay organized as a mom – without overwhelming you and a matching two-piece lounge set that can be worn from your bed to running errands and even the office.
More products are coming in the fall of 2024 to add to our small collection of products available on our website: www.onyourwayco.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.onyourwayco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/honestly.kaitlyn/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@honestly.kaitlyn
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@honestly.kaitlyn?lang=en
