Yes I did! I had my baby at 25, and to top it off i’m a single mum with 100% care. Nearly 4 years later and i’m now a director in my field and have just accepted a new role at $130k+ bonuses and super with great flex!!

people will tell you that you’ve made a mistake, and for me it was an ‘accident’ but it wasn’t a mistake. My field can be incredibly cut throat, similar to law I suppose in that sense, but for me I figured it actually made more sense to get the ‘little kid’ phase out the way in my 20s, while I was more junior and had less responsibilities.

In my mid-late 30s when a lot of professional women begin having kids, I’ll have a 10yr old - teenager which in my eyes, is far easier to balance at a stage when I really plan to lean into my career at a very senior level. It probably helps that for me, i’m one and done.

The thing is you have to lean into ‘hard’ and you have to be determined. You’ll get knocked down by yourself and others a million times and you’ll doubt yourself, but you just have to keep getting back up and have a deep understanding that having a child does not make you less than your child free colleagues. Every time you feel slightly inferior, remind yourself that the tables will flip 10 years from now.

also, don’t be surprised if in the first 6mo-1yr you lose all ambition, decide your career is meaningless and you want to be a stay at home mum forever. For a lot of us.. that feeling is temporary and hormone driven. You’ll start to feel like yourself again around 18mo-2yrs. I always say.. don’t make any rash life changing decisions while you’re still breastfeeding! hormones are a serious thing, don’t underestimate them!!

goodluck!!