This week, Shaylee shared something deeply personal: a piece she wrote herself, raw and honest, about what her first year of motherhood truly looked like.

She describes it as the most disorienting, humbling, and joy-filled experience of her life — and she says that as someone who thought she was prepared. What she wasn’t prepared for was postpartum. And it was more complicated than that. Before her son arrived, she had already experienced loss, which meant the entire pregnancy was spent navigating grief and hope at the same time, while the world kept telling her this was supposed to be the happiest point of her life.

The first six months, in her words, were a complete fever dream. Crying in the shower. Hearing phantom screams. Wondering how something so beautiful could also feel so overwhelming — and noticing that nobody talks about this properly, even though everyone seems to have an opinion.

But in between the chaos, there’s him. A baby who at five weeks was already tracking faces and reaching out for connection, who laughs in his sleep, and who is a carbon copy of his dad. Magic, she says. Just not linear.

Parenthood has changed her in ways nothing else has. She’s learning connection over perfection, and that feeling deeply grateful and deeply overwhelmed at the same time isn’t a contradiction. She’s not claiming to have it figured out — she’s just in it.

That kind of honesty is rare, and it matters.

Catch Shaylee & Rob weekdays 3–6pm, check out the Reel on Instagram @899thelight.