Arielle Welt | A Partnerships Director On Finding The Right Version Of Pre-Baby Work
by Neha Ruch
Nothing puts me more at ease than people who are incredibly real. On meeting Arielle Welt last year, I immediately felt like I found that plus smarts and humor. Not surprisingly she built a career building partnerships for gorgeous brands, most recently at SPRING where returned to full-time work following maternity leave before re-evaluating what she wanted in motherhood and finding her way to consulting. Now I get to know and love working with her on one of our favorite brands, Rose & Rex. Arielle gives her genuine take below about why that path was right for finding herself between her pre and post-baby worlds and what else is a constant evolution in this chapter.
How did you change after becoming a mother?
Becoming a mom has really helped me to prioritize. I was (and still am to an extent) a perfectionist, and used to sweat all the small stuff in every aspect of my life. When Gage arrived, I quickly realized it was not humanly possible to give the same kind of energy to all of the things I once had, and that some areas of my life would get less attention depending on the moment.
What choices did you make to accommodate motherhood? Would you make them again?
When I had Gage, I was fortunate enough to receive four months maternity leave from my full time job at a startup, and returned to work full time for about nine months before deciding to take a step back and re-evaluate. I’m so glad that I went back when I did, but also so glad that I allowed myself the space to realize that what I was doing wasn’t working for me as a mom. I needed to go back to work and attempt ‘pre Gage’ life in a ‘with Gage’ reality in order to be able to identify what felt important about a work environment and a professional life for myself.
After a former colleague kicked my first consulting project my way, I decided to run with it, and it’s been a really exciting journey to pursue projects and clients who I’m truly excited about. I’m still figuring out my boundaries in terms of what feels like the right work / life balance, but I’m not sure that ever stops evolving.
Describe yourself as a mother in 3 words. What kind of mother would you like to be?
Honest - Nothing about parenting (or life) is Instagram-perfect. I strive to be honest with myself, other parents, and most of all Gage, to keep everything in perspective and build a strong, authentic foundation in all of my relationships. There’s just very little time to spend painting a pretty picture for others as a mom!
Open Minded - Mom life has taught me that generally nothing will go according to plan. I’m constantly being reminded to let go, trying to see things from a new or different perspective, and learning from people and experiences I never could have imagined.
Playful - I love that motherhood has afforded me the opportunity rediscover a bit of my playfulness. Some of my favorite moments with Gage are dancing, singing, or ‘shaking our sillies out’, and remaining playful and spirited is something I really hope to instill in my children.
How do you take care of yourself outside of motherhood?
I’ll never forget one of the first things that Gage’s pediatrician said to me in those first few weeks of my new mom haze, “If Mom’s not okay, then no one is okay”, and that really legitimized self care for me, and helped me to feel okay making self care a priority during the transition to motherhood.
I’ve always been an anxious person, and in hindsight, I think that I suffered a bit from postpartum anxiety. I’ve sought professional help at various points in my life, and when Gage was about 4 months I decided to start speaking with a therapist again about the anxiety that I was experiencing. Therapy was a really important part of my weekly routine for a while, and brought me a lot of clarity and comfort during a time that I was feeling a bit out of control.
Making and maintaining time for friends (and mama’s night out!) amongst all the chaos has also been really important for me, and I put it in the ‘self care’ bucket. Especially these days when there are some days that I’m running around with Gage and never make it out of my leggings, I need those outings where I get dressed like the ‘old’ me to look forward to.
Every mother needs help to find balance. What does your village look like?
I find myself saying it all the time - it takes a village! When I first went back to work, we had the most amazing nanny who was 100% part of our family and made all the difference in me feeling confident in venturing back out into the world. The village has evolved a bit since I’ve taken a step back career wise, and we actually moved out to the ‘burbs where my husband and I grew up to be closer to our families. I’m so lucky that my mom helps care for Gage while I’m doing my thing these days -- they have the most special bond and it couldn’t make me happier. We’re also super fortunate to have all 4 of Gage’s grandparents living locally, in addition to some extended family, and very much a part of our every day.
Now that I’m expecting #2 this fall, I know we’ll need to grow the village a bit, and looking forward to the evolution.
What are you working on improving about yourself as a woman & a mother?
Something that I find constantly challenging is remaining present, and ‘in the moment’. It’s such an overused statement right now, but a true challenge in my life when there are so many distractions. It’s very easy to get caught up with checking everything off the to-do list, and so important to me to really enjoy the little moments, and all the good stuff that’s genuinely happening each day.
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