I Quit My Dream Job, But What I Learned From It Made Me A Better Mom

I was 30,000 feet in the sky, between changing back-to-back blowouts in a dimly lit airplane bathroom, when it hit me: Nothing prepared me for parenthood like the job I quit before becoming a mom.

It had been nearly two years since I’d reported on live TV as a national news correspondent, but while on that first solo trip with my 5-month-old baby, I was transported right back. Every twist and challenge the travel day presented made me feel like I was under bright lights and in front of a camera again. The pressure to perform in a new setting with limited time and resources felt familiar. I could almost hear a producer in my ear cueing me into each diaper change, bottle feed, and stroller fold: “Standby… Three… Two… GO!”

Amidst the beautiful chaos of infant parenthood, I’ve surprised myself with an ingrained ability to focus and (for the most part) keep my cool. The skills I acquired chasing storms, rallies, and a global pandemic for television are more transferable in my life with a little one than I ever imagined they would be, and can be applied universally in parenting.

Preparation

It all starts with preparation. In the first year of a baby’s life, much like in news reporting, there’s a lot you can’t control. You never know what circumstances you’ll be walking into or what information you’re going to be working with until you’re in the thick of it. There are so many unanswered questions, and they all feel so big at the beginning! Is the baby getting enough sleep? How many ounces of milk did she drink? Will she be happy or fussy today?

The way I prepare for a day with my daughter looks a lot like how I prepared for an interview or a day in the field. When everything’s moving fast, I know that the few things I can control ahead of time will go a long way. I check the weather, give us extra time to get out of the house, and pack snacks and a change of clothes for both of us. There’s always something (or many things) I didn’t foresee, but I try to see those as opportunities to improvise and be ready for the next time.

“The biggest takeaway I’ve had from working in a newsroom is that I can’t control what’s going to happen, and it will absolutely not go according to my plan,” Melissa Brennan, a mom of three who recently left her job as a local news host and producer in Phoenix, Arizona, tells me. “The foundation of my parenting is that I am always 1000% prepared for I don’t know what I’m prepared for.” Brennan compares the “controlled chaos” of keeping up with the news cycle to keeping up with three kids under three at home. “The best thing I can do is be prepared and roll with the punches. You never know what the day or what the show is going to look like.”

Keeping a steady mind

After 10 flights, two road trips, and nine months in New York City with an infant, I've learned that a morning meditation and a stocked diaper bag are worthless if I can't keep a steady mind when something inevitably goes sideways. Whether you're doing it in a bustling city or a quiet suburb, life as a parent is loud and unpredictable. The world feels like it's spinning so much faster than it had before. The more chaos surrounds me, the stiller my mind has to be so that I can register the information that matters through the noise. In the same way I did when I worked on an overwhelming story at my job, I go to a stable brain place where I can filter my shaky surroundings and focus on the tasks at hand. If I go too fast, I risk fumbling key movements.

"Sifting through the noise" of early parenthood is a skill that New Haven, Connecticut, mom Anna Elizabeth puts into practice daily with her 6-month-old son: "As a journalist, you have to become a subject matter expert in so many different things very quickly. You don't have the luxury of spending years studying something before coming to conclusions about it. I find parenthood very similar." Elizabeth is a university staff writer after a career working at newspapers and magazines. She noted how easy it is to get overwhelmed by parenting advice and information on social media, which can even be conflicting at times. "It's required a lot of research on a very short deadline, and confidence about my own decisions,” she says.

"I'm able to distinguish where I can get reliable information from," agrees former digital news producer Nathaly Juarez. She lives in Fresno, California, with her son, who is 1 1/2 years old. "Juggling a lot of tasks and projects throughout the day working at the news station has helped me in my everyday life, knowing what to prioritize."

Breathing

I froze up, said the wrong words, and even burped on TV once, even after doing hundreds of live hits on newscasts around the clock. At my first reporting job, I would let the frustration of a poor performance get to my head before my time on the air was even over. With experience, I learned that slowing down and taking a breath in those moments went a long way in finishing my report strong, even if I'd gotten off to a rocky start. I apply this as a mom, too. When the cries are loud or getting her down for a nap feels like it's taking hours, I take a breath. Take two. Take three. The seconds I spend regulating my nervous system pay off in my performance.

"What it does for me is it gets me to stop and take stock of what is going on," Max Reiss, a twin dad who used to be a political anchor and reporter, tells me. "It's called four square breathing." Reiss' kids are seven now, and breathing deeply has become more important than ever as they grow older. "It allows me to react while being able to think more clearly. If my heart rate gets up and I get more frustrated, I'm not going to give the best response."

Hype yourself up!

As a reporter, there were many times when knowing that thousands or more people were watching me on their screens in real time made me feel self-conscious. To combat this, I got into the habit of giving myself pep talks. This helped me shake off any jitters before going on air. As a mom, I do this all the time. My confidence boosts exponentially when I remind myself, "In this moment, I'm the BEST person for this job." Period.

As professionals and as parents, we all have our strengths and weaknesses. A great parent, to me, is one who leans into what they excel at and wants to improve in the areas in which they struggle. It takes a certain level of self-awareness and commitment to acknowledge your weaknesses and want to be better for your kids.

"Each parent has a different skill set," says Reiss, whose wife is an educator. "She's way better at understanding what the educational needs are because that's her background. That's her expertise. I'm better at asking questions." Although it might sound obvious, parenting is not a competition. "Everyone is bringing something very significant to the table. What's very important is each of the parents recognizing what the other is bringing and not thinking that what they're doing is less than or more than. It's symbiotic."

"Working in journalism and in news in general, it gives you a perspective of how common parenting is, but also how unique it is," says Brennan, whose kids are 2 1/2, 1 1/2, and 3 months old. "You can meet 100 parents out and about, but your experiences can be so different. You just kind of have to figure out what works for you and your kids."

My days as a news correspondent are behind me. However, my experiences in the field and the studio will keep informing and enriching how I show up for my daughter every day. She'll turn 1 this winter, and it feels like she needs me in new ways every week. Being a mom is simultaneously the most demanding and the most rewarding job I'll ever have, and one that I know will constantly change and grow along with her.

So, no matter what happens next in my career, I will always be grateful to the "dream job" I quit for propelling me through my first year of parenthood... and for ultimately leading me to the best job in the world.

Isa Gutierrez is an Emmy-nominated and “Forbes 30 Under 30” journalist. Her award-winning work has appeared on NBC News, NBCLX, WVIT, Dateline NBC and TODAY. Isa lives in New York City with her husband and her daughter, but you can also find her on X at @isagutierreztv.