After returning from maternity leave, I was eager to prove myself. I’d been a reliable, high-performing employee for years. I worked late, took certification courses, helped launch major projects. My manager once called me a “dream employee.”

Then I became a mom.

Balancing work and caring for my newborn wasn’t easy, but I showed up: early logins, late logouts, Zoom calls with my baby on my lap. I asked for notice on late meetings due to daycare, but soon my presence became a problem.

My manager made comments like, “It’s not like you’re the breadwinner anymore, right?” My paycheck was delayed. Then, one day, I was called into a meeting with HR.

They told me they needed someone “without distractions.”

“You mean my child,” I said. No one denied it.

I walked out calmly—but inside, I burned.

That night, I recorded a video. “I got fired,” I said, “not because I was bad at my job—but because I became a mom.” I posted it online.

By morning, it had 2 million views.

Messages flooded in from other women. “Me too.” “Thank you for saying this.”

One comment stood out: “If you ever start something, I’m in.”

And so, I did.

The Naptime Agency was born—built by moms during naps, after bedtime, with babies on hips and laptops on tables.

Three months in, one of my old company’s clients reached out: “We’d rather work with people who understand real life.”

By the end of the quarter, we had six contracts, a growing team, and a waitlist of brilliant, exhausted, determined mothers.

One year later, we’re 30 strong—designers, coders, project managers—all moms. And we’re thriving.

They said I was a distraction. But what they saw as a weakness became my power.

And now? We don’t apologize. We build. We lead. We prove them wrong.