There's just something about being a parent at the beginning of the summer. Even if you don't have school-aged kids yet, you get this sense of girding your loins, as it were. A feeling of excitement, yes, but also a little anxiety that you need to fill up these months with all of the most perfect memories, perfect moments, perfect everything. It can be a bit much for a mom who is maybe just trying to find her footing, which is why it's so refreshing to get a reminder from a fellow mom to just relax. A fellow mom like Whitney Port, whose summer plans with her son and husband are all about letting go of expectations, because she's ready to come at parenting feeling a little "lighter" these days. And it sounds just great.
Romper recently chatted with The Hills star, who is mom to Sonny, her almost 2-year-old little boy with TV producer husband Tim Rosenman. Beyond her reality television career, Port has made a name for herself as someone who gets refreshingly real about pregnancy and motherhood through her YouTube channel I Love My Baby But...
While it's become pretty common for celebrity moms and even regular moms to be honest about parenting, there's something different about Whitney Port. She makes it very clear when she talks about motherhood that she's simply trying to figure things out as she goes along, and when she does have a revelation? She's just so excited to share it with everyone, her enthusiasm is contagious.
At some point you just have to let them be themselves. Be OK with the craziness.
While chatting with Port about her partnership with children's clothing line Janie and Jack's new "Like Father, Like Son" collection, the conversation naturally turned to family — and her fam's upcoming summer plans.
And, because she's, you know, Whitney Port, conversation also turned to her adorable son and his dad wearing honestly the cutest matching swim trunks (limited edition, which makes them extra special) in a new photo shoot for the collection.
"We're not usually a regular family who wear matching clothes and do photo shoots like that and stuff," Port tells Romper. "But honestly, they looked so adorable in their matching swim trunks I am definitely going to recreate the whole photo shoot when we are on vacation at the lake."
I know this sounds strange but I just don't take it all so seriously anymore. I don't worry about how other parents are doing it, I just kind of trust myself.
As excited as Port is to hit the lake with her little boy and husband for some vacation time, she tells Romper that she's heading into her holidays with a toddler armed with something truly important: "Patience."
"I know what it's like with a 2-year-old on the flights," Port says. "Whatever my expectations, he is going to want to run around and at some point you just have to let them be themselves. Be OK with the craziness."
Port has found her journey to this place of acceptance pretty difficult. In fact, she says the first six months were particularly tough, especially when she struggled with breastfeeding.
"But once I was OK with the decision to give it up and Sonny got past the infant stage, I felt lighter," Port shares. "I know this sounds strange but I just don't take it all so seriously anymore. I don't worry about how other parents are doing it, I just kind of trust myself."
And when she and her family take some vacation time in the summer, Port knows what she wants. "I still try to keep to a schedule because when we mess with Sonny's routine it ends up being a nightmare," she explains. "And then we like to spend as much of the summer being outside as we can. We stock up on bubbles, have friends over for playdates, go to the beach, and play at the park."
In other words, she keeps it simple. It's Port's fondness for simplicity that actually attracted her to the Janie and Jack clothing line in the first place. "I don't dress Sonny in layers or anything overly fussy," Port tells Romper. "I like comfortable staples. And Janie and Jack have such great pieces. Like he has this little chambray shirt he can wear with sweats or linen pants or anything. It's cool and light and perfect."
This is the beauty of finding your way as a parent. Once you let go of other people's expectations (or perhaps most importantly, your own) you can actually learn to hang out with your kid and enjoy the person they are. As Port enthused about Sonny, these days he is "so cute and funny and full of personality I want to smother him." And that's the sweet spot.
