Former "Boy Meets World" star Danielle Fishel has been working as a professional actress since she was a child, but when she gave birth to her son Adler earlier this year, she was ready to give up her career in entertainment to be a stay-at-home mom.
Adler was born four weeks early, and because of his health issues at the time, Fishel told "Good Morning America" that she thought to herself, "Here's gonna be what makes the decision for me."
However, as the baby grew bigger and stronger, she realized that she needed, eventually, to go back to work in order to be the best mom she could be.
"I truly have to remind myself that what's best for him is what's best for me. And I'm not my best self when I'm just home with him all day," she told "GMA." "For a lot of women, that is when they're at their best. My best friend is a stay-at-home mom. She works her tush off. And that's what's best for her and her family. And there is there's no right answer. For me, that's not what's best, but it is for her."
I'm not my best self when I'm just home with him all day.
"I have so many interests that are outside the house. And I also think that for our family, it works best for us that I teach him ... I'm not only his mother. I am other things," she added.
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Fishel, 38, and her husband, writer Jensen Karp, 40, welcomed Adler on June 24 after an ultrasound revealed that the baby had fluid in his lungs. He remained in the neo-natal intensive care unit at Children's Hospital Los Angeles for three weeks, but according to Fishel, he is doing very well these days, with a recent x-ray indicating that his lungs are clear of fluid. Happy and healthy, baby Adler also appears to be taking after his mom, personality-wise.
"I actually just realized over the Thanksgiving holiday how much he is like me. For being in entertainment, I'm actually much more of an introvert than I am an extrovert. I really recharge in quiet moments and I like dim lighting and small groups. And that's what he's used to in our house," she said. "On Thanksgiving, we went to two big family get-togethers and he was like, 'What is this? Why are there so many people? Why is it so noisy? Why is it so bright?' And the minute we got him out of that environment, he was like, 'Aah.' And I was like, 'e's his mother's son! He's his mother's son, for sure.'"
That could also mean that Adler will grow up to be multi-faceted. In addition to acting and directing, Fishel recently added "beauty entrepreneur" to her resume, as she just launched her own vegan and cruelty-free hair care line, Be Free by Danielle Fishel.
The new job took her away from home to New York City for a few days, and to Fishel, leaving her baby was another exercise in managing "mom guilt."
"Every day I have to re-keep myself in check," she said.
It helps that she has a supportive partner. Although Fishel said that her marriage has shifted a bit since welcoming a baby -- spontaneity has gone completely out the window, she noted -- she also said that it's deepened her bond with Karp.
"I have no doubt in my mind that there's nothing we can't overcome together," she said. "There will be more dark days, but I know now that nothing is too big to test us. We can definitely get through anything."