I’ve felt super supported in Vegas, and everything has been top tier. The health staff has been unbelievable, which is something that I didn’t experience in Atlanta. I just feel super invested in this season.
I’m trying to have a natural birth, because I learned there’s ways you can prepare that I had no idea about the first time. That’s all credit to the Vegas staff and how they have gone above and beyond to find me pelvic floor specialists and people that can help me prepare, before birth and after. I didn’t have that the first time. So whatever happens, I’ll be prepared mentally and physically. I think that’s a huge deal.
I don’t feel any pressure to snap back after I give birth.
That’s the one thing the Aces remind me almost every day. They didn’t even expect me to come to training camp. But I’ve been a pro so long that even if I’m not feeling my best, I’m still going to show up. They’re telling me to take my time after the baby. There’s no rush. There’s no expectations—and I appreciate that. But as a pro, I like to hold myself accountable. I have an expectation to play this season for myself.
I especially want to play for Becky [Hammon]. Becky is dope. I want to win for her, and I want to be able to play with A’ja Wilson. I know I’ll have a chance to do that next season, hopefully, and down the line. Something about having a kid, it just does something to you. Dearica literally said to me—when I told her I was pregnant this time, she was like, “Oh, well, you get better after the second one.” And I was like, “I knew it.” I just knew. It’s a powerful thing.
I remember being a rookie like it was yesterday. Looking back at my mindset then, I’m amazed at how far I’ve come. I literally grew up and grew into womanhood. Becoming a mother unleashes another level you don’t know you have until you do it, and you’re like, “I’m pretty badass.”
I’ve always spoken up for the moms in the WNBA, because there’s things that can be better for them. One of the concerns I’ve raised was around per diem—when I had Naomi, I was nursing, so she had to come with me everywhere, and then I would have either my mom or my husband as my caregiver. But even for one person, the per diem right now is pretty low. I would also love to see a three-bedroom option for player housing to support caregivers, and designated spaces to nurse your baby in every facility on game days. I’ve had to nurse in a conference room on the road before. Little things like this for moms will go a long way when the players renegotiate our collective bargaining agreement at the end of this year.
I have a right to reproduce as a woman. Just like men have a right to start families, so do we—but we’re women, so sometimes we have to carry [the baby]. If that’s our choice to do that, we have that right. It’s the same concept as a player who has to miss a whole season due to an injury. If I make a choice to have a child, I have a right to say, “This is God’s plan, and this is what’s happening this year, but I’m going to come back 10 times stronger.”
Related Posts
Post Comment