Oh baby, baby!
Shay Mitchell is slowly but surely adjusting to that mom life after welcoming her first child in late October. At the time, the Pretty Little Liars alum kept a few details about her baby girl between her and her longtime partner, Matte Babel. The first-time parents both decided not to share their daughter's name or reveal her pictures... until now.
Say hello to baby Atlas.
"Atlas Noa, In my 32 years of life I thought I had seen a lot of places, experienced a lot of things, met a lot of people and felt love...then came you," the You star shared in a heartfelt Instagram post. "Truth is I had no idea I was capable of loving anything like this before you arrived. You wonder if that's just something people say, but it's as if the chemical makeup of my entire body and soul changed the minute we met."
"Just know, sweet girl - Whatever you choose to do in this world, whoever you choose to love, wherever you choose to go, I will always be your biggest fan," she continued. "I am already so proud to be your Mama."
Speaking to Vogue, the 32-year-old actress opened up even more about motherhood and what her experience has been like so far. Hint: no beauty sleep, a new schedule and second-guessing her role as a mom, which she says is very, very real.
"I find myself being a lot more present, and I'm just looking at her every single day. You reflect on how fast time passes when you're forced to slow down," she said about being a mother. "The surprising thing is how much I enjoy this calmness."
However, when it comes to getting a good night's rest, Shay knows how precious that time is now. "I got three hours of sleep last night, so it was a good one," she quipped. Along with her new sleeping schedule, the Dollface star said adjusting her agenda in other ways has been an "interesting" experience.
"I've had to re-prioritize my work time with her schedule, and that's been interesting for me. Before it was all about my schedule, now I work once she falls asleep," the 32-year-old star shared.
She later added that the pressure to "do it all" is also overwhelming and it brings her self-doubt.
"There is a lot of stress and anxiety," she expressed. "I'd heard all these things from my friends saying, ‘You're going to second-guess a lot of things you do, you're going to feel guilty when you leave her.' [It's been all about] just taking the time to get ready and be by myself to [say] ‘Okay cool, now I can handle this, I've got this, so many people have done this before me, and so many people have felt the same way.'"
Making this feeling even worse? Shay opened up about the criticism she recently received when she and Matte enjoyed a night out to celebrate Drake's 33rd birthday party.
"It concerns me that people are so quick to pass judgment on others, especially without knowing any facts, and behind the protection of the screen," the actress explained. "My daughter had been born for several weeks, and when Matte and I chose to take our night out, which was an hour and a half, it surprised me that people chose to be so reactive and aggressive and assume the absolute worst about us—and more so me."
Late last month, Mitchell also took to Instagram Stories to address the mom-shamers. "Apparently people are really upset that I left three days after having a kid to go out and party," she said. "It wasn't three days and I left her with Angel, so..." she quipped, as she referred to her dog.
Haters aside, both Shay and her boyfriend are excited to spend the holidays with their little nugget for the first time. "To take the traditions that I've always had and now be able to extend them onto my own family is a blessing," the You actress shared. "My Christmases were great before, but we had no young energy in the house before her being born. She's the first grandchild on both sides, and everybody's super excited to celebrate with her."
She added, "Let the Christmas shopping begin, right?"
Yes, indeed!