To know Catherine Giudici Lowe is to love her. She is optimistic, smart, driven, witty, genuine and every other positive adjective you can think of. Seriously – just take a minute to scroll through her Instagram feed and you’ll see why her bubbly outlook on life has garnered her over a million followers. After finding the love of her life, Sean Lowe, on Season 17 of ABC’s The Bachelor, Catherine relocated to Dallas and used her background in graphic design and love of punny phrases to start the stationary and gift line, LoweCo.

“When I first met my husband, I snuck him silly notes like “I’m vegan, but I love the beef” because he is such a beefcake. These notes became a special part of our relationship, but the real inspiration to start LoweCo. came when I helped with the design of our wedding save the dates and invitations. It was during this process that I visualized and conceptualized a line of luxury witty greeting cards. Once I got goLoweco.com up and running, the rest was beautiful greeting card history! Beyond having Samuel, creating a company that is 100% me, when entrepreneurship was the furthest and most daunting thing of all time to my previous self, is one of my proudest achievements.”

When Catherine isn’t busy churning out greeting cards that put a smile on everyone’s face, she’s Mama to Samuel who was born in July 2016. Even though he’s now a curious, loving and joyful toddler, Samuel’s entrance to the world didn’t go as smoothly as Catherine had anticipated. “One day I felt a little sick, so I asked Sean to pick up a pregnancy test. Whenever I feel weird, I take one—and they’re always negative. After I peed on the stick, I climbed into bed without even checking it. Sean asked if he could. When he walked out of the bathroom, he said, “Baby, it’s negative,” and I was like, “Yeah, I thought so.” Then he said, “And by negative, I mean positive.” I had to look at the test myself, because I’d never seen a positive before!”

After a seemingly smooth pregnancy with zero nausea (just some admittedly crazy cravings and a rollercoaster ride of emotions,) Catherine prepared mentally and physically to give birth naturally. She worked with Julie Hoang-Clayton at Fit180 to help build strength and endurance for active laboring and was conscious to keep up her vegetable intake. Things were looking really good until she noticed major swelling in her feet during her third trimester. Worried that she might have preeclampsia, her husband and friends took her to the ER. Luckily, it was nothing sinister and her next trip to the hospital was for Samuel’s birth.

“I went into the hospital knowing that I couldn’t expect my exact birth plan, but I definitely had an idea. I wanted to give birth naturally without any drugs, but after so many hours without progressing they had to give me Pitocin and I was okay with getting an epidural at that point since I knew the contractions would get much worse. After many more hours without progressing, the doctor determined I needed a caesarean, much to my disappointment and fear. However, I wouldn’t have it any other way because he was safely delivered to me at the wee hours of the morning with a grand ole story of how he got to finally be in my arms.”

After a few magical months of blissfully cuddling and nursing her newborn, Catherine says she began to struggle with time management and had to remember that she was still someone’s wife and a business owner. She admits, “I was obsessed with this little dude, but I wasn’t taking care of my other roles to round me out as an adult.”

Catherine got back into the hustle and bustle of being a business owner when Samuel was around 4 months. However, she took things slowly and now feels like she has a great balance and is confident about being present in all aspects of her life. To make sure she takes care of herself, Catherine is a huge advocate of deep-tissue massage or reflexology depending on how much time she has. She also loves bad reality TV and good TV series and movies.

When asked about a piece of advice her mother gave her that has resonated in her life, Catherine says, “My mom really demonstrated a great balance between being a “mom” figure and a “dad” figure. She raised my sisters and me on a teacher’s salary and seeing her strength and her love really inspires me to be the kind of mother she was to us. The responsibility of being a mom is great in all meanings of the term. It’s the most important role in the world and that huge responsibility is not lost on me. I take the challenge of raising Samuel to become a wonderful adult very seriously and in a very light-hearted manner at the same time.”

When it comes to parenting, Catherine consciously cherishes every moment. She says she loves watching Samuel learn and thrive in all things. She could also exist on his sweet nose breath alone. (Her words, not mine!) Motherhood changes most women and Catherine is no different. “I’ve definitely become more patient and more present since becoming a mom. I was always pretty laid back, but it helps knowing that anything Samuel does at this stage in life is all about learning and growing. Basically, if a clean house has to come as a distant second to his exploring, that’s what has to happen. It’s so important to be present in all things. Whether it’s your baby sneezing or their breath on your neck, take it in. Gosh, I choked up just thinking about that warm, sweet breath.”

Catherine’s exuberance for life and motherhood is inspiring and refreshing. In many ways, she is a modern mama balancing her baby, business and booming romance, however there is a side that embraces tradition. Catherine says, “Eventually eating dinners together will be our most important family tradition, but until we have our complete gang to have those amazing dinner conversations, bath time as a family of three (and our chocolate lab) remains to be our daily ritual.”

Catherine’s edit – 5 must-have pregnancy items from The Tot Shop: 

1. Hatch Riviera Dress or Afternoon Dress
2. Blanqi Maternity Support leggings
3. Erbaviva Stretch Mark Cream
4. Birds and Bees Peaceful Pregnancy Tea
5. Recliner Sleep Tee & Shorts

Catherine’s edit: 5 must-have products for a new mom from The Tot Shop  

1. Medela Freestyle Breast Pump
2. LOULOU Lollipop Cookie Teether
3. Green Sprouts Muslin Burp Cloths (3 pack)
4. Comotomo Natural Feel baby bottles and nipples
5. NUNA pipa car seat and base

This piece was originally published on The Tot.