Shay Mitchell named her daughter Atlas because of the actress’ love of traveling — and now she wants to show her 4-month-old baby the world.
“I aim to fill up her passport within the first year,” Mitchell, 32, told PEOPLE on Wednesday at the launch of Pampers‘ Share the Love campaign in New York City. “She’s been to Vancouver, we’ve been to Paris, Vegas — she had a great time in Vegas! —and I’m from Toronto so we’ll be going there soon.”
Adds the new mom, “It’s exciting to take her to a new place that I’ve been and get to show her something new regardless of whether she’ll remember it or not. I will!”
It works out well that Atlas “loves a plane almost more than I do,” the Pretty Little Liars star says. That’s not saying the newborn remains tear-free onboard, but Mitchell doesn’t feel the need to apologize for her daughter doing what babies do.
“If she cries, she cries,” Mitchell says. “Anyone that comes on planes, I’m like, ‘You also cried on a plane in your life and it is what it is.’ “
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Pampers’ new campaign that features Mitchell and model and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen aims to alleviate those feelings of mom guilt and flip self-criticism to self-compassion.
“You really do have to tune out the negative comments and the mom shamers because I’m not going to focus my attention on that when there’s something way better to put my attention towards,” Mitchell says. “The only thing that matters is when I come home and I see that little face and I know that I’m doing the best thing that I can and that’s all she could ever ask for.”
When things do get tough, the Canada native just needs a laugh from Atlas to turn her day around. “It’s the best thing on earth,” Mitchell says of her daughter’s giggle. “It’s the best sound. If I can get a laugh out of her, I’m like, alright I’m good. Today’s great.”
The You vet says breastfeeding “comes in ebbs and flows” and calls “isolation, especially at the beginning” one of the early challenges of motherhood.
“I was just trying to figure it all out day by day,” she recalls. “Having FaceTime, getting to chat with my friends and then when I felt like the timing was right, I was able to step out and have a girls’ night and that felt great. Just to get back to my normal routine was super important.”
Mitchell also has a supportive partner in Atlas’ dad, her boyfriend Matte Babel, who shares in the less glamorous parenting duties like diaper changes.
“It’s like a fun roulette that I get to play with my boyfriend,” Mitchell says. “I’m like, who gets to change? What’s it going to be? He’s great at it and definitely changes a bunch too. We go through so much, the least they can do is change the diapers.”
Now, as Mitchell dives back into work with a second season of Hulu’s Dollface and a new Fox project that she’s executive producing, she stops herself from worrying about missing moments at home with her newborn.
“Don’t focus so much on that,” Mitchell advises her fellow moms. “There’s going to be other moments. Continue to do what makes you happy. Yes, you do have to go and work sometimes, that’s what makes us ourselves. It’s something that I did before and I think she would be proud to be like, you go and crush it! So that’s what I try and keep in my mind.”
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