An Inspiring Mother’s Day Story During Covid-19

This Mother’s Day is different. Some of us won’t be able to physically be with our moms. Others are first-time moms facing unchartered waters. The one thing that is important during this time, is documenting it. We sit down with New Yorker Tara Moss who shares her inspirational story about becoming a mother during Covid-19.

Hi there, my name is Tara Moss but I also go by the pen-name/nickname Ladyhattan. I was born in New York and currently live in Manhattan with my husband and new baby, Maverick. By day, I am a devoted and passionate public interest lawyer for my fellow New Yorkers. I run a pro bono legal practice that helps people access justice who would not otherwise be able to afford a lawyer. By night I am a creative travel dreamer, writer and photographer.

Over 10 years ago, while in law school, I needed a creative space and platform as an outlet for my love of travel photography. I started the Manhattan based luxury travel blog, “Ladyhattan” to share stories, experiences and images around the world all through the lens of a lady. Since its inception, Ladyhattan has shared experiences from over 60+ countries and garnering features in various media outlets, including Forbes, as a trusted tastemaker and relatable storyteller in the world of feminine focused travel. 

You’re a new mom during Covid-19, tell us about your experience/life under these challenging times.

Becoming a mom during the global COVID-19 pandemic is a story that still blows my own mind. I went into the hospital naive regarding the virus. The night before we went to the hospital, my husband and I dined at an overly crowded midtown restaurant – this dining experience feels like years ago.  We had no clue that our world was about to get flipped upside down – not just with the birth of our son, but with the New York we once knew forever changed by the pandemic. 

I will never forget laboring with CNN playing in the background sharing urgent news that the President of the United States “shut down all borders, including a European travel ban” . It was shocking. I remember in that very moment (during my labor), watching the reactions of the medical staff at the hospital. From the nurses to admin and doctors, you could see the shock and sudden fear on everyone’s face — it was the exact moment that the city of New York suddenly realized, “wait a second, this is very serious, this could get bad…”

When we left the hospital – everything in the world we once knew was gone and changed. The hospital had turned into a COVID triage center. There were no taxis available to get home. Every store and shop was shutdown. The city was silent other than the echo of ambulance sirens – blaring over and over again. I held the baby close and walked home from the hospital — the two-mile walk was safer than getting into a stranger’s car or taxi – the doctor even advised this.  If you told me a few weeks before my birth that I would be “walking home with my newborn baby in my arms” I would tell you that you’re crazy – and I would never believe you. 

Despite the shock of it all, I think this experience has just taught me what really matters — life and family.  That is the only constant amidst this all. I might not be able to catch a taxi, and I might not be able to dine at a restaurant, but I can still hold my son and find the strength inside me to carry him home — that is one thing that will always be constant in a chaotic and crisis filled environment. 

How are you documenting this time with your family and baby?

I am trying my best to over-document this experience in my newborn son’s life, but also during this epic time in history so that I can explain what happened in the world during the time of his birth.  Sadly, I had to cancel all my “newborn photoshoots” planned in my home upon return from the hospital. Everyone, including my doctors, have all advised against having any strangers or people in our apartment to take photographs.  Accordingly, I have attempted to do newborn photographs on my own with my camera equipment and even just rely on my iPhone to take regular shots of our growing little Maverick.  

I put a white blanket on our bed and try to take photos of Maverick each week. I also regularly take video clips and “portrait mode” shots of the baby on my phone. I have created a folder of these memories and plan to upload them to a “baby book” to print with Printique to document the first few months of his life — all spent inside… 

Lastly, a friend gave me a great idea to “write letters to my baby” — inside a journal, I write a letter to my son Maverick each morning.  I tell him what is going on in NYC, how I am feeling, what is happening with the COVID-19 crisis and whether things are getting better or worse. My plan is to share this journal with him when he is old enough to understand this time in history and how horrific the virus has been for so many families around the world.  

Why are printing your photos important to you, now more than ever?

Just as this pandemic has made me realize that the only thing in life that matters is my family – especially my new son – printing photos is the one way that I can capture and preserve family.  With all the indoor downtime we have on our hands, it is the perfect time to not only take portraits and photographs but to organize them through prints or customized books that can tell a story.  I know that as soon as things get busy again and the world starts spinning a million miles a minute, I will kick myself for not using the time to get digitally organized and print memories that continue to build-up over time.  I should have printed those shots. I should have used the downtime to create a book. I do not want to have any regrets during this time inside to capitalize on special projects involving the curation of photography.  

Hopefully, we can all look back at spring 2020 and be in a much better place — our economy, the virus under control, our beloved restaurants/shops back open, and people comfortable to travel and be together once again. But until we can look back at spring 2020, we can capture the moment in time and the moments we have with our family members. This is an insane time in history where it is OKAY to stay inside and spend ample time as a family — how often does that happen and will it ever happen again?  Probably not.  I want to remember this moment in time. I want to remember the lessons we have learned and continue to learn from it. I want to remember how innocent and small my son was in the midst of a horrible time in history — and I want to be able to explain this story and show him what it looked like, how it felt and what we did with the time together — I will do this storytelling through the art of photography and I think when he is old enough to understand, he will really appreciate it.  

We want to thank Tara aka Ladyhattan for taking the time to tell us her story. Tara uses Printique to document the milestones in her life, including her wedding. The photo above showcases her wedding albums from Printique. She also prints her travel books through us. We are proud and humbled that Maverick’s story will also live in a Printique Photo Book. It’s the culmination from the everyday moments to big milestones that make up the story of your life.