WHOLE NEW WORLD

#COVERMOM

Actress and singer LEA MICHELE welcomed her sweet baby boy, Ever, last year after an intense pregnancy that ultimately led to an unexpected C-section delivery. Now the new mom shares how her whole world has changed upon her parenthood debut, including a career shift as she heads back into the recording studio for the release of her first-ever lullaby album, Forever, a compilation of reimagined pop songs and classics slated for this fall.

photography by

CHARLIE JULIET PHOTOGRAPHY

makeup by

SHANAYA “NINI“ HEWITT

hair by

MEGAN MOTTER USING ORIBE AND LIVINGPROOF

MINI | We’re thrilled to have you on our summer cover! Let’s dive right into your life as a new mom. What does your morning routine look like now with baby Ever?

LEA MICHELE | Ever usually wakes up between 6:30 and 7AM. I always set my alarm clock for 6 so that I can have a few moments for myself before he wakes up. I’ll make a cup of coffee and either do some yoga outside quickly or just get back into bed with my coffee, catch up on some emails, and just take a few minutes to center myself so that I can be fully focused and prepared when he wakes up. Then I go into his room, give him his morning bottle, and get him dressed and ready for the day. After that, we wake up his daddy, the three of us read some books together in bed, and then we all go for a walk.

MINI | What do you think is the greatest challenge of motherhood so far?

LEA MICHELE | Personally, I think the greatest challenge is accepting the fact that not everything is going to be perfect and you’re not always going to know everything and do everything right. I can be very hard on myself (as I think a lot of us mothers and women can be) and I have to remind myself all the time that I’m doing my absolute best, I’m learning each day, he’s growing incredibly well, he’s a strong and happy baby, and that’s what matters the most.

MINI | What has surprised you most about motherhood?

LEA MICHELE | I think I’ve been the most surprised (but also grateful) for how resilient our bodies are as women. How we can carry our children for nine months and then immediately after they’re born, dive right into motherhood and taking care of them. For me, it was

breastfeeding, being incredibly handson, how my body was recovering from a C-section and nine months of carrying a baby, and it could still heal itself and be strong and nourish my son all at the same time. It was so beautiful and surprising and something I’m so incredibly grateful for.

MINI | You’ve touched on your experience with PCOS and an intense pregnancy journey. Can you share what you remember most about that time— what you felt, why you withheld some of that experience?

LEA MICHELE | I remember feeling so incredibly discouraged and fearful that my PCOS would affect my likelihood of getting pregnant. Even though we faced our own set of challenges, I just prayed that each obstacle—as challenging as it was—would bring me closer to our future child. It’s a very sensitive issue for many women, so I think I didn’t share my experience for a long time because I was still personally processing it. When you’re filled with that kind of fear, it’s really hard to open up, but I’m grateful that I did because I received so much incredible support.

MINI | What do you want women to know who might be going through a similar experience?

M I N I58 s u m m e r ‘21

LEA MICHELE | I wish I had just leaned on more people for support and been more open about what I was going through. I would want other women to know that they can feel safe in sharing what they’re going through and that it can help to feel better and less alone.

MINI | How would you describe your birth experience with baby Ever?

LEA MICHELE | I ended up having a C-section because my baby was breech. I had a very rough pregnancy, so even though a C-section wasn’t part of my plan, I was just so anxious to finally meet him after everything we had been through. I didn’t even worry because all that mattered to me was meeting my son and having him get here as safely as possible. The doctors and nurses helped me feel very safe and make [the delivery] feel as connected as the experience of a vaginal birth. Although the healing process can be very challenging, my body recovered well. I will never forget the moment I saw my sons face for the first time; it made everything worth it.

MINI | The postpartum stage can be an equally chaotic time. How have you felt going into this “fourth trimester” after welcoming your son?

LEA MICHELE | I think the thing I’m the most grateful for was how smoothly my

postpartum went. I mentioned the struggles I faced prior to conceiving and throughout my pregnancy, so thankfully we were blessed with a very peaceful postpartum. I felt very good after a few weeks of healing from my C-section and really enjoyed the quiet time that we had at home with our son. I think the one thing I was not prepared for were the many sleepless nights. They really do build up and after a while, you start to see double. Luckily, that phase is behind us now and we are in a really great rhythm.

MINI | Tell us how you decided on your son’s name. Were there some names that you liked and your husband didn’t, and visa versa?

LEA MICHELE | Ever has always been one of my most favorite names; I’ve been holding onto it for many years! It was [a name] Zandy and I talked about before he was born and we didn’t tell anyone. It was a very hard secret to keep, but we wanted it to stay between us. Zandy and I were pretty much on the same page with a lot of names, so it wasn’t a very challenging process!

MINI | What is most important to you in raising your son?

LEA MICHELE | There are so many things that are important to me in raising our son— I couldn’t pick just one! There are so many things I want to teach him and show him in the world. The most important is that he is happy and feels protected. That’s how my parents made me feel— that I could reach for my wildest dreams and I knew no matter what I tried and what the outcome that they would always be there to support me.

MINI | What are you looking forward to most about raising your son in New York?

LEA MICHELE | Zandy and I are both East Coasters and we are so happy to be back in our hometown near

LEA ON THE CLOCK

KIDS BOOK Brown Bear, Brown Bear,

What Do You See? ($5; amazon.com)

KIDS MOVIE “The Little Mermaid.”

NOW WATCHING “Feel Good [on Netflix].”

BEFORE KIDS “I never thought I would give them screen time.”

IF I HAD MORE TIME “I would work out and meditate more.”

GUILTY PLEASURE “Dr. Pimple Popper [on TLC].”

NOW PLAYING “Olivia Rodrigo.”

KIDS SHOPS “Amazon.”

COFFEE ORDER “Black with a splash of almond milk.”

our families. I think New York is one of the greatest cities in the entire world and I’m so excited for Ever to be surrounded by so many people who love him.

MINI | We all experience mom guilt, especially juggling a busy career! When do you find you experience it most and how do you get past it?

LEA MICHELE | I just started going back to work into the recording studio and leaving my son for the first time was very challenging. Even though when I’m gone he’s lucky enough to be with his grandma who he loves so much, it’s still so incredibly hard and something that you just can’t explain. Many of my working mom friends told me the importance of not only having your own section of life that’s separate from your child, but having your children see you go and do the things that make you the most happy, so that’s what I try and remind myself. Plus, I am so excited to get back to music and create an album that makes me happy work-wise and also will be something that he knows was inspired by him.

MINI | Last question! If you could give your son one piece of advice, what would it be?

LEA MICHELE | To never be afraid to try. Things will either work out or not, but never be afraid to try. Have the strength to always push forward and go for your wildest dreams.