ThatOT_PhDLife

Hi there! My name is Emily. You may already know me by my former IG handle, blog name, and linktree name: That OT Mom Life. Well, it’s time for a change. As of today, I am now officially @thatOT_PhDlife and That OT PhD Life!

You may be wondering why I’m leaving my old name behind, and the answer consists of a lot of reasons. Some are personal, some are professional. To me, all are valid. It took me almost a year to actually made this move! I went back and forth several times. Change is hard, and leaving behind a name I’ve spent the last three years with isn’t easy. 

ThatOT_MomLife was born three years ago, shortly after Baer was born. I’d been off Instagram for nearly three years prior to that as it was inspiring FOMO in me at the time, and so I stepped away. When Baer was born, I decided to explore the motherhood side of IG. It opened my eyes to many things I had been feeling and experiencing as a new mama, and for the first time in a while, I felt seen. I felt heard. I realized there were other moms out there who were experiencing the same things I was, feeling the same feelings I felt… Even living with the same diagnoses I was. It was what I needed at the exact right time.

Fast forward to nearly a year later, and I found yet another IG community: the occupational therapy community! During April 2021, I participated in my first #abcsofOT challenge with @shannenmarie_OT, and it all took off from there. I consider myself so very lucky I have been able to combine the two greatest roles in my life—occupational therapist and motherhood—and grow my account into what it is today.

Life moves in perpetuity, and today looks different than it did three years ago. While I am still a mom and an OT, Baer has made it clear that he doesn’t like participating in Mommy-o’s videos and pictures. He’s a bit camera shy and is becoming his own little person, more so than when I rejoined Instagram. I don’t want to intrude on his privacy, and I have reached a place in my professional development where I want to use my IG to focus more on physical rehabilitation, OT theory, teaching, research, and the ins and outs of pursuing a PhD. I’ll always be a mom, and motherhood will certainly trickle into my posts and my stories occasionally—it would be impossible to totally eliminate that aspect of my life! It will just feature less heavily moving forward. Less toddler chasing and more lab life, I guess you could say.

So here we are! Goodbye, thatOT_MomLife. You were a blast in a glass and I will never forget you. Hopefully you won’t either! That said, I sure hope you stick around to see what thatOT_PhDlife brings to the table. I promise you; it’ll be entertaining, it’ll be educational… And above all, it’ll be worthwhile!

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