In the late 1980s, at a moment when professional women were still negotiating the terms of ambition, motherhood, and identity, Baby Boom arrived like a cultural curiosity. Diane Keaton, then in her full powers as a leading woman of American film, embodied J.C. Wiatt—the high-performing Manhattan executive who unexpectedly inherits a baby and is forced to reimagine her life. It was meant to be a comedy. Instead, it became a blueprint.
With the unfortunate passing of Diane Keaton, I found myself rewatching the film and came to find out that the motherhood comedy is getting a reboot at Amazon MGM Studios to be directed by Michael Showalter.
We are in an era where the term “mompreneur” has spawned its own cottage industry of hashtags, mom conferences, and work-life conversations is the hot topic. A startling reminder of how little has changed, even though the scenery has evolved, the pressures certainly have not.
As modern mothers, we still feel that familiar tug—between our performance overall and presence for the people in our lives and life demands, our ambition and domesticity, boardrooms and bedtime— navigating the weight post baby body that makes us feel too self conscious —and many still hear echoes of that old question: Can a woman really have it all? What Baby Boom understood long before we had the language for it is that the question was misguided. Women have always been capable. The problem has always been the terms.
A Film That Presaged the 21st-Century Mother
Viewed in 2026, Baby Boom reads less like a romantic comedy and more like an early case study in female reinvention.
J.C. Wiatt begins the film in a landscape many career mothers recognize: relentless schedules, immaculate productivity, and the quiet calculation of what must be sacrificed to keep the façade intact. When her male employer suggests that motherhood and leadership are incompatible, it is not meant as cruelty—it is framed as logic. That logic still lingers in the whispers of corporate culture today.
Yet it is J.C.’s unraveling that becomes her awakening. She quits the job, leaves the city, and stumbles—quite literally—into a new version of herself. What appears to be failure becomes transformation. Reinvention, Baby Boom insists, is a form of intelligence.
And this, perhaps, is why the film continues to resonate with ambitious women who are raising children while building companies, careers, and creative lives. Reinvention is not an indulgence. It is a strategy.
The Contemporary Mother as Architect of Her Own Well-Being
If Baby Boom was the early whisper, modern culture is the megaphone: women are now expected not only to excel at work and at home, but we are also to safeguard our mental, emotional, and physical health with monastic discipline. The wellness economy courts us mothers with the promise that wholeness is attainable with enough planning, hydration, and high-quality produce.
Yet beneath the noise is a quieter truth I see: our well-being should be less about consumption and more about our awareness, intentionality, and consciousness.
As a media-tech founder on a path to scale, I aim not for perfection, but to move with intention. My intention is to create “micro-systems” of care: stretching in the kitchen while I’m making dinner, taking gratitude notes between conference calls, using a quiet shower as a thinking space, or reclaiming a late-night cup of tea as a small act of autonomy. Basically, incorporating tiny rituals as the architecture of modern wellbeing.
Turning 35 & Realizing I’m that Modern Mother
What Baby Boom suggested—and what ambitious women continue to prove—is that motherhood and ambition are not opposing forces. They are intertwined, mutually shaping, mutually demanding. The modern mother is not choosing between worlds; she is building one.
She is not asking to “have it all.”
She is learning to have what matters, and to have it with intention.
What Diane Keaton’s character understood long before we gave it language is this:
Reinvention is not a disruption.
It is a rite of passage.
And for many women balancing careers, children, and the pursuit of a grounded, meaningful life, reinvention is not an escape. It is the way forward. That is the realization I am having, I am THAT MODERN MOTHER and I must shift ideology in other to thrive!
There is a moment, usually sometime in your 30s, when life taps you on the shoulder and quietly insists: Slow down. Reconsider. In my case, that tap is happening now in real time and honestly it feels more like a shove. Between the demands of building a media-tech company, wife duties, mom of two babies who at some phase was two under two years and now under three, and the daily performance of being fine, I find myself living inside a life that is increasingly designed by algorithms, deadlines, and other people’s expectations.
As I meet other moms, it feels like we all need a reset—not a retreat into minimalism or a productivity hack, but a return to intentional living.What’s emerging for me is a recalibration and I am calling it The Lifestyle Well-Being Blueprint: my new way of living and evolving philosophy of how to craft a life that feels like your own.
The Lifestyle Well-Being Blueprint
I think wellbeing is not a singular decision but an ecosystem of tiny ones. My blueprint isn’t a prescription; it’s an ethos. It’s the scaffolding that holds me accountable to a richer, fuller, more self-directed life.
Calm in the chaos.
Even when I’m craving for hours of silence, I don’t have the luxury of that but I can sort of lean into moments of clarity—two minutes of deep breathing before a meeting, a short walk with the baby in stroller after I drop off my toddler KD at school, savoring bites of food and remembering to chew mindfully.
Mind–body–soul alignment.
I know we use it as a wellness slogan, but honestly it should be an ethic. Movement because my body demands it given my back issues and nourishment because motherhood will humble you real quick so you must stay energzied! Rest is cheap because burnout is expensive.
Sensory living.
I’m leaning into small pleasures as part of my grounding rituals: KD loves Afrobeats especially Davido, so we are a music loving household. Music plays in the background while I cook, candles lit in the evening, there is a quiet confidence that comes from caring for one’s physical environment. Again, curate your household intentionally.
Success is defined internally.
What women repeatedly articulate is a rejection of borrowed definitions—choosing careers that feel purposeful over those that merely look impressive. I’m still figuring out success definition, so this remains a bit tricky. I’m very ambitious so I go hard on myself and tell myself the hard truths. So much more to accomplish…
Intentional decision-making.
A pivot away from autopilot is hard to do so don’t be too hard on yourself, just try. I recently travelled to Miami to attend the Knight Foundatioon Media Forum and my normal self would be in work mode through out but instead, I intentionally chose a late flight so I could spend earlier part of the day at the beach. Best decision ever! We need to start making intentional steps to guide uis to our more purposeful self.
Environment as reinforcement.
A kitchen stocked with whole foods. A calendar with protected boundaries. A home that signals rest rather than chaos.
This blueprint is not prescriptive. It is personal. And it mirrors the journey J.C. takes on screen: from external expectations to internal alignment.
My Detox Philosophy: A Clearing, Not a Punishment
I know we wait for the new year to kick start our diet and wellness plan but can we have a jumpstart? Detoxing is something I did a lot more in my 20’s and for the first time in a long time, I’ve started thinking about it again as a mom. My approach to detoxing isn’t about green juices or elimination diets. It’s about clearing—clearing the mental, emotional, and environmental clutter that accumulates around a life lived on autopilot.
For me, detox is a practice of additions and subtraction:
- subtracting obligations that no longer align
- subtracting relationships that drain
- subtracting routines that don’t nourish
- subtracting habits that sabotage
Detoxing isn’t about restriction—it’s about restoration.
- Adding in more clean foods
- Adding in more movements
- Adding in more wellness rituals
- Adding in more connections that elevate
When I clear space, I can see my life again. And from that clarity, the next version of myself begins to take shape.
The Return to Crafting a Life That Feels Like Yours
We talk often about balance, but balance is a moving target. What I’m chasing is alignment: a life where my work, my home, my body, and my relationships all speak to each other instead of competing for attention.
The Lifestyle Well-Being Blueprint isn’t an escape from ambition; it’s a container for sustainable ambition. It allows me to build my company, nurture relationships, and show up fully—without losing myself.
This is not the life algorithms will design for you. It’s the one you must design for yourself.
And that, to me, is the real privilege of adulthood:
The freedom to choose, recalibrate, and build again.
When I detox, I’m clearing the things that fog decision-making: mental clutter, emotional debt, relationship friction, pantry items that tempt the worst version of me.
Detox for me is a practice of restoration. It is an invitation to create space for clearer choices. That will probably include whole food, fewer notifications, cleaner rhythms, and—yes—some delicious, functional beverages that actually taste like life.
Detoxing is a clearing, not a punishment. It’s a signal to the self that you are reorganizing priorities.
A Practical Starter: The Jumpstart Mama Wellness Juice
Ingredients:
- 2 large carrots
- 1 cucumber
- 1 green apple
- 1 inch fresh ginger
- ½ lemon (peeled)
- A generous handful of parsley
- 1 cup cold water or coconut water
Method: Blend everything until smooth. Strain if you prefer a lighter texture. Drink slowly, preferably sitting down, ideally with two deep breaths before and after.
What it does: supports digestion, gives steady, clean energy, and feels like a deliberate morning ritual.
The 10-Day Detox: Structure & Rituals (Short Version)
If you like organization (and, frankly, when you’re busy you need it), here’s a compact structure I use when I guide a 10-day clearing:
Days 1–2: Preparation
- Clear the pantry of obvious sabotages.
- Make a short plan: meals, movement, sleep window.
- Set 1–3 nonnegotiables.
Days 3–7: Deep Practice
- Morning ritual: water + the Glow Juice, two breaths, a five-minute journal prompt.
- Movement: 20 minutes (walking, boxing, stretching, dancing).
- One digital fast block (no social media) daily.
- Evening ritual: Epsom salt soak or a wind-down read.
Days 8–9: Integrate
- Reintroduce one ritual you want to keep.
- Make a list of 3 tiny changes that produced the most relief.
Day 10: Commit
- Draft a simple weekly blueprint to continue the practices you want to keep.
Daily journaling prompts:
- Where did I feel small today? Where did I feel expansive?
- What single thing did I do that helped me rest?
- One boundary I will keep this week.
Kitchen, Tools, and the Small Logistics of Care
You don’t need a French press, a dehydrator, and a subscription box to do this. But a little preparation helps. The Lifestyle Wellbeing Detox Shopping Guide has all you need to prep.
- Coconut Oil Choose glass over plastic for storage where possible.
- Keep a sharp knife and a solid cutting board.
- Stock lemons, ginger, leafy greens, herbs, and superfoods like blue spirulina, moringa powder, bee pollen, chai seeds…
- Have one go-to blender or juicer. It’s worth it.
- Dry brushing , Apple Cider Vinegar, oil pulling with coconut oil etc
- Make meal prep social: pack lunches while you talk to a friend on the phone.
Small domestic choices are not indulgent. They’re tactical.
Reinvention as a Habit
Diane Keaton’s J.C. didn’t become a different person overnight. She made repeated choices that, collectively, remade her life. That is what I mean by practice. We do not wait for a single radical moment; we accumulate small decisions that shift the story. The architecture of a life is made from tiny bricks: a book read, a boundary set, a meal cooked without screens, a call refused.
Reinvention is small decisions stacked over time.
If This Resonates: Join the Lifestyle Wellbeing Club
Join Adedayo Fashanu’s subscriber chat, Available in the Substack app and on web Join chat
If you want to move from thinking about change to practicing it, I invite you to join the Lifestyle Wellbeing Private Club on whatsapp. We will kickstart with a 10-Day Detox Program—rooted in the Lifestyle Well-Being Blueprint and plan wellness experiences together. It is a guided clearing: practical, humane, and built for busy women who refuse to choose between care and ambition.
Join the LW Club Whatsapp Group HERE , a new insider badass community of ambitious women living an intentional life aimed at wellbeing.
