This past weekend I was at the Coachella Music and Arts Festival out in Indio, CA. And although I really felt like I needed a weekend with my husband where we could enjoy good music and have fun with our friends, I couldn’t help but feel the massive mom emotions taking over my body all weekend.

The guilt that I left my daughter for the weekend was killing me! What was she doing? Did she get a new tooth? Did she say a new word? Was I missing out on all these little milestones? I’m going to be completely real with you — I felt insanely crappy knowing that she missed me, and how much I missed her! On top of that, according to my mom and mother-in-law, poor little Collette was cranky all weekend without me. My daughter and I truly have a special bond, so whenever I’m away for ANY amount of time, it’s really, really hard!

At Coachella, I saw a lot of moms with their kids there with them. Alessandra Ambrosio told me she’s been bringing her kids to Coachella since they were about 3-years old. Although my daughter is only a year and a half, I thought to myself, am I a bad mom because I’m not taking my child to the places I enjoy?

I feel like one thing to understand being a mom is that these guilty feelings are eternal. We can’t fight it, but we can learn to control our emotions.

Another thing to remember is that once you are at wherever you are going for the weekend (or however long you’re there for!) and away from your child, you can’t magically teleport to them and be in two places at once, so you have to enjoy yourself as best as you can! I’m lucky enough to have my incredible mother and mother-in-law to hold down the Collette fort when I’m away. It also really helps that they constantly send photos, videos, and updates all the time.

It’s important to know that the mom emotions will always be there, and it’s okay to take some time for yourself every once in a while! A happy mommy is a happy baby, and a happy baby is a happy mommy.