View this post on Instagram[1]
After welcoming a beautiful daughter Kaavia [3] into the world with her husband Dwayne Wade via surrogate three months ago, Gabrielle Union [4] has been on cloud nine. Although the 46-year-old actress clearly loves every second she gets to spend with her baby, she's no stranger to mommy shamers. In fact, she's already gotten heat for wearing a hospital gown to her child's birth [5] — she wanted to have skin-to-skin time with her baby [6], FYI — to kissing her daughter on the mouth [7]. And guess what? She's definitely not losing sleep over the criticism.
"I had to hit the mommy shamers day one," she told People. "I'm going to do it my way. I'm sure I'm going to make all kinds of mistakes and when I ask for help, which I will, I would love to hear all y'all's advice. Everybody has been on my journey of pain and anguish and trauma, and I owe it to myself to enjoy every second of my joy."
She explained that while she adores her fans, she encourages her followers to bite their tongues when it comes to sharing unsolicited advice.
"If you've been rocking with me, in my misery and my pain and my failures, I want you to enjoy my joys," she said. "If you can't just sit back and enjoy the miracles without offering every piece of advice Nana ever gave you, it's okay to unfollow. It's okay to just enjoy the ride."
While no mom is perfect, Gabrielle wants to do parenting her way, and that's perfectly OK.
"I want to be able to make whatever choice I want to make and not have to answer to anybody but me," she explained. "As long as I feel good, as long as I feel confident, screw you. Look in the mirror and fix your own life. [I want to] give people that example of somebody who refuses to let anyone dictate what the hell I do or don't do or say or don't say."
She continued: "It's okay to rock with yourself. I'm my favourite person on the planet. I enjoy my own company. I find that people who don't enjoy their own company tend to comment the most on other people's lives — take your life back. The world doesn't end when you do what the hell you want."