Alex Morgan may have a lot more on her plate, but it's a welcome challenge.
This year has been filled with change and trials for many, including the U.S. soccer star, who welcomed her first child, daughter Charlie, in early May — at the onset of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. What's more, she also recently moved across the pond after signing with London's Tottenham Hotspur F.C. this past summer and co-founded a new CBD brand, Just Live.
Speaking to PEOPLE about the last several months, Morgan, 31, admits that while she felt some stress about the "unknown" of COVID-19, she has had an overall positive outlook on how the year has panned out for her so far.
"I think, when I was in my last month of pregnancy, was when the pandemic started to get quite bad. So, I think there was some stress involved, just because so much unknown was out there at the time," Morgan tells PEOPLE. "I think that was probably the most difficult part for me, wondering how it would affect pregnant women, if I were to get COVID. If my husband would be able to be in the delivery room with me. When I would next be able to see my family and introduce Charlie to my family."
"But, once we had Charlie, I feel like being able to spend so much time as a family was just a really, really positive," she adds, explaining that the 2020 Summer Olympics being postponed gave her more time to recover after giving birth.
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Alex Morgan Says She Was Relieved When Olympics Were Postponed as She Prepared to Welcome Daughter
Being given that extra time helped alleviate some of the guilt Morgan felt about leaving her daughter so soon after birth to go to Tokyo and compete with the U.S. women's national soccer team.
"I felt like I was able to just stop feeling that selfishness of wanting to get back on the field right away after having Charlie," she says. "And I was just like, 'Okay, she could come on her own timeline. I get to stay home and just be a mom and I don't need to — after a couple of weeks or whatever — rush off to the gym, rush off to the field.' I really was on her schedule and it was really, really nice."
"As terrible as the pandemic is for so many businesses, for so many people, for so many families and those who lost loved ones, I feel very fortunate to be able to see the positives in this. And that is to be able to spend way more time with my family than I ever had imagined before," Morgan says.
After giving birth, Morgan, along with her husband, Servando Carrasco, and their newborn baby girl (now 6 months old), spent the summer in Florida together — where Carrasco plays for Fort Lauderdale CF.
However, their time there together was short-lived, as Morgan is now juggling motherhood with work in a whole new city — away from her husband — after signing with Tottenham Hotspur F.C. (She made her debut with the team over the weekend in a match against Reading F.C. on Saturday.)
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"[Servando] actually came over here about two or three weeks ago, so it's been really nice having the family together again. But it was really difficult being away from him, with Charlie for a month to two months," Morgan tells PEOPLE. "Obviously, in the last 10 years that we've been together, we've spent a lot of time away from each other, but we haven't had a baby or a daughter, and that creates a more difficult element of being apart from each other."
"We don't want to be apart from each other, because we want to see her grow every single day, together. That's important to us. We made that decision that before we decided to get pregnant," she adds. "So it was really difficult, but I'm glad he's here now. We'll just take it one month at a time, and right now we're just enjoying ourselves here."
Reflecting on becoming a first-time mom, Morgan says that each day is filled with something new and exciting when watching her daughter grow.
"I think every single day I see her doing something new or changing just a little bit. Whether it's something she says, her outbursts and the way that she talks, it might be different one day or the next day," Morgan explains.
"There's these little things that I feel you don't realize when they're your nieces or nephews, or your friend's kids, but when you're there with your [own] baby every single day, you just see these little milestones every single day. I feel like there's always a day to celebrate something new."
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