Since she was a child, Amanda Vernon has known she was meant to sing. Even after becoming a mother, as her career and her family grew, she wondered if pregnancy and motherhood would have negative effects on her goals. But with faith and support, she has accomplished her dreams — including welcoming four children.
Vernon kicked off her music career in high school when her church began a “kickstarter” for her first album. From there she began to sing in local concerts, then national shows, then international shows including World Youth Day in Sydney, Australia. At the age of 25, she was enjoying a successful career, was married, and had two children. But there was still one more dream waiting—and just as it was about to come true, she learned she was expecting her third child.
“We were in the midst of a full-time tour as a family of four when we first connected with the entertainment coordinator for the Green Bay Packers,” Amanda told Everyday Mamas. She was a huge Packers fan and had dreamed of singing the national anthem at a game. Now she was being invited to do just that at a pre-season game at the home field—booked a year in advance.
“Within that year, I realized the blessings were multiplying,” the Catholic singer wrote in an Instagram post. “See that bump? Can’t miss it, right? I was going to be 8 months pregnant by the time game day arrived!”
Concerned that the effects of pregnancy on lung capacity would alter her voice, she worried about how the Packers would react so she decided not to tell them she was pregnant. She did, however, tell the Bishop of Green Bay: “‘I’m going to be really, really pregnant that day.’ He gave me a high five. Ha.” When the day arrived, her secret obviously couldn’t be hidden, but she performed so well that the Packers invited her to return the next year to sing again, this time for the live TV broadcast of Monday Night Football.
“Far from killing my dream, having a baby definitely enhanced it,” she explained. “Mercedes [her new baby] toured with me for her first eight months after birth. She stayed close to my chest when I gave concerts, often falling asleep in the baby carrier while I sang.”
That moment she was so nervous about—singing the national anthem while eight months pregnant—helped her to further launch her career. Though there have been challenges along the way, including postpartum depression that lasted more than a year, she has overcome them with exercise, therapy, writing, and God.
Now the mother of four children, she co-authored her first book in 2018, and continues to sing with her husband as her manager. She said rather than obstacles in her career path, her children have been her motivation and inspiration. Thanks to her children she is “stronger, healthier and more full of energy.”
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