My Inner Shakti

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Greetings from Atlanta

Greetings from Atlanta!

written by Parita 4 Comments

Honey, we’re hoooooooommmmmmmmmmeeeeee! 🙂Greetings from AtlantaKaiden, my dad, and I flew to Atlanta on Saturday afternoon.  Thankfully, Kaiden did great on the flight – he slept for the first hour (give or take) and played/creeped on our seat neighbors iPad for the last 50 minutes or so.  Also thankful we flew in Saturday and not Sunday.  The Atlanta airport experienced a major power outage from about 1 pm onward on Sunday leaving passengers trapped and in the dark…literally.  My poor BIL was stuck on the tarmac for over seven hours (he flew home from Mexico).  Can you even imagine?  I can’t help but think about what that would’ve been like with a baby.  Not fun…that’s what!  Anyways, Niel is home now, and that’s what matters!

In true weekend recap style, let me share a bit more about what we’ve been up to the past few days…

FRIDAY

First and foremost, Friday included a visit from my friend Vijal.  She was in town for work and decided to stop by to see me and meet K.

The day also included MAJOR meal prep for Vishnu.  While I know he’s a big boy and can fend for himself, I wanted to ensure our fridge was fully stocked with dinner options for him.  His rotation is so unpredictable right now, and the last thing he wants to do when he gets home is prepare a meal (for one at that!).  So in true Parita style, I went to town and made three meals – butter chicken, turkey chili, and masala pasta with veggies.  Phew!

And finally, I did three loads of laundry and packed my little heart out.  Packing for me + K for two whole weeks was quite the feat.  Between me and my dad, we ended up with two large suitcases maxed out at 50 pounds each and three carryons.  Oy vey!

SATURDAY

Saturday morning included last minute packing and repacking, pumping, giving K a bath, etc.  Boy, how things have changed since our pre-baby days!

Vishnu dropped us off at the airport around 1:30, and we were somehow through security and at our gate a little before 2.  K and I went through security on our own since I have pre-check and my dad doesn’t.  And guess what…we survived!  It probably helped that I formed a game plan in my head ahead of time for how to get everything on the belt, including a car seat, caddy, two bags, and breast milk.  Kaiden’s cuteness also probably helped distract fellow passengers and make them less annoyed at us!

By the time we got home, it was almost 8 pm.  My mom prepared a feast, so as soon as K ate and I pumped, we sat down to eat.  So much yum on one plate…what I look forward to (almost) the most when coming home!

Because of the craziness from the day, Kaiden stayed up waaaay past his bedtime, which made for a very eventful night for his mama and grandma.  I lost count after a while, but I’m pretty sure he woke up no less than eight times in a seven hour period.  I don’t blame him though.  It’s hard adjusting to a whole new environment after a long travel day!

SUNDAY

Because of the aforementioned long night, my parents told me to go back to sleep after my morning pump session.  And sleep I did…until 11 am!!!  MUCH NEEDED!

A couple of hours later, Vishnu’s parents arrived at our house to see their grand baby!  The day included lots of playing, pizza, and catching up.  At one point, I looked over at Kaiden playing with all four of his grandparents and thought, “How blessed are we?”  It really is the most magical time of the year!

Thankfully, we experienced far fewer wake up calls (~4) and a more restful night of sleep.

And that brings us to Monday and the beginning of a fun week – visitors, lots of nani/nana time, my sister and Adarsh arriving on Thursday, Christmas Eve fun, yummy food, etc.

Happy Monday!

P.S. One of my goals is to be better about taking pictures for the blog!  And I’m not waiting until the new year to start. 🙂

Written on December 18, 2017 Related:home, Travel, Uncategorized

Air Travel with an Infant from the Perspective of First Time Parents

written by Parita 6 Comments

From the minute we decided to make the trip to Nashville, I started reading about air travel with an infant.  I wanted to be as prepared and knowledgeable as possible because with babies…you just never know!  First time parents much?

Did my weeks of prepping and planning pay off?  Yes and no.

Let’s me share more…

Traveling with baby

Travel gear

We didn’t travel light, that’s for sure.  If I had to pick a few must haves, I’d say a car seat caddy is a must (both for the airport and your destination), as is a car seat cover (we own this car seat).  We gate checked everything with no issues.

I also took both the diaper bags we own.  One carried my pump and milk while the other was filled with Kaiden’s stuff.

Airline of choice

We decided to fly Southwest for several reasons.  Great cancellation policy.  Get to board after group A.  Free checked bags.  Need I say more?

In fact, we enjoyed our experience so much that I decided to fly with them over the holidays.  Fingers crossed all goes well again!

Regardless of the airline you select, don’t forget to bring your baby’s birth certificate with you.  You’ll need to obtain his/her boarding document.

Getting through security

Both Vishnu and I have TSA precheck, so getting through security was fairly easy.  I carried K with me while Vishnu loaded up all our stuff (bags, car seat, caddy, etc.).

We made sure to let the agent know that one of the bags contained my pump + breast milk.  He advised us to take out the breast milk out of the bag and place it on the belt as a standalone item.  Another agent tested my milk by putting each bottle in a machine of some sort.  It took a bit of time but was relatively simple.

Our seat strategy

On our way to Nashville, Vishnu and I grabbed a middle and aisle seat totally thinking we’d get the row to ourselves.  No one would want to sit next to a couple with a baby, right?  Well, the plane was 100% full, so…WRONG!

On our way back, we took the window and middle seat thinking we wouldn’t have to get up so what did it matter.  Well, Kaiden pooped as we were taking off, so…WRONG!  More on that in a minute…

Honestly, with an infant, your strategy doesn’t really matter.  Most flights are full these days, so the likelihood of getting a row to yourself is close to zero.

How Kaiden fared

Our 4.5 month old infant did much better than anticipated.  In fact, on the flight to Nashville, Kaiden bounced and played a little before passing out.  On the way home, he was a bit more antsy and probably a little overtired.  But we didn’t experience any major crying fits or anything like that.

A lot of people told us to feed him upon take off and landing to help prevent his ears from popping too much.  Great advice.  He drank some milk on the flight over but wanted no part in anything of the sort on the flight back.  So we resorted to giving him his pacifier, which thankfully did the trick.

Other than that, I made sure to have his teething ‘toys’ in one place (big zip lock bag) in case we needed them.  So helpful!

How Par and Vishnu fared

Vishnu and I were definitely ‘those’ first time parents travelling with a baby.  We over packed our suitcases and even our diaper bags.  And both of us were super nervous about Kaiden potentially crying nonstop (so thankful that didn’t happen!).

While we were ‘those’ parents, I think we did ok!  Next time, we’ll probably be a little more judicious with what we pack, and we probably won’t get to the airport so early (we sat the gate for almost 2 hours).  Not too bad for first timers.

Travel stories

Story #1 – The lady who sat next to me on the flight over seemed nice enough.  She engaged with Kaiden and told me all about her teenager kids.  She even went as far as saying she often wished for the days when they were babies.

But then she made a comment that threw us off a bit.  It was 100% harmless, and I probably read into it way too much.  In fact, I know I am because I’m writing about it right now.  Ha!  Anyways, she looked at Kaiden, and in a baby voice said, “Don’t cry now, baby, because then no one on the plane will like you.”  Umm…ok.  Who says that to a baby?!  Someone who’s a mom of three at that!

For the record, not only did Kaiden not cry, but he was an angel.  And what if he did?  HE’S A BABY!

Story #2 – As soon as our flight home took off, Kaiden let our some gas.  Not normally a huge deal.  I handed him over to Vishnu so I could find his toys.  After a few minutes, Vishnu said, “Par, he smells pretty bad.  I think he needs a diaper change.”  My immediate thought?  NOOOOO!  My one hope was that we wouldn’t have to step inside a tiny airplane bathroom with K.

Well, we survived!  I thank my lucky stars I talked to my friend Purvi the Thursday before we left.  She told me all about their first flight experiences, which included a diaper change.  The conversation gave me a boost of confidence (a very small boost!) as I changed this very dirty diaper.

So no true horror stories, but we definitely got a few good laughs in on this trip!

If you have any specific questions about our experience, please leave a comment or email me (myinnershakti@gmail.com).  I’m more than happy to be someone else’s Purvi! 🙂

No portion of this post is sponsored.  However, affiliate links are included. There is no extra cost to you, but I do receive a small commission on anything you buy through my links.  Thank you for reading and supporting My Inner Shakti!

Written on December 6, 2017 Related:Baby, Parenthood, Travel

Traveling with baby

Nashville + A Doozy of a Week + Thanksgiving Fun

written by Parita 4 Comments

I definitely didn’t intend to take a week long blogging break.  But after a doozy of a week, something had to give!  More on that in a minute.

NASHVILLE

Vishnu, Kaiden, and I flew to Nashville last Friday for a 48 hour whirlwind of a trip.  A group of our friends planned a get together, and because Vishnu won’t get to go home (Atlanta) this year, we decided to join the fun.  We also wanted Kaiden to meet everyone!

All 14 adults + 4 babies stayed in one big house and made the most of our time together – went out to eat, played lots of games, and laughed/talked nonstop!

N

I shared Kacy’s Nashville recap post with the group, which led to us trying both Avo and Chauhan Ale & Masala House.  I highly recommend these restaurants, especially CA&MH.  The unique twist on Southern + Indian cuisine was a huge hit with everyone!  Thanks, Kacy!

All in all, it was a great trip.  Kaiden did really well on the flight over and pretty well on the fight back (ha!).  I plan to share more about our first experience flying with K because we learned a lot of lessons and have a few stories to tell!

Traveling with baby

We obviously don’t regret going to Nashville at all, BUT it feels like we left with one baby and came home with a different one.  Which leads me to our…

…DOOZY OF A WEEK

While in Nashville, Kaiden was not his usually happy self.  He was generally fine during the day, but when it came to his nighttime sleeping, he’d wake up several times in a row screaming his head off.  We attributed this to being in a new environment with new people and figured he’d return to his normal self a few days after being back home.  Ummmm…not the case!

This past week was rough for all of us, especially K.  His entire sense of being was off.  Not only was he fussier, but he was also clingier than he’s ever been.  Wanting to be constantly held is not usually his thing, but man, the minute I’d try to put him down, the screaming would start.  He’d literally be fast asleep in my arms (or Vishnu’s), but the minute we’d even attempt to put him down, he’d wake up and start crying.  Not only that, but his naps were pretty much nonexistent and his feeding schedule was all over the place.

We now think/know he’s teething.  He’s showing all the classic symptoms, specifically putting his hands in his mouth and gnawing on them all day long.  Poor baby!  Thankfully, he hasn’t spiked a fever.  We’re also very thankful he still sleeps through the night (knocking on all the wood I can find!).

While we feel terrible for him, the extra snuggles we’re getting are quite nice!  I especially love when he burrows his head into my shoulder and puts his arms around my neck.  And that’s when I whisper, “Please don’t ever grow up, Kaiden!!!”  🙂

Thankful for you

To top it all off, I’ve also been feeling under the weather this past week.  I’m not sure if it’s just exhaustion or if I have a cold or something.  Hopefully it all passes very very soon!

THANKSGIVING FUN

With Kaiden not feeling his best, it was SO nice having extra pairs of hands around for a few days over the Thanksgiving holiday.  Vishnu’s brother Niel flew in on Wednesday night, and his parents flew in on Thursday afternoon.  I’m so thankful for their visit because not only did it inject some fun into Thanksgiving 2017, but it also kept me from going crazy!  Thankfully, Kaiden doesn’t discriminate when it comes to who’s holding him.  He just wants to be held!  And his grandparents and uncle kindly obliged.

Other than hanging out at home and eating lots of delicious food (Thanksgiving feast, IP lentil tortilla soup, homemade pizza, and Seoul Taco), we didn’t do too much.  Unfortunate because the temperature hit close to 60 on Friday.  #stayawaywinterweather

Thanksgiving 2017 feast

My in-laws’ visit made me super excited about our trip home in December.  I can’t wait for Kaiden to spend some time in the A!

After a crazy week, I’m hoping the upcoming one is as routine/normal/boring as they come!

Happy Monday…make it a good one.

Written on November 27, 2017 Related:Baby, Family, Life, Travel, Uncategorized, Weekend

Our Babymoon in Scottsdale, Arizona

written by Parita 10 Comments

We’re back from our babymoon in Scottsdale, Arizona, and to be honest, I wish we could do it all over again!  Our 5ish day/4 night stay went far too quickly for my liking.  But we accomplished what we set out to do and that was to relax and spend uninterrupted time together.

scottsdale babymoon

In true MIS travel post fashion, I’m going to break down our trip by where we stayed, what we did, and where we ate.  If you’re in the process of planning a babymoon/trip to Scottsdale, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  More than happy to answer any questions you may have!

Before we delve into the details of our trip, I want to clarify what a babymoon is (to us anyways) and why we chose Scottsdale. 

Vishnu and I are really enjoy travelling together, and I must say we’re pretty good at it because we never want to come home!  However, a babymoon is classified as a whole different kind of trip altogether.  Our last vacation before baby (even though the baby was very much with us as Vishnu reminded me).  And to us, the whole point of our babymoon was to relax and spend time together in a way that we really can’t at home.

We chose Scottsdale because Spain was not an option at this point.  Just kidding…kind of!  When we first started discussing a babymoon (right after our trip to Hawaii), I mentioned I would love to go to Spain.  I figured we should go big or go home.  Vishnu disagreed, especially after seeing how tired I could get while travelling.  He wanted us to go on a trip where relaxation was the centerpiece and not being on our feet all day running around from city to city.  After a bit of back and forth, I agreed and threw out the idea of Scottsdale.  The weather would be great, we both love Arizona, and the resorts are made for relaxing and treating yourself.  Vishnu agreed and started planning our trip.  And that is how we ended up in Scottsdale, Arizona!

Where we stayed

We stayed at the Omni Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Montelucia in Paradise Valley.  Our friends Erin and Shahan stayed here a few years ago and raved about their experience.  After pricing out a few different options, Vishnu ultimately decided on the Omni.  We even got a buy three nights get one free deal with a $150 resort credit.  While it definitely wasn’t cheap by any means, I don’t feel like we broke the bank on this one either.

The Omni has everything you would want/need – beautiful guest rooms, a family-friendly pool + an adults only pool, an absolutely gorgeous spa with all the services you could imagine, a few onsite restaurants serving truly delicious food, a fully equipped gym, and stunning views of Camelback.  Plus, it’s a quick Lyft ride from Phoenix International Airport.

Omni Scottsdale babymoon

Omni Scottsdale pool babymoon

We would highly recommend the Omni resort to anyone visiting Scottsdale.  In fact, after posting a picture on Instagram, I learned that a few of my friends have in fact stayed here (and loved their experienced!).

What we did

We napped!  Vishnu and I aren’t big nappers, but there was something about being on vacation with virtually zero plans that made the afternoon nap that much more fun and desirable.  And again, what would a relaxing vacation be without a nap or two or three?!

We spent the afternoon at the pool.  I wish we could have done more of this, but the weather turned on us a little.  People said it was super hot (in the 100s) the week before we arrived, and we saw that it’s supposed to be in the upper 80s and 90s after we left.  But the few days we spent in Scottsdale were a little cooler than usual and not necessarily pool friendly.  Oh well, at least it didn’t rain!  I did very much enjoy the one afternoon we got to lounge poolside!

We got a couples’ massage at the spa, and it was glorious!  I obviously went with the expectant mother option while Vishnu got a regular massage.  You should’ve seen us afterwards.  We were the most relaxed we’ve been in months!  I can totally see why this particular spa receives such high accolades – the facilities were clean and beautiful and the massage therapists truly knew what they were doing.  If money and time weren’t issues, I would totally make massages a weekly thing!

We walked around Old Town Scottsdale after lunch one afternoon.  It reminded me of an old western movie.  So many quaint shops selling everything from jewelry to wooden furniture to cowboy boots.  If you’re in the area, definitely spend some time strolling the streets, but I wouldn’t necessarily go out of my way to visit this part of town.

We worked out three times…because why not!

Omni Scottsdale gym

We visited Tucson.  As some of you may recall, I lived in Tucson for eight months after graduating from business school.  In fact, it’s where MIS was conceived!

My aunt, uncle, and cousin live in Phoenix, and we originally planned to grab dinner with them on Sunday night.  But when my aunt suggested taking a day trip to Tucson, Vishnu and I happily agreed.  In fact, it was nice to break up our unplanned days with a little bit of sightseeing action.  While in Tucson, we visited the Pima Air & Space Museum and Mount Lemmon.  We also ate the most delicious Mexican meal at Guadalajara Grille, an old favorite of mine!  In fact, Vishnu said it was the best Mexican meal he’s ever had!

Mt. Lemmon, Tucson

Pima Air & Space Museum

Gudalajara Grille Tucson, AZ

What we wanted to do but didn’t

 It may sound a little crazy at almost eight months pregnant, but Vishnu and I wanted to go on a couple of easy hikes while in Scottsdale.  He even found a few close ones to the resort.  But for one reason or another, it just didn’t happen.  Looking back, it’s probably a good thing because my legs (and lungs!) have started to tire out more and more quickly as the days go by.  Better safe than sorry!

Where we ate

Centro (at the Omni) – We ate here for lunch and really enjoyed our meal.  There’s a great selection of various appetizers, salads, flatbreads, and sandwiches.

Prado (at the Omni) – We ate breakfast here three of the four mornings and really enjoyed the food.  The menu includes all kind of egg dishes, as well as some lighter fare options such as a fruit and yogurt parfait, oatmeal, etc.

Crave (at the Omni) – We stopped here after a morning workout and got a couple of fresh-pressed juices (both of which were delicious).  This little café also offers coffee, baked goods, gelato, and other smaller meals.

Flower Child – We had dinner at this ‘healthy meets tasty’ restaurant and loved the salads we chose as well as the vegan cookie we picked up as a treat.  While it’s not super fancy by any means, you won’t leave this place feeling heavy or overly full.

Postino Wine Café – We had dinner at this cute little café type restaurant and really loved the food we tried.  According to a friend of Vishnu’s who went to medical school in the area, Postino’s is known for its bruschetta (so many different kinds to choose from), so that’s what we opted for along with a bowl of assorted olives as an appetizer and a chocolate bouchon dessert with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.  Yum!

The Mission – We had lunch here on our last full day, and I’m so glad we did because the food (especially the table side guacamole) was some of the most flavorful of the trip.  Our mini tacos (butternut squash for me and pork + pineapple for Vishnu), while small, packed a powerful punch.

Zinburger – This was our last dinner outing of the trip!  After going back and forth, we decided burgers just sounded like the best idea!  My veggie burger was one of the better ones I’ve had in a while, and Vishnu said his burger was perfectly cooked and seasoned.  I only wish we saved room for one of their epic shakes…the chocolate hazelnut had my name written all over it!

Overall, this was one of the best vacations we’ve taken to date.  It wasn’t extravagant by any means, but it provided us with lots of time to connect, be more mindful with each other, relax, and just be.  And hopefully it’s just what we needed to gear up for our big upcoming move.  Oh and our upcoming baby!!! 🙂

Written on May 12, 2017 Related:Baby, pregnancy, Travel

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