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Weaning Off of Exclusive Pumping

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If you want to read more about the early part of my journey and what helped me, check out this post.

This time around I weaned off the pump a little shy of six months. I had a lot of different reasons for doing so, including the fact that I was pumping 3 times a day for 30-60 minutes a piece. The time commitment while juggling an infant, a 4 year old, and a husband with a demanding job was starting to be a lot. Couple that with the fact that my supply started to dip (I’m talking 2 ounces for 45 minutes of pumping towards the end), I just started to question how much longer I could/wanted to go on.

Because I was experienced with pumping and its effect on my mental health, I knew that it wasn’t worth compromising myself. I believe happy mama = happy family, and that meant taking my state of being into consideration.

I was asked on IG to talk about weaning off the pump while pushing away guilt, and I will say it’s hard. To this day I question my decision (even though I know it was the right one for me). The best piece of advice I have is to focus on what you need versus what everyone else did/is doing. If you go down the path of ‘XYZ pumped/breastfed for X long,’ guilt will forever be your sidekick. FED IS BEST and formula is NOT the devil. Your baby needs you to be ok. Period.

With that being said, I was able to fully wean off the pump in 10 or so days. I basically counted back from when I expected my last day to be, and started decreasing the time of my middle session by a few minutes. And then three days later, I started decreasing the time of my 1st and 3rd session by a few minutes. Then I decreased the time of my middle session for a few days, and so forth and so on until I felt like I could go all day without pumping without feeling uncomfortable.

I will say, it was a little surprising and sad to see some milk still leaking through a week after weaning. It made me feel guilty and like a bad mom for stopping. But then I’d actively change the narrative to ‘I’m a great mom for my baby. I love her and am doing what’s best for her by doing what’s best for me.’

I will also say that now that EPing is forever behind me, I feel a sense of freedom. I feel like I can use my time more strategically. I’m not as stressed and reactive and demanding and pushy. I feel like I’m sleeping better, making more time for exercise consistently, etc.

Do I sometimes wish I had continued EPing for a little longer? Sure. But then I take one good look at Mila and see a growing, thriving, beautiful baby who is so excited to see me all day everyday, and all those doubts go away.

Bottom line – listen to your gut and know that any decision you make on behalf of your mental, emotional, and physical health will only serve your baby too.

Written on May 2, 2022 Related:Baby, motherhood

Postpartum Health Journey – Week 2

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Taking a more holistic approach to my health this time around is proving to be helpful…feels more balanced to be honest. This week was good in some ways and definitely showed me areas of improvement in others (another reason why I like the four categories I picked – helps break things down a bit more).

General thoughts

A few things I forgot to share last week…

Measuring overall progress – In light of keeping it real, I am weighing myself about once a week/every two weeks right now, but my main focus from a postpartum body perspective is how my clothes fit. And more importantly, how I feel on a day-to-day basis. Do I feel strong? Am I exhausted? Do I feel depleted? Am I reacting more than responding?

Length of workouts – I shared last week that my plan right now is to do a mix of strength, cardio, and core rehabilitation workouts. In terms of length of each workout, right now I’m able to manage 20-45 minutes on a given day depending on what’s going on, if the baby is napping, if anyone is around to help, etc.

Vitamins/supplements – In terms of vitamins and supplements, I’m currently taking a prenatal vitamin, vitamin D, vitamin B12, iron, and a pre/probiotic.

Week 2 – Physical health journey

So this week was Friday-Thursday, and in that time, I squeezed in four workouts. Everything from Peloton rides (ranging from 30-45 minutes) to Peloton and Bodyfit by Amy* strength workouts. From a physical health perspective, it was a good week.

I will say that I’m taking it much easier on my core than I did with Kaiden. Vishnu really wants me to be careful (rightfully so) because he knows how all in I can be with my workouts, and he doesn’t want me to create permanent damage somehow.

*Bodyfit by Amy is an amazing and free YouTube channel with hundreds of workouts and challenges that an be done at home (and some with no equipment). I’ve been doing Amy’s workouts since I was pregnant with Kaiden, and I can’t recommend them enough. She has everything from prenatal to postnatal, HIIT, strength training, pilates, tabata, etc.

Week 2 – Nutritional health journey

My sweet tooth is a little out of control, so I’m currently working on reigning it in a bit by coming up with alternative ‘treats’ for when the craving hits. Will share more as I experiment and learn.

I’m also focusing on adding more protein to my meals and snacks. For example, I’ve been making a nut mix at home with pecans, almonds, walnuts, and a few chocolate chips. I figure that’s better than eating chocolate chips on their own!

And finally, definitely working on increasing my veggie intake. Step one – eating more salads for lunch!

Week 2 – Mental health journey

Still keeping up with therapy! Love my therapist so so much as well as the relationship we’re building.

I’m reading again and started with ‘The Midnight Library.’ Mainly squeezing in pages while I pump, but that’s better than mindlessly scrolling!

My parents are coming to help me this weekend since Vishnu’s on call and working 7a-4p+ both Saturday and Sunday. Woo hoo for living in Atlanta!

Week 2 – Social health journey

Last week, I talked about how I was going to try new ways to control my social media usage. Turns out I don’t need anything new. I just need to go back to my old rules. So from now on, I’m capping my time on IG to 100 minutes/day. After that, I delete the app from my phone. Hopefully this helps!

In terms of our social life, we have a white elephant get together this weekend with friends. Vishnu’s also going to a Hawk’s game with friends on Friday. And last weekend, we had friends over for dinner andK + V went to a Santa event. Given the fact that we have a newborn at home, I feel like this aspect of our life is on track. We don’t attend everything we’re invited to, but because we personally need friend time and want Kaiden to be out and about with new friends, we’re weighing our choices accordingly.

Well, that’s all I’ve got for this week! Wish me luck for week 3!

Written on December 10, 2021 Related:Health, motherhood, Uncategorized

A Crazy Monday!

written by Parita 1 Comment

Well, Monday didn’t go as planned!

Let’s start from the beginning…

When Vishnu and I woke up, he happened to see that there was some unrest in Chicago the night before. We didn’t think too much of it, so he went to show, and I went in the kitchen to make his lunch and get ready for my day. I happened to glance at my phone and saw that I had a note waiting for me in the school’s app. It said that school was closed because of CTA being closed and the damage done in the surrounding neighborhood.

Of course, I totally understood why the decision was made, and I 100% agreed with it. But that didn’t make moving my day around any easier.

When K woke up, I told him there was no school, and he enthusiastically said, “YAY!” That made me smile!

Between a healthy dose of screen time and hands on time with me, we made it through the day. To be really honest, it made me very grateful for K’s school and all the precautions they take whether it’s Covid related or something like this.

Here are a few highlights/funny moments from the day:

  • Kaiden ate more for breakfast than he has in the past 2 years – a whole apple, a half a piece of Dave’s Killer bread with cream cheese, and 2 thick turkey slices.
  • Kaiden had to poop during a call I had (with an external speaker we’re working with on an event). Of course, I was frazzled, but it all worked out. I’m pretty sure my other colleague on the call with me wanted to bust out laughing.
  • Kaiden skipped his nap (of course!), but he definitely tricked me. At about 12:45 pm, he declared that he was tired and wanted to take a nap. I got him all settled, tucked him in, and of course 10 minute later, I hear a little voice yelling MAMA!
  • We read two Berenstain Bears books, and it made me excited because I feel like we can dabble in longer chapter books soon!
  • We also played in bed which means I ran and jumped and Kaiden laughed. Best 20 minutes of my day!
  • We watched Aladdin in the afternoon. Seriously one of my fav movies!
  • In addition to everything that happened overnight, we also experienced a crazy storm in the late afternoon. It spooked Kaiden out, and I was pretty sure out patio furniture was going to end up in the Chicago River. It didn’t. However, there as a lot of destruction across other parts of the city.

Anyways, that was our crazy Monday. Not as expected, but I think I handled it with as much grace and calm as I could muster. I give so much props and credit to those working parents who also have to play the role of teacher at home during this crazy time. Hats off to you!

Written on August 11, 2020 Related:home, Life, motherhood, Uncategorized

State of Our Household – THREE YEARS OLD!

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We officially have a three year old on our hands! WHAT?!

I know this is the most cliche thing to say on your child’s birthday, but I remember every last detail of the days leading up to my delivery with so much clarity. If you want to know more about how Kaiden was brought into the world, read his birth story.

Anyways, let’s get to the details of this post and see how each member of our household is doing!

State of Kaiden

Oh how Mr. K has grown! I feel like just over the past three months, he’s grown in leaps and bounds. Some days, I feel like he’s three going on thirteen. But this age is still so much fun! You don’t know what he’s going to do or say…that element of surprise is a real thing, y’all!

In terms of his personality, he’s one of the funniest people I know! He’s so witty and knows how to get laughs. And if you don’t laugh, he’ll look at you and say, “LAUGH!” Well, ok then! He’s also really sweet. He doesn’t like to see people upset or hurt. I hope his sense of empathy only gets stronger as he gets older. In some ways, Kaiden is like me, he’s super emotional and can get upset quickly, but he gets over the situation quickly. He doesn’t hold grudges. What else? He’s also very stubborn (like most three year olds?!). Kaiden is always down for a good time. It takes him a bit to warm up to people, but once he does, there’s no stopping him!

In terms of sleep, we’re doing well. He goes down between 7:30-7:45p every night (although the antics have definitely started where he tries to keep me in the room as long as he can!), but he’ll fall asleep anywhere from the minute his head hits his pillow to 9 pm. Before he started school again, he was waking up between 7:15-7:30a most days, and now he’s up between 6-7a. Not an easy transition for his parents either! Naps are hit or miss, mostly still hits (those days are rough!). I think pushing his nap time back to 1:30p (vs. 1:00p) may help. We’ll see!

He’s still a pretty good eater. K loves most things, but it does take a bit to get him to the table. Once he’s there, he’s good. Like most kids, we still have our days where he doesn’t want to eat something and will say he’s full after a few bites. It takes everything in me to just be ok with that, but I’m trying! I want him to listen to his hunger cues, so I’m going to chalk it up to him truly not needing any food. Who knows!

Kaiden is now talking a ton! It’s incredible to see and probably one of my favorite developments over the past year. His vocab is pretty great, but what gets me is how much he can say in the correct context. It’s insane!

Like most toddlers, K doesn’t like hearing no or being told what to do. So we have to get creative! Ha! But I will say, if we can just stay calm and meet him on his level, he’s pretty good. It’s not like he won’t budge.

I know this is a very biased this to say, but I think I have the cutest, sweetest, happiest baby boy in the whole world! He really is the best, and I LOVE HIM SOOOO MUCH!

State of Mama

Mama is doing well! I really do love this age, so even though things get rough from time to time, I find that it’s easier to handle.

Quarantine was interesting. If you’ve followed me for a while, you know that work + K wasn’t easy. Something I haven’t talked much about yet is self-care and energy management. I did/do work out every day, but I still haven’t been able to drop the pounds I gained last October. I was on a good path up until mid-March, and then it all went downhill. So I’m trying to focus on regular movement and healthier eating. Easier said than done, but I’m trying!

Other than that, I need to get on a better night time routine. I haven’t been going to sleep at a consistent time, and it shows! Every Monday, I tell myself this is my week! But nope. Two days in and I’m all over the place again. Let’s say this one is a work in progress.

Other than that, everything is the same old!

State of Dada

Vishnu graduated residency earlier this month, which was a momentous occasion for us! Woo hoo!

He’s now gearing up for fellowship and all that brings. It’s going to be a busy year!

Other than that, I’m happy to report that Kaiden and Vishnu’s relationship is the strongest it’s ever been. K is still very much a mama’s boy, but he loves his dada…always asking for him and wanting to wrestle with him! It’s fun to watch, and also a big relief because I’m not the only one he will go to! Woo hoo!

I’ll share another update at 3.5. I love rereading these posts and thinking back on little K!

Written on June 29, 2020 Related:motherhood, Parenthood, Toddler, Uncategorized

Diary of a Working Mom – Q&A with Ruchika Sanyal

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Hey-lo! I’m back with another Diary of a Working Mom Q&A! And this one is by someone I really admire and respect, Ruchika Sanyal. Ruchika is a working mama to two cutie pies and someone who shares her passion around meditation and mindful living on Instagram. In fact, that’s how we connected!

I highly recommend following Ruchika on Instagram. She shares the most rich information. I always leave her page with a smile on my face and new insights to help me be a better parent and person.

With that, let’s chat with Ruchika about all things motherhood…

Tell me a little more about your family – number of kids, names, ages. 
I live in New Jersey and have two daughters, a 4 1/2 year old and a 4 month old. My husband and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary this year. Both of us were born and raised in India and moved to New Jersey about 15 years ago. For the past 1 1/2 years though, he’s been living in Michigan for work, so I’ve been solo parenting for the most part, and called in reinforcements in the form of my mom and/or hired help many times! 

2. Tell me more about your line of work, role, responsibilities, etc. 
I’m a business technologist and work in a large financial services firm in Manhattan. More specifically, I’m a product owner responsible for managing various software, processes and tools to reduce the firm’s information security risk. I’ve been with this company 12 years and have loved everything about it, including the opportunities and flexibility it provides me. I find my job challenging and fast paced – there’s never a dull day really! 

3. Walk me through a day in your life. 
My day typically begins at 6am – I usually wake up and say the words “Jai Gurudev” which means victory to the Big Mind (as against the small mind which bickers, complains and feels stuck) – this sets the tone and intention for the day. My life these days is governed by my pumping schedule, so the first thing I usually do is pump; if both kiddos are still asleep, I get in my morning meditation during this time. I have a babysitter who gets my older daughter ready for school and drops her off; we’ve had this arrangement for more than 3 years now because my commute into the city is 1 hour 15 min, so dropping off my older one to daycare was not feasible for us. And more recently, after baby #2, we have hired a live-in nanny to help me due to the solo parenting situation. It’s true that it takes a village and I’m not afraid to admit I have help because that’s how we make things work for us. So the kids are in the hands of the nannies in the morning while I get ready. I’m out the door between 7:15am-7:30am, usually listening to the radio or podcasts, catching up with family or just letting my mind wander during my commute! At work, I typically have back to back meetings all morning. These days I step away from my desk at around noon to pump in the lactation room, in the past I used to just end up eating at my desk and working through lunch. In the afternoons, I like to block my calendar to catch up on emails, presentations etc, and do “deep/thinking work” a couple of times a week. If I don’t block it, the time gets eaten up by meetings! It doesn’t always work though but it’s good to have it. I leave work between 4:45pm-5pm, pick up my older one from daycare by 6pm; back home, we both spend a few minutes playing with the baby, then she eats dinner while I bathe and change the baby. We then catch about 10 minutes of bedtime reading together before both girls fall asleep, usually between 7:45pm to 8:15pm on most nights. I then have my dinner and do another pump, then prep for the next day – lunch prep, pump parts prep (!), clothes prep etc. Usually between 9pm and 10:30pm, I catch up on my to-do list, Instagram e.t.c , then one more pump before I go to bed! Boy, I’m going to be glad when my pumping journey comes to an end! 🙂 One caveat in this whole thing though – I’ve learnt from the first time around that there’s no such thing as routine with an infant around! So yes, our days can be vastly different and look nothing like the above many times – but we roll with the punches and do our best! 

4. How has becoming a mom influenced your role at work? 
One significant change that I think has come about in the way I handle my work after becoming a mother is that I ruthlessly prioritize and have become much more comfortable with delegating work. In the past, I’ve been hesitant to delegate but now I realize two things – I need to trust my team to do their best, and that delegating actually helps me clear mind and time space for more strategic work. So it’s been good for me to grow into a more leadership role!  

5. What is your favorite tip on how to integrate work and life? 
It’s all about looking at the long game. I think of it in weekly chunks, not on a daily basis – some days of the week the focus will be more on the job, and other days it will be more on the family/volunteering (e.g. doc visits, Instagram etc.). If it evens out at the end of the week (or two!), it’s all good. 

6. How do you handle mom guilt? 
This is a huge topic to unpack but I’ll speak to one specific thing – the guilt that comes from taking help because of the myth of the superwoman who “does it all”. However, I have recently come to realize that if I were asking for help at work, it would be seen as team work. So why not treat motherhood the same way – as teamwork with the trusted people around you, and there’s no reason to be guilty about that. Hire the right people, delegate and give them credit – just like at work!

7. What is the most surprising part of being a working mom?  And the most rewarding? 
The surprising bit – how many people will understand your time constraints and need to look after your family on some days as long as you communicate it well. The rewarding bit – knowing that my daughters will grow up seeing all sides of my personality and identity. 

8. How do you carve out ‘me’ time?  What does ‘me’ time look like for you?  On that same note, what’s your guilty pleasure?
Me” time has been hard to come by lately, so I’ve been using my pump sessions as me time nowadays! During this time, I meditate if it’s quiet, listen to podcasts, write Insta posts, chat with family, or sometimes just watch reruns of Friends! I also love to treat myself to a silent meditation retreat once a year.

9. What’s your mama mantra? 
“The days seem long but the years are short” – my friend told me this after my first daughter was born but I didn’t fully understand the truth in it until much later! 

10. What’s the best piece of advice you received when returning back to work after having your baby?
You do not need to do everything, you need to do the important things. Hence, prioritize! 

11. What advice would you give to mamas-to-be about returning back to work?
Prioritize what needs to be done today vs. tomorrow vs. next week. And communicate! If someone sends an urgent email at 4:54pm and you need to leave office by 5pm, let them know you’ve seen it and will get back to them by [be specific – e.g. tonight, or by 10am tomorrow morning]. Most people will appreciate the prompt acknowledgment and communication of timeline even if it’s not a prompt answer to the actual question. 

Thanks, Ruchika! It was so great to get to know you better. You’re little family is so lucky to have you!

Written on February 26, 2020 Related:Working mama series, working motherhood

Our Experience Using a Toddler Sleep Clock

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Sleep (or the lack thereof) and parenthood often go hand in hand. Like I’ve said before, I was naive enough to think that our sleep woes would end once Kaiden was a toddler. But no. We’ve experienced every regression plus some!

For my long time readers, you know that K often woke up quite early. No matter what we tried (going to sleep earlier, going to sleep later, changing up his bedtime routine, etc.), he consistently woke up in the 5 o’clock hour (if not earlier). And this is as recently as November/December 2019.

One night, as we laid our exhausted heads to bed, I asked Vishnu what he thought of a toddler clock. After sharing my sleep woes on Instagram, a few followers recommended getting one. He said he was willing to try anything to get Kaiden to sleep until 6:00. Ha!

After looking up a few of the ones that were recommended to me, we finally settled on the LittleHippo Mella Read to Rise Children’s Sleep Trainer Clock. There was no rhyme or reason as to why we chose this one to be honest…more than anything it had better reviews that the rest.

So this clock is really simple. You essentially set your child’s sleep time and you set the wake time, and then thirty minutes before the wake time, the ring around the clock turns yellow. This is to help the child slowly wake up (more on our experience with this in a minute). Then when it’s your scheduled wake time, the ring turns green. In most, cases, this is when your child can get of bed or call out to you.

In our experience, the yellow light would cause Kaiden to wake up…and not slowly! So instead of telling him he had to wait for the green light to call out for us, we tell him to wait for the yellow light. We set the clock to a 6:30 am wake up time so that the yellow ring turns on at 6:00 am.

If I’m making this sound complicated, please know that it’s not! Just takes some adjusting based on your child.

A few notes…

Don’t assume this will work from day 1. Some days, Kaiden still wakes up at 5:45, and I have to go in and lay on the bed and tell him he has to wait to get up until he sees the yellow light. Depending on when you start, it will take your toddler some time to adjust to a clock wake up.

We do change the wake up time on the weekends to 7:30 in the hopes that K sleeps until 7. This has worked a handful of times!

How I like to face the clock on Friday and Saturday nights. I feel like not having the bright yellow light shining over his crib helps him sleep a little later. Just a theory on my part…who knows!

This clock has other features like an alarm, a nightlight, etc. We don’t use them (yet) but you get more for your buck than what we use it for.

Anyways, like I said, this was not a magical sleep solution for us, but it has worked wonders! Kaiden has slept longer with this than when we did anything else. Fingers crossed that it only gets better from here!

Let me know if you have any questions (in the comments), and most importantly, if you are dealing with a toddler who doesn’t love to sleep in, know that you’re not alone!

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 February 12, 2020 Related:Baby, Parenthood, Toddler, Uncategorized

Diary of a Working Mom – Yours Truly

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So many of the moms I’ve interviewed for this series have told me to answer the questions myself. Well, it took me a while, but I’m doing it!

I thought this would be a good way for new readers/followers to get to know me, as the questions span everything from schedules to mottos to guilty pleasures.

Let’s get right to it!

1. Tell me a little more about your family – number of kids, names, ages.
My family consists of me, my hubby of 7.5 years Vishnu, and our beautiful and fun baby boy Kaiden. We’re originally from Atlanta but have been living in Chicago for the past 3.5 years.

2. Tell me more about your line of work, role, responsibilities, etc.
I work for a global accounting organisation and am a Senior Manager on the People and Culture (P&C) team. Essentially, I collaborate and work with and for P&C leaders in our member firms (we have ~140 firms) on various projects, initiatives, tools, etc. related to (you guessed it!) people and culture issues.

I like this role because it’s more strategic in nature. We don’t do any hiring, firing and paperwork. It’s really about working on the things that will impact our network and make us future-fit.

And I’ve been with my current organisation for a little over 7.5 years.

3. Walk me through a day in your life.
The answer to this depends on if I’m going in to the office or not.

Par going to office – wake up at 4:45 and shower + get ready; start prepping breakfast shake and mine and Vishnu’s lunch; Kaiden up at 6; cuddle with K, feed him breakfast, wrap up everything else; get K dressed for school and brush his teeth; get myself dressed; get out the door by 7:15; drop K off at school and walk to work; get to the office by 7:45; work work work until 4:14 pm; walk to Kaiden’s daycare, pick him up and get home by 5 ish; prep dinner and keep K entertained until it’s time to eat; sit down to eat at 6; either Vishnu or I give K a bath at 6:30 while the other person cleans up in the kitchen; once K is dressed and ‘creamed’ up, we sit, read and play; at 7:15, Vishnu takes K to brush his teeth; I then put him down (sing 4 songs, say our prayers and affirmations, goodnight kisses, lights out!); from 7:30-9:00, Vishnu and I hang out on the couch – watch TV, talk, blog, do work, etc.; I get into bed by 9:15 and read for about 20-30 minutes; then it’s lights out for me!

Par works from home – the day looks very similar to the above except I wake up at 5:30; also my afternoon looks different when I’m home – I stop working at 4 and then I clean up around the house, start prepping dinner, etc.

Vishnu and I decide who will pick up and drop off Kaiden based on our schedules. Sometimes he does one or both and sometimes it’s me.

4. How has becoming a mom influenced your role at work?
I feel like I’m a lot more efficient. Time and self-management are key ‘mom skills’ and I’m glad I’m able to transfer those over to my role at work.

Another way motherhood has impacted me at work is that I don’t take things to heart anymore. I used to analyze anything and everything someone said or did. I would get upset if I wasn’t included on a project. Work took up a lot of my mind space. Now? I realize work is one (small) element. My goal is to do what I need (and do it well) to do to provide for my family and prioritize the rest of my time around our family. Life is too short to spend so much energy on work (just my personal opinion).

5. What is your favorite tip on how to integrate work and life?
If you’re not already, become a list person. Like paper and pen list person. My lists keep me sane and on track – for work and personal stuff. I feel like if you have system for capturing the random thoughts that come and go during the day (and night!), you can more easily flow between work and life.

Also, don’t multitask. It’s a myth. Set a timer, focus on one task at a time, and slowly get stuff done.

6. How do you handle mom guilt?
To be honest, I felt a lot of mom guilt in the beginning…about anything and everything. And I think that was because Kaiden was so helpless and I thought I was the only one who could (and should) help him. As he’s gotten older, I see that he only benefits from having rich relationships with other people including his dad (duh!), his grandparents, his aunts/uncles, daycare providers, baby sitters, etc.

If you love the s*** out of your kid and make the most of the time that you do have with him/her, mom guilt should really start to fade away.

It does rear it’s ugly head from time to time, but I try my best to push it out because I know I’m doing the best I can and I know I love my child to bits and pieces and that’s all that matters!

7. What is the most surprising part of being a working mom?  And the most rewarding?
Surprising – being ok with things being undone at times. I used to be someone who’d spend 4 hours every weekend cleaning a one bedroom apartment. I now don’t nitpick at that level. It’s ok if some things get left for tomorrow.
Rewarding – picking Kaiden up at daycare and seeing his face light up when he sees him (or when he gets home if Vishnu picks him up)!

8. How do you carve out ‘me’ time?  What does ‘me’ time look like for you?  On that same note, what’s your guilty pleasure?
I try to use the time when K’s sleeping (naps, down for the night) to my advantage. Sure, I could spend hours scrolling IG (which I occasionally do). But I really try to be intentional about how I spend the hours I do get to myself.

Me time for me looks like reading, blogging, chatting with a friend, watching a show with Vishnu.

And my guilty pleasure has to be chocolate. Chocolate in most any form is life!

9. What’s your mama mantra?
One day/hour/minute at a time.

10. What’s the best piece of advice you received when returning back to work after having your baby?
Don’t jump back in…wade back in. Everyone knows your capable but take the time you need to get re-acclimated.

11. What advice would you give to mamas-to-be about returning back to work?
Ask for what you want/need. The worst thing anyone can say is no! This goes for assignments, to pumping rooms, to everything in between. Be your own best advocate!


Written on February 5, 2020 Related:motherhood, Uncategorized, Working mama series, working motherhood

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