Nobody tells you that motherhood will make you more yourself. Not less.

More confident. More direct. Less embarrassed. Less interested in wasting time on things that don't matter. More willing to lie down on a stranger's picnic blanket — metaphorically speaking. My 3 year old does it literally.

This episode is about the growth that sneaks up on you. The version of yourself that motherhood quietly builds while you're busy building your family.

In this episode:→ Why I now have strong opinions about a good thermos flask→ The gym replacing going out — and why that brings me the same amount of joy→ Dropping the filter when it comes to people — and what my 3 year old taught me about that→ Why I genuinely believe nothing good is happening after 9pm and I am completely at peace with that→ How motherhood rewired my self awareness, my spending, my confidence and my relationship with time

For the mother who thought she was losing herself — and found out she was just getting started.

Rashi Kakkar started Decks and Diapers when she first became a mother.

Not because she had time. She didn't.

Because something in her needed to make sense of what was happening. The identity shift. The career tension. The feeling that motherhood and ambition were supposed to be opposites and yet somehow she couldn't accept that.

She is a global leader at McKinsey & Company, a mum of two including a newborn, and knows what it takes to keep building when life is already full.

In this episode:→ Why she felt compelled to create something of her own alongside a demanding career — and what it gave her that nothing else could→ The hard seasons behind the newsletter — and what kept her going→ What 100+ conversations with working parents revealed that nobody wants to say out loud→ What dual ambition actually looks like from the inside — the full picture, not just the highlight reel

For the mother who knows that creating something of her own isn't indulgent.

It's necessary.

All views expressed are Rashi's personal opinions and do not reflect the views of any organisation she may be a part of.

My period leaked in a store. And honestly? It made me think.

Because the version of me from 5 or 6 years ago would have been mortified. This version found it more inconvenient than anything else. And the fact that I'm talking about it on a podcast says everything.

In this episode:→ What that moment revealed about how far I've come - and how little I saw it coming→ Childbirth as the first barrier -how giving birth stripped away my body consciousness in a way nothing else could→ From hiding in toilet cubicles to changing rooms, naked swims and podcast microphones - the quiet journey to feeling at home in my own body→ How body confidence became life confidence - and why I'm taking more risks now than I ever did before

For the mother who didn't realise motherhood was building her confidence until she was already standing in it. 💛