Heart! With a Mom - Pratiksha Mehta Gupta (Speech therapist cum Audiologist)

Heart! with a Mom 

Hello parents, we are starting out our first ❤️ with a mom, with a very special mom. 

She's a mom to two lovely girls and believes to be gifted the most sought-after role in womanhood! 

In her own words "I'm still under training and the Oscar seems far away, but I try my utmost to make my girls feel happy and loved." 

1. Please introduce yourself

Professionally I am a "Speech Therapist cum Audiologist" turned entrepreneur. 1SpecialPlace and Hear n Speak are  my two other babies whom I have nurtured with passion and fervour. I adore working with families and my typical day involves finding innovative ways of helping children with whom we have to travel an extra mile.

I grew up in Dehradun, moved to Mysore for my undergrad and then later to London for my Post graduation. I have worked in some leading hospitals in UK, Noida and Pune. When I started my journey of motherhood I had to drastically restructure the way I worked. And thats when passion met creativity and I founded 1Special Place.

Motherhood has been a choice that I make everyday ! I dote on my family which I place ahead of all my whims and wishes in life. My own mom is my best pal and I feel behind all my stories, its her story because hers is where mine begins!

2. How old are you? Oops.. Lets reframe this.. How many years has it been being a mother?

Its been around 6 years. I believe that I got promoted to being a mother when I heard my first unborn’s heartbeat!

3. Whats the age gap between your two children? And what are your thoughts on this?

My elder girl is almost like a mini mom to my younger one who is a 2 month old baby. They both are around 5 years and a whole generation apart.  I feel this gap has been ideal for my family. When my younger one was born, my elder daughter was quite independent and “wise” to take sisterhood head on. She has never shown any jealousy or with drawl of any sorts. She longs to come home from school and loves to spend time with the baby. She even suggests ways to doll her up and ideas to soothe her . Both the girls have a super bonding and my heart swells up to see them so connected.

4. Its the era of the Modern Mom, working or SAHM, we juggle a lot of things together and aspire to do even more. Whats your mantra in your work place and home?

There is one life that we have, and we must love it to live it. I think work-life-balance is a myth. There are always things which matter more than others and its all about priorities. Hence my mantra is - Love what you do, and the journey will be worth it!

5. What are the five best things you do or did, to make life more simple and less complicated after being a mommy?

The  things that I have incorporated to ease out my mommy life are all based on being more organised. and disciplined -

A Specific place for everything! So we have a box or a drawer set out for everything… even for petty stuff like rubber bands, tattoos and even items collected in our nature walks!

Labelling - All these boxes are labelled. When my daughter was younger we had labels with pictures on them. Now since she can read, the labels are in words and its great to realise that she knows where her things are!

Well labelled Kitchen. Yes this has helped me hugely. I know what to add in my grocery list and what I haven't cooked in a while!

Eating home made - I am a super believer in home made food. Hence I cook a variety of food including snacks  like chips, candies, cookies, ice lollies and even cakes. This keeps my family less prone to falling ill and indirectly takes away my mommy worries.

Early to bed - Practising early bed routines for the kids has helped me immensely. Im able to get  time to do my work this way and it directly impacts my productivity in work and at home.

6. What are the things/incidents you wish could change or would do differently for your children, if you went back in time?

I feel motherhood is a roller coaster ride and you need to keep forgiving yourself again and again for making  mistakes.  Those ‘wrong decisions’ and bumpy jolts have made me a better mom! So  I don't really want to change anything in the past. All those incidents have made me a mindful, sensible and cognizant mom. 

Though Yes if I could I would love to rewind and enter my first born’s babyhood to see her first smile and hear her first “Mumma”

7. Your hard work is really inspiring Mommy, what advice would you like to give to other Moms, so they can aspire to do something similar?

Im happy that I inspire others! I have myself been influenced by some strong women I know. And the first one is my Mom. I have grown up under her umbrella of sacrifice and love. 

My parents always believed in me and that has given me the drive to get set and go. All mothers reading this should find their inspiration from within. You can do it, if you set your mind to it!

8. What are the future plans for 1special place.. We can see a lot of parents and kids benefitting.. Its great work!

Thank you. 1SpecialPlace is India’s first Tele-practice Service Provider in the fields of Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Clinical Psychology, Special Education and Physiotherapy. We envisage to grow steadily to help more people around the globe. Our mobile apps have received a good response and we plan to make better and more useful apps in the future.

And last but not the least, thank you for your time and consideration.

THANKS TO YOU FOR THIS.. ITS GREAT TO WRITE WHAT YOU FEEL :)

All the best!

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Also, you all can reach out to Pratiksha on her facebook page @1specialplace. 

Have any friend(s) who inspire you, please do share with us too!