Career Development

One of my motivations for getting my MBA was to broaden my future career prospects. The university where I attend is trying to groom us aspiring MBAs to be the perfect candidates, touting the company line, and wowing the companies that recruit on campus.

In order to be eligible for the university's career events I need to complete a list of 25 accomplishments in the PAR (Problem/Project/Performance Objective, Action, Result), a 3-5-5+ value strategy, a resume, and a focus statement in order to establish my "personal brand". All of this has me feeling like more of a consumer good rather than a person and I am 100%+ stressed. What I thought would be  a good exercise in reflection on my career and achievements, is making me feel like an underachiever. I have to work, go to school, get awards, do extracurricular activities, and have hobbies in the meantime.

How can I fit in all those things when I feel like I can barely tread water with work, school, and caring for a new baby? Why are these the only ways to measure my success and capabilities?

So for one of my accomplishments in the PAR format, I have decided to write the following:

Problem/Project/Performance Objective - pregnant with first child
Action - labored for 12 hours
Outcome - gave birth naturally to daughter
Value Created for Enterprise - family started
MBA Competencies (list three) - persistence, initiative, and adaptability; judgement and decision making; complex problem solving

Beyond the Firsts

Today Mirah is two months old, which has me in a reflecting mood. People often comment that I should “enjoy every minute” that I have with my child. These people will often say, “I miss the days when my son/daughter was that age!” To be perfectly honest, I will not miss the first days and weeks of Mirah’s life. I’m happy they happened; Enrique and I are absolutely smitten with our daughter, and we have discovered new things about ourselves and embarked on a new chapter in our relationship. But these first days  contained for me feelings of loss, helplessness, confusion, frustration...there were days when all I did was nurse, and days when I didn’t even have the opportunity to go pee. Yes, I’m sentimental (already!) when I look at her newborn outfits that are now too small,  or when I reflect upon her first bath. However, there are so many exciting new firsts that we will get to witness, and that is the beautiful thing about parenthood. 

I can feel the cool summer breeze outside and everything is quiet in our house. Mirah’s sleeping and Enrique and I have some quiet time on the couch. Tonight I feel as if I’ve truly come out on the other side of those first difficult days of transition. I don’t know what motherhood holds for me, and I’m still not sure what to do with my new title...but that’s okay. 

Mirah & the Blue Chair

"They grow up so fast!" is one of the most frequent comments that I hear as a new parent of a new baby, which makes me think, "If it means she'll sleep through the night, that's not a problem." But it's true. Here's La Beba at one week...

...and at three weeks...

...we're talking exponential growth here, people. In the back of my mind was a photo project I saw on the blog Young House Love, where the blogging couple takes weekly pictures of their daughter with colorful fabric backdrops. The result is beautiful! I wanted to do something similar, but make it my own (and less complicated) so Mirah's growth could be commemorated.

Then, I spotted a lonely old wooden high chair sitting neglected in the corner of our dining room. And it hit me. I put a few coats of paint on it, and ta da! 

And I snapped her one month picture in her room. 

I went for the white wall/wrinkled sheet backdrop this time around, but the chair is something that can be put in different settings or with different back drops. It will be fun to see Mirah grow in comparison to the chair. What a momentous occasion it will be when she can sit up on her own in the chair!...yet bittersweet, because I won't get great action shots like these. Shout out to my lovely assistant, Mom. You have great reflexes!

Breastfeeding in DC

I imagined that breastfeeding would come easy. After all, it's something so natural and humans have been doing it for thousands of years. Unfortunately, I had a rocky start. With the help of a wonderful lactation consultant, I improved my technique. It's not perfect, but it's good enough!
And then there was nursing in public...nothing three hours at Dulles International Airport couldn't cure! Yup, it was there by the baggage claim that I shed my fears. Since then, Mirah and I have taken our show on the road to many a parking lot, parking space, and mall food court. Just call us the rockstars of breastfeeding...



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