It's A Circus - Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of self care

Honesty and Support in Motherhood and Beyond with Kavita

• Elsa Cherner • Season 4 • Episode 17

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Host Elsa introduces an episode of the It’s a Circus podcast featuring Kavita Tisdale, a corporate leader at Airbnb and mom to her nearly three-year-old daughter, Alia. Kavita shares her journey to motherhood, including years of trying to conceive, the emotional toll of fertility challenges, and advice to seek fertility education and support earlier. She describes the shock and joy of learning she was pregnant, the importance of community during fertility struggles and postpartum, and how personalized support can look different for different people. Kavita talks about a difficult pregnancy marked by constant vomiting and ER visits, her labor experience including a negative interaction with a nurse, and surprises after birth—including her daughter’s blonde hair and blue eyes and assumptions others made about their relationship. The conversation covers postpartum realities: painful breastfeeding, pumping every two hours, guilt around feeding, switching to formula, and the relief and improved well-being that came with changing her approach. Kavita also discusses the impact of her husband losing a close friend postpartum and how it shaped his focus on her mental health. She reflects on returning to work after a short maternity leave at Wayfair, challenges re-entering a role, layoffs, and how she ultimately found a supportive remote culture at Airbnb, including leadership that prioritized humanity during family crises. Kavita and Elsa discuss what makes working parenthood sustainable—intentional career choices, remote work, supportive managers, and an equal partnership—along with parenting goals centered on creating a safe, loving environment, teaching boundaries, and modeling empathy. Kavita shares that she and her husband strengthened their relationship through therapy early in marriage and ends with reflections on empathy as her word for motherhood, myths she questions about parenting language, and pride in building a joyful, present family life.

00:00 Fertility Fears and Dreams

00:19 Podcast Circus Intro

00:42 Meet Kavita and Her Journey

02:55 Trying to Conceive Reality

05:29 When Hope Gets Hard

09:26 Advice and Early Testing

12:40 The Positive Test Moment

16:15 How to Support Friends

25:22 Pregnancy Was Brutal

30:13 Birth Plan and Hospital Drama

35:03 Postpartum Feeding Struggles

45:23 Formula Choice and Mental Health

49:11 Returning to Work Challenges

50:44 Dropoff Guilt

51:39 Chasing Remote Work

52:26 Post Leave Whiplash

53:47 Airbnb Kindness Culture

55:44 Leading With Empathy

59:01 Equal Partnership Balance

01:02:17 Why Keep Working

01:07:33 Raising A Daughter

01:12:10 Boundaries And Bullying

01:15:45 Marriage Takes Work

01:22:42 Motherhood Is Empathy

01:29:34 Myths And Mom Guilt

01:35:08 Being Present Wins

01:38:13 Closing Thoughts


Thanks for listening to It’s a Circus Podcast — Unfiltered stories of motherhood, identity, and the art of Self care

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