Sheryl Sidharth Dhas, a tender officer with a health company and mum to a two-year-old boy, gives us her list

1. If I have my kid with me when we are spotted playing with toys in a toy shop, I get ‘aw so sweet’ looks from onlookers. Usually I get ‘what a weirdo’ looks.

2. I don’t need a sabbatical to ‘find myself’. Motherhood has done the trick. Who knows what lies ahead on the path of self-discovery?

3. Who needs a gym membership when you can get a wonderful workout running after a laughing bundle of endless energy?

4. I can always blame my extra pounds on my motherhood instead of those chocolate cakes I have been indulging in!

5. When we travel, I get treated like a VIP. We’re allowed to jump queues and are given better seats.

6. With my kid’s smiling face and curious stare I don’t need to think of any ice-breakers when I want to make friends with strangers.

7. I get to feel like a star with my own personal shopper and stylist. Does it really matter that sometimes I come out looking like a rainbow?

8. I don’t need to make excuses for turning up late at a party. I just have to seem hurried and look at my kid with total exasperation.

9. ‘It’s all for him.’ I can stock up my pantry with a lot of goodies without feeling guilty.

10. I don’t need a warm water bottle any more. Nothing comes close to the comfort I get when snuggled up with my baby.