Mindy Kaling Details Being on Bed Rest for 6 Weeks During Pregnancy

On Being ''Terrified'' to Raise Katherine By Herself

In Nothing Like I Imagined (Except for Sometimes), Mindy Kaling wrote that it was after she coordinated a Mundan—a Hindu ceremony in which you shave your baby's head "to rid you of the negativity from your past life"—for her first child Katherine "Kit" Kaling, she was hit with realization that she was going to truly be a single mother.

"Why was I crying so much? Because I think that it finally dawned on me that I have a child who will never know her grandmother, the person who was the closest to me in the world," she explained. "And I was about to start this journey with my daughter by myself without the help of my mother. I was going to raise her alone, and I was terrified."

However, the actress said she was comforted by the traditions her mother raised her with, writing, "The reason I'm Kind of Hindu and will raise my daughter to be Kind of Hindu is to have this connection deep inside my own heart to other people who look like us and have shared key experiences, thousands of miles away... As long as Kit and I are Kind of Hindu, we will never be alone."

When she first got pregnant, Mindy said she felt she could raise Kit on her own, as her mother and father did with her. She wrote that she thought, "If Mom could do it all without a whisper of complaint, then why couldn't I?"

However, it dawned on the Office alum that she didn't have her mother around to advise her on the ins and outs of breastfeeding or other seemingly easy tasks, which would later prove to be difficult. So, she hired a baby nurse on the advice of a friend, and it proved to be one of the best decisions she's ever made.

"I didn't have my mom. But I did have Rose. Rose loved giving advice, and I loved listening to it," Mindy recalled, before listing the fears that Rose helped her overcome. "All these fears were the worst I've ever had in my life, and Rose helped me keep them at bay. She was my mom when I needed a mom, and that wasn't even her job."

Mindy so treasured having Rose in her life that when the baby nurse asked if she'd ever require her assistance again, she said, "I told her I don't know if I'll have another baby, but if it meant she would come and live with me, I may just go ahead and do it."

The Mindy Project star is nothing but honest when discussing her relationship status, or lack thereof. 

Mindy said she doesn't notice her singledom until people point it out to her. For example, she explained that other moms tend to complain about their husband, "feigning desire to be single in an attempt to make the single mom feel better about being husband-less."

Nonetheless, Mindy shared how dating is "complicated" for her.

"Sometimes it's the most liberating and lucky feeling in the world," she reflected. "Sometimes I am just so grateful to be an independent woman doing what I want, when I want, that I could cry with gratitude."

The actress—who previously dated her The Office costar B.J. Novak—also admited there are times when she wants a husband, which include: "When I'm Alone at a Party, When I Need to Reach Things, When Kids' Books Mention Daddies, When I Want Dessert at a Restaurant, When My Kid Does Something Amazing and When I Think About Diamond Rings."

On the bright side of things, there are many reasons the Never Have I Ever creator is pleased to be single. 

For one, she never has to debate with someone about parenting decisions. "I save a truly staggering amount of time not having to run my parenting decisions by another person. Good or bad, I can just, like, quickly make a decision and move on with my day," Mindy wrote.

Other silver linings include: she can choose who she sleeps with and when, with no strings attached, no in-laws, she can always drive, she has ownership of both nightstands, and she has free reign over the remote control, meaning she never has to watch something she doesn't like. 

In the months before welcoming Katherine, Mindy said she was "killing the pregnancy game", joking that she hadn't "overachieved this much since high school."

In fact, she losr weight by following her doctor's diet recommendations diligently. As she put it, "I had always thought I'd sooner die than eat kale, and yet there I was, munching on it like some kind of Instagram salad influencer."

That same dedication applied to her fluids, with Mindy describing herself as "the most hydrated pregnant woman in the history of pregnancy."

She continued, "Second trimester was uneventful, and third trimester was the same, except an unusual five-day period where I did not go to the bathroom...  Luckily, that eventually worked itself out."