This is a very personal post, my pregnancy was a roller-coaster ride with excitement, euphoria, anxiety and little worry. I was late by two weeks there was no sign of Aunt Flo, I took the pregnancy test at home which showed only one streak, I was so obsessed that I started testing daily but all turned out to be negative. But I was confident that something was happening inside, that is when I decided to get my blood tested.
On 6th March 2018, I googled for clinics in my town which did beta HCG test I found one and on my way to office gave my blood for testing, I was informed that test result will be ready by evening. I was anxious to know the result. When I got the same I was very happy as it reflected my doubt. My happiness knew no bound I was ecstatic and waited anxiously for my husband to return home to give the good news. My hubby was excited when I told him.
Trimester 1 (Feb- Apr)
Around Mid March I was down with fever and was on bed rest for a whole week. My doctor put me on a very strict diet of proteins, lots of green veggies, some fruits, little carbs, and no outside food. I was on and off paleo diet before getting pregnant so body and mind adjusted to the new diet except for not able to eat outside. We live in Pondicherry where you have more restaurants and food joints than people (i know I'm exaggerating, but it feels to me like that) and the food here is to die for, it was hard initially but I got the hang of it. I recovered the next week after medication, drinking lots of water. By the month end, I had scheduled my 45 days scan and was very excited. On April 2nd 2018, went to the hospital where the nurse asked me to drink lots of water and not to pee before the scan, I obliged. I went to the room which was dark, cold and I was asked to climb the table. The Sonologist rubbed gel on my tummy and got to the business at the end of the session she handed over the report and picture of my baby(technically not a baby yet). I was delighted.
I had no morning sickness (Thank God!) Though, I had crazy food aversions and cravings. Things I loved to eat became a pariah as the very thought of eating it made me gag, the food I never ate and despised became my craving. I was always tired and sleepy, at every chance, I hit the sack.
We started researching on food to eat, prenatal workout, things to do for a normal delivery as I wanted to deliver my baby naturally without going under the knife (Shit scared of knife and needle). We started having home-cooked food concentrating on more veggies and fruits. I started working out at home, walked for 20 mins on the treadmill, did yoga, stretching (as advised by my doctor) in the morning and a half an hour walk along the beach after work. My office is in a 2 storey building where my desk is on the first floor, my job required me to climb up and down the stairs all day, additional workout!
Trimester 2 (May - Jul)
The breezy part of the whole pregnancy is the second trimester. I faced no fatigue, and I was active the whole time. My bump was noticeable if not prominent. I was happy that I could eat food outside, travel (we travelled to Chidambaram & Pichavaram mangroves on road). One of the exciting thing that happened in this period is my little baby moved inside. It was the purest and heavenly experience a woman can undergo. I talked to my bump when no one was around (cause I felt it weird to talk to my belly), stroke it, sing to it, read to it and whenever I did the baby moved or nudged. I made sure that I was spending some time with my bump. Every week I weighed myself the scale would reach far end of right side(thankfully stayed there, didn't move further), my doctor advised me to maintain my current weight if not at least to reduce a few kilos, the result of which my exercise routine got a little vigorous and my body was getting used to the pace at which I was working out. Plus side of pregnancy other than carrying a miracle in you is shopping! I purchased a ton of maternity clothes, all floral, flowy gowns and dresses and few options for work. I would be lying if I said I stopped purchasing 'em. ;) I started reading a lot of books and literature. I had installed What to Expect app on my phone which I read religiously. They send links, materials, as per your progress. Every week in the morning I read what was happening inside on growth and development wise to the fetus. I had purchased the book which goes by the same name but the app was better.
Trimester 3 (Aug - Oct)
The final trimester is my favourite one as I was in my last and counting my days to the delivery date. The doctor gave EDD as Nov 5th 2018, I had a hunch that I would deliver before EDD. (Spoiler Alert! I DID!) Last trimester went by so quick. I was following my routine, Eating home cooked food, working out, Yoga, walk on the beach. Days went by soon, I was preparing for delivery and researched for painless delivery a lot of options came by I decided to read a good book which prepares you for the deed, after hours of research online I came across this great book and I purchased it. The book is written by Grantly Dick-Read titled Childbirth Without Fear. This book changed my whole idea of childbirth, from a panicky first-time mom to be I became confident and was practising and preparing for childbirth the natural way with no medication.
I had a great baby shower done in a traditional Tamil way and had arranged for the Pregnancy photo shoot in the same week. We had our photo shoot scheduled in a park. Some of the photos are below:
September was my last month at work, I had to complete all my pending work and inform about my leave to the clients I handled before going on ML.
That month flew by as I was quite busy in finishing my job, preparing and packing my stuff as I had to travel down south for delivery. I kept my hospital bag ready and reached my husband's place in October.
My routine continued to be the same except I was clueless about how to handle all the free time that I had. I was elated and did nothing useful then got bored of doing nothing I started to read, watched a few Netflix series, a lot of movies, helped my husband's business. We met the doctor who will be delivering my baby to see how she was with her patients. My doctor was very kind and understanding whenever we went to the clinic she would always check the baby on the ultrasound. I was on week 38, I experienced no pain, no sign of water breaking. My doc advised that we'll wait till the end of 38 weeks and if still no sign of labour pain then she'll go ahead and induce me. The date was fixed as 31st of October 2018.
But, God had a different plan, On 29th October 2018, in the morning I felt labour pain when timed the frequency was irregular and nearly 20-25 mins apart. Around noon I was exhausted and slept through the evening and woke up around 8 pm for dinner. That is when my water broke, my husband was out shopping for baby's clothes & diapers (as we don't get baby clothes early in pregnancy) I had dinner and watched some series(for distraction), didn't panic, remained calm the whole time. Around 11 pm went to the hospital to get admitted. My doctor checked and confirmed rupture of the sac and induced me as I didn't feel labour pain.
The delivery ward was silent, chilly (from the AC) and dark. Few women had delivered and few who were about to. The nurse made me lie down and strapped my belly with a heartbeat monitor, I was elated to know that I'll hold my baby in a few hours. I fell asleep listening to my baby's heartbeat. Around 1am the nurse woke me up to meet my family and relatives who wanted to see me. After I met them, the nurse injected me with a medicine(I forgot the name) that put me to sleep but I woke up every time I had a contraction. I slept like this for 2 hours and around 4 am my contractions were getting stronger, lasted long and getting closer between each contraction (I timed). Around 5 am the nurse confirmed that baby's head was crowning, nurses were running around to prepare for the delivery. I tried to remain calm but the pain was searing through every inch of my body. My doctor came in and delivered my baby, the baby came out wailing but in a heavenly voice. I was happy and tired at the same time. The doctor was collecting umbilical cord blood as we decided to bank. The paediatrician brought my baby and showed me, I was happy to see my baby. I didn't ask the gender of my baby, as at that point of time I was happy as my baby came out healthy, but the doctor informed I delivered a boy. Hands down it was the best day of life.
