Trimester 3

December 2014: I think i have done well so far, though i have felt on more than one occasion that pregnancy is hard work. Right now i am in my 35th week. I have just a month before the baby arrives.
Months 2 to 8 of my pregnancy has passed like a whirlwind thanks to my challenging and full schedule at work and at home. It has been peaceful and uneventful and i am very grateful for that. I have had a few stressful days at work, a few emotional days and many many days when i have felt angry. I guess it was all hormonal.
I read about everything i was feeling and what is it that i could expect in the coming days. So i was never really surprised at anything as the days went by. I had immense help from my mom and my mother-in-law who took turns to come and help us out during the 5 months between July and November. I came to Bombay on November 1st when i began my 8th month.
Unwinding mentally and physically took me nearly 3 weeks after i arrived in Bombay. I became more and more slow moving and more and more apprehensive.
I have bouts of panic about labor and the days that would follow. And no woman i spoke to, about this stuff said anything to make me feel better. But, after i read some posts online about women fearing that they wont be able to endure labor pain and the related, and the responses from women were so practical and so consoling. It is a primal thing for every woman to give birth. It is the most natural thing there can be. The fear of what is to come is just fear of the unknown. When we face that situation, probably we will have a moment when fear takes over. But, if you know that basically there is nothing to fear, and the end result is going to be worth every moment of pain and discomfort, you will be able to relax.
I pray everyday, maybe not enough, but i remember God and thank Him for all the good things and give me courage and strength for the challenging ones.
I feel strong movement now. The baby is going to either be a yoga expert or a gymnast. By certain movements i can imagine the baby to be lounging inside of me, stretching out a leg or an arm and not coiling back into fetal pose. When i described it, my mom laughed.
I just pray that everything auspicious happens around the baby always, and that everyone stays blessed and happy! 

From Inception till date

May 2014 : I discovered for the first time, what every woman discovers for herself at least once in her lifetime, that I am going to be a mom. That day was May 10, 2014.

I knew I will be a mom someday. But when it actually happened, I was pleasantly shocked. I stood with the strip in my hand for a whole ten seconds before I woke Prakash with the news. He was also in denial for the first few minutes. I showed him the strip that clearly said positive, and then he let it sink in. It took me that whole day to believe that this was finally happening to me.

I told my mom next. She was thrilled. She has a close friend, Dr. Meena, whose mother helped deliver me in 1986. Dr. Meena is a well known gynecologist and is very fond of my mother. My mother called her right away and  sounded her out. She asked my mother to have me contact her and promised to take good care of me.

We visited the doctor the same afternoon. I had a scan done which indicated that I was 5 weeks, 0 days pregnant. I was given a list of tests that had to be done after two weeks of extreme care and caution. I gave a blood sample and we went back home.

I cannot explain how I felt in the initial few days. Such mixed feelings. At first it was very difficult for me to accept that everything is going to change, even if it is for the good, it is going to change. I did not feel maternal, which was just a thought, and it was not even true. Every woman has it ingrained in her. She has been created to help with procreation. I kept giving an excuse to myself that it is probably because I was ready yet. But everything said and done, I was beginning to understand that I was so extremely fortunate to have this bestowed upon me, while there are so many women in the world who want to have a baby but are not able to. I just began to allow life to happen. I immediately began to calm down and became at peace with myself.

I told a few friends at work. I was excited too. They were all just as happy for me. Everybody who heard this news said the same thing to me, without fail - "How are you so calm about it? You are so chilled out."
I took that as a compliment, and hoped I was creating a peaceful and serene atmosphere inside of me for the little one.

We decided to tell the rest of the family and friends after the second check-up was done. The second check-up was two weeks after the first check-up and was another scan to read the fetal heartbeat. I heard the heartbeat and expected tears to involuntarily start flowing out, and Prakash and I staring trans-fixedly at the monitor clutching at each other's hands. But what happened actually was that after a 2 hour wait for the   We told our parents and siblings only.

I started reading more about pregnancy, its symptoms and how one must care for oneself. But with a full time job, and a house to run, the exhaustion was getting the better of me. We had planned to go to Mumbai on June 13th for a weekend. Then on 20th June we had planned a proper holiday to Waynad, Kerala. These two things were the only things that were keeping me going.

Every morning was a riot of emotions. I am so grateful that I was not puking my head off like most women do. But the nausea was a constant reminder of the state of affairs. I am also very grateful that we had got delivery of our first car just a month before this, and it was truly a blessing to be able to get to work and back home in comfort.

June 2014: Our weekend in Mumbai was enjoyable. We met the family after nearly 4 months, and everyone was extra happy to see us and for the exciting new things that life would bring into the family soon. By now the whole family on my side as well as Prakash's side knew. Everyone was ecstatic. I thought - this is so worth it!!

After the hurried weekend trip, we packed our bags for a 4 day trip to Kerala. By now I had got over the nausea and the extreme exhaustion. I was in the 12th week of pregnancy. Our train journey to Kannur was pleasant. We reached after a 26 hour train journey and met the person who would take us around for the next 4 days. It was raining there, and everything was cool and green. It was such a stark difference from what Hyderabad is. The stay in Waynad was a great and mandatory change for the both of us, from our mundane and exhausting lifestyle. We came back after 5 days and my parents were there to welcome us home. They had come down to Hyderabad to attend a wedding on the previous day of our arrival. My dad left the same evening, and my mom stayed on to help us out.