Happy 5 months!!!

R turned 5 month old today! I have heard its called Mirthday or month birthday. So we did the usual photoshoot in the morning post bath. He has stopped sleeping after his bath, so no breaks for me!

I had a plan to make monthly birthday stickers, so got them done with a friend's help and then got them printed! So we use it every month...if nothing else it makes Mumma happy ;-)

So it's been 2 months that R turned over, after that there hasn't been any major milestone for us. He moves backwards..no moving ahead, doesn't turn on the back either yet. Not complaining..all in good time! He tries to sit up though and it's advised not to encourage it.

Another happy event today, but before that a lil background. I am into babywearing, which is a blessing!! I plan to write a separate post about it. So this is the international babywearing week and various vendors are giving away stuff.. And I won a gorgeous Soul Sling on an Instagram giveaway!! It couldn't come on a better day!!

Looking forward to wearing R in the Ring Sling!

First Ganesh Chaturthi

I am not a religious person but I love the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. We get the Ganesh Idol at home at my mother's place for 1.5 days.

It was R's first Ganesh Chaturthi, so even more special for me. It was last year on the first day of this festival that we knew, my HPT had come positive. So in a it was like a blessing from Him and R was born on Sankashti Chaturthi as well.

Even though he is too little to understand what was happening around him, it was special for me! Next year he will be running around and would want to go and get the idol home as well. So look forward to it!

4 months!

I had thought of maintaining this blog like a journal, but look where I am :-( So the plan right now is to add a short entry every other day or at least weekly. I shall be writing about the period from labor to completion of 4 months, whenever I feel like or remember :P

On Monday, we celebrated 4 month birthday and it got me very emotional. I had this over whelming surge of emotions that my baby is growing up too fast!

Some milestones we achieved:

6th Sep: Grabbed a moving toy!! Yay!!

7th Sep: 4 months old today...and noticed that he has feet!! Tried to hold them, successful in third attempt!

8th Sep: Started screeching.Ouch! We and V were wondering how to get him to stop. He screeched so much that it must have hurt his throat and started coughing. When we spoke to him, he stopped, smiled and resumed! So thats going to go on for a while I guess.

Until the next post....we will keep screeching and smiling :D

My Labor Trial - Part 1

So I was past my due date and tired of waiting. The baby apparently was in no hurry to come and how true this was going to be in a few hours time.

I woke up very cranky on 6th morning and in the same mood left for my check up. Like the last time I expected to be told..all is well..come back on 8th. My NST was done and it was fine. I told that my usually super active baby was only a tab bit low on activity today. To my surprise, she said okay..since u r already late, lets get you admitted and induce!!

I was NOT prepared for this! So I was given 2 tablets to have and another one pushed down below! I was propped up in the labor room. I was scared and did not know how to react and what to expect. V was there to calm me down. We were waiting for the contractions to start and also for a room to be allotted. V informed at home and the wait began. This was on 6th May noon.

I was transferred to our room and I felt mild pain across the lower abdomen. By 4 I had no contractions, so another tablet was pushed in. I was also given an injection via IV dextrose drip and we waited.

Then I had to encounter what can be called as the worst pain I have ever felt. Pelvic Examination! I was not aware of it..the pain it would cause. The dilation of cervix is checked by the doctor - by fingers and its very very painful.

My doctor apologized for the pain and said..the progress is very slow!

...part 2

Crossing the due date

So my due date was 4th May 2015, the day I completed 40 weeks of pregnancy. During pregnancy, I somehow ended up expecting the baby to be born before 40 weeks and I was hoping for an April baby. This made my waiting period increase by 2 weeks.

I was ready to go and deliver by 38 weeks and there were no signs or symptoms of labor. Still arent! You are frustrated and irritated by the end of the term. You just want to get it over with.

Every morning I have my friends and family checking up on me, that feels nice! People who remember and care to ask how you are holding up.

I am visiting the hospital every 2 days now. Have got 2 NSTs done. NST stands for Non Stress Test. It involves placing a monitor on the abdomen to check the fetal heart rate. A graph gets plotted of the heart rate - when the baby is at rest and when moving around. So the NSTs have been fine and I am told to wait for labor signs.

Baby seems to be loving being in the womb.....for now...waiting!

Baby Names

Naming your baby is difficult. Very. You do not want to end up naming your child something which they do not like / appreciate / or downright hate. After all it is going to be their identity for the rest of their lives. There are so many names or different origins, different meanings that you feel it would be easy to find one which you like. Sorry to disappoint - Not true! You will end up having a feeling that there are no nice names left in the world and your child will be left nameless!

When I was in college (which was a decade back) I had a list of names I liked. If I came across any new interesting name, I simply added it to that list in my diary. I went and looked back at it - oops! All filmi and typical names were on that list. So I had to toss it away and start afresh. There are innumerable sites for searching baby names, some specific to the origin as well.

The criteria for a baby name has changed over time. It should be easy, unique (totally hatke), with a good meaning and if you are Indian, the name should also be easy to call out in western countries. the name should also be easy to call out and sound well with the middle and last name. I had similar criteria in mind. However, the more hatke name you choose, probability is that it would have become common in the age group of 0-5. Also, you are not the only one choosing the name - your spouse has an equal say in it. To come to an agreement is difficult.

Since in India we do not know the gender, we have more work to do in this department. Find names for both genders. From personal experience, I can tell you that there are nice names  My friends expected me to have the name finalized in the first month itself. Here I am, past the due date, yet to finalise the name! I just have shortlisted 5 names for each - boy and girl!

Lets see which name we end up naming our baby with!

Nursing Scarf - DIY

I am someone who plans a lot and quite well in advance. Things which might even be relevant to be me at that time, but maybe in future, I keep in mind and plan. So I was out with V for a dinner date to celebrate out first engagement anniversary at Malaka Spice. This was much before we even started TTC (Trying to conceive)

There was a lady with a small baby and she was breast feeding with a nice Nursing scarf around her. I thought that was a brilliant idea - I had never seen or heard of nursing scarves before this. I did not even tell V about it, but it remained in my mind.

I like DIY things and in the second trimester, I started looking online for nursing scarves. There were so many varieties available and at such exorbitant prices! Just check out this one, for example! I would not, ever, pay that kind of money for a piece of cloth! Anyway, since I was planning on something DIY, I searched and found a nice looking, easy to make Nursing Scarf tutorial.

It required using the sewing machine, which I did not have, nor do I know how to use. But as always, Mom to the rescue. She has a sewing machine and can use it very well too! I sent her the links and asked her to make one for me. She made it only once I came to live with her, with the cloth of my choice.

She made it for my best friend as well and in time, as she intended to buy one for herself!

So, here are the blog and video links for the tutorials:
http://madebythemamamonster.blogspot.in/2008/04/nursing-cover-tutorial.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzgfHeQOxJA

Mom made it without the D rings, the strap around the neck was made of my size, so could just put it over the neck. Also, the boning was real hard to find. My cousin got it for me from Andheri Chaar Bungalow market.
 

Baby & Maternity Items to be bought

When you are expecting you get advice...from all sides. Some you want, some you dont, but you dont have a choice. If you have certain people from whom you want advice and tips, keep only those people updated about your current status and queries (which you will have in plenty).

So you will be entering a new phase, of which you do not have much idea. There was no need for me to look at baby products earlier in life, so the choices available could be mind boggling. I started spending a lot of time on First Cry, Baby Oye and the baby section of sites like Amazon and Flipkart.
You will be amazed at the type of products available these days for babies. When I was a baby even diapers werent easily available, I dont know whether they were available at all actually, cause mom always says you guys are lucky that diapers are available now!

I have cousins and friends who live in US and recently had babies. So received a lot of inputs on what I could ask my brother to get when he came down. Since I had a lot of time on hand I did the following:
- I made lists in Excel of things I was suggested to buy.
- I sorted the list based on what I actually wanted.
- Later I checked the prices in US and India.
- When finally I had list of things required from US, I checked the US sites for prices
- Final step was making a Google Sheet with links and sharing it with my brother!
(US sites include - Amazon, Costco, Target)

Here are some things which I was suggested to buy (I did not get them all - some I got from cousins)
- Diapers (much cheaper in US as compared to India)
- Baby Wipes (same logic as above)
- Nursing Pads (Disposable as well as washable)
- Cooling Nipple Pads
- Nipple Cream
- Feeding Bottles
- Breast Pump
- Nipple Shield
- Sturdy Diaper Bag (preferably back pack style)
- Baby Health care Kit (one with thermometer, medicine dispenser etc)
- Quick Dry Sheet
- Disposable Underwear (post delivery)

This is most of it, if I remember anything else, I will edit the post and add it.

I was lucky that I got a lot of baby clothes and did not have to go and buy them. Otherwise, they would be a major part of the baby shopping budget!

The last few weeks

I did not have a full time job and used to work as a freelance writer. During the last month, it got difficult to sit at a place for long durations and I informed all my contractors that I would be working only till the 11th of April. My brother was supposed to reach India on 14th, so I would have some time to spend with him as well before the baby arrived.

I am due on 4th of May. I kept a track of when the babies of my friends and cousins had arrived. Starting from 37 weeks, the baby could be expected any time. I expected my baby to arrive early as well. Why? No reason as such! Just that the baby was too active and I thought, this one wont stay 40 weeks inside.

I thought the baby has been delaying because V has not come here yet. But now V is here since 2 days - working from home - yet no sign of labor! 

It is 39.2 weeks now and I am tired. Tired of waiting and contemplating what day the baby might arrive. It is like watching a boiling pot of water. Mom keeps saying that if you werent prepared, the baby would have arrived and surprised you. I had my hospital bag ready, everything with a plan. So probably the baby says, you wait, I will take my own sweet time.

All days I am checking for some signs and symptoms - nothing! The head lock had not happened on the 39 weeks check up either! Last night I did not sleep well, barely slept actually. Baby decided to move a lot and I think has descended a little. The pressure in the lower abdomen is very high! I woke up to pee every 90 minutes.

This wait game is difficult...very difficult! I wish I had something to keep myself occupied.

Where to deliver?!

To find a good doctor is very very important and I had this task ahead of me after coming back to Mom's place. The gynac I used to visit did not perform deliveries herself, so I had to rule out that option.

The usual criteria when searching for a good doctor as well as hospital or maternity home is:
1. Excellent doctor with good record (recommendations are preferred)
2. Feeling comfortable interacting with the doctor
3. Clean hospital with good record
4. Facilities for pediatric emergencies
5. Being close to home

And of course the budget would also be a factor. I looked up some threads on Baby Center forum, which helped.

A new term that you will come across is - Pro Normal Delivery. C-sections are very rampant, especially in India. They cost more and that is simple logic behind the increased numbers. At the point of delivery, no would-be-parents are in a state of mind to question the doctor.

I am not saying that this is being done everywhere, however, it does seem curious, how the number of C-sections have gone up drastically.

So, this is the reason for the new terminology. Some doctors still believe that normal delivery should be given first preference and do not suggest C-sections at the drop of the hat! So I wanted someone who fit in this category as well.

Surprisingly to me, I chose a male gynac, because he seemed nice and did not make me feel uncomfortable. The hospital has been recommended a lot and is functioning since 1950!

They provide good meals as well, besides other facilities for the mother and the new born. The doctor's brother is a pediatrician and they have a dedicated section for neo nate care.

One major point crossed off my list and it is such a huge relief!

If you are from Thane and need some details of hospitals, continue reading:

1. Nest Hospital - Dr. Ulka Natu. (Ice Factory - Naupada)
The best gynac I know. However, I ruled out since she does not perform the delivery herself. The administrator said they provide tea twice a day for the mother and everything else needs to be got by the family. She did not seem very pleasant either.
They have Dr. Bedekar on call for pediatric emergencies.

2. Dr. Geeta Vaidya (Opp. Telephone exchange, Naupada)
Vaidya hospital was also recommended by many friends. It was run by a couple - Pradeep and Geeta Vaidya. Dr. Pradeep was very well known and famous as a gynac. However, sadly he passed away recently.
Dr. Geeta seemed quite pleasant, and I did get my name registered there. I still wasnt very convinced, but needed some option.

3. Dr. Mahesh Bedekar (Gaondevi)
Established in 1950 by Dr. Vijay Bedekar, the hospital now has his sons - Mahesh & Anand. It has been recently renovated and the doctors stay in the same building as the hospital. This hospital fulfilled all the criteria I had when choosing a hospital and I did not bother looking anywhere else.
3 meals were provided to the mother, along with clothes for the mother and the baby, by the hospital. This doctor was also recommended as being pro-normal delivery.

Some other doctors which we had listed down but did not visit were:
Deodhar Hospital
Panandikar Hospital
Dr. Alka Godbole
Dr. Ashalatha Menon
Dr. Prasad Joshi - Ashwini Maternity & Nursing Home
  

Trimester Number 3 - Indian Baby Shower

So the New Year arrived and the Baby Moon also happened and I entered the last and final leg of my pregnancy. We started discussions about having a traditional Baby Shower also known as Godh Bharai or Dohale Jevan. It is usually done in the 7th month at the husband's home.

We also started discussing about when I would go to my mother's place, since I should ideally leave once the function is done or before the start of the 8th month of pregnancy. V was not very keen on me going away but then I wanted to, since this being my first pregnancy.

The function finally happened towards the end of month number 7, sometime in February. I stayed back till the last day of 7th month and V dropped me off. Felt quite weird, being away from V, even though I was staying at Mom's!!

If you want to know more details about the function, you can check out this link.

Babymoon - Goa!

 V makes an annual trip to Goa without fail. 2013 that trip turned out to be his own Wedding! I had not been to Goa for enjoying the beaches ever. It was a place where relatives lived, we visited. One sightseeing trip in 2007, thats about it.

So January 2015, my 23rd week we went to Goa with his friends. My Babymoon!! I find the term quite cute. But its like saying, enjoy your life before the baby comes, you wont be able to later :P. None of the friends on the trip knew about my pregnancy and it was quite a pleasant surprise for them.

It was 2 and half days of beaches, lazying around and food! Booze was around, but not for me, not that I like it so much. I had read up about alcohol intake during pregnancy. So I had a few sips of Bacardi Breezer - Jamaican Passion! Ahhh...bliss. I simply love the way it tastes, super refreshing. If there is a non-alcoholic drink available in that flavour, am sure gonna stock it up.

I am sure the above paragraph is going to raise some eyebrows. We had a lovely time at the beach, fun in the water and waves. It just did not occur to me to have some Pregnancy Photoshoot like pics to be taken. Regret it so much now. Just have one classic silhouette picture of me and one more of me and V.

Image courtesy: http://www.baby-moon.eu/questions-answers-about-going-on-a-babymoon/

I am glad we went on this trip and how it turned out to be my Babymoon! 

Anomaly Scan

An Anomaly Scan is usually done after 20 weeks and involves a detailed Ultrasound to check the fetal parameters closely. I got mine done at 20 weeks and 2 days. Since the radiologist has to look at a lot of parameters, it takes around 20-25 minutes for the scan.

The scan can be quite harrowing for the mother, if the person performing the scan is quiet throughout the scan. I wasn't happy because they did not allow V inside to view. It was upsetting that he did not get to see the images. The radiologist checked for quite some time and then turned the screen towards me.

Image courtesy: http://community.babycentre.co.uk/post/a9257335/ned_tv_aka_anomaly_scan?cpg=2&csi=2031272023&pd=0

I 'saw' my baby!!! I was shown each and every body part - the face, the bladder cavity, the limbs, the spine, ribs and my baby's heart! I cannot forget how distinct the spine was. I could see the baby moving continuously on the screen though couldn't feel it. All through out, I felt terrible that V was just outside the curtain and was missing out on all this.

Some of the parameters that are described in the report are:

BPD - Biparietal Diameter
HC - Head Circumference
AC - Abdominal circumference
FL - Femur Length
EFBW - Estimated Fetal Body Weight

All these parameters fall under Fetal Biometry. The other body parts checked are Head, Spine, Abdomen, Heart, Chest, Face and Limbs.

Since I am from India, the gender of the baby is not revealed. Else, the gender is disclosed during this scan. I am made to sign at least 4-5 pages declaring that the gender has not been revealed, at every ultrasound!

First Baby Movement!!!!!!!!!!

Feeling your baby move is one of the most incredible feelings ever. I had been told this by many friends. I could not wait to experience it. I had checked online and found that it can happen anytime between 18-22 weeks, especially if it is a Primi or first pregnany.

I had completed 19 weeks and there was no movement whatsoever. One night, I just expressed this feeling to V. And as is usual for me, while speaking about it, I ended up getting too emotional and shed a few tears. Thats all that V needed to get angry. He scolded me for reading too much and then went on to say how each pregnancy is different etc.....(he reads up too ;-), mostly to ensure that I dont get hyper or paranoid over something :-P)

Anyway, the next day, the very next day - Baby moved!!! It was 9th Dec 2014. I did not want to jump in joy the very first time I felt it. What if it was nothing but something gastric :-/ But it happened again and was quite distinct. As described by most women, it is something like bubbles bursting. But feels like heaven!!

Image courtesy: https://edc2.healthtap.com/ht-staging/user_answer/avatars/448818/large/open-uri20121018-31710-1c719zu.jpeg?1386561653

V got a chance to say - I told u so, it would happen when it has to. I simply told him, baby got mad at him for scolding me and hence moved :-D

The movements werent strong enough for V to feel them. But he felt it on 22nd Dec :D

Morning Sickness continues..Trimester 2!

I was in the best phase of pregnancy - the second trimester. Usually the morning sickness subsides and women start enjoying the changes happening.

If the time till now was bad it started getting worse. By week 13 I was vomiting.  I had fainting episodes. My body clock was set to eating regularly even before pregnancy. If I skipped meals I would feel faint. Now this had increased many folds. Id eat less and then vomit and then faint. I was not left alone at home and V and my MIL took very very good care of me. I used to be holed up in the bedroom when meals were being cooked. I couldn't tolerate any cooking smell.

Having studied Nutrition, I knew what a pregnant lady should have for morning sickness. I myself have suggested Toast, Biscuits, Crackers to keep the nausea down. But to each his own. I could not eat any of that, it was all too dry and irritated my throat. I had coughing fits which further aggravated the nauseating feeling.
 

I was losing weight, which does happen during first trimester. I had lost 5 kgs, which for the first time did not bring any happiness! Finally the nightmare ended after I completed 18 weeks of pregnancy!  Things were looking good and finally I could enjoy the "good" phase of pregnancy!

Tips: Enerzal, nimbu paani, kokam sherbat, home-made ginger candy, candied amla all helped a lot.

The Good Part during the dreaded trimester

Diwali happened to fall during my phase of morning sickness. I sadly did not eat any "faraal". I just could not get myself to eat and it did not seem appealing. Not a statement I thought I would ever make!!

I celebrated Laxmi Poojan by dressing up in a beautiful new sari and jewelry. It took my mind off of the sickness and we went out for dinner as well. I ate well! Amen!

I then got to celebrate Bhau Beej with my maternal side of the family as well. Fiftieth celebration of my uncle also happened during which I was sick throughout. But was a fun event, whatever I could enjoy of it.

Next came a business trip on which V had to go all the way to Europe! I spent the fortnight at mom's. The sad part was me n V not being together on our first anniversary!!

Since the first trimester was complete, announcements were made to close family members by mom and dad. The congratulatory messages and calls started pouring in.

Oh and I missed one event! Before the nausea had set in, I even went on a bike trip! 300 kms in one day on a bike. I got a lot of disapproving looks, nods and statements for doing this. But it was fun and V was super careful while riding!
It was quite a shock to the people who were told later. From questions ranging from "Are you nuts?" to "What were you thinking?" I had to face them all. But then Pregnancy is a phase in life, a beautiful one at that. I shouldn't stop living cause of it, right? Especially if I am taking all the necessary precautions ;-)
But then again, I know where the questions and concern comes from, so all is well!

The Dreaded First Trimester - Part 2

So I was on Doxinate and Ondem from week 8. The nausea and tolerance to smell started going downhill. I could hardly stay near the kitchen. Eating anything seemed like a task. I would take forever to finish a single chapati.

There wasn't any food which seemed attractive to me. I ate so that I wouldn't faint. Everyone including the doctors told me that it should start subsiding once the first trimester was over. All the websites also mentioned that by week 12-13 the symptoms start disappearing.

How I wished for this to be true. I cried to sleep, which left V feeling helpless. Every meal of the day seemed like an enormous task for me. Every bite I took I fought hard to overcome the nausea and just swallow it down. 

Image Courtesy: http://www.emom.co.za

Another fear I was under, constantly, was spotting! Every time I went to pee, I would end up checking if there was any spotting. A low lying placenta was to be blamed for this fear. I was told it would move up as the pregnancy progressed. The fear would end only with the next ultrasound. This was getting bad and I just wanted it to end. 

The first trimester was over but not my morning sickness! 

The Dreaded First Trimester - Part 1

As I mentioned in my last post, the first month was pretty much uneventful for me in terms of morning sickness.

The first three months of pregnancy make up the first trimester and are considered critical for pregnancy. The chances of miscarrying are highest during this time. Also, it is dreaded because of the morning sickness associated with it.

The hormonal levels in the body change drastically during this time and cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness etc. Aversion to previously loved food items, zero tolerance to smells can happen during this time.

Since I did not have any symptoms during first month, I was pretty cool. My mother and V's mom also did not experience any problems during both their pregnancies. I could relax even more now. Alas! It did not last long.

By week 9 of pregnancy I started experiencing mild nausea. I was prescribed Ondem and Doxinate by my Gynac. After taking a lot of opinions from various gynacs I have realised that Ondem shouldnt be taken regularly. It is a relatively new drug and long term side effects are not known. Doxinate is safe in that sense.

I also had my second USG which again confirmed a single live uterine pregnancy with a fetal pole. So a viable pregnancy was determined medically! Blood tests are also done to determine the blood sugar levels, thyroid hormone levels and Hb amongst other parameters.

The only medication I was on was Folinext - Folic Acid supplement which is very important during the first trimester. This is when the neural development of the fetus happens.

The First Month

By the time your pregnancy is confirmed half the month has already passed. The remaining half is the time when you are super excited or thrilled about the news.

Me and V were so excited and looking forward to the new phase in our life. Suddenly you find yourself interested in reading up about pregnancy, babies and other related stuff.

Image Courtesy: www.dreamstime.com

I found myself smiling at baby pictures and wondering how our baby would be like. 9 months to hold your baby in your hands seems like at an eternity at this point of time.

The first month just flew away for us. Thankfully I did not suffer from morning sickness this early. V is a pretty chilled out person and doesn't worry unnecessarily. I made a trip to his native during this time by a Sleeper Volvo coach. It was uneventful, except one episode of vomiting, for which I blamed the bus journey.

The traveling around city was stressful for me as it was done in an auto-rickshaw and the roads were a nightmare. Since the relatives didn't know the news, I couldn't refuse either!

But all in all it was a pretty good Month One!