First things first! A big shout out to all the new moms who are reading this; and those who are planning towards becoming one soon…keep it going guys..patience & happiness is the key!
Hi! I am Anindita, mother to a beautiful little
girl who is a year and 7 months old now. We have named her Aratrika (the dusk
lamp offered to Tulsi plant; that’s what internet describes it as…Aratrika
basically is the Sanskrit word for Aarti or the lamp offered to God.)
So, coming to motherhood or the journey of
motherhood, to describe it in words or a single word is what I think is very
difficult or unjust. However, if I have to, I would say it is ‘exhilarating’.
It makes you discover a complete new self. At least, that’s what I felt, because
I never knew I had this side to me.
I got married when I was 28 and I had always thought I should have a baby by the time I am 30 and I was so lucky that I indeed was blessed with a baby girl when I just turned 30.
I remember when we were planning to have a kid, we
were trying for months, but every month we would fail. After about 4-5 months,
both I and my husband started getting depressed. ‘Do we have some problem?’,
‘Should we get ourselves checked?’, all such thoughts started coming in. And
then one day, we thought maybe we are thinking too much, we don’t know how much
try does it actually take to conceive. Maybe we should just let it go, and if
it has to happen, it will.
And believe me you guys, the next time when I was
expecting my periods, my breasts started getting sore, my periods got delayed
and I started feeling very very tired. That’s when we took the card test and Oh
Yes! There, were the two lines!! I can’t forget that day in my life. It still
brings up a smile even when I write about it. That’s the reason I said, patience
and happiness is all that it takes.
So, that was the beginning of my journey..a journey of happiness, excitement, nervousness, pain, discomfort, sleep deprivation, tiredness, satisfaction and a lot more. I overall had a smooth pregnancy with all the warmth coming up from all sides, friends, family, relatives and colleagues. But what I was most happy about was that pregnancy made me realise the depth of my husband’s love & concern for me. I can’t thank God enough for having blessed me with such an understanding companion for life.
So, yeah, I did have a smooth pregnancy, except for
a few episodes here and there. One was the morning sickness, which lingered for
the first 5 months! I couldn’t eat anything. I couldn’t even stand the smell of
cooked food, After every meal, I would vomit. It was very draining, but it was
just a phase. The next 4 months, I made up for it and hogged like crazy. And
the second was when I had to be treated with an Iron injection for becoming severely
anaemic. During the entire pregnancy, I was having a low Haemoglobin
level, and once I became severely anaemic, with Hb level less than 7 g/dL. I
couldn’t take any iron syrup or tablets, as I would get severe gastric pain and
constipation because of it. Also, I had external haemorrhoids (piles), so
constipation only added to the pain. I couldn’t sit and work in the office, so
I had to be given an Iron Injection, for which I was admitted in the daycare
for a day. And yes, I am a working woman, so I was working till almost the end
of my pregnancy. I took a leave only before 10 days of my delivery.
Reading about the developments about your baby and
seeing your tummy grow up with time, is such a different feeling. It’s
something more than just happiness. When you realise there is a life within you
and you can see it moving inside your tummy, feel the movements and the kicks,
it makes you feel so so so amazing. It is then when you thank God for making
you a woman-the creation of God that is empowered to nurture another life
within itself. Isn’t that feeling amazing? That’s exactly what I felt all
through my pregnancy and soon it was time to see my baby. Also, you don’t know
if it’s a boy or a girl, so the excitement is at another level.
Since, I didn’t get any labour pain by the time I was due and my doctor had to travel out of the city, we had a planned C-section on 21st February, 2019. In the morning, in a pink & white batik cotton kurta with hair tied into a French plait, I was all ready to go to the hospital. Now, that day was a Bharat bandh. So we had no idea if we would be reaching the hospital smoothly also. However, we and my parents reached the hospital safely, I was prepared for the OT, changed, shaved, given the drip and all set for the OT. I work in the healthcare sector, so I had seen many OTs and Labour Rooms earlier, so I didn’t have that anxiety of getting into an OT with all the staff looking at you and all. But, that position in which you are made to sit, for giving that local anaesthesia injection, made me really uncomfortable. Soon, I was lying down and I couldn’t feel my lower body. I then saw the doctor walk in and do something on me, it felt as if he was drawing some lines on my belly. He was talking to me all the while, it was nice and comfy. I didn’t feel like I was being operated and then I could hear the cry! Oh my God! It was a girl, I just had a baby…my baby, the baby who I could see move in my tummy, the one who was kicking me from inside, who heard me from inside, who knew how my heart beats and my blood flows inside my body. The moment, when the doc just brushed her face against mine and said congrats, it’s a girl, my eyes were filled with tears, tears of joy. Then they took her away, cleaned her up and my husband and family saw her. I think, that one moment takes away all your pain…all the pain, discomfort, depression that you had had during pregnancy.
From a newborn to an infant in a jiffy…
Soon, the little one started growing, and growing too soon..so soon that she is a year and 7 months old now. First 3 months, I couldn’t sleep in the night, because she had to be fed and rocked back to sleep. But thankfully, with my mom’s support, I crossed that phase. On top of that, breastfeeding. They say, exclusive breastfeeding is a must for each child, but is successful breastfeeding so easy? No, its not! Even I faced the challenges of breastfeeding, but I passed. May be I should write about just my breastfeeding experience in a separate note. Then, when she was 5 months old, I had to rejoin office, so that anxiety of leaving her behind and working at office, was one more thing, I had to cope up with. But again, since I was leaving her with my mom and visiting during lunch time, which I still do, I was a little assured. Gradually, looking after her, recording all her milestones, clicking pictures, of each month, became a part of life. And it was so much fun seeing her do things by herself. Can you imagine, seeing the little baby who came out of your tummy doing things by herself? It feels surreal! We enjoyed every moment. Soon, she was one! She could walk, run and even try and eat a few things by herself.
Mom of a toddler? Nightmare! But still fun ;)
But, now as a mom of a toddler, there are other challenges. Feeding her, keeping her engaged, keeping her away from electronic devices, sleeping through the night, letting her do all the activities and still being careful about little accidents, and many more such challenges. Lately, we are having a really hard time sleeping through the night. Getting up in the morning again, finishing all the chores and then reaching office is taking a toll on us. But, what I know is that, it is just a phase and like all other phases, this too shall pass and the outcome will always be rewarding. That moment when she calls us Mamma and Papa and talks to us, makes us feel elated and wonderful. No matter how exhausting, it is, it is definitely an experience which is beyond words and every woman should get to experience it at least once in her lifetime. May God bless all. Happy motherhood and happy parenting!
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