Nine Months of Preganancy and After…

Lovely Moms to be,
A big hello from me.. It feels so good to be back on IL. Well, I have myself learnt some things during my pregnancy and labour which I would like to share and suggest you. Its always good to learn from other’s experiences and hence sharing mine of whatever right now I remember..
1.) Once u know u are pregnant, think FIRST about YOURSELF and later about others (eg oh I’ve to inform family, what will this one say and what will be that one’s reaction.. etc). Thinking about yourself means about your food intake right from the day you know you are pregnant . Then also about walking exercise which is 200 percent must.
2.) Cut down on spicy foods immediately or else heartburn will kill you. Make it a rule to drink at least two big bottles of water daily to start with.
3.) If you are a case like me where nothing stays in your stomach and u vomit every time u eat or even drink half glass of water, immediately ask doctor for anti vomit medication. Do not continue thinking it’ll stop. In some cases vomits continue even after 3 months and girl, u need to gain weight and not loose.
4.) If heartburn or acidity is too much, its ok to take zantac 150 mg once daily in the morning 15 minutes before breakfast. This was prescribed to me. It will not harm the foetus since it does not cross the placenta.
5.) If there are people around you (physically present or away from u) who u think are troublesome or their talks are irritiating you (eg SIL, MIL, BIL, few friends, collegues, your own siblings etc), just cut it off from them. Don’t think of pleasing them or what will be the repercussions. Baad me dekha jayega what to do with them.
6.) When your doctor does any tests for you, whether blood test, sonography, or your first 3hr GTT , don’t forget to call the dr after 3-4 days to find out if the results are normal . Don’t think the dr will call and let u know if results are not normal. Dr may be too busy and forget to call u. I made the mistake of not calling the dr and in my next visit which was after one month, realized that my 3 hr GTT was not normal and was high. Had I called the dr earlier I could have immediately started to control my diet. I lost one month in that.
7.) In the last few months we tend to become a little forgetful and very clumsy. Things will just fall off our hands while handling them. DON’T WORRY. ITS NORMAL.
8.) If u are outside India, please please call someone to help u after delivery. Managing alone after delivery is very very difficult.If u have a choice between MIL and mom, please avoid calling MIL. Call mom. U can at least vent out ur anger on her, u can’t do that on MIL.
9.) Don’t hesitate to ask your husband for help in kitchen or other work during pregnancy. It is his duty to do that. Give him work, eg do the laundry today please or do the vaccum today please. If he gives an allyby of office, THINK ABOUT YOURSELF AND LEAVE ALL WORK. Let the laundry pile up, let the house be dirty and dusty… he’ll come and help. My husband was good enough to help me since I was completely on bed for initial 3.5 months and he saw the pain I went through..
10.) DO NOT LIFT ANY HEAVY ITEMS THROUGHOUT YOUR PREGNANCY.
11.) Labour does not tell and come. It can happen either a week before or a week after your due date. So do not worry. Labour signs are, just two or three days before ur labour, suddenly u will feel energetic and want to do too many tasks at a time eg u may clean off the kitchen including gas stove(that’s what I did) or wash off the laundry or clean the house. Also there are no stepwise guidelines for labour. Eg its not necessary that u will first get contractions, then dilation, then water break and then delivery… There may be a water break first and then the labour pains may start (eg in my case) or the dilation will start happening a week before actual contractions come in.. Just take it as it comes. In case of water break, u will know it because that water will come out with a gush and will be very warm (more on hotter side.) If that happens , DON’T PANIC (the first to panic will be ur husband )then put a new panty and immediately lie down. Then wait for half hour. After that get up. If the water still comes out and there are blood stains in it, lady u are in labour. NOW its time to call the doctor. She will ask u to come to hospital. There they’ll do a test to find out if that water break was actually amniotic fluid or was it urine. If it was urine, they’ll send u back home. If not then u have to stay back in hospital. In whichever case, carry ur hospital bag with u.
12.) When labour starts, ur husband will be the first to panic so you have to be VERY COOL AND SANE (as in my case, hubby ran to phone to call dr as soon as my water broke ! I had o stop him and tell him that baby won’t come out next second so chill.) For you to be cool and sane, speak to urself “OK, this was going to happen so be patient. Think what I have to do next.Iam fine. My doctor’s there to help me. Nothing will go wrong”. Keep saying these things to urself. Doesn’t matter if u say it aloud too.
13.) A week before ur due date, clean urself using a mirror. U don’t want people doing it for u at the hospital right?
14.) Labour MAY NOT START EXACTLY ON GIVEN DATE SO DO NOT WORRY.A pregnancy is healthy upto 42 weeks so be patient even if it crosses 39 weeks. (I delivered in 41<SUP>st</SUP> week).
15.) If dr tells u it has to be induced labour, don’t worry, its normal. Nothing is wrong with u.
16.) In the labour room, shed all ur shame. Because if u do that, u tend to keep ur legs closed (which I did) and the doctor cannot judge the dilation properly. Keep ur legs as wide as possible. Girl, everyone is going to see u in the labour room. There’s no way u can avoid it so just cooperate.
17.) Once u deliver, take rest as much as possible for the first two three days( let hubby handle the kiddo except feeding which u will do) since u will e dead tired. Don’t become superwoman and start doing things (a mistake which I did) because later after a week it starts to show up on u physically and mentally.
18.) Post delivery, spend some quite time with ur baby to bond..
19.) Also after delivery due to lack of sleep (lady, be prepared to get just 3-4 hrs sleep in the whole 24 hr long day !) u will feel miserable after a week, get irritated, shout at ur hubby etc. ITS NORMAL. Be sure to vent out that irritation or anger. Even if it means fighting with ur hubby. Do not keep anything in within urself.
20.) Last but not the least, remember u are now a mother. So be prepared to give up on ur priorities for the baby. That can mean eating lunch in 5 mins before the kid wakes up, have a 2 min bath, giving up on wearing earrings or any ornaments since that may hurt our newborn when we take them in our arms and many other things …J

Ladies, hope these suggestions and my experience helps u go through the wonderful phase of being a mother….Sorry if I’ve scared anyone though that was not my intention. My intention was only to keep u prepared…