My joy in attaining Motherhood...

Reading all the blogs for the Mothers day contest has made me relive this experience. Since I was still studying after marriage, we had planned our baby only after four years. So it was a much awaited event in both our families. The day the doc confirmed the good news both me and dh just wanted it to be between us, for the news to sink in, savor and digest.

“So, where shall we go and celebrate”, was hubby’s first question. We went for dinner to one of our favorite restaurants and had a great time. But I could hardly keep it to myself and lost no time in calling up my parents, as soon as we reached home. They were overjoyed.
I somehow expected my life to change overnight but nothing of that sort happened. Not for a single day during the entire nine months did I feel any morning sickness or nausea that people talked about. I had no specific preferences in food too. In movies, why do they show a pregnant woman eating a sour mango, I wondered.. In fact I didn’t feel any different. Anyway my parents, brother and dh spoilt me thoroughly and I admit to enjoying all that attention.

Only around five months when I could feel the movements inside me did I start feeling that wonderment? Ohhhhh and when those tiny feet (or hands) used to kick me, it was such a weird sort of enjoyment.

I had this funny desire to have everything in pink for my little princess. No, I never knew the sex of the child till she was born but just longed for a girl so that I could dress her up (maybe, I had not had my fill of playing with dolls?) My mother said it was not considered a good omen to do any shopping for the child before she was born so came the difficult part of showing dh exactly what I wanted. Right from her cradle to her soap box to her little powder box all in baby pink. He would be responsible to get exactly that as I would not be allowed to go out much after delivery.

My dh and I started reading Benjamin Spock (much to the amusement of my grandmother who commented, ”Imagine, As if a book can teach them to raise a baby”….) to help us cope adequately for any situation in the days to come.(Or so we thought) So I ate healthy, saw healthy, spoke healthy and listened to healthy music..I remember listening to lata’s “Nanhi khali sone chali”and learning the lyrics by heart so that I could put my little one to sleep(later I was to learn that many a time it put all of us to sleep except the one for whom it was intended for)
My brother presented me a book of baby names but we could never arrive at a consensus and decided to select one later. I did not tell them but had already decided on "Ankitha", ..my favorite kid (of the Rasna Ad fame )whom I used to see on tv everyday.

My parents had the bangle ceremony for me somewhere in the seventh month and everybody said I was looking very pretty so would have a girl child. “thumare mooh mein ghee shakkar” ,I thought. My dhs uncle and aunt (whom I regard as my inlaws ) had come for the function and stayed with me for a month afterwards and I was pampered more. Chithi would insist that I wear a saree, and get me flowers every evening and take me for a walk to the temple. She affectionately, (God bless her) insisted on cooking all our favorite dishes.

My due date was October 25th and I had gone for my usual check up on the 7th.the doc took one look at me and said I had to register immediately and that my dh could go and get my stuff. I tried telling her that I was the organized one in the house and dh would not be able to but she just shrugged it off saying “Oh, then he had better start learning.”
Actually , I was petrified of being alone in the hospital expecting that the baby would come out anytime and that nobody would be around. My parents rushed in at night but she took her own sweet time and after a long labor was born on the next day, Monday 2.30 pm. I had told my husband however unconscious(I had no idea how one would really be after that exhausting task) I am he should come and tell me whether the baby is normal (yes, that was the only worry I had ,especially the last three months…My mother would scold me and say it was all because of the “rubbish” that I kept reading) I remember him coming and kissing me and saying “we have a pretty daughter who is perfectly normal in all aspects” and I drowsily heard that and drifted off to sleep.

My first glimpse of her was around 8 pm when they brought her to me. OMG, she was so pretty, fair and pink, and so soft and delicate. Honestly after reading Wodehouse and similar stuff where a new born is always said to be like a monkey and a "shrivelled"one at that, I revelled in the thought that MY baby was the ONLY exception to that.

She had been first handed over to my mother, whose immediate thought was “how soft is this little one” and suggested we name her Mridula, soft in Sanskrit. My dh just loved it and stuck on that. I looked indulgently at all of them, a new, mature, and peaceful me who had only one thought, that,” yes, it is only apt for my mother to name my daughter. After all, we three share a very special bond.

My dh had taken one months “paternal” leave, ,my favorite aunt my chithi came over from Chennai to stay with us, and so for the first time I had all my loved ones together in our (mine and dhs) house. Truly, one of the most joyous moments in my life..

Happy mothers day to all u wonderful ladies out here ..and i dedicate this post to two of my best friends here who are struggling to attain this status..i assure you that you are in my prayers..Love,Mindi