There she comes

The last blog in my series seems to be jinxed in many ways, I have tried and tried but there wasn't a way to speed it up. Meanwhile, my daughter is soon turning 2 (forget the year 1 deadline) ; several of my friends got pregnant and delivered babies and life on Mars was discovered – maybe!  As all mothers - new or old or anywhere in between my world too revolves around my baby, I may not know who won the elections in Greece but I can tell you what my kid is saying in her toddler tongue and trust me no Intelligence agency in the world can translate toddler tongue.

Going back to my story, I was in the 39^th week of my pregnancy and my Doctor had ditched me. My case was referred to another renowned Doctor (3rd Doc and thankfully the last). This Doctor accepted my “complicated” case and on our first interaction laid rest to all my fears and anxieties. There are some people who make you feel at ease in an instant and she is definitely one of them ( basically the exact opposite of Mr. Glum Face in my previous post)

There was small dispute on the estimated delivery date, with Doc3 suggesting that it was possibly later than what had been calculated. We fixed an appointment for the following week and in the meantime I was asked to I undergo one last series of tests and scans which confirmed that all was fine with baby and me.

As I was gearing up for the big day mentally and though the tests and the experienced Doc3 said my baby was 3 weeks away, I had a nagging feeling that I will deliver the same week, most likely on 27^th  July ( Don’t ask me how I was so sure about the date but looking back I would probably call it mother’s instinct). I contacted Doc3 and she just laughed it away, saying that was just a feeling of mine ( blame the pregnant woman's hormones! )

Anyhow, on the day of the appointment I started feeling contraction kind of pain, after a check-up the Doctor declared that these were just false pains, my body was making me ready for the baby’s arrival. The entire day my family kept my spirits high by repeating “False pains equals No pains”. My parents had vowed to visit our family Deity in case my reports came back normal and reassured by Doc3’s prognosis, embarked on a 2 day, 1 night holy journey. My husband came over from Chennai again to give me company while they were away.

The entire day I was in a lot of pain, as I laid on my bed at night, I was thinking that if false pains could be these painful, how excruciating would the actual labor pains be? It was at exactly this trail of thought that my water broke and I was up and asking hubby to drive me to the hospital.

So, what happens when you were not expecting the baby to come early? Well, if you are anything like my husband, you would probably want to make sure that the water actually broke, you would fumble to collect your things and would probably drive like crazy to reach the hospital.

And if you are like me, you would grab the bag you had packed when that baby is on the way feeling started, take a deep breath to calm yourself, try to time your contractions and probably remind people what they would need in the hospital. I maybe sounding brave, but trust me in those moments I was wishing if my mum was around, that everything will be anything but the horrific birth stories that I had heard.

As we reached the hospital, I was not treated as priority as it was a “Primie” which means first pregnancy which statistically means hours and hours of labor, but I certainly grabbed attention when they examined me, I was already into advanced labor.

Memories of the next couple of hours are a blur but by the end of it, I had a tiny baby staring at me with those beautiful big eyes, I had become a mother and there she was, the baby who had created so much upheaval in my life, she owned me from the moment I saw her on the scan 9 months ago and she will probably own my life till eternity.

In my entire journey nothing went the way I expected, there were lots and lots of lows, but the high was when I knew she will come ( she was born on July 27th) , when I knew that we could share the bond transcending medicinal laws and statistics.She came and she conquered our hearts.

I have come to a conclusion that medicine is grey area, though there are instruments to read your Blood Pressure, Scans to see your baby, no one can predict when a child will be born with 100% accuracy. 

First child birth maybe a long process but it’s not same for all women, there can be faster deliveries and for a change I am happy to be part of that exceptional statistic.

I have also understood that nature takes it course, your body knows how to take care of your child,  find a Doctor who reinforces this view, don’t fall prey to C- Section hungry doctors, it’s a massive surgery and should be avoided, it shouldn't be encouraged.

It always helps to take 2^nd, 3^rd or even 4^th opinions.

Keep your family close, and lastly trust your instincts.

Now, I need to get back to my little monster, my life. 

Thanks for all your feedback, somehow sharing my story has made me appreciate the journey even more. I am thankful for my little angel ( occasional devil), and my family and friends. 

-Deepa