Pregnancy Chronicles

Being pregnant is a beautiful experience. 32 weeks into my pregnancy and I have understood that it is a unique experience for every individual. But what seem common are discomfort, anxiety and excitement. May be?
I have been meaning to write a post on pregnancy for a very long time. Even my otherwise ignorant husband suggested that I should write one. As I am in the third trimester, I believe now is the best time to write the post that I would love to read in future.
So here is how I would like to remember my pregnancy…

a.       Everyone has an advice about food
When I say everyone, I actually mean everyone: from a random stranger to your colleagues to your relatives. Everyone has a piece of advice. Ginger is not good. Too much honey shouldn’t be consumed. Don’t eat Papaya. Eat banana. Avoid chilies, baby will not like it. Eat ice cream. ‘Gundruk khana hunna’ ‘Tama khanu hunna’. 32nd week and I still can’t figure out what to avoid and what not to. I chose a convenient way for myself. I decided early on, except for fruits and vegetables, I would consume everything moderately and not to consume anything new and strange. After all, who can say no to a tato tato gundruk ko jhol ani bhaat, right?

b.      Find somebody to talk to about your pregnancy
When you are pregnant, you want to talk about every new experience. You want to discuss your morning sickness and you want to share the stories of the kicks. You want to confide in someone when you are not much confident about the changes in your body and you want to talk in detail about your fears of delivery. I am very lucky because I am sharing this phase of my life with three colleagues and it gets really fun when we get together. Also, I think your doctor plays an important role in these nine months. I like the fact that I can ask all my stupid questions to my doctor and she answers patiently. There are a lot of pages on Instagram that you can follow and send in your queries to the experts and they answer in detail.
Some of the pages you might want to follow if you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant are: pregnantandperfect, bumpnbub and mommy.labornurse.  Also, I find the ‘Flo’ app very useful as it sends daily notification about how your body, bump and baby are changing.

c.        Discover your strongest self
There are days when you feel overwhelmed with the love and support you receive from people around you and there are days when you need to understand that only you are responsible for the life you are carrying inside you. Whether you are hungry, upset, sad or irritated, only you can fix your problem and you are responsible to set things right no matter how difficult it might appear. You can blame everyone around you for how you feel but in the end you know that only you are responsible and able to take the best care of that little life growing inside you.

d.      Understanding and accepting your body
It’s funny how the most unnoticed and unattended parts of your body start to develop this peculiar pain and cause discomfort and you start walking like a duck. I once gathered courage and discussed all kinds of pain I was experiencing with my doctor. She casually replied that anything that hurts while you are in motion shouldn’t be a problem which was very simply put and comforting. Nonetheless, I continue to do a lot of oiyaaa and aiyaaa but don’t necessarily discuss it with my doctor.

Also, one of the issues that isn't openly discussed is how your body goes through this tremendous change and just because you are going to be a mother doesn't imply that you readily and happily accept the changes. It took me some time to understand and accept the fact that my body may never be the same. 

e.      Planning for after-delivery
One of the core issues Michelle Obama discussed in her book ‘Becoming’ was challenges of working mothers. I see a lot of my friends, colleagues and relatives who appear to be striking a perfect balance between their professional life and new found role of motherhood. Also, I know a lot of women who have had the courage to be stay-at-home moms. I believe every woman deserves an acknowledgement and appreciation for just being able to make that decision. Whether you decide to leave your new born child at home in care of your parents or helpers to pursue your career or you decide to take a break from your professional life to take care of your child at home, you are strong and let no one tell you that you didn’t make a correct choice. Hats Off to all working moms and stay-at-home moms! I have immense respect for each one of you.

With that I wrap up this post, hoping it would garner attention and comments from new and not so new mothers, from pregnant and planning to be pregnant women or just from anyone interested J Thanks for reading!

  

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