The pregnancy diaries :)

Since I announced the pregnancy news on my blog, most of my posts have been about it. I do want to write about other things but right now this is a major part of my life. Even later when I have the baby, there will be lots of posts about the baby (probably more than about myself), but then again the baby will be the major thread of my life then. Though I don't really want this blog to turn into one of those baby-blogs (I'm kinds selfish that way since this blog has always been about me) and though I'll try my level best to make it as multifaceted as possible, I have to accept that it maybe the case in the future :-D. Consider that a warning :-D.

Anyways, as the first paragraph suggests, this post is going to be about my pregnancy history and some of the highlight days as such :).

• The day I took my pregnancy test and it turned out to be positive. I didn't really want to believe in such a test and took a doctor's appointment for the next day. There was no limit to my joy when the doctor confirmed it. I was oh-so-excited and at the same time worried. Worried whether I'll be able to handle the whole thing and the responsibility of a small baby dependent on me for everything. I have fluctuated between confidence and doubts for all these 7 months and I'm sure it'll go on for the rest of the days or more :-p. Anyways we announced it to both side parents as soon as we got it confirmed from the doctor (with a clause that it be kept secret until 3 months from the rest of the relatives) and they were all ecstatic as its the first grandchild for both sides.



• The day I had my first ultrasound. I don't really know about India, but here in US, the first ultrasound is done at about 8 weeks, to make sure the baby is ok and its heart is beating properly. Also to know whether there is a single baby/multiple babies in the uterus (one of my close friends had twins and there was no heredity factor anywhere, so I was worried about that too). And it was an absolutely amazing experience. We could see just a finger-sized clump on the monitor (not really able to make out head or bottom :-p), with a heart beating, literally jumping out of the tiny body. Sri held my hand throughout and I had tears in my eyes. It was the first visual proof that I had another life in me and the feeling is totally indescribable. Not to mention we were relieved that there was only one ;-). The next check-up, we were also able to hear the heart beat thanks to a machine called Doppler machine which magnifies the heartbeat. The beat was really strong and somehow I was so proud of the tiny life :).



• The day I completed 3 months. The initial 3 months (which make up the first trimester) are considered the risky phase where anything might happen. Hence there was relief then the hurdle was crossed and sort of a "mission accomplished" joy (though obviously there was a long way to go still :-p). Also the first trimester is when a woman gets most of the morning-sickness/nausea and I didn't have anything. Nothing at all :-D. Meanwhile, I was subjected to more tests, one of which entailed taking out 3 test tubes of blood from me and checking it for everything from the Rh-factor to HIV. needless to say, everything was normal :).



• The day of my second detailed ultrasound. The second ultrasound is done after 20 weeks and this is very detailed where they check whether the major organs/systems of the baby are developing/working properly. Without any doubts whatsoever, this was a major highlight of the pregnancy. Any major defects would be discovered in this ultrasound. Thankfully there were none. The physician at the ultrasound took us through the process step by step. First she showed us the face and the head (she took measurements of the brain). Secondly zoomed in on the heart. We were actually able to see the 4 chambers of the heart and the beating! It was so fascinating! We were also able to see the Iorta taking blood to the rest of the body. Again she took some measurements of the heart and some blood vessels. She had a tough time as the baby would move every time she'd point out something :-D. Moreover it made me laugh, which shook my belly and in turn spoiled the ultrasound images :-D. We moved onto the spinal chord (the clarity was awesome!) and later to the kidneys (which I couldn't make out at all though she kept pointing). After all measurements possible, she declared the baby extremely healthy :), which was our priority. We also did find out the baby's gender (my curiosity) but decided not to tell anyone, not even our parents :-D. Its just that the gender was never important to either of us (the health was much more important)and moreover I want to wait to know for sure (one of Sri's friends was told they'd have a boy and later the baby was a girl).



• The day I felt the baby's first big movement. Yup, I did see the baby move in the ultrasound, but the doctors were asking me whether I felt any movements and I was not feeling anything. No wonder I was worried (actually ay little thing can lead to a big worry in pregnancy :-p). Even some of my friends had felt movements much earlier in the second trimester and here I was without anything. I did feel some bubbles in my 5th month, but since I had some heart burn, I was never sure whether it was the movement or some gas :-p. But on one Sunday, I was up early and was sitting alone when I felt a hugge kick. One slowly went on to be several and it was wonderful. Initially Sri wasn't able to make out anything. Surprisingly he'd keep his hand on my stomach and the baby would go quiet. I would tease him that the baby is already showing respect to the dad ;-). But later he too felt the kicks and even now is amazed every time! He even tells the baby to sleep and play "later" every now and then :-D.



• The day I had my gestational diabetes test and it turned out to be normal. This happened just last week. Gestational diabetes can affect pregnant women in late pregnancy and it happens due to some pregnancy hormones which can block the actions of insulin in the mother's body. For the test, they made me drink a sweet juice and one hour later pricked my finger for a drop of blood to check the assimilation of sugar in the blood. As usual I had been worried as I am a bit fat (:-p :-D), but the glucose levels were normal and I was very happy. The doctor even commented that my BP as well as weight gain were going as expected and that everything was great. Do I need anything more? :)).

And so has the travel been so far. There are still more than 2 months to go and lots more moments of worry/joy to be faced. Don't worry (as if you do), I'll sure keep you updated on whatever happens whenever it happens :).