Motherhood: A Blessing - Chapter 13

Hey Readers!!!! At last I am back..... Yup!!! It was becoming very tough for me to write since me and my family have been travelling a lot from past couple of months and as she is growing, Anushka now asks for more attention... After so long had really forgotten that i used to write blogs.... Y'day somebody from my dear Hubby office asked him that it

has been too long Priyanka has not written anything on her blog..... So Ramanuj reminded me of it.... and then after reading all of my blogs I watched some of Anushka's birth and days after birth videos.... And so here's wot happened after that.....

After THE BIRTH DAY, due to all of the hard work, it was very tiring for me to handle and calm the crying baby..... She was like hungry all of the time..... she had to be fed every two hours and I wasn't able to cope up with her..... I was damn tired and needed lot of rest.... and she was hungry..... The doctors and other attendants kept me motivating and telling me to feed her..... but due to all the pain I used to sleep for 3-4 hours..... and Ramanuj handled her..... Whenever I woke up I fed her but I think she was not full..... So she kept on crying..... then the next day one of the Pediatrician came and told that if this will go on Anushka might have jaundice..... Ramanuj was frightened and told me to gain strength and feed..... but it was very very difficult... So doctor adviced to start bottle feeding her.... I didnt like the idea at all but didnt have much option..... So agreed to his advice.... But remember all the soon-to-be moms out there..... dont do this mistake..... Doctors say that mothers should feed their babies after delivery as soon as possible in order to enhance the milk production.... and later every two hours or according to the child's need.... DO NOT BOTTLE FEED YOUR BABIES unless u are helpless..... because the baby can have Nipple Confusion..... The milk flows easily through the bottle so babies hardly do any job..... but if the babies are fed mother's milk, they have to do a little hard work..... Also if you bottle feed your baby, he/she will get used to it and later on you might suffer problems.... Mother's milk is best for the baby...... It has all the required nutrients that the baby needs for the first six months of life..... Also experts say that those who are fed mother's milk their IQs are higher than those who are not..... If you breastfeed, your child is least likely to have allergies and infections..... Breastmilk has many benefits for mothers too.... breastfeeding moms are least likely to get breast cancer..... Breastfeeding helps moms to get their pre-natal size back soon..... So both mom ad baby are benefited when breastfed..... I too did the same but along with bottle.... But as far as possible feed your child only mother's milk ......

Well if you dont have any option and are stuck with the option of bottle feeding, see that you pump your milk in bottle and give that to the baby..... For extracting the milk you can choose an hand breast-pump or an electric breast-pump...... those who work and dont have time to manually pump the milk, electric breastpump can help you.... you can carry them with you to work and extract the milk.... these are a little expensive(about USD350)...... so,for stay-at-home moms, hand breast-pump are good option...... they cost like USD40..... whatever is your option, make a note to sterlise all the parts of the pump as well as bottle in hot boiling water for 10 minutes before using..... also after extracting the milk, offer the needed amount only to the baby..... store the excess milk in a bottle and freeze it...... if you refrigerate it, it should be consumed within 24 hours.... else it gets expired..... but if you deep freeze, it does not expire for 2-3 months......to be sure of the expiration, label the milk container with the date.....

If you have other problems such as if you dont produce enough milk that satisfies the baby's needs, you can then formula-feed...... but be sure to choose the right formula.... discuss it with ur child's pediatrician..... in US we got a very nice brand named Similac...... Similac is available in India too but in very few places..... and it costs too much(INR 3500 per kg)..... so discuss with ur pediatrician for ur options..... Do not feed ur baby cow's milk or any animal milk..... Cow's milk is just for calf... not for a human baby...... It is very difficult to digest cow's milk when baby is so young..... Doctors say that it may result into internal bleeding...... also they contain many allergens.... so dont give ur child cow's milk until he/she is one year old......

Mother's milk is best for the baby...... So make yourself a little strong to give your child the best thing.....

To be continued.....

Motherhood: A Blessing - Chapter 12

..... I screamed "Hey Ganpati Bappa!!!"..... and soon after that i heard a tiny voice..... yes!!! that was ANUSHKA!!!!..... The doctor placed her on me...... and i forgot everything..... the pain, the stress....... there were tears in my eyes..... she was beautiful..... she was perfect...... she looked like her father..... she had big eyelashes.... she was pink..... she had lots of hair..... she was crying and when she was on my chest i hold her and said,"everything's gonna be fine.... u r with ur mom".... Ramanuj also started crying..... He was also a father now.... Doctors asked him to cut the umbilical cord.... when he was hesitating doctors said " when ur wife can give birth, you shud do atleast this".... so he cut the cord..... i didnt really knew what was happening all of a sudden.... before few hours i was just ME..... but now i was a MOTHER,.....

It was an amazing feeling.... they took Anushka and cleaned her..... they weighed her, measured her height and head circumference..... she was crying and my heart ached for her..... i kept on asking the doctors when will i feed her..... but the doctor said that its gonna take few minutes.... i still had to deliver the placenta..... so by that time i had no option..... Ramanuj was with her all the time..... He saw and recorded her first bath.... he didnt understand where he should be.... with me or Anushka.... but i told him that be with Anu so atleast one of us sees what was going on with her...... then they gave me MY BABY..... she was hungry and was licking my face..... i felt so weird..... it was a very good feeling..... then they nurses took me to my room..... where i fed Anushka for the first time..... they taught me different ways of feeding.... it was difficult at first but slowly and gradually it was all getting normal..... It was ok that night but the next day as i woke up i saw Anushka near me and I started crying..... I was thinking that now my life's gonna be upside down..... having a baby changes everything..... i thought now how will i take care of her.... she's going to be with me all the time.... how m i going to manage...... one of the doctors came for my checkup and asked me how was i feeling..... i hesitated and discussed with her that i was feeling this way..... she said that it was perfectly normal.... since the hormones in the body change rapidly this type of behaviour is pefectly normal.... then i was quiet relieved..... but i used to cry every now and then....

to be continued.....

Motherhood: A Blessing - Chapter 11

So the day had arrived.... it was 4 o'clock in the night..... now the contractions were really painful.... we were recording everything.... they'd alloted me a nurse who was recording various readings.... she was every now and then asking me how are my contractions..... how was i feeling.... and everything.... she was asking me whether i want epidural or not(its a kind of medication which is injected in the spinal cord so that the lower part of the body doesnt feel anything)..... i said i can still bear the pain..... the doctors used to visit me every now and then..... they all said i am still 4 cm dialated...... i was worried.... the pains were getting unbearable and i was getting tired but after doing so much work i wasnt getting the result..... i kept on bearing till 6.30 in the morning when one of the doctors said" you dont want your child to see unhappily..... why dont u take epidural"...... i was so hurt by that...... i thought what the doctor was saying was absolutely true..... i want to see my baby happily...... why was i just bearing the pain unnecessarily and not taking the medication..... actually there were some side-effects of epidural and so i was so adamant upon it.....but then i thought that i am already so tired and exhausted..... so its better that i take the epidural..... i told them that i was ready..... they made the arrangements and called the anesthesiologist...... she injected the medication in the spinal cord and then after few minutes i wasnt feeling anything...... i could see the contractions coming and going on the monitor but i wasnt feeling anything at all...... when the doctor came she checked me and said i was 6 cm dialated...... with epidural it was getting easier..... but still the bag of water didnt burst...... it was 8 o'clock in the morning...... Ramanuj didnt sleep at all.... i was resting for the time being..... slowly and gradually i again started feeling the contractions..... but not that badly...... it was 12 o'clock on 27th of December...... the doctor said now they'll have to break the bag of waters since i was completely dialated...... she broke the bag and now even with epidural could feel everything...... i was in the pushing phase now..... i pushed for about 2 hours and 30 mins......I had 3 doctors, 3 nurses and a pediatrician around me......i held Ramanuj's hand and screamed loudly in pain" Hey Ganpati Bappa!!!"......

to be continued.....

Motherhood: A Blessing - Chapter 10

The next day was my appointment at the hospital..... the doctor checked me and said that I have already completed 30% of the work.... I was so happy because I didnt feel any pain at all.... I whispered to Ramanuj," huh, if this is the thing they say is scary, then it isnt scary at all!!!".... I didnt even realized the pain...... not at all..... But the doctor said that one cannot be sure about when the baby will be born.... If I dont feel the pains they might have to operate..... i was not ready for this..... i came home with a shock but Ramanuj said whatever happens dont forget u r gonna have a baby..... and then i was normal again.....

As i wasnt doing any household, one of our friends here invited us for dinner...... we went there and i suddenly started to feel contractions..... i had to note the timing how long they lasts and the gap between the contractions.... the doctor had told me not to eat more during this time as the whole body has to concentrate on the birthing.....so i ate light and drank a lot..... then by 2 o'clock in the night they were really getting intense..... i was happy and called the hospital.... they told me to take shower and bring the labor bag alongwith..... the labor bag had all the things that would be required at the hospital..... generally it has an outfit each for mother and the baby, a blanket for baby, brush, toothpaste, 2 diapers for the baby, a comb, a hairclip, some cash, medical card..... one may also want back massage at the time of labor, for that tennis balls are good..... a pair of slippers, and other things that you consider to be important.... my bag was ready during my seventh month of pregnancy..... anyways, i took the bath quickly and Ramanuj and our friends took me to the hospital.... i was all excited cause though i could clearly make out the contractions by then..... but i was like this is not that bad.... anybody can do it..... they simply say its painful and all..... but when the doctor checked she said i was just 4cms dialated..... i was still enjoying that moment.... Ramanuj had brought a camcoder to record everything..... we wanted this to be recorded so that when Anushka is 18, we could give her as a gift..... so everything was being recorded..... i was happy but Ramanuj was a bit scared..... He doesnt like hospitals at all.... though hospitals in US are very clean and it doesnt feel at all like its a hospital.... but he has this phobia since a long time..... and he was worried about what will happen..... I kept on encouraging him..... and when i was worried he kept on making jokes..... so we were helping each other.....

to be continued.....

Motherhood: A Blessing - Chapter 9

Five days before the due date was my b'day and I thought that today might be the day..... I wished that Anushka might be my b'day gift..... whole day i was waiting for the contractions to start(hehehe).... but it didnt happen......

From my b'day onwards I didnt do any of the household..... I took complete rest since I was told that labor was a Very Big Job..... So no work till then..... I slept, watched videos and read articles on birthing..... By doing this I was actually getting prepared mentally, physically for the Labor..... Since me and Ramanuj were alone I wanted myself to be all prepared so that I could be strong enough to handle the thing..... In my opinion one should definitely watch videos because it helps to program your mind accordingly..... one of my friends feared so didnt watch them...... but i believe when you are about to face the thing(that too alone) u should atleast know whats gonna happen..... Because when we are about to approach the time we feel that we are going to do a very great thing in life..... and we are only the ones to do it..... i felt the same way..... but it isnt like that...... i mean it surely is a BIG THING..... but many women have done it before..... i too felt that it is a big deal..... but when i watched videos i saw that women happily give birth to multiple kids at a time..... and i had just one..... that encouraged me a lot......so better to be prepared......

And then the Christmas arrived.... here it was a long weekend..... 4 days holiday..... my due date was just 2 days from then...... and i felt something going inside..... a little pain but I really wasnt sure it was the pain..... it was so mild that i could hardly feel it..... so i thought maybe i should call the hospital..... they told me to come...... I got there with Ramanuj...... I saw a woman coming out with a tiny baby in her hand and her husband was taking her to the car...... i was so happy to see that sight that tears came out..... Ramanuj hold my hand and said "very soon you too would be having a baby in your hand"..... then he took me inside the hospital where the doctor checked me and said that its still gonna take some more time..... how much time she didnt say anything..... and she gave me a leaflet with information about when should I call the hospital.... and told me to leave and take rest...... :(...... i was like if not now then when......

to be continued.....

Motherhood: A Blessing - Chapter 8

Sorry everyone for a DELAYING this post.... but with Anushka growing its really hard to take time out...

Anyways, since I was the first time Mom, the hospital people told me to take The Labor Preparation Class..... I took their advice and enrolled for the class...... There they told me what is labor, What happens during labor, what should I do during labor, what my partner should do, what are the phases of labor, etc.

Labor is basically the contraction of uterine muscles...... Though during pregnancy uterus does practices labor exercise and few women do feel that they are in labor...... it is called False Labor..... or Braxton and hicks contractions..... it is very normal...... it just that uterus rehearses before the actual labor...... but during the labor the uterus actually pushes the baby...... labor is the time where its work for everybody..... mom, baby, mom's body and obviously family, doctors everybody around us.......

There are various phases of labor:

- Active Labor

- pushing

- delivery of baby

- delivery of placenta

- recovery

The labor starts from the time when a woman starts feeling the contractions till she is recovered( can stand and walk)...... the instructor explained each and every phase very clearly.... i was scared after hearing every thing but i now really wanted the big thing to happen..... it was becoming tiring for me each day and i was getting very impatient..... this last phase was a bit troublesome because now the baby was grown fully..... and it was difficult for me to eat or drink..... even sleeping was difficult..... the back pain and cramps were so bad that i couldnt sleep at all...... now i couldnt wait at all...... i was all angry..... but I couldnt do anything......

to be continued.....

Motherhood: A Blessing - Chapter 7

Hi Readers!!! Sorry for writing the post so late..... Actually my dear darling daughter is growing so fast and now she's started recognizing people..... she now knows that I am her Mom....... If I'm not with her she cries and continuosly checks here and there for me..... So, couldn't find time to write....

Anyways..... I was having a great time being pregnant.... Ramanuj pampered me a lot.... I used to get whatever I wished.... Whatever I used to feel like eating Ramanuj used to bring that for me.... ice creams, choclates, sometimes i wanted something spicy so we used to go to Shaan restaurant and have mutter paneer( which now i dont like that much)..... sometimes i used to cook by myself..... and i was gaining weight like anything...... now when i see my pics at that time i laugh...... But i never used to control myself from eating what the baby wanted..... I just controlled once..... that day we were with our friends at Shaan having dinner and two of my friends were having Non-veg item..... I am a strict vegetarian..... but that day i really liked the smell of it and felt like eating..... But I didnt..... So, while pregnancy one can feel like eating anything..... Its a crazy feeling!!!!

So, by now the baby's kicks were strong...... the doctor gave me a Kick Count Card to keep a record of the kicks of the baby..... It was to count 10 kicks of the baby and note the time from the start of first kick to the end of the tenth kick..... the time sould range anywhere from 10 minutes to 3 hours...... If there werent 10 kicks, that was to be reported to the doctor...... Anushka used to do within 10 minutes..... and those were real strong ones..... Doctor said that it was a good sign and that the baby was healthy....... and now I was counting down to The Big Day of my life......

to be continued......