MOTHERHOOD: A Blessing- Chapter 2

......Seeing us the doctor asked" Arent you happy?"..... hahaha..... We were so happy and shocked that we dint knew what to say or react..... Then on our way home i was all thinking bout the baby and how tiny it is inside me.... I made a promise to myself that from now on I'll be eating more of the fruits and green vegetables and drink lots of water...... which i never used to care bout normally....... my mom and dad used to always say that" You'll understand everything when you have a baby"...... The first lesson that my baby taught me was to eat right and nutritious food...... and really i started eating right..... 

Then suddenly my "Morning Sickness" started...... Oh my God..... It was such a horrible period....... every morning i used to wake up from the bed because of the feeling...... then i used to vomit...... a lot..........I used to feel as if all of my organs: stomach, liver, lungs...... will come out from my mouth........  after a few days i got scared of waking up......... i didnt at all knew wot to do.......

Then one afternoon i got a call from Kaiser Permanante, my medical facility, that I need to come for the First Trimester class( First Trimester is the first 3 months of pregnancy, similarly Second Trimester: 4-6 and Third Trimester:7-9)..... I went to attend the class a few couple of days later...... It was very informative..... they told me how i can take care of the morning sickness...... and how there are ways to avoid morning sickness:

1. eat ur meals 6 times a day..... instead of just lunch and dinner........ eat little at a time..... morning sickness is caused because of the increase in the level of acids inside our body....... eating helps in decreasing the levels...... even in the night have a little snack or something beside ur bed so that you can eat it in the midnight anytime to avoid vomitting in the morning.......

2. keep a lemon or citrus fruit with u always.... whenever you have the feeling take a few drops of lemon and it should be fine.....

3. hold ur wrist as if u r counting ur heartbeat...... they say its an acupressure point...... that too helped me at times........

but very soon this period goes away........ 

At Kaiser they have so many classes for pregnant women...... nutrition class, breastfeeding class, newborn care class and the labor preparation class.... Ramanuj always accompanied me with these classes.... it was really a wonderful experience which i will always cherish...  Kaiser Permanante is the best one in Bay Area.... It has this wonderful staff and doctors are great..... Actually i learnt so much by myself that sometimes i think if i were in India it wouldnt have been possible for me to explore and learn my pergnancy so nicely.... As they say "Whatever happens, happens for the best".... In India I've seen my cousin how suspicious she went during her pregnancy.... she always used to say i cannot eat this, this can harm my baby, that can harm my baby.... And to add more to her misery she had doctor who said that she'll have a caeserean at the start of her pregnancy and she was all fine.... when i asked my doctor on my very first appointment that whether i'll have a caeserean or normal delivery she said how can u just predict like that..... One doesnt know what position the child might take at the end of pregnancy.... my cousin had her in-laws and parents with her..... I didnt have my parents here....I would have been more pampered in India...... they would have all taken care of me..... but i see it positively...... I thought it was a lesson which i learnt and now I can pass it on to those who get suspicious and afraid of this beautiful period of ur lifeand to those who are alone....  i had this wonderful group of people who were so supportive that i didnt really worried a lot......they said that you should drink lots of fluids and excercise.... even walking is a good exercise... i used to walk a lot with Ramanuj..... we used to chat and plan about the baby while walking..... the nutrition expert also told me that i can eat my regular diet even spicy food( Indian food in US is considered very spicy).... i can eat any fruit even papaya( In India, they say to avoid papaya because it can cause to miscarrraige).... what i should restrict was caffeine and other harmful habbits( alcohol and smoking) which i dint had..... and i used to happily cook and happily eat everything with Ramanuj.....

Then came my appointment with the Doctor.... My doctor was Dr. Catherine Berger- Dujmovic..... she is a wonderful doctor.... and later i got to know that she was pregnant herself with a baby boy.... well that day she entered the examination room where i was sitting.... and checked through ultrasound my baby..... oh my God.... i still remember how wonderful it was and how confusing and unclear..... i didnt see the baby at all..... i just saw baby's heart beat..... but Ramanuj could figure the baby very easily.... I was feeling so bad that i couldnt.... But i was happy that atleast one of us saw..... she measured baby's length and head circumference and calculated baby's age..... my baby was 2 months and 5 days at that time...... and from that day i used to hold my tummy and talk to the baby.... my baby.....

To be continued......