Nobody ever told me how much I would miss being pregnant
long after the much anticipated event of child birth would be over! The sheer
trepidation and joy of waiting for the baby, witnessing all the myriad changes
in your body, experiencing the miracle of it all…it is an incomparable
experience! Here are some snippets!
A humongous appetite: I wish I had a picture of my wondering yet
supportive husband staring at me devouring an entire plate of noodles and
marvelling at my sudden change in appetite. 6 months pregnant, I was ravenous
every few hours and just couldn’t get enough to eat. I even remember eyeing my
brother’s unfinished burger thinking, ‘Hmm….maybe he is not going to finish
that!’
Belly dance! I
was seven months pregnant and had just set an assignment to a class of college
going kids, when suddenly my baby decided to do the tango. The newspaper that
was conveniently resting on my belly went blip up and blup down! I’ll never
forget the stunned look of a student eyeing me with suspicion!
Spicy cravings: Why did green chillies suddenly smell
so aromatic and enticing? Never did I know that all of our lives and all of our
bodies are controlled by that one ubiquitous element- Hormone! Suddenly I was
gorging down green chillies by the dozen and loving every minute of it! Of course
my husband now blames me for my daughter’s fiery temperament!
Becoming philosophical : Why did the trees, the
grass, the flowers and the sky suddenly look so much more awe inspiring? The
very thought of sharing so much beauty with a little toddler walking by my
side, would give me goosebumps. If ever there was an atheist in me, this was
the end of her! Forever I would be in awe of the sheer perfection with which
the lord crafts a new flower and with as much consummate ease, a new human
being.
Good food, healthy babies: Suddenly taking care of
one’s diet didn’t seem low priority at all! All the green vegetables and boring
fruits appeared to be far more attractive than the hitherto alluring junk food.
Trust me expecting mothers- feeding yourself can be a lot easier than feeding a fussy child…take
advantage of the situation while you can!
Bye bye OTC medicines: As a doctor’s daughter I grew
up a happy pill popper. Only to be shattered when I learnt that my Crocins
would betray me when I needed them the most! Thanks to my mom’s ‘Yoga for
pregnancy’ book, I was introduced to a more holistic understanding of my body and
realised the importance of overall physical well being. Sure, the child starts
changing your perceptions even before he has arrived!
Throwing my modesty to the winds! Many a woman has shared this ironical thought
with me! In most Indian communities, women are taught modesty with earnest
passion from the day they are born……only to be forced to shed all their
inhibitions one fine day when they are ready to procreate! Not only do our
bodies go through this great overhaul, we are also expected to be absolutely
cool with showing a lot more skin to hospital staff, attendants and doctors!
Nobody ever told us how gross the entire birthing process was!
All worth it! As any mother will testify, years
afterwards the lasting memory is that of the first sight of a healthy, bonny,
beautiful baby! All the stiff joints, the terrible back pain and the
awkwardness of being so large that you can’t see your toes….all those memories
get blurred , what stays with you for a lifetime is the wonderful experience of
seeing life recreate itself. Amen.
