The 8.5 Months Journey

Pregnancy is a wild ride that lasts for 40 weeks.. 37 weeks and 5 days, in my case! 😉

My husband and I have been dating for 6.5 years until we said "I do" in February 2019. With just few months left for me to turn 32, we knew we shouldn't be waiting any longer as my biological clock was ticking away.

In a country like ours, women are expected to marry and have kids in their 20s. The current scenario is changing with a good number of women choosing to tie the knot much later. I have always wanted to be physically, mentally and financially prepared to have a child. 

After a false alarm (read - negative UPT) in April 2019, I missed my period by a couple of days again, in May. I didn't keep my hopes high. The UPT stick showed a faint line. My husband's classmate, who turned out to be my obstetrician eventually, suggested to get the test repeated after two weeks. 

Two weeks was a long wait… I repeated the test few days later, only to see that the line got darker… 😄 My husband and I were thrilled beyond our wits! 

I was on top of the world...and then fell flat on my face the next minute! Why? The first thing that struck me was that I had to give up on all the fun filled Saturday nights and ALCOHOL..!! 😭 I have always been the kind of person who went crazy with drinks on Saturday nights, dance like a maniac till 4am and wake up to have lunch at 1pm on Sundays. I never really got a chance to have my last booze before turning sober for who-knows-how-long...😭

Anyway .. long story cut short, my pregnancy was confirmed with an ultrasound scan. I was due for 1 March 2020.

My Saturdays changed from having Old Monk / Captain Morgan / DSP Black (P.S Don't judge me by the brands) to having packaged fruit juices. No more coffee! No more pineapples! 🤕 And no more Diet Coke!!!

I thought it would be tough… but giving up all the above was smooth. Infact, the smell of alcohol soon became a huge turn off. 

First trimester is supposed to terrible for most women due to morning sickness. Thankfully, I just had mild gastritis. The worst part of first trimester, however, was my mood swings… My husband was the only soul to face my wrath.. and still is! 😂😂😂 

People say that when you become pregnant, you develop certain cravings and aversions. I craved for spicy/sour food and developed a strong aversion for seafood. I cooked only what I craved for or enjoyed eating. 

Besides alcohol, I also had to give up working with heavy weights at the gym and started doing more cardio. I finally stopped going to the gym in the third month. 🙊

Second trimester was a breeze. My abdomen had just started protuding. I felt my first movement in October, while on a babymoon. 

From a gentle tap to a full blown kick...alot changed when I reached the third trimester. 

I developed borderline diabetes and hypertension. I cut down on sugar intake and switched to low sodium salt which did help alot. 

Third trimester was not so fun. As weeks progressed , I started getting more exhausted at work. I needed more rest and more food. Cooking meals and doing basic household chores became  tiresome. The frequent urge to pee was a nuisance, more so at night. Finding a comfortable position to sleep was another task , especially with the growing tummy. 

I wasn't visibly pregnant to many people until I reached 32-33 weeks. From then, my belly grew in size rapidly. I stopped monitoring my weight since I didn't like the digits displayed on the weighing scale. My clothes stopped fitting me. XLs and XXLs were out of my league. I started shopping at a plus size store as there weren't any good maternity wear options for work. 🤐 

My feet didn't look normal anymore. All my old shoes were packed to make way for new comfortable ones. 

Going to public places like malls, restaurants, pubs, theatres etc became difficult. People often didnt realise that I was pregnant and end up walking into me. I had to be alert all the time, strategically placing my hands in front of my tummy to avoid any casualties… 

Every night, before going to bed, I watched YouTube videos to prepare myself for pregnancy, birth and parenting. All that was good. But believe me, eventually only your motherly instincts and hands-on experience will get you going.

(A picture of myself when I was 36 weeks pregnant)

All through the 8.5 months and beyond, my husband has been my greatest support. I have watched him grow through various stages of being a great friend, affectionate boyfriend, caring husband and now a doting father. 

We managed to get a maternity photoshoot done, a day before my Emergency C-Section. I will leave you guys with a picture from the photoshoot.