My Pregnancy Journey

“Pregnancy is nine months of preparing to fall in love for a lifetime” – Anonymous. I think I was always ready to fall in love this way.  Here through this blog I would love to share my pregnancy journey. I always loved the idea of being able to give birth and having my own child. However, as a modern couple, my husband and I really wanted our time together, before having our first child. So we waited for a good three years before taking the leap. And when we felt that we were mentally, physically, and financially ready, we finally consulted our doctor. We got our regular checkups done, just to ensure that we both are healthy and fit to bear a baby. And after we got a heads up from the doctor, we started planning for the baby.

As I’m sharing my journey in detail, I’m listing my ups and downs along the way and also the things that helped me combat it and kept me strong. 

Finding out I’m pregnant 

“Life’s biggest miracle is the gift of having life growing inside of you” - Anonymous

When you are really ready to be a mother, it's impossible to be patient during the waiting time before you actually conceive. But our doctor had advised us to keep our calm and not to get too anxious about the process. Eating healthy, thinking positive and meditation helped me relax during this time. And then finally the day came when I missed my period. As, it was late by just three days (pretty early to judge), so we waited for three more days, and when I still didn’t get my periods, we finally ran a home test. And guess what! It came out positive :) We looked at each other, with the widest grin on our faces, and shouted together “Oh my God! We are going to have a baby”. We hugged each other, savoring the moment and thanking God for blessing us with the most beautiful feeling.

The next morning we went to the doctor for the lab test and the result came out positive too. We were so excited and couldn’t wait to break the news to our parents. Oh! I still remember my father dancing after hearing the “good news” during our video call. My parents from both sides were equally elated and now I was getting the big list of all the dos and don'ts from them.

First trimester:

Initially during my first trimester, I was focusing on my health by eating non-processed food, and lots of fruits and veggies. One main addition to my diet was coconut water. My doctor also advised me to consume it throughout my pregnancy due to its nutritional value and super hydrating properties. 

During this time, I also downloaded an app that gave me weekly alerts on baby’s developments and mom’s symptoms. The app helped me understand better about what is happening inside, what to expect and gave me insights of my baby's development in the form of pictures, and even compared the foetus size with a kidney bean or some fruits, which I found very cute and used to look forward to for daily and weekly updates.

Symptoms: 

Nausea: As I was suffering from nausea which I usually felt in the morning and by the evening it got better. Thankfully I didn’t throw up much. One thing that helped me immensely to replenish the lost electrolytes from my morning sickness was coconut water.

Low energy levels: I felt sluggish all the time and my energy levels were usually low mainly because of nausea. 

Cravings: During my fifth week of pregnancy, I started developing a craving for different types of food. Sometimes icecreams, and other times mangos. The cravings were not very strong but yeah! I would love it if I got what I craved for.

Best moment: 

During our first ultrasound, as they started the process, between the chaotic visuals of the ultrasound images which we could hardly make sense of, came the bleak sound of heartbeat which became louder and stronger by the second. And our hearts were overwhelmed to hear the heartbeat as we looked at each other and smiled with pride as we felt our little one's presence for the first time. These were the best and few of the most cherished moments of my entire pregnancy period.

Second Trimester 

Oh yes! Undoubtedly the best time during my pregnancy. The second trimester is when I got my pregnancy glow. My skin cleared up and I felt radiant and beautiful like never before! I could also make out that my hair was shinier and my nails were stronger than ever.

Symptoms:

More Cravings: During this trimester, I was getting more and more cravings for junk food. As I knew, this food was not good for either the baby or me, so I tried to avoid it. However, sometimes it was next to impossible, as there was this particular time that I said “no one loves me” when I didn’t get paneer tikka on time, which I had ordered. When I think back, it was so funny and my family still talks and laughs about my melodrama over a paneer tikka.

Weight Gain: I significantly gained weight during this time of my pregnancy and all my clothes were tight, so now dresses and gowns were my new wardrobe staples. I couldn’t imagine my life without them. After consulting my doctor I started light exercises, yoga and walking. I particularly enjoyed walking in the park while listening to my favorite music.

Leg cramps: After 18 weeks, the app that I had discussed about, gave me an alert that I could have leg cramps aka “Charlie’s Horse.” Literally the second night, I woke up to a painful cramp on my left calf. During this time, drinking a lot of water during the day and before going to bed helped me immensely with my cramps. Also, calf stretches before going to bed can also prevent cramping.

Best moments:

When we went for the ultrasound during this time, we could see the foetus looking more like a baby. The radiologist checked a range of factors to determine the proper development of all the parts of the body. And, we were both amazed and elated to see our baby's development, and felt more close and connected to our little bundle of joy.

Another beautiful moment during my fifth month was when I was sitting in the car, just about a minute into the drive, and I felt a small movement inside my bump. It startled me and initially I was confused, but it soon followed by another strong movement and I instantly knew I felt my baby kicking for the first time. I immediately told my husband and he stopped the car on the side of the road and we tried to feel it. A few moments later, again, there was a strong kick and we both laughed and cried with joy at the same time. 

Third Trimester:

As my third trimester approached, I contracted COVID-19, and it was the scariest feeling as I was very concerned about the health of my baby. After consulting my doctor, I was assured that it will not affect my baby’s health. Immediately thereafter, I switched to a healthy diet, sipped on herbal drinks, included vitamin C and zinc in my diet. Even though I started feeling better within a week, my body was still weak and tired. However, after two weeks of medication and diet, I was up and about, and was feeling better than ever.

Symptoms: 

Feeling uneasy and uncomfortable: As the baby started to grow, I felt very heavy and uncomfortable. Therefore, to support my belly and back, I bought a maternity belt. To manage my weight I did some limited workout and also indulged in yoga to stay active and fit. Since I was quite heavy during this time, normal tasks like getting up from the couch or the bed or bending seem like impossible tasks. And as I had to sleep on the side during this trimester, I used a lot of pillows which helped me support my belly and back.

Insomnia: By the end of my second trimester and during my third trimester, I struggled with insomnia. I couldn’t sleep during the night and I used to watch my husband with envy as he used to snore his way throughout the night. One night as I couldn’t sleep, I decided to walk in the room. I didnt turn on the light as I didn’t wish to wake my husband. After sometime my husband got up and was startled to see someone moving in the room. He quickly realized it was me and said “Why are you giving me a heart attack, roaming like a ghost in the dark”. We laugh about it till date.

Feeling panic: Sometimes I felt panic and I used to feel as if the baby was laying quite low. Especially when I used to go to pee, I felt like the baby was just above my vagina about to come out. Spoke to the doctor, had my scans, she assured me that there is nothing to worry as it's a very common feeling.

Best moments:

Another amazing feeling about this trimester was feeling my baby move inside. I could visibly see it and loved to touch and feel its limbs when it moved inside. I felt so much more connected to my baby and I used to constantly have conversations with my little munchkin. It was amazing to feel the pattern of movements. When my husband came back from work, the baby used to move upon hearing his voice. Also we used to observe whenever we played music, I used to feel a lot of movements, as if the baby was dancing inside. So my husband had a routine of playing some music in the evening for our baby for him/her to enjoy.