Precious 45 minutes…

22nd May, 2007


The surprise of being pregnant has all but disappeared as far as I am concerned but still draws curious looks from friends(who know that I am pregnant) and colleagues/coworkers(who are slowly discovering it, or sweet gossips have been already whispered in their ears and they are just confirming it) . For me and Suraj, this has been replaced by the joy and anxiety of a tiny tot arriving soon in this world, and the affection and care that She (I still have a strong intuition that the baby is a girl…Say a loud “Amen” to that) would need.



I am like 5 months pregnant now, and my good old reliable link
http://pregnancy.about.com/cs/pregnancycalendar/l/blweek22.htm (thanks again Ketan...I can never thank you enough for this) speaks volumes about what the baby is like on what week. Follow the link to see what the baby looks like and is capable of doing when he/she is 22 weeks old.



QUOTE

Beginning of Part I: Its 7:45 pm

Doctor : Please let me take the measurements and I will explain you everything.
Me : hmmm ok (disappointingly smiling)
Doctor types : HEAD (and then after sometime) ABDOMEN
Me thinking : is that really the abdomen?
Doctor types : FEMUR (and then after sometime) HUMUS
Me thinking : that should be the legs. Is this doctor gonna just go on typing or what?
Doctor Speaks : (me thinking : Thank God) you see that?
Me Says : yes, that’s the heart pumping (me thinks, so ferociously??)
Doctor Speaks again : There are 4 chambers clearly visible
Me thinks : 2 auricles and 2 ventricles. How about the blood flow is that normal?
Doctor Silently adjusting some setting, and checks for the blood flow.
Doctor Speaks : normal flow of blood in and out of the heart
Doctor Speaks : you see that??
Me Speaks : Ya the thumb going in the mouth
Doctor Speaks : see that, clasping and unclasping of hand. See that curling and uncurling of fist.
Doctor Exclaims : oh no?
Me thinks : what now??
Doctor exasperated
Doctor Requests : can you please pass urine and come back?
Me thinks : more than happy to do that
End of Part I : Its already 8:00 pm


Beginning of Part II: Its 8:05 pm

Doctor Speaks : see that again??
Me speaks : yes, thumb sucking (me also smiles J , me also has tiniest of tiny tear in my eyes)
Doctor exasperated again and also being disturbed by his subordinate.
Doctor Speaks (a lil relieved) : there you see, that’s the backbone.
Me thinks : you mean Spinal Cord. Not bad haan, my knowledge of biological names for the anatomy. Me pleased.
Doctor Requests : please turn to your left.
Me obeys
Doctor Speaks : oh No. siggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Me thinks : ahhhhhh stop sighing man.
Doctor speaks : lets wait for 2 minutes
Me speaks : alright
End of Part II: Its now 8:15pm



Beginning of Part III: Its 8:17 pm
Doctor speaks : Ok
Me speaks : Ok
Doctor sighs again.
Me concerned : Anything wrong doctor?
Doctor speaks : I cann’t see the face. I got a picture of the lateral view. I have saved the image of the profile, but I can’t see the face.
Me questioning : what? (me smiles proudly too)
Doctor Speaks again : I have a clear picture of the backbone (I think, u mean Spinal cord), but the face has not being captured in totality. I am sorry.
Me gets off the table smiling.
End of Part III: 8:30pm and its all done.

UNQUOTE



Everything said between the QUOTE and UNQUOTE actually was Mummu’s first 45 minutes of fame and glory on the monitor of the sonoscan device. That was also mine and Surajs, first, one on one with a 5 month old tiny tot and I think she is notorious.



The doctor’s exasperation actually tickled my funny bone; I was smiling away every time he sighed. Why? I don’t know. May be somewhere deep down I feel Mummu is more like Suraj than me. The ONLY difference between mine and Suraj’s natures, I have an upper edge as far as my stubbornness is concerned. Her sonoscan proved that she is stubborn; she refused to turn around despite the fact that she was disturbed so much. End tak face nahin dikhaya J



I think she obliges more to her dads request than to mine, so conclusion, both of them are notorious.



Before the sonoscan started, Suraj went on and on that Mummu is a thumb sucker. There, the minute she was visible on the monitor, she refused to let go off her hands, she was clasping and unclasping, she removed her thumb from the mouth and again the thumb went back in.



At first, she was happily playing away with her hands and when the focus was changed to her legs, she was kicking away to glory (Thank God for her kicks) then she swirled away, gave us a good sight of her feet and then a good picture of her back and after that, it was like “do whatever you want, I m not looking at you all.”
OR
I somehow feel, Mummu thought, I was going off to sleep and hence she swirled around and she was lying on her stomach. I am imagining, this cute chubby cheeked, thumb in mouth baby, lying on her stomach -- facing my spinal cord, as if hugging me and sleeping.



Everything about the sonoscan just makes my faith stronger ……….NO………..Strongest, as far as Miracles are concerned. I don’t have words to describe it. It’s just



Fun and fears

My eyes filled with tears

Joy and anxiety

My life’s changing daily



A tiny tot

With her pranks and shots,

A Small Wonder

To her my love’s Surrendered.

I got kicked…

Dated : 19th April, 2007
Last night amidst the inconvenience n discomfort of my sleeping position…whilst I was trying to catch up on 40 winks…(its actually reduced from a snoring deep sleep to deep breathless 40 winks)…
I realized…the reason I wasn’t able to sleep soundly is cos…in the earnest attempt to be comfortable…I slept a bit on my tummy.,..though not completely ….so I tried to slowly turn on my back…I did....n I felt that was comfortable enuf….i began swimming in this ocean of darkness…n thut sleep is finally conquering me….but alas…I realized there were these prominent grumbling noises that my stomachs started making…I thut might be my dream or might not be anything at all. but then now I m so used to the stomach growling n grumbling all the time its normal…afterall 4 months of pregnancy lets u know…that ur body is not urs anymore…it teaches you these facts slowly…but consistently…everyday is like a new chapter…a day of learnings…n questions…..ok I got diverted….

So back to the grumblings. I realized if I had gas(which is a very common thing when u r expecting) my entire upper part of the stomach shud grumble…not only a side. Luckily it wasn’t on my left side..i wud hv shivered with fear, thinking my hearts gonna pop out. So it was to my right, a prominent thump…it cudn’t hv been my heart….then again a thump…is it some nerves…again a thump…is it a cramp…n then a thump….finally I had the good sense(in my 40 winks sleep) to check out my tummy with my hands…I kept my hand gently on my tummy…n a thump…n one more n one more…n I realized probably I m dreaming…then I just pulled surajs hand n kept it on my tummy…n he felt the thump …n again…n again. He was the first one to say “she is kicking”…yes our baby was kicking last night…n thankfully both of us experienced it….its an amazing feeling. I don’t rmbr distinctly when I could first make out the baby’s prominent heartbeat(else I would have written an expert on that as well) but I was praying that when the baby kicks for the very first time, I shouldn’t be missing out on it. God has been kind enough in answering my prayers. Experience of a lifetime.

Yes, I could make out the baby kicking even in my sleep, mainly cos I hv been reading this book on pregnancy, tells u what a first time mothers shud know. These nitty-grittys are probably missed out on by ur loved ones, esp ur mom, they rmbr only when u tell them abt ur experience…n then they iterate their experience. I guess I was waiting for it to happen…or might say I was pushing my baby to kick..to show me some signs..to get me out of my low mood…its her way of saying..”hey I m arnd…don’t worry”


Well quite contrary to what the subject says….its the most amazing thingy…