Thursday, March 5, 2009

The First Born Tag ...

Mamma Mia tagged me to do this one.

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes.

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes. (No interesting answers here!)

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?

"How can someone NOT eat when pregnant? Dr Are you sure this nausea isn't jaundice?"
And then a kind friend told us where to get GORDON BOURNE's 'Pregnancy'. That changed the whole attitude :)


4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
No.

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
The doctor said it was pregnancy. (And no jaundice)

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
Had gone to the hospital with Husband. By then everybody had guessed from endless Bollywood style (but much worse) retching.

8. DUE DATE?
Wasn't sure she would be a Capricorn or an Aquarius!

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Enough to make me wish I wasn't pregnant. Hated the first trimester. Lost weight, threw up a lot.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Plums, Chole Bhature, rasam, Bhindi fried without jeera, chappaties without ghee, cucumber, ..Mom's cooking.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
After the first trimester, almost nothing.
Not even being advised to drink pure ghee, not even people saying avoid this eclipse and that food, gain more weight or don't get wet in the rain, don't dance, don't wear jeans, don't sit on a bike ...
I had my bible in Gordon Bourne's pregnancy :)

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
A girl.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
No. We would have been happy with either, didn't matter.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
10 kgs.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
No.

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
No baby shower, and didn't miss it either.

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
No, none after the initial morning(Morning?) sickness.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Bombay.

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
Four-Five hours.

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL/BIRTH CENTER?
Strolled into the hospital, it was almost next door . She was born just a few hours after the due date, so it went as planned.


21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
The gynae and her team...

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
Natural.

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
No. But was seriously considering it.

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
2.9 kgs.


25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
At 6 42 am :)
The doc told me to look up and see the time, because she realised the baby will be born with one more push. I was tired, so she said "Feel the head, it's almost out!", and I felt her head, as soft as my elbow. Next minute she was crying like a typical Bollywood new born!

26. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN THE DOCTOR ANNOUNCED THE SEX OF THE BABY?
I asked to hold her. She twitched her mouth and I saw a dimple, and then I think it was the relief and disbelief that it was all over without the world coming to an end, I laughed aloud and thanked everybody (almost silly it seems now, but I have read many mothers do this).

27. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION ON SEEING THE BABY?
Overwhelmed, very emotional, relieved it's over, and awed .. totally in awe ...

28. DID YOU CRY?
No laughed aloud.

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Brat!

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY
She is a teenager. Her shoe size is bigger than mine :)

Like Abha who tagged me, my pregnancy was one of the funnest times of my life.
Did all kind of things to have a happy baby. Read good books, listened to good music, took pictures, exercised, picnicked in the hills. Add to that the hormones make your skin and hair look so much nicer. Everybody had predicted it was going to be a girl :)
I had expected someone like me, she turned out to be like my sister :(

I would like to tag Imp's Mom, Indyana, cantaloupes.amma, Phoenixritu, Varunavi, Ugich Konitari, Ritu, Priyanka, Sandhya, Mampi, How do we know, Pr3rna, Bones, Nimmy, Monika, 2B's Mommy, Goofy Mamma, Solilo, Shail, UshaPisharody and MySpace, Tearsndreams, Just call me A and Dipali. And the newset blogging mom I know, Aneela :)
Anybody else who would like to do this tag, simply must do it ... do let me know when the tag is done, it will be a pleasure to read it. Also wondering, did you laugh out loud like I did?

47 comments:

Monika said...

nice reading urs with a IHM twist... and me laughing was not an option i was under GA... read the whole story ,i did mine just sometime back heres the link... this a fun tag
http://ourprinceojas.blogspot.com/2009/03/my-first-born-my-prince.html

PS: i am still waiting to read the 50 ques tag... :) :)

Saritha said...

Enjoyed reading IHM."Enough to make me wish I wasn't pregnant" even i had the same feeling intially due to morning sickness which was there till i delivered.
thanks for tagging,will do it
Lol her shoe size is more than u,god bless her.

"I had expected someone like me, she turned out to be like my sister"-- same here,when i hold my younger child i feel i am holding my sister

Unknown said...

Yes I did!!!! And I will do this tag...just to re-live that incredible moment again :-) Thanks!

Imp's Mom said...

Oh I had absolutely fun while reading this :) I am so going to enjoy doing this, my next post is this tag for sure!

And my bro maintains to this day that my labor was the most funniest moment of his life! the whole circus of me walking around in the hospital gown...

mindspace said...

interesting to read.. wat fun! :)

Nikhil Menon said...

Nice read..I kno its a woman's thing,but yeah,its pretty complicated na?the morning sickness,the anxiety and all the plans tht u make up??Man..seriously..!! And at the end of it all is prolly the most prized possession..Life's great I feel.. :)

Take care IHM.. :)

Nikhil

Sashu... said...

Awwww..I juz loved this tag IHM...adorable :) wish i could write this tag :D But, derz a technical error, i havent had a kid yet. no am ai married. nor am i outta college...unfair, nay? :D

loved this post :)

Surbhi said...

Hey, that was so sweet.

But you know, IHM, all this morning sickness and labour pains stuff is freaking me out so much. I have discussed all this at length with my Dad, and he has tried to assuage my fears, but to no avail. For someone who screams every month when her menstrual cramps come, labour is simply unbelievable.

Dad says no one dies of it when you are well taken care of by qualified professionals (he's a doc in one of Delhi's best hospitals so good for me) and that there are medicines if things go out of hand. But I still tremble to even think of it.

Seriously, "drink pure ghee"? Yikes! That's something my Dad will raise a mighty hue-and-cry against. Mom tells me of the time when she was carrying me. It was her first pregnancy and she was young (22) and naive. Dad took her to her parents' place thinking she'd be more comfortable with them than with just him, coz she was pampered as hell. And all hell broke loose.

There were all sorts of advices ans suggestions from all sorts of people. My Mom was super-confused and scared, and one day she just hugged Nani hard and wept. That was when Nani called Dad, and he gave Mom the simplest instructions on how to care for herself.

Needless to say, Mom remained healthy throughout, save for the end when I decided to wrap the umbilical cord around m neck and force Mom for an emergency Caesarean!

Anonymous said...

8. I am sure the smart girl that your daughter is, she must be a Capricorn ;)

10. My craving started when I was pregnant and it never stopped since :(

Now this is a tag I won't mind taking up. I am usually lazy when it comes to tags but this one...aaah! my obsession..my daughter...my life. I still remember everything and this one came at a time so apt. Mine little one turning 5 so soon :(

my space said...

God those were the days! Thats what comes to me the minute I read this..got me all nostalgic..will do it soon..
And such a pleasure to have a teenaged daughter na? I think i share lots with u on this one..

Mamma mia! Me a mamma? said...

I am so enjoying reading this tag! Everybody has such wonderful experiences to describe!

Indyeah said...

What a tag IHM!simply fills me with awe!to share this experience through words..whoa..it sounds so ..beautiful..

lol@no jaundice :D
worried about capricorn or aquarius :D

and first time actually only time I have heard of GB 's book..up until now I kept seeing 'What to expect when you are expecting'at every bookshop/street corner/book bazaar..:D


this was such a cute and beautiful read:))

Anonymous said...

For me it was Benjamin Spock. Nice one

Anonymous said...

So sweet IHM :) Will do the tag today itself :)

Mama - Mia said...

:)

what fun to read this IHM! thankoo muches! :) and you had all the fun inspite of morning sickness?! me, i am not sure if I ould have been that nice!

and imagine your daughter now already done fitting in your shoes! i remember my mom had "ghadi modne" funda. which means asking the daughter to wear the new saree or dress before the mother wears it! :)

it was like saying welcome to grown up world! hehe!

cheers!

abha

Anonymous said...

Nice one! You really thought you had jaundice :)

Tarun Goel said...

:D
Four-Five hours of pain, now that's something really great.

How do we know said...

This is such a wonderful tag!! Would love to take this up, though uhave only tagged me in a comment :-)

hitch writer said...

nice to read !

Angel's Flight said...

fun read....look at all u moms gushing about this tag...so adorable!

Indian Home Maker said...

@Monika Read yours ... isn't it great to share this? :) And 50 questions tag coming up next soon ... asap!! Pukka.
:)

@Vaunavi I look forward to reading about your experience!! Yes how these babies grow!!! They say when the shoes is the same stop treating them like babies ...
:)

@Ritu So you too feel the expeince is absolutely incredible!!
And wow ...great to know another person who laughed out loud :)))

@Imp's Mom I also walked at first, and ws most excited about the experience and curious to know what this much hyped pain actually felt like it (can never call it much hyped now) ... and gosh the gown was horrible :))

@Mindspace Yes isn't it!It must be the most important and most amazing experience I can think of in most women's lives :)
And heir babies too but they don't remember it:)

@Nikhil Yes, Nikhil it is :) Actually in India they don't encourage fathers to share the experience, abroad it is very common, and I think it must be great for dads to be there to hold the mother's hand and also to welcome the baby into the world... we wanted that, but gave up when there was resistance.

@Sashu If you'd like to write about any related, interesting information or anecdotes I would LOVE to read about it!! Something funny, or sad ...or anything...

Indian Home Maker said...

@Surbhi You will find despite some discomfort most women still remember it warmly, and it is true that there are options like pain killers and excellent technological and etc etc developments, and it is natural, they say many kinds of cancer are avoided if you do have a biological baby or two .. this is one thing I did feel, life gets back to normal fast, which means and which shows that our bodies are suited for this, like, this isn't an illness ... it's worth it. BUT it's no big deal either. We have enough homeless children in this country, if we do for any reason don't want to go through all this, adoption is such a wonderful idea, a baby from born from your heart is no less precious than the one from our womb :)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for tagging me IHM.Will try to do it soon.
Loved reading your experiences during pregnancy.

Indian Home Maker said...

@Surbhi You wrapped the umblical chord around your neck :))) Kids love to hear the story of their baby hood, how they kicked, how they cried, how we felt when they were born ...

And I agree with your dad, nothing like a healthy diet, no ghee and no over eating! Your mom was fortunate to find such guidance right there at home!!

@Solilo And you have a Pisces daughter :)
And please, I am dying to read this tag ... Yes, it is such fun, I was tagged yesterday, and would have published it yesterday but I waited to link it all the mothers I wanted to tag :)
LOL@ craving started and never ended :)

@My space Yeah sure teenage daughters are fun, if you call having nothing new to wear fun ;)
And no privacy, goes through all my stuff, even sarees! Would absolutely love to read about your experience ...

@Mamma mia! Me a mamma? Ya I was so excited when I saw I was tagged by Abha, first took out all cds to find some photographs to add, but decided to not try that, many tags remain unfinished because I keep planning to add, You tube videos or photographs :)

Indian Home Maker said...

@Indyeah Yeah that Jaundice bit was just my hypochondria and some dumb ignorance! Also I was fed up with nausea and wanted it to be something easily curable :)

I am sure there are many good books available, I lent mine to many friends and it is sill with me, with date and remarks like "Now baby has got eye lashes", and ""felt he first kick" :)

@Phoenix ritu I hope you noticed you are also there in the list, please I do hope you pick the tag ...would love to know about you experience ... and I did have Benjamin Spock but that was more just after the baby is born, didn''t have anything about pregnancy, the GB book was too good, from exercises, to diet, to exact development stages of the foetus ... to how to know if you need to rush to the hospital, all about contractions, apgar score ... all explained with amazing simplicity. I still have it :)

Smita said...

Awww!!! this is a sweet post and looks like u enjoyed your pregnancy :)

PS I think ans 16 is actually the ans for 15th ques :)

Biju Mathews said...

A good read! Hope, anxiety and love all crushed into this tag!

Keep blogging!

Indian Home Maker said...

@Tarun Goel LOL no, four-five hours is actually lucky, it can be much longer and often ends with a cesarean section, but thank fully now we have choices like cesaerean and all kind of life saving options so we generally manage to live through it all :)

A few decades ago, there were two choices, either survive if there is no complication or die during childbirth or have babies who have problems due to birth trauma etc. This still happens in villages even today!
Shows we are lucky !

Indian Home Maker said...

@Homecooked I was an ignorant hypochondriac :)

@Nimmy I look forward to reading your post ... please now keep your promise and publish it today only :)

@How do we know - PLEASE pick the tag, I will correct the error !

Indian Home Maker said...

@Hitchwriter Reminds me of the lovely post you had written about the time your son was born!

@Mad mad woman - I was tagged only yesterday, see how fast I picked the tag :) Yes I think all moms do adore this tag :)

@pr3rna Please do pick the tag pr3rna, it will be a lot of fun :)

@Smita Yes it was a precious time ... and I was basically too excited not to enjoy :)

Hey, I thought the 16 is about how was the Baby Shower experience .. let me check how others have answered this one :) Thanks for pointing out.

@Biju Mathews - That is such a nice way of putting it! Indeed, 'Hope, anxiety and love all crushed into this tag!' Thanks.

Saritha said...

IHM did the tag

Anonymous said...

LOL @ "not jaundice" now about the things u crave...man, i crave almost all of those 365 days!!! :D
this made such a delightful read IHM!!!! me loved it! this may sound a bit late, but yet - happy motherhood to u!!!!! :)

i am what i am said...

wow!!!!!good one.i'm feeling so sad that i'm not eligible for this tag!!!1sob!!!sob!!! how i wish i was....i can actually picturise myself answering these questions!!!!LOL!!! guess i'm going a little mad here!!! but whenever i do this tag, i'll let you know IHM.i hope you read it and comment too.

Piper .. said...

beautiful! :) 5 hours of labour in a primi is as good as it can get! :) And one person I know who was laughing after the lil devil was born, is my sister! We were a little scared for her.#25 has me smiling still(10 minutes after reading the whole thing)..

Sandhya said...

That was a beautiful read. Reminded me of my four years back, being in US, my husband was with me the whole time and did cut the chord as well. It was a magical time!!
Thank you for sharing.

OG said...

:) ihm....
i am just happy, that i would not have to thru it.... lol
9 months is a long time.....

SD said...

Done!

Varun said...

Cute tag. Very neatly done! :)

Cantaloupes.Amma (CA) said...

This is a wonderful Tag ... thanks for tagging me ...
Did it immediately !!!

Anonymous said...

Laughing?? well thats a new one! :)

wordjunkie said...

Hi, I was tagged with the same questions. Do drop by and take a look.

Tarun Goel said...

Me n my bro r twins and I guess we both were lucky considering the health facilities in '85 :D

Anonymous said...

"2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
Yes. (No interesting answers here!)" - LOL
@everybody had guessed from endless Bollywood style.... LOL..this was funny in parts :) LOL

I echo with Ajit. :)

Aneela Z said...

taken up the tag and posted already

Mandira said...

see now i know some interesting snippets of ur history IHM. like the fact that ur daughter was born in amchi rocking mumbai and that she weighed less than i did at birth!:D

Deeps said...

Totally loved the tag,IHM.So ultimately what is she-Capricorn or Aquarius??
Glad to be reading you again after so long.Had strayed for a while in my rush at blog-hopping,but now making sure to blogroll you so I dont miss out on this treasure:))

Imp's Mom said...

Done :D