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I am pregnant! The realization hit me when I least expected it – and least wanted it.
I was in China for a 3-month long assignment, my first overseas assignment after my wedding.
Still in the honeymoon phase, I left half-heartedly swearing to myself that I will not stay even a day beyond the stipulated 90 days.
China welcomed me with a strange language but warm smiles, a strictly non-vegetarian food menu( I am vegetarian) and some nice colleagues. My first few days were rushed, meeting clients and figuring my way out of the strange tongue and the stranger work culture (The Chinese workforce had rolled mattresses underneath their cubicles and the entire office would be asleep on the mattresses for a quiet siesta post-lunch- replete with blinds drawn and lights put off!)
Once I was through the ‘teething phase’, I realized something strange happening to me. We would walk over to the cafeteria for lunch- and a strange queasiness would envelop me as I approached the building. I brushed it off attributing it to my dislike of Chinese sauces. The more I brushed it aside, the stronger it would return the next afternoon. I decided to skip my lunches and live on fruits instead.
And then it hit me! I had missed my period! My first thoughts- How do I confirm?
Over to google.com and pregnancy websites, I found a lot of information on “Symptoms of pregnancy”.
The flipside? They all told me every symptom could be caused due to a thousand other things I did or did not do. Still faced with the same challenge, I approached an English- speaking female colleague to help me buy a pregnancy test kit. She obliged, and I waited for the next morning, very anxious and very impatient…
The results were unambiguous ! Two clear lines testing positive. Not wanting to believe it, I read the instructions once again, hoping I had got it wrong. But I had got it right!
I was pregnant!
My thoughts raced from my current room in China, to my hubby in Bangalore, to my parents in Dar, to my in-laws in Trichy, to my manager in Bangalore…and back to me again! I broke into tears…here I was, in this goddamned hotel room, all alone and testing positive for my first pregnancy!
I waited for dawn to break in India, and called my husband. His peachy “HI” instantly made me feel better. I wasn’t sure how to break it to him… I knew he wasn’t ready for a baby yet. I had always imagined the filmi style of revealing it the shy way to him…but now I just blurted, “ Hey, I am pregnant”.
Silence.
Then, “ That’s cool, man. We’ll do it. Just come back.”
Wow, that was easy!
I spoke to my mom and felt greatly reassured. She instructed me on what to eat, what to avoid, how to sleep, what music to listen to, who to talk to…the list went on…The lovely part was, it was more than welcome at that time. I cut short my trip and came back to Bangalore.
From that moment on, it was a seamless string of happenings … The queasiness, the unsolicited advice, the unwieldy bump, the patronizing look from strangers, the oil massages, the pampering, the multiple dabbas, the gossip with other preggies in office, the carefree indulgence, the endless surfing on the web for information, the doctor trips, the never-ending trips to the bathroom, the squirming and kicking inside, the tossing and turning in bed…
I hardly realized that along with my body, my mind and consciousness were also going to change forever.
Everything fell in place beautifully till we saw …
“ Female baby, Weight-2.9 Kgs, Length- 36 inches, Mother – Devishobha”
Little Ananya had arrived!
Ananya is 6 today and I still remember her journey in my womb like it was yesterday!
Ah! The magic of motherhood!
