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It’s no wonder that pregnant women have questions writ on their faces. Advice from peers and experienced mothers add to the little knowledge that they recently began to gather from books and the internet. It can be a complete chaos I must say. Personally, some of the tidbits seemed to have no scientific reasoning as it was purely ‘traditional’ knowledge – and it meant that my mother, my grandmother and all the women in the lineage had followed the instructions religiously. And it seemed to work for them really well. No wonder, the generations of grandmas had survived so many deliveries and raised big families. On the other hand, here was my doctor dishing out a lot of medically proven prescriptions with each visit. So I never knew what my takeaways were. But as I progressed through the journey, I encountered a lot of surprises during both my pregnancies. Some were never hinted at or warned of by my sources. My overall journey is worth a share – even you don’t know what to expect when you are an experienced mum yourself:
1. Waiting For A Fortnight After The Nine Months
Someone might have told you that the baby pops soon after the ninth month. The grandma tale goes that a woman sets into labor soon after she is exactly through 9 months, 9 days and 9 hours. Can someone explain the magical 9 factor here? How does that ring the biological bells? But hey, here I was at the hospital on the due date. No signs of labor. The baby was stubborn. My doctor said that they could wait for 14 days post the due date – apparently medical science approves of waiting that long. I could not have been reclining for so many days! It’s a different story that the waters broke much before the plus nine or the plus fourteen days. But I have come to learn that pregnancy doesn’t mean just the nine months. You might have to salvage some more time before you can see your little angel.
2. Polyhydramnios (Get This Without Twisting Your Tongue)
Ever heard that terminology? As I advanced through the second trimester of my second pregnancy, I felt my belly was protruding a bit too much. People would gaze at me as if I was carrying twins. Some even discretely asked if I was not scanned with twin embryos. Was I sure? Yes, I was. But it was not the size of the belly that was bothering me. It was the tightness and stretching of the abdomen – as if it will be ripped anytime. Fear had already crept in, “Did I swallow that worm I spotted inside the pear the day before?” My doctor asked me to see her at once. ‘Polyhydramnios,’ she said to her colleague as I kept gazing at the doctors in an anxious anticipation. I could figure out it had to do with ‘water’, and she explained that my amniotic fluid levels were more than usual. Apparently 1 percent of pregnant women carry the condition. Their smiles relieved me. And so did the pills that relieved the discomfort. But, gosh, even to toss in the bed at nights was like a juggernautical task – keep aside the waddling and pressure on my knees anyway.
3. Your Baby Tunes In With Your Rhythms
My baby would wake up at 3.30 AM every day. Bang on. Nope, he didn’t need an alarm clock to do that. Someone asked if I was waking up at the same time during pregnancy. It occurred that I would wake up at the same time and not sleep for the next couple of hours. Don’t know what would keep me up. But somehow I had become nocturnal. I was surprised at the rhythm that was passed on to my baby. But thankfully the pattern ceased and set into a more regular rhythm, so I could catch up with the months of sleep I was deprived of.
4. Here Comes The Indigo Child
I never knew that there are babies that could be born with their eyes open, palms open unlike the locked fists, and their face not displaying any wrinkles of the pressures and pains of birthing. ‘Indigo Child’. These were the words my doctor used to describe. Pretty name. It’s a different thing though that I don’t call my children ‘Indigo’ :)
So here I was, thinking I knew so much until I became a mother. If you think I have mentioned something new here, or you had rare experiences during pregnancy, write us back. We will love to hear from you!
