Doctors Appointment

Yesterday was a regular doctors appointment. It went just as expected! Nothing to worry and nothing to be concerned about. As of today I am 1t 11.2 weeks pregnant. Time sure seems to fly by! It only feels like yesterday that we first came to know about this.

Edit: As of yesterday, my BP is 92/135 and weight: 62 KGs. Its surprising though, I have not put on any weight since 5th week. My doctor said I better start eating more from 12 weeks and that she wants to see 3 pounds increase per month from 12 weeks onwards.

In Love?

For everyone out there who had been in love at least once in their life time will know what I am taking about. This afternoon I was having cherries and realized how beautiful cherries looked (bah!). The flowers seem more appealing, the weather is good, You don't feel that hungry anymore, you feel like gazing at the moon, you feel like writing poetry...and the worst mushy thing, you actually believe that Karan-Johar-type-of-love-stories are possible.

So, yes...I am falling in love again. With our baby :)

On that note, these days my favorite song-to-listen is:

The First Formal Celebration

Yesterday, Sunday 15th May, 2011 was when we had first formally celebrated our baby with close family. My Father in law, Sis in law, Brother in law along with our little nephew came over to pay a visit.

They bought lovely flowers for me and A and LOT's of fruits! I told myself I will not let them go waste, which means I am having at least 3 fruits, apart from the fruit juices which A makes. In any case, fresh fruits are good for the baby, so why not?

While we spoke about Seemantham and Valikappu which we want to perform in August, our little nephew was happily tearing away news papers. He was looking absolutely adorable!

Just so it would feel nice to read later here is the menu for the party! Everything was ordered from Anjappar, our families favorite Chettinad restaurant. My sis in aw also got some yummy mutton kurma, home made. She also got us dessert for the evening, gulab jamoon.

Chicken 65, Nethili Fry (dried fish fry), Vangaram Meen (King fish fry), Veechu paratha, egg masala, vegetable kurma, prawns kurma, Chicken Biryani, Mutton Biryani, raita and chicken gravy.

After having to our hearts content, we took a nice family picture. Will attach this later!

Gathering Information...

Like any new parent, I also started looking through various websites and blogs about little babies. Its amazing to see tons and tons of information floating all around you so much so that it can be easily over whelming. Even Hubby seems to be doing his own research about birth stars, birth dates etc. Few weeks ago he really surprised me when he expressed that he would like the baby to be named after birth star. He never really comes across as particularly religious but then again, we never had a baby before either :)

While like most moms I also bought What to Expect When you are Expecting and going through babycentre website, I have also started looking into what to do while baby is here. While some say that if we know most things before itself, its not going to be fun anymore but I guess when it comes to your own baby, the more you know the better!

Some of the websites I am now looking at are:

Caring for a Newborn:
http://www.babyyourbaby.org/pdfs/newborncare.pdf

Here is something about Baby Bonding Tips from gohnson's baby:
http://www.touchingbond.com/us/index.jsp

Here is something about Baby Sleeping Tips:
http://www.madnmi.co.uk/Lullaby-Babies-Sleep-Experts.pdf

More later...

Words of Wisdom

Today, like so many days I am reminded of a few words spoken by my maternal grandmother, whom everyone in our family lovingly call as Tathi. Even though she might not have had a great formal education, she is the best teacher ever in terms of day-to-day life's little issues.

I go back to the days when my first nephew, J, was only days old. He was a very demanding baby in the sense that he never used to sleep even for 30 minutes straight. This of course used to put a lot of pressure on my sister, on my mom, on my dad, on Tathi and sometimes even me (people who attended to him in the initial weeks). Sleeplessness is something which we never learn to handle well; even after we are over 30 ourselves.
On one particularly sleepless night when J was crying non-stop, has not had his milk and is refusing to go to sleep, every one were at their wits end.

At that time Tathi said something (in very simple and plain words) which I would never forget in my life. She said, "Its our baby. If not us, who else will show patience with him and take care of him?"

Since that day onwards, whenever I am overwhelmed with something, be it work or some household chore, I ask myself, "If not me, who else will do what I need to do?". It helps me get through the chore, no matter how tired I am. I am falling back on her words almost every day these days. And trust me, waking up in the morning also feels like a chore these days.

Just wanted to log this down so that I remember how much Tathi's words help me in my day-to-day life; especially since the time we are having a baby. I think no one else can replicate the love of grand parents.

Questions, questions and more questions...

Being first time parents is an awesome experience but its also nerve wrecking. Everything is new and like any other parent, hubby and I had tons of questions to ask our doctor. I even made a list of all the questions to ask on my first appointment after we came to know that I am pregnant. My doctor started laughing when she had seen a long list, complete with bullet points.
Since I have another appointment this evening (which means another list of questions), I thought I will write down what I asked her in my first appointment.

1. How exactly are trimesters calculated?
2. When will I be referred to OBGYN?
3. What tests would I be referred to in first trimesters?
4. What is a carrier screening and will I be given one?
5. Is there any cheese or any particular meat/fish I should avoid?
6. How to avoid gestational diabetes?
7. What should I do if I find any spotting?
8. What is considered a reasonable amount of exercise?
9. When is the right time to start prenatal-yoga?
10. What should my weight chart be like?
11. Should my foot wear be flat?
12. Often I get uncomfortable but manageable stomach pain. Is this normal?
13. What is the best time to have prenatal vitamins and is the dosage 2 tabs per day?
14. Is there a way to combat extreme fatigue?
15. Is it ok to use alcohol-based mouth wash?

P.S: Today hubby made orange juice for me. 

The Month of December

Yesterday we found out exactly when I am supposed to deliver; Dec13, 2011. Its going to be quite an expensive month going forward I tell ya!

Our baby would be born this month (hopefully, as we pray for a full term baby). Apart from this, my cousins birthday, my birthday, my sisters birthday and of course Christmas and New Year gifts on the same month! I bet we are going to be broke every year in December :)
I am not complaining though :)

The First Milestone

Well, actually its a second milestone (First month went by without me realizing it). Today I finished exactly 8 weeks (2 months) since the time I conceived. Feels unreal that so much time has gone by since the time we came to know I am Preg.

I am not sure what all the parents usually do at this time period. I am (almost) feeling guilty that I didn't buy anything for our baby yet! Considering I am a shopping freak when it comes to kids cloths/toys etc, I myself am surprised that I didn't buy anything.
Well, that's not completely true. Last night I did attempt to buy a little brown teddy bear but (as rightly pointed out by my hubby) it had a crocked eye and when you look at it, it looks at the ceiling instead of at you! So, we didn't buy it :)

But I guess 8 weeks is a little too early to start spending on baby-things. But can there be anything like "too-early" or "too-late" when it comes to shopping?

I also take this opportunity to mention a few fun facts about our baby at 8 weeks. Did you know that this "baby" I keep referring to is actually called a fetus at this stage? It has just graduated from being called an embryo. But for now, let me keep referring to this as baby, as fetus and embryo sound a bit too clinical for my taste.

Baby now measures five-eights of an inch and is approximately the size of one small raspberry. Here it is:

But don't worry, I have not hidden anything from anyone yet. We are not carrying triplets :)
Below is how it looks like In Utero.

The embryonic tail is gone, and all organs, muscles, and nerves are beginning to function. The hands now bend at the wrist, and the feet begin to lose their webbed appearance. Eyelids are beginning to cover the eyes.

Amazing isn't it?

Thought-of-the-Day

My husband is so kind to make me fresh fruit/veggie juice every single day (Today it is grape juice); Even on the days he is working late into the morning (on his night shift), he makes sure to make juice for me.
Like any wife, I brag about this to anyone and everyone who is willing to listen. So, it was my sisters turn the other day. When I mentioned this to her, she was very happy for me that I have a good husband. And then she added, "Good for him. People who serve pregnant woman accumulate lot of punyam (good karma); so tell him to help you everyday".

When I mentioned this to my husband, he started laughing and since then, every time I tell him I spoke to my sister he asks me, "whats V's Thought of the Day today"?