Dear Baby - Part 15

Hello kanna,

Just wanted to catch up with you. I know its been a long time. Couple of weeks back Amma underwent the last scan of the three trimesters. It was again not so pleasant encounter. Scan was scheduled for the afternoon 1:30. It was only after agonizing wait of another 2 hours we were let in. Prior to the appointment scanning was done and we saw that you were in a breech position. Breech position refers to the state where your legs are near the the uterus rather than head, which makes the normal delivery not possible and has to be done only via C-section.

Jogita was the one who was present for the appointment. As soon as she saw the scan she had a huge smile from ear to ear. It seems your Amma was a third patient that day with breech position. Amma's first question was to enquire if it was heriditary to which doctor smiled and said no. You see, Dadi had to undergo C-section for my delivery, hence the doubt. She assured us that we shouldn't be blaming ourselves and added, much to our dismay, that only 3% cases have such breech positions. She told us about ECV procedure a method employed to rotate the baby by a certified physician that we can opt for. It was 34th week when we found this. For ECV, the best time to have it done is around 36th/37th week and we scheduled another appointment for 1st September.

One additional thing that we learnt was there are some stretch exercises using which it is possible for baby to rotate naturally. Since this wasn't a scientifically proved or tested theory they aren't having any authority to publish it or advice but told us to search on the net. That ended our consultation for the day. On our way back Amma was visibly upset and cried a little. Poor thing, she had so much hopes to have a normal delivery and she felt cheated that all her strict exercise routines and walks did not yield any results. I told her to look at positive side of things i.e. exercises helped her avoid any leg or joint pains. Now that it may lead to C-section, she can even plan her leaves better, have the delivery on a auspicious day after consulting panthulu. (frankly I don't believe in such things). The bottom line is you can have only two types of delivery - normal or C-section. With a population of 7.24billion people on earth, that 3% translates to millions, meaning it really isn't a odd thing. I too was one such right. That seemed to have cheered her up.

As per doctor's advice searching the net, we saw 4-5 standard practices being adopted for such cases of breech babies. Except for one (Breech tilt) everything else looked a bit daunting task to do and it definitely needed a supervision. This stretch involves Amma lying down on the floor, having both her legs on the bed at an height. Once in that position we need to elevate the remaining body in an inclined manner of about 45%. When we tried to implement it though we weren't sure if we were doing it right as that inclination was hard to get by. It had to be done on empty stomach and was advised to be done at least twice per day. Amma wasn't enthusiastic to pursue after one or two failed attempts.

She went about performing her regular exercises, everyday hoping you would turn naturally. Yesterday i.e. 1st September we went for the checkup. Though we could see that the bump quite clearly at the top, still we had to have this appointment. It was Jogita again who performed the scan and confirmed you are still in breech. So we now have two options -

Option A - ECV (which was I talked about at start of the post). She checked up with the branch at Abids about the doctor's availability for the week and two dates are given to us - 4th Sept or 9th Sept.

Option B - If we don't wan't ECV, then the only solution is a C-Section and that it would need to be performed between 10th to 17th of this month. She explained to us that C-section is done usually in the 37th or 38th week post which it becomes difficult for surgery.

She asked to think about it and get back to her with our answer. We did a brainstorming and we have decided not to go for Option A. Thing is even after you come to natural position post-ECV, it is no guarantee that you would stay like that till the due date. Added to that we weren't sure the effect of ECV. Amma found out from her colleague that out of 4 cases she has known 2 were successful (meaning baby turned to required position), 2 other had some complication. Hearing it we decided dead against ECV. Jeyjayya and Dadi too were firmly against it.

What this all means is my dear muddula kanna is we are going to have you sooner than expected, which quite frankly took some time for us to let that sink in. With our mindset set on the week of 24th, and Amma deciding to work till 12th to have sufficient time for her to get into the mood of settling at home. This puts a spanner in the works. Question then is to see if she should be taking leave much sooner. On 4th anyway Amma is going to Avva's house (your first home till 5th month) till 7th. Does that mean it is better to be on her maternity leave from 4th itself? What if on 12th, on the next scheduled appointment, you turn and we find that the delivery needs to be pushed till 24th?

Nope not really, she will continue with her original plan of taking leave from 12th. On 14th and 15th its a project go-live and I am all set for any day after that, which actually leaves only two days 16th and 17th. Amma is totally miffed at my mere mention of 'work'. I don't want to do any injustice to my work, that's my stand. The decision is still left hanging and would be taken up either by your Amma or Avva.

Anyway let's talk about you. You have been the most obedient baby all throughout never giving Amma much trouble. Of late you have been very responsive when I gave small kiss to the tummy. You spin round and round as soon as I do that. It just makes me immensely happy. Dadi who has just come back from her trip to Bangalore meeting her friends gave us an advice to start treating you neutrally and not just as Maya. It seems baby's have sixth sense and you may be cross.

Only few more days left kanna, waiting eagerly with all my heart.

With Loads and Loads of Love,
Nanna
P.S. On getting a checkup done for my leg pain, I have come to know I have Hypothyroid apart from deficiency in Vitamin B-12 and Vitamin D. Am taking all prescribed tablets and vow to become fit as a fiddle to play with you endlessly.

P.P.S - We also have bought new DSLR camera exclusively in the wake of your arrival. Hoping to capture and treasure each beautiful moment with you. Will be posting some pics soon.

Dear Baby - 13 (Part 3)

Hello bangaru konda,

Part 13 is not complete without Sreemantham, and Sreemantham is not complete without it not being in Part-13. If this doesn't make sense, just leave it.

Sreeemantham, the official one has turned out to be one of the best functions we have had post our marriage. That's like to say I won first place in  running race competition with one participant. Get the drift? It was the first ever function we hosted after our marriage. In the days leading up to finalizing the location, the place there was lot of drama and I want you to know everything that happened.

Remember the last post where we were in decision making mode on whether or not to host the sreemantham function? Upon some discussion with your Avva, Radha Atha we have decided to have one and conveyed the same to the other headquarters i.e. your Dadi and Jeyjeyya. They agreed to it immediately. It was then the question of time and location.

We wanted the function to happen before your Peddiah left for Australia and we wanted it to be on weekend. I also had one pre-condition. My friend Nikmo was having his during the same month and from our initial conversations we had in Whatsapp, it was around June last week and I thought it would be on June 28th.

Hari and I planned to go together from here to attend the wedding. Keeping in this mind, I had told your Avva to look for auspicious dates during that week after June 28th. They found out that the very next day was good to conduct the function and I have agreed to it. Few days later when the actual invite had come via mail from Nikmo, I was really sad to find out it was on 29th, the same day the event was occurring. I then told your Amma that I would try taking an early morning flight, go attend the wedding and come back by evening. Amma was livid and she wasn't ready to listen to anything I had to say. She added that she would continue the function with or without me. From my end though, I did check for some feasible flights, looking for any means to get through but no matter what flight I was looking at, the earliest possible time I can make it back was around 7PM, which was way too late. A pure bad luck and utter lack of communication I tell you. He is one of my closest friend and I didn't want to miss his wedding. Moreover it was going to be some small reunion of sorts, with Nikhil from Pune, Chitti from Chennai, Hari and myself from Hyderabad all meeting together after long time.

Anyway with the day decided, it was time to catch up on the venue. Your Amma was very excited and the preparation for the event was full on her mind for days to come. Both Jeyjayya and your Thatha were put to the task of finding the venue. Of course, I too was put to task. In those weeks, my office work had completely occupied me and I didn't have time to look for one. It's a very bad excuse, I should have made some effort but its just that I wasn't as much enthusiastic as your Amma was. That maybe why I didn't give full attention. In the first week of June, we had dropped in to your Avva's house and had gone for shopping for your Amma's sari. Thatha and Avva were buying it for her as per the tradition. You should have seen your Amma's face during the shopping spree. She was wild with excitement, bursting with joy within. Trust me when it comes to shopping for any event, your Amma is very very particular about the dresses she want to buy and she keeps certain standards to herself.

Saree shopping technically is a very ardous task. There are so many varieties of sarees, various variations in it. On top of that for your Amma, it should not be matching with anything that she has already worn be it pattern, shade of the saree etc. To get such saree, she wouldn't hesitate for a second to go around shopping for hours together, checking out different shops with relentless energy until she is satisfied. This time around, we did find the saree in the first shop we had been to. Also maybe with you nestled nicely in that tummy, she didn't want to have too much travelling. She picked a nice peacock colored saree. It was then my turn to shop for one. So the next day, on Sunday we went to Inorbit. I am as adamant as Amma too in choosing my clothes. On top of that with my increasing weight I didn't want to take something keeping in mind my slowly bulging belly that was closely competing with Amma's. Any good shirt I was trying on, it was too tight or showing my belly too much. We had two pairs two buy. One for my birthday and the other for the event and Amma was determined to at least tick one off. The only one I really liked was a blue colored kurtha (blue being my eternal favorite and Amma is sick of seeing so many blues in the cupboard) and Amma was relieved to have at least one ticked off. Poor thing, she had patiently accompanied me to both LifeStyle and Shopper's Stop to finish my shopping which took almost 3 hours.

Though she was tired she egged me on to go try in few more shops. I wasn't in the mood and I promised I would buy the next week when we will be going shopping with your Peddiah. Another week passed by and at house too arrangements were being made. Jeyjeyya was coming here to stay for a week, your Peddiah, Pedamma, Aashrith would be here for 15 days. I too had taken 4 days leave at office. Dadi and Amma made arrangements with the maid and cook to have them come in the evening too, deciding on what additional things to do, the money etc. Unbeknown to me in the background Amma scoured through the net looking for a matching designer blouse suiting the saree. She has found one on the facebook with whom she wanted to have it done. I actually can't remember if she finally got it done with that designer or her household tailor Rasheed uncle. Your Amma is the best when it comes to the level of detail that she goes into getting prepared for an event. It was a week later with your Peddiah in tow we shopped and got myself a really 'bright' dress that was almost satisfactory to your Amma.

As to the venue Jeyjeyya and Avva first proposed Sitara Grand, Thatha and Santosh were phoning and finding out about different banquet halls. We weren't satisfied with that.There was absolute no contribution from my end, I was literally doing nothing and was getting tired at my office not spending much time. Added to that she wanted some nice stage decorations, which was coming around 8k on enquiry, which I felt was unnecessary. She also wanted some make up artist for which I adamantly said no. She then suggested to have a professional photographer for covering the event. One more no. I personally felt celebrations are justified after you are born and not before and that this was just one function which nobody really goes back to remember. My disinterestedness and nonchalance to the whole thing hurt Amma a lot. One day we had big argument and she told me that if I wasn't really happy with having an event, let's just drop the whole thing. I felt really guilty and apologized profusely. I swore to take some serious steps.

Your Jeyjeyya then inquired about two more banquet halls - Blue Fox and Jubilee Ridge and both were close to our house, an added bonus. The next day I took half day permission. Amma and I went to both these places and then finalized Jubilee Ridge, the same place where your Muthavva had her last function. We had a huge array of choices for menu and we zeroed in on some things we all liked starting from starters to desserts.

Photographer was decided, event decorator too was finally called in, make up artist too was set. All this was co-ordinated and finalized by your Amma. Commendable job I must tell you. There was an added bonus too by a compering artist who was there to engage the guests with some small games.

The event in itself went very well. All the near and dear ones turned up. I will just leave you with some photographs taken during the event.

Dear Baby - 14

Hello Bangaru ,

Good news, good news, good news. Amma has passed the GTT with distinction. Her levels read 83/180/126 which are considered absolute normal. We are so happy to see the diet control restrictions put in place has worked real wonder.

We had kind of pre-celebration party last Sunday as we ordered Pizza's and Amma had bit of coke too. This Monday we had our appointment with the doctor and we reached in time. After exchanging pleasantries and performing the overall check, we were happy to note that Amma's tummy was shaping up well, your hearbeat was monitored and everything is perfect.

This time too it was Dr.Jogita who was present, as lively as ever. She was happy with the blood test report and told us that it was important to continue with the diet control till the end of delivery. We have been advised to have weekly sugar test monitoring. Amma had few questions of her own the prominent one being - Is she overweight or not. Thing is nutritionist had told us that Amma gained lot more than required which was bit unnerving for us as it came out of the blue. All through our check-ups regular weight checks were there and at no point of time a concern was raised.

Doctor told us that the weight growth is healthy and there is no reason to worry at all. It relieved us a lot. The iron content was just about normal and it needs to be improved for which Amma needs to consume lot of leafy vegetables (already doing it), beetroot, red beans, figs etc.

That's about it and we didn't have any further things to talk about and made our way back.

You know bangaram, it was at this point of time. something odd struck me. Right from the time Amma conceived and it was known that this would be a long, challenging, exciting phase of journey that was waiting to happen, I imagined ourselves with a doctor living alongside, with regular interactions day in and day out - you know thinsgs like how the day went by, any complications, some daily tips, hanging out at dinner (a bit far fetched but still). You know basically a family doctor with whom you feel more attached and in turn giving lot of confidence. It was at this meeting reality sunk in.

In this fast moving urban world, the old 'family' doctor kind of relationships are no longer a possibility. Our visit to doctor is like any other visit that we have when we want to get treated for a running cold, fever or head ache. The bonding starts and gets completed in one meeting. In our 8 months we have seen 3 doctors and from the looks of it they remember nothing of you, until they see your report.The reason I am bringing this out is, one of your Dadi's friends daughter had refused to go to Fernandez during her pregnancy time because it was told to her that the doctor who sees her periodically is not the same doctor who will be present during delivery.

In retrospect I don't think that makes any difference. I am not saying the current system is bad but just that I had too much expectations going into the hospital and also thanks to you my sweet love. For Amma, since her childhood this is the first time ever being admitted in an hospital. Touch wood, it stays that way all through the remaining two months.

You have been the perfect baby anyone can hope to have and you have already your Amma proud. She hasn't had any vomiting since day one, never felt sleepless, never felt nauseated with food, slight cramps sometimes but thanks to childbirth classes( she has overcome that). YOU have been the greatest, cutest, sweetest baby so far.

Muuuahhh.

With Load of love,
Nanna
P.S.-Amma started singing again in the night, hope you are having very good sleep.

Dear Baby - 13 (Part 2)

priyamaina bangaru konda ku,

Though the post title may say Part 2, it isn't necessarily a sequence rather I wanted to get all the things that have happened so far in one post, so breaking it into two (there may be a third one too).

First and foremost I was able to feel your kicks even before first ball was kicked around in Sao Paulo. It was a delightful feeling. It was like feeling small ripples across the ocean. Basically there are three things that you do - keep rotating which is when ripples are felt, give some kicks which we are still trying to figure out when you do that, keep silent which was what you had been doing for quite long. More recently couple of days ago, you were constantly moving around causing some concern for Amma. I had asked her to call up one of her friends and to get assurance everything is ok. It is.

You see, this would be something that would continue going forward. Your movement in Amma needs to be constantly monitored. If there aren't any movements, it is a cause for concern. If there are too many, then we realize now it isn't a big concern unless protrusion in Amma's belly is pointing downwards. On more higher level though, once you are out, if you sleep long or sleep short, awake for long or awake for short, less po-po or more po-po any of these would be a concern. You may be just testing our nerves or there may be nothing but still it would be a test far more competitive than any of exams I have taken so far. I can't wait to see you out to experience all this.

Talking about experience, for almost a fortnight or more your Peddiah, Pedamma and Ram were here. (part of the reason for this long delay). We could literally see each of the above concerns I raised live in action. From the looks of it , it is a very tiring task but something I guess we would need to get used to. Of course most important of all is how the baby is i.e. you. Its all about making baby at peace for which we have started this habit of playing nice music in the morning. In addition to that your Amma's one song per day in the night. (of late though there has been a irregularity, need to revv up Amma to sing for you again and also partly because she is getting tired).

Your Arrival and thereafter -
Once your Amma conceives, her company grants her 3 months leave. In addition to that she would be taking 2 more months. During that time she would be staying at Thathas home. I can chose to stay there or at Jeyjeyya's house, who would be transferred to Hyderabad by this September. The only problem is both are very far off from office - one at Domalguda, one at New Nallakunta, almost 23 KM's from my office from my current 7Kms. I have seen some of my friends who travel the same distance daily and you wont' believe how exhausted they look. Its almost spending 3 hours in travel daily in addition to the work timings. Hence, though its very tempting to vacate the current house, shift to Nallakunta and commute daily, I may opt out to stay here and come see you during weekends. I am sorry in advance for not being there with you. It does hurt me thinking about it you know but there is no alternative. With Avva not being there, it would be hard to manage during the initial months with only Amma and myself. We can try but Amma doesn't want to take any risk.

Avva and Amma though have already started some back planning work. Each are determined to send me packed set of chapathis, some curries to take me through every week like how we do for Jeyjayya's but I have firmly said no. I told them upfront that I would be cooking on my own. (a HUGE task on which I doubt my abilities myself). We also talked about how would the weekends go, like spending Saturday with you and Amma, drop in at Dadi's place on Sunday etc. It was fun seeing both challenging and betting that I wouldn't be able to cook beyond 2 days and that I will become scared when I am alone. Lots of fun and adventure are in store for me.

Names, Names, Names,
Update on Names. Good number of people at Amma's seemantham (an upcoming post) and from J-Gang told Amma that with the way her belly is the probability of you being a 'boy' are more. Though slightly, I must say very slightly, your Amma is disappointed she did want to have some name in place for boy too. We keep referring to you as Maya even when we tell to others or Sreedevi Avva for example when she phones ask how Maya is shaping up. So to be prepared and also not to disappoint you with a girl name here are few names that cropped up -

Trivikram (Jeyjeyya's suggestion)
Arya/Aryan (Amma likes Aryan)
Ram (Already taken by your brother, so less probability)
Arjun (something we both like)

That's all for now baby konda.

Hope you are having very nice fun.

Itlu,
Prematho mee Nanna.

Dear Baby - 13 (Part 1)

hello bangaru bujju konda,

I know it's been a long time we had a connect, almost a month and a half. Call it fate or coincidence this delay is for 13th post, a number which is commonly believed to be unlucky. Let me tell you I am not one of those who believes in things like that and get this across.

Lot of things have happened since then, two doctor visits, two childbirth classes, your peddiaha's trip to Hyderabad with your brother Ram, World Cup. I will try to cover some of these in details.

Let's first get over the doctor's stuff.

Doctor Visits -
The first doctor's visit wasn't much of a thing to talk about. Everything was ok, not much to be concerned about. She confirmed that it is perfectly fine to continue driving till your Amma can. In the next week or the one after Amma undertook GTT exam as was scheduled to monitor the sugar levels. The results weren't encouraging. Do you remember me telling Amma was too sweet during earlier time? It's the same again. It was little disconcerting. We made some phone calls to your Lakshmi avva and she told us to be take some steps to correct mainly in the way food is being consumed, and the amount of food intake, quality of food intake etc.

In few days time one afternoon, I got a call from Fernandez. The lady at the other end had got hold of the report and she said that that level of sugar is absolutely not good and as top most priority we had to consult nutritionist at the earliest possible time. She further added that one more check up needs to be done in 2 weeks time frame. It really scared the hell out of me with the way she told and seeing the urgency in her voice. It was a weekday and the day was almost ending. On inquiry the only available nutritionist was at Hyderguda which was like almost 20 Kms away but we didn't have choice. Amma was initially reluctant saying to let this wait till weekend and then we can consult the nutritionist. I wasn't ready for that and made it clear we had to do it the very next day and that I would make an appointment. We weren't on the same page and Amma was quite a bit furious that I was making a mountain out of a molehill. Begrudgingly though, she was the one who phoned around and made an appointment for the next day evening.

I had taken a half-day leave on that day even though hours before I came to know that our appointment had been scheduled for the evening from morning. I had badly wanted some break, hence came home early during lunch and was able to catch all the action going on in house with your Peddiah, Peddamma, Avva and Ram. Avva had taken leave for almost 3 weeks to stay with them. Thanks to the delay I was able to help out with some shopping for Peddiah and do some house work etc.

Around 4:30 P.M. I reached your Amma's office and from there on we went to the nutritionist. To our utmost surprise there was hardly any waiting time and only 2 patients were in queue. When booking the appointment the folks from hospital had told us that all the "available" slots were over and that as a special case they were considering us. It ticked us off to no end on seeing that it was all bunkum. I mean quite literally the floor was empty barring 2 patients who were ahead of us. Had the attendant who had made our appointment been there in front of Amma, she would have just melted down like a iron cast in molten liquid. I made her cool down and in a few moments time it was our turn.

The doctor was a nice slim and petite lady dressed in sari who looked like she practiced what she preached. Once the pleasantries were exchanged we got down to the actual stuff. We told her about the results of fasting blood sugar report, the earlier history of similar spike that we detected, our current eating habits, some questions on intensity of the sugar level i.e. if it really meant that she had become diabetic or if it was only a temporary state. To the last one she agreed with Amma's conjecture that she was not a diabetic and also that during pregnancy it is normal for some hormone levels to fluctuate and cause such imbalance. You should have seen the triumphant look on your Amma's face, like that of someone who has won million dollar lottery and has just got her lottery ticket numbers confirmed, to which all I could offer her was a sheepish grin. As she was talking to us, she took out a brochure and started going through each of them that mentioned what kind of fruits were good to eat by pointing to various things within the brochure. It got me to thinking if only I had a chance to flick that thing from our countless trips to Fernandez, we would have saved all our trip and additional 400 bucks.

After finishing what she had to say, she brought out her notepad and started listing down things to eat at proper time. Here is how it goes -

7:30 A.M. Milk
9:30 A.M. Idli ( Urad Dal (3) : Wheat (1)) / Pesarattu / Upma (Dalia rava) with chutney
11:30 A.M. Soya Milk
1:00 P.M. Rice with Green Leafy Vegetable(GLV) Curry & Soya chunks / Vegetable Curry & 6 piece Paneer
5:00 P.M. 50 gms Channa/Lobia/Rajma

Hard task I must tell you especially when this is the stage Amma might feel some hunger pangs to eat stuff like ice cream, chocolates etc and added to that she has a sweet tooth. For the few days following our meeting, she wasn't able to adhere to it strictly as there were too many people at home and too many parties at stake.

Once they were gone I wanted to tighten it to the maximum which led to scores of tiffs between us. You see her reasoning is, the doctors usually exaggerate things more than necessary and that she is perfectly capable of being a good judge of herself, hence it should be okay to indulge once in a while for eating chips or pani-puri or some pala kayalu etc. For me even a small deviation from the prescribed routine is completely non acceptable. First off we aren't doctors, and there was a reason why this "sugar" level are so VERY important.

Remember the last meeting with Evita that I wrote about in my earlier post? She made a very nice representation of the situation. It's like this. Imagine a weighing balance, sugar level on the left, air to baby's (i.e. for you) on the right. More sugar less air, less sugar more air. It's that siimple. It was a delightful sight seeing Evita perform this simple routine with her hands.

This was the image that was stuck in mind and I wanted to take no risks at all. Your Avva was a party to our non-stop arguments and having a difficult role in deciding who was right (of course I was ) and who was wrong. She consulted her sister and we now have solution. Have a Glucometer in hand to do the checking ourselves, a practice that is quite common in the west and to take readings periodically. That way self-imposed regulation would kick in and our lives would be glorious ever after (note- there is a happiness even in fights).

Last week, we have got two sets of machines, one from Indrani Avva and one from Vasundara Avva. The one taken from latter was an imported one from US for which the testing strips were hard to get here, hence had to search for another one. Once we had it, last Saturday we went to Vijaya to standardize it (i.e. taking readings from the our machine and the sample taken from them) and more importantly to check for how are her sugar levels now. The machine gave a doka as the battery in it was not working. The results from the hospital though was not encouraging. The blood level before fasting has shot up one point more than the last time - 107 when the normal is supposed to be around 98. Poor Amma, she was praying and hoping that it would be low .

Again Jeijeyya (who had come here over weekend), Avva, Amma and I sat together and wanted to see where to plug-in the leaks and to see diet plan is followed to the tilt. Your Avva was very supportive and assured Amma not to be disappointed and that we can easily fight back and get some control. She also added since it was only for a week the plan actually kicked in, it is only matter of time before the levels reach to normal.

Starting this Monday, your Amma has been on strict diet again (with absolute no deviation, wonderful I must tell you) and also doing her exercises regularly (lessons from childbirth classes). To support her I have also resolved to stop eating junk, stop eating outside food, stop eating oily foods, stick with only home food. I must confess I have a hunger pangs akin to a 2 year old and that I wasn't able to resist eating something during snack time. From today I would try again. Your Amma though is very strong and determined lady with a strong will.

This coming Sunday we would be getting tests done again this time along with the instrument (last time it wasn't working). Fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

I planned to cover everything in one post but seeing that this has been a lengthy one, let me put it another post.

The rest to be continued in part - 2.

Dear Baby - 12

Hello Bangaru Konda,

Before I get into hospital stuff, let me tell you that your Amma felt kicking in her stomach for the first time yesterday and she was super excited. So far, she was conscious of your movements inside her stomach but this time around she could feel it on the surface, on the bump to be precise. Sadly I had gone out to bring something and your Amma too was disappointed for not being able to share the moment. Well many more firsts to come, is all I say and I know my cutest dumpling wouldn't wait too long for the second kick. With world cup in 11 days, I can feel the excitement building in you. I am waiting my sweet chap.

Getting back to things at hand, last Friday we had been to the hospital for TIFFA scan. This is used to check that all the parts of your body are well formed and to photograph each part. Like all the previous scan, this too had a adventure waiting to happen. To start with, 2-3 weeks prior to your scan, I had been literally slogging in the office coming quite late and going early. That week when scan was planned, my work was relatively low and I had good amount of breather time. I desperately was looking to take a break for myself, you know, like people do in college, bunk, I mean. Your Amma wasn't planning to join in though as she was saving up her leaves for maternity.

A day before the scan I started my jogging routine again. I vowed to increase my tempo and to scale down much faster by putting some extra stride in my jog for a km at the start and another half a km during the end of the 3 KM track. Even before I started my jog at the park, I could feel acute pain in the back right at the spot where the backbone ends. It was giving me pain when I twist my body in one angle, otherwise I was good and sturdy. I felt it was a test of my perseverance and resolve. I didn't want to give up, not that day. I had stopped my routine for almost, give or take, 2 months and have put on lot of weight. The worst of the part was my favorite Iron Man T-shirt was fitting me like a 2 month pregnant dad. Horrendous to say the least. I didn't want to get bogged down. No pain, no gain right.

Same thing happened on the next day too. I remember reading somewhere, if one feels ache in the body when exercising, then exercising is being done properly. I brushed it off and did my rounds. I was perfectly good except in one angle. We finished our chores early as our appointment was fixed for 9:30 A.M. Reaching there on time, we completed the formalities and were asked to wait for the name to be called up. There was considerable rush on a week day which was bit surprising actually. The only thing that wasn't normal in this setting was my condition. From the time we parked the vehicle and gave it for Valet at the hospital, the pain at the back shot up, causing me to push my back with one hand and continue walking to the lift, resulting in me walking like a guy with a limp or a 9 month fully pregnant lady who was being rushed to labor. It was that bad.

It was your Amma who fixed up the appointment, paying the money and helping me settle down. First thing I had to do was call up my office and tell them I can't make it. Funny thing ain't it? I wanted to bunk by citing false pretense and it turned out to be a real sick leave. Another mental note I took to my brain is - health is MOST important, no matter what cost. You have a back pain, don't do jogging. As simple as that. In retrospect it may be bad sleeping posture in bed or me going over bumps on the road or  me getting up in a haphazard manner that has caused it but jogging just aggravated it. Jogging demands quite a load on your back.

Anyway coming back to hospital, Amma's name was called up around 10, half an hour later than the scheduled time. We went in and there was another new doctor this time around. She was middle aged, very cheerful, well adorned with bangles, large earrings and along with her there was one more rotund male doctor who had distinctive Asian features, bald head and french goatee, small eyes. If someone points to him and would say he is a doctor, you would believe it without a single thought. We made our way in and took up our positions - Amma lying on the make-shift bed, me at her side having a nice view of LCD screen that was placed opposite to our bed , near the top of the ceiling.

As soon as she started scanning your Amma, she said this may take 2-3 sittings as you were not in a proper position. You see, the objective being to get feel of all parts of your body, you were needed to be in a sleeping posture with your back at the bottom, legs stretched out, and arms at your side. You, though were in a fetal position, all curled up and unwilling to show any of your features. As the scanner moved around the stomach we could only your hands and legs tightly placed over your face. Only few pics were taken, your head, each of your hand and that's it. Doctor told us, this is quite common and that we had to come back after 30-45 minutes again to give sometime for you to do some morning sommersaults if you can. She wanted you in both supine position as well as position where your back was on the top, with your head pointing down. A very difficult task indeed.

We came out, made our calls to Dadi. Jeyjayya and Dadi were in Chennai that day as Jeyjayya too had a crucial interview scheduled for his last stage of promotion i.e. for GM post. Two big days. On talking with Dadi, we got to know that interview didn't start yet and from our end we told her whatever doctor said. Added to the discussion was also my condition and your Amma's fury for my stubbornness in going to jog. With the prominence now being on your Amma, the hearing was considerably less.We also explained to Dadi that there was no cause of worry and this repeat procedure was being advised for several patients too for the same reason.

45 minutes passed and still there was no call. It was your Amma who was moving around, speaking with the receptionist to let us know our turn. With my condition, the only thing I was able to do, without any pain was to sit erect in the chair. In another 15 minutes, we were called up. Same doctor, same another rotund doctor, same place , everything same same. The doctor started the scan and this time around she captured the legs, the hands, your position too was slightly better. She was saying some encouraging things like your baby is now fully focused, the scan is going smoothly and that it may well be over. I don't know what came over me or what prompted me to ask - Is the back captured too ? She looked at me as if I just cracked one of the most important cases ever in history of mankind. She was pumped up, reivigorated as if the case has just got interesting and with all smiles, she told me - Yes, that's necessary, the last time I didn't capture, this time around too baby isn't the position I wanted. I mean it was like watching a Nutty Professor movie real-time. Here was a doctor, playing the role of absent-minded professor to the tilt. Only an hour back when we first came in, she was stressing that back wasn't captured and now it was only when we asked she tells us the same thing. Unbelievable, I tell you. The output was the same, she asked us to come back after an hour or more. It was already nearing lunch time i.e. around 1 P.M.

We proceeded to the lift, me limping with a hand at my back and your Amma calmly walking beside me. By that time, your Amma only had gone down and got the tiffin boxes up. The other people were staring at us. People must be wondering who exactly is pregnant among us. We went up to the cafeteria and had our literally hot food. The car was parked in a lot without any shed and our lunch boxes were cooked up to say the least.

Your Amma had rice, dal, pickle and fruits, myself roti, cabbage curry. We ate our lunches calmly with little talks on the happenings with only one thing one my mind- how much more longer we need to endure this ordeal. Amma couldn't eat the pomegranate that was packed as it was literally hot. We came down and around 2-2:30 we were called again. This time you were in the best of forms and the posture she wanted. She showed us your ears, nose, whole face in fact but slightly covered with hands, heart, legs. Everything. The only thing wasn't satisfying to her was the picture wasn't fully perfect as in the hands not on your face. She was suggesting to make another appointment and your Amma too was like if it isn't perfect, let's do it again kind. I was having none of that. Completely restraining myself, I asked the doctor if the purpose of the scan was served, she said yes. I then told her, we are also satisfied and we are good with the progress. I think this time she got the message and agreed that scan is done.

Trust me baby, it isn't because I didn't want to see you further, it is just that I was having very bad pain that I wanted to end this and go back home to sleep.

That's how the day ended and we were back with our jobs for the week to come. Your Jeyjayya too got promoted and there was good news all around.

More to follow, my sweet munchkin.

With Hugs and Kisses,
Nanna.

Dear Baby - 11

Hello bangaru konda,

We are bit more than half way through the pregnancy period. Your Amma is now 20 weeks pregnant. Couple of days back she told me she started feeling some movements inside her stomach, either while she is reciting or sometime during her day. That's a good news considering, she was getting little concerned about it a week back. I also am doing my regular check ups too but somehow you are always in sleepy mode when I do that. Somehow I feel you are able to sense it's me and staying put. I know a trick or two you know, will try doing a surprise visit. Let's see how you will overcome that.

Last week has there's been hub of activity both literally and figuratively. I have more or less spent my time more at office than home, a constant 12+ hours per day. Our project is running at a tight schedule, so had to pitch in my part. On the home front, preparations and planning were on the way for a small gathering to celebrate 5th month by performing small Sreemantham function. Actual plan is to have this at 7th month as your Peddaiah, Peddamma also would be there to partake in it. Your Ammamma though wanted to have one on 5th as she felt it is the most auspicious time and she didn't mind to have it again later. So that's how yesterday's sreemantham came to be.

As per the custom this ritual is done by 5 women related to your Amma either from husbands side or from her end. Our list included - Dadi, Ammamma, Vasundara Avva, Vasantha akka, Sowjanya atha and your Amma's atha Vijaylakshmi. Just out of curiosity on searching google came across wiki page about Sreemantham and it describes what happened yesterday in perfect detail. Here is some portion of it-

Long ago, Seemantham was performed twice: once by the pregnant lady's in-laws and the other time by her parents. These days, it’s all combined into a single elaborate celebration performed by the in-laws and the gifts are brought over by the parents (during the first pregnancy only). The gifts include a saree with two blouse pieces, baskets full of between five and nine kinds of sweet and savory food items and fruits for the pregnant woman, towels/clothes for the man, and clothes for the in-laws. The savory items includeSakinalu and Madugulu; sweet items include Arasalu, Garjalu and Laddulu. The four kinds of fruits include apples, oranges, pomegranates, mosambi, and others, but no bananas. The elaborate lunch or dinner is served by the in-laws.

The pregnant lady and the man are made to sit in chairs facing east. She is anointed with kumkum (vermillion) and gandham (sandal), paspu (turmeric) is offered for mangalyam, and paspu is applied to her feet by her mother. Then she is given a saree and blouse and a string of mallepuvu (jasmine flower), all placed in her saree kongu/wollu. The man is anointed with kumkum and given clothes by the lady's father. Then the in-laws are seated adjacently and also marked with kumkum and given clothes by the lady's parents.

The pregnant lady takes all these gifts, adorns herself, and goes to the Deity and offers a prayer. Meanwhile all ladies present are offered kumkum and paspu. The pregnant lady and the man come back and sit in the chairs. The lady's mother applies kumkum, gandham, and offers paspu for mangalyam. Then she places two green glass bangles on each hand. The mother places four kinds of fruits, five savory and sweets (total of nine items) in her wollu/kongu. Then she blesses her with akshanthalu for safe delivery. The mother then places five varieties of sweet and savory food items in the man's wollu. Then he gets up. Now a little girl/adabidda is made to sit beside the pregnant lady in the chair. Four older ladies perform the same ritual - they offer just one fruit and four savory and sweet items, totaling five items, to the pregnant lady.

The pregnant lady is then given mangala haarthi by these five older ladies and traditional songs are sung. She is assisted in getting up carefully with all the goodies in her wolluintact and taken to the Deity's place where she offers a prayer and places all the goodies (leaving five foods in the wollu) in a tray (these are consumed by the pregnant lady, man and children). Then the lady is fed with sweets and pulihora rice. She returns with her wollu and takes blessings from her in-laws, husband, sister-in-law and parents by touching their feet, with assistance. Then she places the rest of the food items in her wollu with the rest of the goodies near the Deity.

The in-laws will offer kumkum, paspu, flower and thamboolam/ goodie bags to all the lady guests. This consists of betel leaves, betel nut, sweets and a coin (optional)

Considering we may not be to hold all the 5 variety of sweets by ourselves, we took hold of the tray carrying the sweets and it was taken back. The whole event ended very nicely and everyone had a good time. Here are some pictures of the event -

That's all for now, little munchkin.

With Love,

Nanna