Out of the many thoughts pregnancy and the impending arrival of a little one brings to prospective parents, is the thought of "Are we really ready to have a baby?" One of the major affecting factors is that now you are going to be totally responsible for someone else's life and care for someone who is going to be totally dependent on you for many things in life.
The first time we saw Sia, she was of six weeks gestational age and resembled a fresh pea out of the pod. The only indication of presence of life was the continuous pulsating and rhythmic beating of the tiny dot against the ultrasound screen. She was a feisty one even then and Satish and I often talk about her being a fighter right from the start. We had just come back from a hectic and much traveled trip, with me driving a heavy duty SUV through the rugged desert terrain of the Grand Canyon area, when we got to know that the stork was going to pay us a visit. Our first concern was to ensure everything was all right and once the Gynecologist allayed our fears and assured us of her well-being, the real emotions set in. It would be a cliche to say that our hearts missed a beat and we had a lump in our throats but nothing could prepare us for the diversity of the emotions which were going to hit us in the coming months. It was a combination of joy, happiness, tears, nervousness, apprehension all rolled in one. The second visit a couple of weeks later saw us staring at Sia's small round head and body, still in much minute form and shape but more human like. As the days passed into months and the cool orange breezes of Fall gave way to a bleaker and white Georgia Winter, Sia was growing along strong and steady. The real surprise was at the fifth month visit when we got to see her on the big screen with a much advanced machine. Now she was more like a small baby moving her limbs around. She even rolled out her tongue which the ultrasound technician gratefully froze in a frame and gave us for keepsake. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the enormous developments that I could see in my baby and till today whenever I see her, I still cannot fathom the miracles of Mother Nature which makes a small tiny dot into such a complex living being. I know I also need to be eternally and equally grateful to the developments of modern Science and Technology which has enabled and equipped parents to see their children prior to birth.
A few months later, it was Spring, with flowers in their early bloom and the land warming up again. It was a cool crisp Tuesday morning and Satish and I set out on our way to work. The previous night we had a sumptuous meal at a popular Chinese food chain and had managed to complete a major part of Sia's shopping. On the way to the car, I felt funny but still didn't realize it would be D-day as the due date was still a month away but decided to call the Gynecologist's office from the car. We were advised to go to the hospital for a checkup and we thought it was going to be like any other routine checkup but on arriving we were told that I would be delivering soon. We figured that either Sia loved Chinese food or she simply hated it and decided to make an entry the very next day. The next few hours passed in a blur with the nurse and the doctor sauntering in and out of the labor room, IV's and fetal monitoring being attached, Satish making a couple of trips to home and back to get reinforcements. There were a couple of hours in between before Sia was born, when I was all alone and staring at the hospital ceiling and that's when the magnanimity of the situation hit me. In a short time I was going to graduate from a wife to a mother. I went into flashback mode and reflected on other roles played over the years from a grand-daughter, daughter, sister, girlfriend, daughter-in-law, lover, aunt, wife and realized that probably now was going to enter into the most challenging and fruitful role to be played yet. Satish and my mom and sis, all had gone for dinner after being told that it would be a few hours before Sia was ready. Fifteen minutes later the nurse announced that it was going to be quicker than they thought and Sia could be out any time soon. I knew how much we wanted Satish to be there when Sia was delivered and I frantically tried to reach him on his cell. One ring, two, three, voice mail. My adorable husband had forgotten the cell phone in the car. I just prayed that Sia would hold on for a bit more and my family would come back in time. They eventually reached at 10.40 p.m and Sia, our bundle of joy was born at 10.56 p.m.
The doctor kept her on my tummy and I looked at her flushed face and tiny hands and feet and time eternally stood still. It was the most beautiful moment of my life, one that can never be described enough in words. The contact of pink wrinkled skin on my skin was something more poignant than what I had imagined and rehearsed so many times in my mind during the course of pregnancy. It was like falling in love all over again. I knew now, at this very moment, that I was ready, ready to hold her, ready to love her, ready to take care of her. I could hear happy voices in the background as the congratulations poured in and the medical staff set about doing their routine post delivery procedures but all I could listen to was the beating of a tiny heart as I held my beautiful daughter close to me.
The first time we saw Sia, she was of six weeks gestational age and resembled a fresh pea out of the pod. The only indication of presence of life was the continuous pulsating and rhythmic beating of the tiny dot against the ultrasound screen. She was a feisty one even then and Satish and I often talk about her being a fighter right from the start. We had just come back from a hectic and much traveled trip, with me driving a heavy duty SUV through the rugged desert terrain of the Grand Canyon area, when we got to know that the stork was going to pay us a visit. Our first concern was to ensure everything was all right and once the Gynecologist allayed our fears and assured us of her well-being, the real emotions set in. It would be a cliche to say that our hearts missed a beat and we had a lump in our throats but nothing could prepare us for the diversity of the emotions which were going to hit us in the coming months. It was a combination of joy, happiness, tears, nervousness, apprehension all rolled in one. The second visit a couple of weeks later saw us staring at Sia's small round head and body, still in much minute form and shape but more human like. As the days passed into months and the cool orange breezes of Fall gave way to a bleaker and white Georgia Winter, Sia was growing along strong and steady. The real surprise was at the fifth month visit when we got to see her on the big screen with a much advanced machine. Now she was more like a small baby moving her limbs around. She even rolled out her tongue which the ultrasound technician gratefully froze in a frame and gave us for keepsake. Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the enormous developments that I could see in my baby and till today whenever I see her, I still cannot fathom the miracles of Mother Nature which makes a small tiny dot into such a complex living being. I know I also need to be eternally and equally grateful to the developments of modern Science and Technology which has enabled and equipped parents to see their children prior to birth.
A few months later, it was Spring, with flowers in their early bloom and the land warming up again. It was a cool crisp Tuesday morning and Satish and I set out on our way to work. The previous night we had a sumptuous meal at a popular Chinese food chain and had managed to complete a major part of Sia's shopping. On the way to the car, I felt funny but still didn't realize it would be D-day as the due date was still a month away but decided to call the Gynecologist's office from the car. We were advised to go to the hospital for a checkup and we thought it was going to be like any other routine checkup but on arriving we were told that I would be delivering soon. We figured that either Sia loved Chinese food or she simply hated it and decided to make an entry the very next day. The next few hours passed in a blur with the nurse and the doctor sauntering in and out of the labor room, IV's and fetal monitoring being attached, Satish making a couple of trips to home and back to get reinforcements. There were a couple of hours in between before Sia was born, when I was all alone and staring at the hospital ceiling and that's when the magnanimity of the situation hit me. In a short time I was going to graduate from a wife to a mother. I went into flashback mode and reflected on other roles played over the years from a grand-daughter, daughter, sister, girlfriend, daughter-in-law, lover, aunt, wife and realized that probably now was going to enter into the most challenging and fruitful role to be played yet. Satish and my mom and sis, all had gone for dinner after being told that it would be a few hours before Sia was ready. Fifteen minutes later the nurse announced that it was going to be quicker than they thought and Sia could be out any time soon. I knew how much we wanted Satish to be there when Sia was delivered and I frantically tried to reach him on his cell. One ring, two, three, voice mail. My adorable husband had forgotten the cell phone in the car. I just prayed that Sia would hold on for a bit more and my family would come back in time. They eventually reached at 10.40 p.m and Sia, our bundle of joy was born at 10.56 p.m.
The doctor kept her on my tummy and I looked at her flushed face and tiny hands and feet and time eternally stood still. It was the most beautiful moment of my life, one that can never be described enough in words. The contact of pink wrinkled skin on my skin was something more poignant than what I had imagined and rehearsed so many times in my mind during the course of pregnancy. It was like falling in love all over again. I knew now, at this very moment, that I was ready, ready to hold her, ready to love her, ready to take care of her. I could hear happy voices in the background as the congratulations poured in and the medical staff set about doing their routine post delivery procedures but all I could listen to was the beating of a tiny heart as I held my beautiful daughter close to me.
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