the most memorable day of my life...

..last few weeks of pregnancy I could never sleep at a stretch for long...with frequent trips to the loo.

it was almost morning around 5 , when I woke with a strange feeling of moist bed. I woke up with a feeling of disgust ..how shameful I was wetting the bed, I got up from the bed and to my utter surprise I was still not able to control it and it was leaking on to the floor. I recalled reading that such is the experience of water breaks...but it was supposed to smell like ammonia....some kind of strong foul smell I suppose. There wasn't any such smell.. I searched on the net but couldn't find any other clue to investigate.

I called my Hubby in London, he was in his Christmas party.When I told him he was like ok you go and get a checkup done in the morning...I had to explain to him that water break means that the baby is about to arrive. He immediately asked me to call up the gynaec. I called the dr and explained the situation  she was quite sure that it was water break and asked me to come to the hospital without any further delay.

The hospital was 25 kms away from where I was , I had picked up the hospital in the other side of the city where I was staying. I had presumed that was where from I would be need to go to the hospital and hence would be most commutable...I was not supposed to be here in my house. I called up my friend , thankfully they answered the phone at that odd hour, told them that I needed to be taken to the hospital.. my friend said he said he will be there in 15 minutes.

I thought of all the things that I needed , the first thing I picked up was my laptop....and can't remember what else. My hospital bag was not ready nor was it with me. I was pretty sure it was somekind of false alarm ..I wasn't getting any contractions, plus hubby was coming after two days..surely baby was gonna wait for his father..no?!?

I woke up my cousin sleeping peacefully unaware of the chain of events, told her we are going to the hospital..even she was quite shocked and sure at the same time that there was still time for baby to come. My friend came ,he was sure they are gonna send me back..and told me about another friend whom he drove to hospital couple of years back and how she was sent back. I started feeling a bit stupid that I had woken up everyone and was creating a fuss. On the way to the hospital I started feeling a strange sensation of a rigid tummy once in a while...my friend kept cracking jokes to take my mind off it.

We reached the hospital after an hours drive ...my inlaws were already waiting there. I remember happily climbing the few stairs at the entrance ..did I look like I was going to deliver a baby?.... not at all!

I was about to meet my baby :)

My gynaec had already informed the resident doctor to expect me and of the routine tests to be done...I was taken in the labour ward and strange devices seen only in movies so far were connected to my tummy...after the inital checkup she confirmed that it was the water break and I was made aware that the rigidness of the tummy were mild contractions.

Soon the gynec reached and did an internal checkup, reported a dilation of 2 cm...it started sinking that I was going to have my baby that day itself...I called up my hubby and told him to come as soon as possible...there was no time left.

After a while he called back to let me know that the flights were totally booked and that he could make it only after 48 hours...I realized that even if he would taken a flight that moment he couldn't make it before baby's arrival. I started brooding, this was not the way I had imagined I had always thought he would be with me in the labour room and support me in the eleventh hour...I cried for a minute or two and then I was alright...so the moment I had been waiting all these months for was finally here...sixteen days prior!

The dr advised me to be shifted to my suite and said she would examine me again after 3-4 hours. I went to my suite called up my parents, who were also shocked and started to make arrangements to fly to my city.

I picked up my laptop and mailed my friends that I had gone in labour...how funny I was actually mailing friends from the hospital that I had gone in labour.

I had chosen to be a volunteer to share my experience of pregnancy for an awareness documentary that the dr was making...I did a small video shoot and was blabbering all about my excitement ...and remember quoting that the labour pains are quite ok and bearable.. not like what they show in movies....God must be laughing at me then and saying..'wait and watch!'

I had also decided to go for stem cell banking, but couldn't finalize the organisation , with the turn of events of last week . I called up one of shortlisted cell bank and explained them the emergency situation..after some time the personal came to my the hospital and I signed some long documents to complete the formality...managed to do it on time.

Around 11 am , I was called for further examination , before that a catheter was inserted in my wrist for the drips...I started feeling uneasy at the thought of the drip... that was just the beginning.

Another internal examination and I was told the dilation wasn't progressing well, I was put on external oxytocin to fasten the dilation. I was given a light meal which I just tasted for the sake of it , given a sedative to put me to sleep ..I was told I needed lots of energy later...I tried to sleep with the monitoring devices attached to my tummy....my mil sat by my side..I slept for sometime don't know for how long..woke up  and couldn't sleep any longer as I started getting regular contractions. It seemed bearable .. I had requested for an anesthetist ..the resident dr suggested I shouldn't take epidural as I was coping quite well ..I quite liked the idea...and the anesthetist was not called for.

After an hour or so...the contraction started faster and for longer duration...I was practicing the breathing techniques I was taught in the antenatal classes.. for sometime it helped but soon all that was in vein...I couldn't bear the pain...i was crying and screaming ...very much like the movies...but minus the poise ...."I am gonna die...I am gonna die!"

The resident dr was baffled and didn't know how to make me at ease ...called for the anesthetist but cause of the lack of notice ..it took him an hour to reach. Finally when he appeared, he looked like a fairy to me as he told me that in just 5 mins he will make me forget all about the pain....I remember him saying that I looked dead with fatigue already.

He inserted the epidural needle ...after 5 minutes I felt better but the pain was still not bearable..he had to give me an extra dose to keep me alive...soon I was calm and composed and even joking with the dr.

Around 10:30 in the night my gynaec arrived after being reported by the resident dr that I had fully dilated. Prepartion for delivering the baby started , I was moved into the operation theater. By this time I had started shivering very badly I felt I was in the Artic without any warm clothes on...apparently that was the side effects of epidural. The dr asked me to push, which I was trying my very best...remember the dr encouraging me and asking me to push more...don't remember how long was that but then she started telling the others " Fast ..baby's heart rate is falling....I was terrified....some more pushing .... an episiotomy cut...and baby was out! The dr confirmed what the radiologist had told me in my 22 week scan..its a baby boy. ..someone whispered its 11:05 pm...my gaze shifted to the clock hanging across..and cross checked ..indeed 11:05 pm!

I could hear the baby being handed over to the pediatrician ..meanwhile the gynaec was drawing blood from the placenta for stem cell banking.

my bundle of joy!

I was waiting to hear my baby's cry....seconds past by and still no cry...and then a shrill cry..Thank God!!!..The placenta had detached and the dr was sewing me..all done! A nurse was trying to draw blood from my veins...but even after 3-4 picks she couldn't find my vein for some reason....I was collapsing ..someone showed me my baby...a tiny white mass..can't remember exactly what he looked like ..and then I passed off...........

one year and two weeks

This week my baby had his twelve months health review with the health visitor...the schedule clashed with his babbling babes session....so had to skip the babbling babes this week. I didn't want to cause this week we were supposed to paint the clay imprint of his hand taken in the previous class. On the way to the health clinic I at-least manged to pick up his clay imprint... shall paint it some other time at home.

The meeting with the health visitor was a simple one, we had to measure his height and weight. My baby surely doesn't like to undress in-front of others, cause as soon as we took his clothes he started crying just like the other times..and refused to get his weight checked by all means. Alternatively the health visitor suggested that I weigh myself with baby in my arms first and then just weight myself.So that was how I manged to check his weight. We measured his height as well....but I very much doubt the accuracy of it , he kept on crying and throwing his legs while we tried to keep him straight for measuring height.

a decent cook am I ?

After the height and weight  simple exersices like handing him a cube , a small raisin to measure his motor skills..the health visitor seemed quite happy with the outcome and so was I. As for his weight  babies are supposed to triple their birth weight in the  first year and my baby gained much more than that so all in all I am quite happy.

Weekend some more friends visited us over dinner for my babies b'day...I decided to cook everything cause I was not quite happy with what the cook had made the previous week. I enjoy cooking and people say that I cook quite decent...?!?

After an enjoyable night ,the  next day my baby fell sick with cold and fever. With the season change and  mercury dropping to subzero , everyone around was getting flu ..I had anticipated him to get flu sooner or later...however he was running very high fever.

The next day was my friend's daughter- Meera's first Bday.. with my baby so sick looked like I was going to miss it. I wanted to go to wish her B'day very much..she' a very special friend, we share a special bonding which further got strengthened as coincidentally we started this journey of motherhood at the sametime..Meera and Aaryan were born with a difference of just 8 days.

Smiling B'day girl and her friend

I still remember going for her first scan as her hubby fell sick . We started in a cab on that rainy day and were a bit late cause of traffic. It was overwhelming to see 10 weeks old, 2 cm  Meera for the first time...the day was phenomenal had never experienced life that way...and now she's one year old!

I knew my friend wanted me to come very much for the B'day but didn't say it cause she knew things were not fine at home.

Thankfully by night his fever came down and we made a quick and short visit to wish the lil one a very happy first Bday! Meera was very pleased to see us..she started making happy noises to see my baby...besides she's a happy baby ,keeps smiling most of the time..May she always be smiling like this now and forever.

My baby's cold and fever which looked like a viral infection subsided in the next 2 days.

No matter how cautious I am ..accidents happen. My baby's finger got pressed under the door , he gave a shrill cry ..when I saw his finger a tiny bit of skin had peeled near his fingernail and lil bit of blood too ..picked him put his finger underneath chilly water ..some antiseptic cream and loads of love..I feel guilty, wished had been more careful.

One year first week

I lazed Friday morning thinking of this day a year back when I started getting labour pains....kept thinking of the sweet memories but then decided to get up...Was going to be a very busy day, Friday mornings are always rush for me as its the morning of babbling babes session. I wanted to skip this week but it was special one, they were doing hand prints on clay for the babies in this session.

When my baby woke up  I noticed his eyes were swollen , particularly his right eye which looked little  red too. He kept rubbing his eye...gave me a fright and decided to take him to the GP for a checkup...thankfully all was well just a bit of inflammation possibly due to the cold. The swelling disappeared in the next three hours.

It was nice , taking impression of my sweetie's hand on clay.

Ready to party !

By the time I finished baby's bath and lunch it was already two.I intended to finish making the desserts , cake base and  living room decoration today.

By the time I finished making the desserts it was 8:00 in the night. My friend came over and we started baking the cakes.... it was around 12:30 in the night when we finished...some ballons were inflated but decoration wasn't done that night.

Next morning the cook came , even she was an hour late..cooking completed by 3. But decoration was still to be done.I finished cleaning and by 4 called my friend for some help , we finished the icing the cake..and somehow by hook or crook finished the rest of stuff tool. Thanks to my friend and her hubby who were helping us ..and I could  keep my cool !

All went well and the cake looked fab! Everyone enjoyed ..specially my lil one. His friend was there both of them playing and my baby was even trying to feed his friend a biscuit with his hands.

The next day was his Bday, same rush rush scenario but the guests coming next day were like family and I wasn't much worried... moreover I was dead tired.

The Bday celebrations went well and now my boy was rich with gifts!

Happy first Bday!

The next day vaccines were scheduled , he got three injections...cried a lot ..looking at the size of the syringe I felt like crying myself. He was cranky and jittery that day ...with some calpol he was fine the next day.

Rest of the week was more of resting and relaxing.

Was a very exciting week..my baby's a year old now!
365 days are a lot many days....but they went by so fast , my tiny baby who once fitted in my palms has grown out of my lap now...how time flies! I want to hang on to these happy moments for ever..I love you my little baby..you are so so precious...the world to me :)

eleven months four weeks..

We have been thinking for a long while.. how are we gonna celebrate our precious one's first B'day? It's a trend these days to celebrate the day on a grand note , many celebrating it more like that of a wedding  inviting all acquaintances. First B'day is a milestone , a special day for sure..but the party is for the little one. At the age of one they can't make what it is...it's just for the parents to rejoice the day..and in midst of all the guests and crow we were sure our baby was not going to enjoy. We kept contemplating...which way to go? Considered throwing a get together in a restaurant ...but then finally decided to do it at home.... Home where our baby is more relaxed and happy... but then that's not the only reason. We were not sure where we will be on his first B'day...hubby's project was getting over and we were to relocate to India by Dec first week...looked more like we would be celebrating his B'day on  the flight. However things took a turn and the project got extended for some more weeks..

With the little time we had, we decided to have a get together of friends at home. We had to crop the guest lists to a bare minimum that could be comfortably accommodated at home... even though I would have loved to have the whole world on the guests list. We decided we would have friends come over on his B'day eve as well as on his B'day..what could be better than celebrate for two consecutive days?!?

December babies !

Start of the week was my baby's friends first B'day ! The week felt more festive that anything that I had ever experienced.Went shopping for baby's clothes...wanted to buy something different..but than boys don't have much options ..do they? Ended up buying simple dresses for my love, to me he looked special even in those simple outfits.... he appears to me  as the most beautiful baby in this world even in his diapers ...there there I speak like a mommy now :)

Shopping was a total run run run...with hardly time for any window shopping. Just kept picking stuff that I liked unlike other times. Shopped for his clothes, his friend's gift and also return gifts for the party.

After the shopping , we were just in time for the B'day party, baby and his friend Krish enjoyed a lot....and it was a bliss to watch the two of them play together.

From the next day on wards I made myself busy planning things to avoid last minute rush...started with wrapping the return gifts for babies...one thing done !

Next was preparing the menus for both days get together...an exhaustive list of essentials....list ready!
We decided to get the main course made at home and the starters from outside..usually its me who does the cooking but as it was on two consecutive days I decided to hire a helping hand...

What about the cake...I wanted to bake a cake for my baby. The initial thoughts were I would bake one for his B'day eve and buy one for  his B'day...but when I searched for recipes I found some really exciting ones and decided to bake cakes for both days...had never done icing on cake before..but these days everything is available online to learn..saw some stuff on youtube..and with the help of a friend who had expertise in baking decided to bake both the cakes myself...but before that another exclusive shopping spree cake decoration...all done..done!!!

Decorations...I had wanted to buy all the party decoration kit but hubby stepped forward and insisted that he would be doing all the decorations...I had enough on my plate ! The decorations was happily handed over to hubby.

Tuesday I decided to try on the lil ones clothes just to discover that the jeans was too loose for him and needed to be exchanged...

Wednesday...more assorting of stuff...dress not exchanged yet..decided to get the long over postponed trip to the beautician...

All smiles..as he starts walking.

It was Thursday.... at least the clothes were exchanged and we had something decent that my little pumpkin could wear. As per my plan I was supposed to finish all shopping by Thursday night and start preparation from Friday morning...

But all I had finished was shopping for the cakes with some stuff still to be bought from the local store.
Thankfully one of my previous cooks who initially said she couldn't make it ,agreed to come and give a helping hand with the cooking.
Hubby had agreed to take an off next day after I insisted that things are out of control....

The week was very cold and every other baby around was suffering with cold..I hoped that my baby be alright...didn't want him to be sick with cold on his B'day. As a precautionary measure this week I skipped going to the child health clinic for the routine monthly weight  measurement just to keep him safe indoors.


Meanwhile my sweetpie had decided to give me a pleasant surprise ..he started walking..he kept on walking around the house and making us smile ..a well awaited milestone just before  his first B'day!

the jump...

In my thoughts ,I had always imagined myself working while carrying a baby..I assumed it would keep me engaged , keep me less aware of the the ups and down in health during the course of pregnancy. But ....with this sort of work environment , so much stress  possibly would not be healthy..working here was stressful and exhausting when I was my normal self ... I chucked those thoughts saying to myself ...shall cross the bridge when it comes...

I diverted my thoughts once again to my wish list..there wasn't anything else on it except the one that I had failed to tick off..the skydive!

It was December ..the weather was mostly clear but very chilling not the ideal time for such acrobats...still I picked up a day in that week which as per the forecast was sunny. Suggested my hubby another try for the jump and bribed him that I can sponsor his jump too...(cheating cheating ..I just said but never paid , he was the one spent a fortune on it :P)

He wasn't sure about his jump but at-least agreed to accompany me to the field.

Stepped out in the dark at 6:30 in the morning , the morning was extra chilly the weather guys reported the temperature in London  -2 degree , the outskirts would be even more cold... reached the diving center around 8:30 ,when we reached there were another person waiting for the event.

check...check..all ok ?!?

We went to the registration desk..where I announced to the receptionist that I had made no booking for the day. I explained that I had come earlier when it got cancelled due to foul weather. He was surprised and then said since I didn't make a booking they will not be able to entertain me...my excitement dampened that very moment. The receptionist kept staring at me for a while and then burst out laughing saying he was just pulling my leg.
Next was my turn to give him a surprise....I told him , my hubby was also keen to jump and that even he also had not made any bookings.....the surprise was a pleasant one for him..as the business was very dry in the cold weather.

We were asked if we needed photographs? For the photographs, the photographer was to jump with us the very next second so that he could take picture of us floating in the air..which meant we were to pay for his jump as well..an expensive affair but I wanted the pictures..and also the video, someday when I am very old I would watch it perhaps with my grandchildren ...lol !!!!

We were given a briefing of 30 mins or so..sign languages and signals that we were to follow during the fall...verbal communication wasn't possible while the fall was in progress..We also practiced landing tactics for a smooth one to avoid any injury.

Lastly we signed a disclaimer that we took the entire responsibility of our actions and under no circumstances shall hold the school responsible for any mishap, accident , injury or death that was unlikely but might happen...we understood that skydive was a dangerous sports. As I signed it I casually asked if their were any records of any such incident..just a broken leg during landing I was told !

Moments before getting into the craft...with instructor

We changed into appropriate attires..we were asked to keep wearing our jackets and warm clothes underneath as it's gonna be much more than freezing up there..we even wore two hand gloves, one on top of the other.

It was time to get into the small craft...and then all of a sudden millions of butterflies started fluttering in my stomach...we all were assigned an instructor and were to be fastened to him just before the jump..each went inside with their respective instructors.

Once we were all inside, the craft started..still remember the craft creeping high steadily in a somewhat  slow fashion ...cause I could hear my heartbeats ticking like a clock even through the deafening roaring of the open craft... the land started growing less visible and the view more and more beautiful but breathtaking. After five minutes or so we reached the altitude of 12000 feet and were ready for the jump.

there goes my hubby !

My hubby was the first one to jump....I watched him being fastened to his instructor , glasses down .. perched on the door he tried to look down but the instructor raised his chin up..we were instructed not to look down while jumping..and then in seconds he went down...I saw him falling and was totally dumb struck!

I was next..too numb to feel anything not even the freezing gushing wind ..can't remember the sequence , just that  I closed my eyes...and jumped. I remember I had a couple of somersaults in the air ..and then felt the tap on my shoulder which meant I was to open my arms like a bird...the free fall was over and the parachute had been opened.


Now was the time to enjoy the view...to be frank it was happening too fast, I can't actually remember how beautiful was the view..just that it was beautiful and looked hazy..cause my eyes were watering, no I wasn't crying it was the wind ! I felt a bit in control and then my instructor let me control the parachute for couple of minutes..it was nice , a slight tuck on the left to turn right and vice- versa but  a lil extra pull and the fine balance was lost making me go round and round....and dizzy! I let the instructor handle it..couldn't care to bother myself with more dizziness! After some flying like a bird, it was landing time.

I can fly...

I thought of the guy ..the one who broke his leg while landing, he inspired me to lift my legs extra high while landing..phew landed safely..and voila I had done it..jumped off the craft ...and yet standing on my feet soundly..but where was my hubby?!?..no where to be seen...he still had not landed! Somehow he was in air for longer , jumped before me and landed after me ! To my relief he landed safely within seconds !

Next I realized my feet were numb with cold..gave me an idea of what frost bite must be like...kept hurting me for an hour after which I was all right!

Headed back home after our adventure ...it was evening. My hubby had his Christmas party the following day and needed to shop stuff. We went shopping and I did the honor of paying the bills..brought a nice black suit and shoes to go with them for him...that was the first time I spent my own pounds!!!

Clap clap...well done!

one more off the wish list..on 9th Dec 2010..that was a very exciting day of my life...very memorable..I pumped a lot of adrenaline, lil did I know that time that exactly one year after, on the very same day I was gonna pump not just adrenaline but also Oxytocin and Beta-endorphin ....my life would take a leap into a beautiful super duper hectic roller coaster ride far more exciting than this jump!

clink..clink..clink

clink..clink..clink!!!

....I could hear some pounds jingling into my account ,which unfortunately had been struck by drought for quite sometime now.... the most interesting part about doing a job is that every time the month ends and a new month starts , you discover a certain euphoria! The thought that I was gonna earn again...made me happy and I ignored all the other intimidating aspects.
Then began the shopping spree , some formal wear shopping..shopping does make the world a very happy place to live in !

Still remember the first day at work....wouldn't go into the depths of describing....it was just okish...the first week went fine. Started to get to know colleagues bit better...had a few Indians among them. ..they  made the workplace jolly ..and very soon I discovered something that was common among all of us , the " He's so sick!" feeling...and that the feeling of disgust was common made it easy to bind better with my colleagues..we would keep on cracking nasty jokes about the subject in discussion.

However within a month. , trouble started. One morning my manager asked me to come to the conference room for an important discussion....I expected some kind of lecture on my style of work, or code of conduct. But it was much worse than that....I was asked to switch roles and fill in for another colleague going on vacation, from the support team.The matter was proposed to me in a very polite tone ...but it was not poised as a choice. What was even worse, I was not just to switch teams...but was supposed to juggle between the two teams , based on priority of the tasks assigned.

The organisation I was working for had small teams ..the numbers of heads in each team was so few that every single person's presence was required to run the day to day activity smoothly, any person going on vacation needed a temporary replacement. The head of the support team was going on a long vacation ....so I was shifted into the team. I started working in the support team , both the team heads would want me to finish what they asked me do... What difference did it make to me whether it was this task or that ...both were tasks for me. I was finding it difficult to meet the expectations. Thankfully this situation lasted just four days as the support team head went on vacation from the fifth day and then there was no clash of interests, I would do whatever was asked to be done. The months went past fast...support jobs are a pain...listen to all sort of cribbing clients from every corner and with wierd ascent..asking about various things in the vast application, was really challenging. I was happy when the head came back.

Next my team mate from the development team was going on vacation, so I was required back in the development team. Those two weeks without my colleague seemed like two months..as I received undivided attention from my manager...slowly the two weeks crept past.

My teammate was back..and now another person was going on vacation - the Manager ! I never felt better..the feeling was more relaxing than me going on vacation.There was a festive mood in our corner of the office..everyone in the team was beaming with joy ! We couldn't even wait for him to step out of the office space and started celebrating and cracking nasty jokes...while the other teams were amused at the way we were enjoying ..more like juveniles set free from remand homes.

Now that I was a bit relaxed , I started thinking more about things on my personal front...I had been so busy that I was missing everything else...I had not got a chance to spend a penny from my salary so far...I decided it was time to free some pounds from my account....

the aftermath..

worried me... I comforted my ownself.

Shrugged off the worries...and I thought to myself I need to be strong. A lot of damage has been done ...but then it could have been worse! With God's grace the fire was not catastrophic..things were still under control. Just as my friend had explained..it was a warning that "I needed to be more careful !!!"

All that was required now, was some planning followed by swift execution of the plan ,after all I didn't have much time. All that I had done in the past two months had been ruined ...if on a scale of 1 to 10 the house was say at a scale of 1 when I started working on it two months back,with my efforts I had scaled it up to 8 , but now it had downgraded to "-10"....needed a lot of work, I started planning, what all needed to be done :

- Get the broken glasses removed from the house.
- Painting the house ..which involved major reshuffling of each and everything in the house.
- Curtains , bed sheets, furniture cover everything needed to be washed again
- Deep cleaning of everything that had a coating of soot.
- Glass in the window replaced.
- The burn't idol of god replaced with new one.
- Arrange the rest of the things in place , dispose off all obsolete things accumulated in the house
- And above all cover up all that had happened from everyone in the family.

Day 1 : Just went passed calling and chasing people over the phone to get things done. Managed to get the curtains down from the rods...never ever did I feel that I had to be dependent on people for such trivial jobs as getting the curtains down....Curtains looked ok after 3 rounds of washing....thanks to the good old machine! The glass had been removed from the house. The black look had lessened.
I cleaned the silver idols.... kept brushing them with all the home remedies I knew of..but they still looked burn't.

Day 2: Things moved , the painter turned up and started the painting work , the window glass person came to take the measurements.Other issues crept up...a drainage blockage in the kitchen causing water to spilling all over the place.The geyser in one of the bathrooms had stopped working. The maid had to work very hard and was somewhat getting tired of my demands and instructions.

Day 3: Painting still in progress...maid decided to ditch...which meant no home made food.My sweet cousin decided to take up the cooking and cook some delicious Bengali cuisine that I had been salivating for...night time we decided to go out , which in turn meant I started driving again after 3 years when I was almost 9 months heavily pregnant.
The glass of the window had been replaced. I had manged to dispose of a lot of junk with my cousin's help... and some domestic help that I had arranged.
Interview of maids in progress..no suitable found yet!

My friend came to see me at night, I had sorted out the old technical books and some sound tracks for his  library ..he was surprised at how the house looked and commented that doesn't look like the fire had done that much harm that I had narrated over the phone. My efforts had paid off..but only I knew the emotional drainage I went through to bring the house back to that stage.

Day 4: Painting was over..the house looked neat and clean no one could tell there was a fire in the house..except for the window. A heap of clothes that no longer fitted me and neither had the remote chances that I would ever fit into them some day, made its way into the wardrobes of the domestic help I had hired. Old books , papers, old shoes ...I had disposed most of the stuff. I had manged to get the curtains back with the help of an electrician who had come to fix the geyser.

All the people who had come to work in the house ,kind of pitied me .... a pregnant women living all by herself...trying to get things in place.They were all very kind to me..and each took an extra effort to help me. Many thanks to all those people, I shall always remember their faces..be it the security guard, the electrician , the errand boy or the maid who ditched me ..but still stood by me and did her part when I needed her....but most of all my cousin who was staying with me!

Thanks to all these people, the house looked much better...one could comfortably live in it now.It was ready for my parents who were coming after a week. I had even manged to decorate it with some artifacts..now, only if I could find a suitable maid.

But all this work,stress and tiring phase of the last month of pregnancy had turned me into a grumpy old nag...me and my dear cousin had a row...reminded me of our childhood days when we would keep fighting over all things small and silly... some harsh words vented out from both ends.
She was to cook a lovely chicken meal that I was yearning for days...but in my anger I asked her not to trouble herself and ordered some pizza online instead.

By night I was too drained...I felt unwanted and lonely ! I had reached my wit's end now ... couldn't take it anymore....no one wants such a dramatic pregnancy..certainly it was nowhere close to what I had imagined  to be...I had only dream't of being loved and pampered to no end...being fed all kind of delicacies I had craving for... I needed my parents and hubby so much.It was already Thursday and hubby was flying in on Sunday.. phew...almost there. Thankfully my sweet baby was cooperating well with mommy , so far I didn't get any false labour pain...smiling to myself .. I dozed off to sleep!!!