had read and talked a lot about contractions and labor pains but until you don’t experience it you don’t understand it in real!
on march 31st while every office in town was working till late i was feeling uneasy in my tummy. my mother felt it must be acidity or indigestion so we went for a walk in the street lights walking on the footpath and watching every office building shining with lights. everyone was working, including my dad and husband. working on the last day tax papers and stuff! i took a pause every time i had a tummy pain while on the walk, and that time it clearly felt it was gas and nothing else.

on 1st april at 5am in the morning i felt a contraction and since i had studied magazines on the same and learnt it in my P101 class from Rita, i knew it was contraction!!! a 14 second contraction every 40 minutes. i had trouble having food and walking around. yet i made it a point not to rest. i could not sleep… every time my eyelids shed there was a contraction and i lost my sleep. i called my husband who was in ahmedabad at that time (and me at my mom’s place in rajkot) to come over, i told him its time now! i could catch on some sleep out of tiredness for 2 hours in the afternoon and spent the rest of the evening in pain… i did some squats and tried walking in my parking area.
by late night my husband arrived and i was still in pain. the contractions had reached 20seconds intensity with 20 minutes apart frequency.
i was awake the whole night, counting seconds and the minutes apart and while passing the time i was constantly in touch with my pregnancy mentor Rita. she told me to continue with squats and breathing exercises.
on april 2nd, i woke my mother up at 5am and told her i just could not sleep the whole night and my contractions were now 10 minutes apart…
at 7am, i puked out last night’s dinner and the contractions were 7 minutes apart… with 30 seconds intensity. i woke my husband up and told him we had to go to the hospital and my mum woke my dad up. by 8 am everyone was ready. i took a quick shower and took a few last snaps with my husband and my tummy showcasing in bonus my puffy eyes (due to sleeplessness and stress).
8 30am- my contractions were 40 seconds intensity with 6 mins of frequency. i had already prepared my hospital bag a week before and left with it immediately.
my doc’s hospital was not that far away… we reached there in 5 mins. my gynec at that time had just finished a caesarian delivery and was washing up before examining me.
the whole labor room was bloody and dirty!!!
she examined me and said i was 2 cms dilated! i could wait for a few more mins, she asked me to lay down on the bed next door and i was admitted at 8 45am.
by that time my in laws were informed and they were on their way to rajkot,
around 9 15 i was given enema and excess hair was shaved off, clothes were changed and i.v line was inserted on my right arm.
the frequency of contractions increased and so did the intensity, when i was at a 2mins apart contraction my doc Mamta Limbasiya pinched my insides and burst the water bag. i felt a lot of warm water like substance gushing out of my body… she asked me to make a squat like position while on my back on the bed and push…
i did it a few times and i was told i am now 7-8 cms dilated. i was taken to the next room- the labor room and was asked to place my feet up on the L shaped rods and just push… as if i want to push mucous out while constipated!
all this while my husband was on the phone and wats app with Rita and passed on her msgs to me.. and as per my request my mom and my husband were allowed to stay with me in the labor room.
the doc was all set and i could feel the local anesthesia being injected… i pushed pushed and pushed…
6 huge pushes and the little one was out… at 10 55am.
as already mentioned in my birth plan all the blood was first transfused in the baby from the cord before cutting it off.  i wanted to give my baby skin to skin hug but an over-enthusiastic ped.doc took him away and started cleaning it. i was told its a boy!!
though under anesthesia i could feel the stitches being sutured at the vagina and a pain killer was injected on the right side of my waist.
the over-enthusiastic ped.doc forgot to measure my baby’s height and only weighed him. he was wrapped in a cloth and given to my husband first. he was speechless with joy. i saw my darling little angel while the sutures n cleaning continued. the doc pressed my tummy and removed all excess stuff.
the baby made a showcase to the rest of the clan  while a tired new mommy was shifted to the resting room. the ped.doc who i was told would teach me how to make a contact with the kid and teach me the basic b.feeding techniques was so enthu that he took his fees and rushed out. the new mom was left unaware of what to do next. the nurses helped at this hour and by noon i had my first b.feed session. soon i was visited by my gynec, she told me a few do’s and don’t ; she gave me my meds and explained when to take which ones. she asked me to take some food and b.feed once again. Dr. Limbasiya was very kind and asked me to call her up anytime i had trouble with the baby. there were two nurses who were asked to make rounds every few mins to check if i needed a change or any help.
i had normal daal-chawal and some juice. and once the i.v line was called off i slept for a generous three hours in the afternoon next to my kiddo. i hadn’t slept the whole night and was tired of course.
Dr. made one more round in the evening and said i could be discharged.
by 7pm i was home and on the same bed with my newborn in my arms.
life had changed in a few hours. i was promoted and had a new status to flaunt ! well… now right now. as i needed rest but i could soon do the flaunting.

 cheers!
kunj 🙂