And Nishka is born!

I know I'm pretty late in writing this post after you were born. "Better late than never" as the saying goes.

As I opened the blog I saw the last post I had made was just 8 days before your arrival. And all the while we were planning and doing things thinking you would be arriving around your original EDD i.e. Oct 21. Anyone can imagine how un-prepared we were for your early arrival on Sep 30, 2011.

To start the story from the last post when I mentioned I had to go for a blood test to check my hemoglobin, I did go and the result came to be at 10. So no use of getting those iron IVs done. So much pain for nothing...gah!! We had planned to go on the weekend to do some shopping for your arrival but your bhaiyya was running slight temperature so the plans were postponed to the next weekend. Which never materialised as you were already in my arms before the weekend arrived :)

And here is the account from this point onwards:

Sep 26-28, 2011:

I went to work on Monday and Tuesday (Sep 26-27) as usual. Although I was not feeling too great on Tuesday, September 27, however I still went to work. I worked from home on Wednesday (Sep 28) as I was having quite frequent braxton hicks contractions. At least I thought of them as BH but its only on Thursday when we went to meet the doc that we realised that those were actual contractions and not BH. They were painless and sometimes they would happen every 10-15 min. I didn't pay much attention to them as it was kind of similar when Anirudh was in the tummy. Although while chatting with my sister-in-law (Swati), she did mention that her doc has asked her to come immediately to hospital if the contractions were like the ones I was having.

Sep 29, 2011:

I was up from 4 AM and the the uneasiness from previous day continued. I got ready to go to work despite the uneasiness. The contractions were still coming close and I still continued to think they were BH contractions.

My office transport usually comes at 7 AM but that day when it hadn't come till 7:05 AM, I called the driver and he told me he had a flat and would be delayed by 20-25 min. As I was waiting hubby, who always pushes me to go to work, could make out from the face that I was not feeling well. He asked me to take rest today and call office that you wont be coming. So I SMSed my boss about it and lied down and called the driver that I wouldn't be going to work today. After 10 min the contractions became slightly painful and when I told so to hubby, he asked me to call doc. I waited till 8 AM to call the doc and she asked me to come and meet her at the hospital at 10 AM.

Anirudh's autumn break had started that day itself and we dropped him off at Rita bhabhi's place on the way to the hospital. My uneasiness increased as we were driving and I told your papa that something definitely was not right. We reached the hospital sharp at 10 AM and soon after saw the doc rushing in. She examined me first externally and told me that the uterus was indeed quite tight. And then she did an internal examination and figured out that I was 2 cm dilated already. I got a little nervous hearing that. She did some other checkups and asked us to get admitted right away. She also told us that looking at the history of first birth where I had 3rd degree perennial tear, we would have to go for a C-sec. And that she would try to hold the labour through some medicines. And then she spoke at the Labour & Delivery (L&D) department and spoke to them detailing out what needs to be done once I'm admitted and to measure my contractions etc. She asked me not to even walk as that would hasten the labour which she didn't want. She arranged for a wheelchair to take me to the L&D and proceeded for her rounds at the hospital while we waited in the room for the wheelchair to arrive.

My first thought was to call Appa (your Nanu) and I broke down when I told him that we have to get admitted right away and that it would be a c-sec either today or tomorrow. He consoled me and asked me not to worry at all and that all will be fine. But I was nervous. Very nervous. I just wasn't mentally prepared for your arrival this early. We still hadn't bought all your stuff and that made me even more nervous; hadn't washed what we had bought; the house wasn't organised for your arrival, etc etc oh God!! It was such a hurricane going in my head.

The wheelchair arrived 10 min later and as they were wheeling me to L&D, I was feeling so very weird and awkward with people watching me go by. So I tried to shut my eyes so that at least I can't see them looking at me but it felt even more weird like that. Anyhow, reached L&D area. Since the L&D suite was occupied that time, I had to make do with a shared labor room with 3 other females. Gawd!! Those were the most awful 6 hours of my life. With them moaning and groaning and the whole room reeking of pee and blood. Uggh...just thinking of it makes me shudder.

We had to get an ultrasound done after getting admitted and even then they didn't tell me if its a boy or a girl.

The contractions started getting painful by noon. Around 1:00 PM hubby went to the market so that he can do some shopping for the baby. And after shopping he went and washed them along with the clothes that we had sorted out just a fortnight before from the bag that Ruchi had left with us. He also packed Anirudh's suitcase as he was to move to Anamika didi's (hubby's sister) place.

Around 2 PM the contractions were getting quite painful. I could feel the pain at the back and legs besides the pelvic area. After talking to Ashok Mama and to my doc, we came to know that they are trying to delay the delivery until day after i.e. Sep 30 as they have given me a medicine meant for the baby to make the lungs stronger as you were arriving 3 weeks early. Although we really wanted the baby to arrive that day itself as the date was 29th. Reason being Anirudh and I both have the same birth date and thought it would be cool to have your birth date as 29th too. But then we left it for the doc to decide in the best interest of us all and not worry about the date per se.

While hubby was gone shopping in the afternoon I spoke to my in-laws. They were in Bangalore for the arrival of Swati's baby as she was due before me. Spoke to Swati too and to some people at work giving them the update.

By 4 PM the medicines that they had given me to slow down the contractions had worked. And the contractions were lesser now.

After lot of repeated enquiry on the L&D suite I finally was moved into it around 5 PM. And soon after Appa came over and it felt so nice to have him near. And 10-15 min later hubby also came in with the bag of clothes and stuff we would need for the baby and for me. We must have called each other on cellphone at least 50-60 times that day in coordinating the things.

I was hooked to the fetal monitoring machine all through the night and I couldn't sleep much. I was making a log of events in my phone or playing games. I managed to sleep for about 2.5 hrs between 12 AM and 2:45 AM. Although the contractions were not as painful, they were still coming close. The nurse would look at the readings and ask me every time if I'm feeling any pain. And would have an amused look on her face when I would say they are not painful as such but yes I'm feeling uneasy. It was pretty tough just lying on the bed and waiting for all this to quickly get over so that I could hold my precious baby in my arms.

Sep 30, 2011:

Hubby went home for a short trip around 8 AM to bring some stuff that we had forgotten and came back around 10. He helped me take a shower and wash my hair as I had an IV hooked in my hand. Appa also arrived by 10:45 AM. So many people called me to wish me for the surgery and for the easy arrival of the baby.

Around 11 AM the OT team arrived to wheel me in the OT for the c-sec. Lying on the stretcher, passing through corridors and the lifts was giving me goosebumps. My nervousness was increasing as we neared the OT. I tried to be strong but couldn't help the tears from rolling down. Hubby gave me a kiss on the forehead just before entering the OT as he was not allowed inside.

As they were prepping me up I counted the number of people in the room. There were total 12 people. Out of which there were only 1 female nurse and rest all men. And I started crying. My tears just wouldn't stop however hard I tried. Everyone thought I was nervous about the surgery. Which I was but not as much as lying nude with so many men around. I know they are hospital staff and I shouldn't feel so but I couldn't help it. Then the anesthesiologist arrived and I learnt that Ashok mama had spoken to her a while ago. She asked not to worry and to relax. She explained that she would give me two injections in the spine and soon after I wouldn't feel anything waist down. It was such an horrible pain that I felt with the needle going in and it was much worse when she was taking it out. The pain from the first injection was so bad that I didn't even realise when they gave me the second one. I must say it feels so very awful not being able to feel your legs. I tried to twiddle my toes but nothing was happening. It felt so dead down below. I couldn't feel whether my legs were straight or were they were propped up folded at knees. It gives me shivers thinking about it even now.

And then I actually started to shiver. Initially they were mild but later on they became quite bad and they placed two blankets over me and still I was shivering. I was told it was due to the anesthesia given to me.

My doc arrived just after that and soon Ashok mama also arrived. It relaxed me quite a bit to know someone amongst so many strangers.

Since they had put a curtain sorts in front of me I couldn't see what they were doing but I could make out little bit of what was happening from the conversations I was hearing and also from the reflections on the cover of the OT head lamp. It took about 15 min and my baby was out. I heard the doc say "Bitiya hai. Tumhe bitiya hi chahiye thi na?" (You have a daughter. You wanted one daughter right?). And then I heard her cry. And I cried too in happiness :) Mama congratulated me and also SMSed hubby with the news.

They brought the baby to me 5 min later after cleaning up and she had her eyes wide open and she was looking at me. I was so overwhelmed seeing the little bundle in front of my eyes. And thinking "I've a girl!! She is my daughter. MY little baby girl." I was so very happy. I said a few loving words to her before they took her away to take the stats.

Ashok Mama left too at that time while the doc continued to stitch me up. So in about 30-35 minutes we were all done. They wheeled me in the observation center. I was shivering quite badly still and it was such an effort to breathe. They placed oxygen mask on my mouth and I was plugged on a monitoring instrument that was showing my BP, pulse rate and some other readings that I couldn't figure out nor was interested in. When shivering didn't stop even after 10-15 minutes they gave me some medicine for it. The shivering was so bad that the whole bed was shaking. It took another 15 minutes before the shivering started to subside. The nurses kept asking me to sleep and rest but I just couldn't sleep. I could see my BP fluctuating between 50-55 and pulse between 40-50. They told me it would take about 2 to 2.5 hours before the sensation in my legs would start coming in and then only I would be wheeled in to my room.

Hubby came in to meet me and we both kissed each other in happiness. I remember saying "Anu..we have a daughter!" and he smiled and we both had wet eyes.

She weighted 2.39 KGs at birth and measure 43.5 cm in height. We had already thought of a few names for the girl and Nishka was what me and hubby both liked. And thus she was named "Nishka".