My inspiration

Also celebrating the first time she looked at me and gave me the best of her gummy smile, rolling over and started crawling. When she looks out for me when I am not around and clings to me when she finds me…When she refuses to go to anyone when I am holding her, the first few words she learned from me….

Last year this day a MOTHER was born. Today I celebrate an year of motherhood.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY LITTLE PRINCESS!!

My baby was born on Sept 17th 2009 at The Cradle Bangalore through c-section. I had to go for a c-section as the baby was in breech at 38 weeks. So I went ahead with the elective c-section on my doctor’s advice. The process was fairly smooth and we did not face any kind of hassle.

I informed the doctor about 2 days before when I wanted the baby to be born and also the time. The c-section was scheduled in the evening and she asked me to get admitted in the afternoon. She asked me not to eat or drink anything after 1.00 pm that day and I got admitted to the hospital at 2.30 pm. I was given the room immediately and all the formalities of signing the papers etc was done in the room. The room was spick and span and very comfortable. I was prepped up for the operation at around 4.30 pm and was wheeled into the theatre at around 5.15. I was given the epidural (which again was not very painful). My lower body went numb immediately but I was fully alert. I knew what was happening around me and completely in focus. If you think I am being brave, hell no!! I was very nervous and I could hear my heart beating so loudly.

Finally the moment came when the baby was lifted out and I heard her first cries. My hubby completely forgot about me, left my side and followed the nurses where the baby was cleaned. Once she was cleaned up, the doctor immediately brought the baby back to me and we clicked some picture….it was complete family time. I thanked all the gods for being so kind to me and making us proud parents of a baby girl. I had tears in my eyes and still I could not believe I was holding MY BABY

Baby was taken out of the operation and handed over to my Sister in law who was standing outside. They moved to the luxury room. I was wheeled out of theatre and was back in my room after 30 mins. The family celebrated the arrival of new member.

Once the effect of epidural wore off, I had some pains (which was expected) but the beauty of it was that I was asked to take a bath same night with the help of nurse. I started walking around on the second day which was great!!. My doctor and nurses came to check on me from time to time. We left the hospital next day with our little bundle of joy . The final bill was not a surprise to us contrary to some reviews I had read. We just had to pay some extra apart from the package which we took which was quite reasonable.

Overall our experience in Cradle was great except a small issue. The air conditioner did not work in the room, so we had to shift to another room. Apart from that, our stay was very comfortable, but nothing like being at home with the baby. I will always remember the first time I saw my baby with tears in my eyes. That moment will remain etched in my memory forever…It feels great to be a mother!!!

1.WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
Yes!!

2. WERE YOU MARRIED AT THE TIME?
You bet!

3. WHAT WERE YOUR REACTIONS?
Ecstatic!! I knew it even before I took the pregnancy test…Even the doc was surprised!!

4. WAS ABORTION AN OPTION FOR YOU?
NO!

5. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
28 yrs

6. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
Intuition and then I took the Home pregnancy test

7. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
My hubby…

8. DUE DATE?
30 Sep 2009

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
Not really…..i thank my stars

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
Anything sweet and pastas..both bad for gestational diabetes

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
I don’t think I was irritated with anyone or anything

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD’S SEX?
Female

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX OF WHAT YOU WERE GETTING?
NO WAY.. I always wanted a girl and god gave me one. Girls are just so adorable

14. HOW MANY POUNDS/KGS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
mmmm…er….. 18 Kgs. But hey! I was under weight before I got pregnant…

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
No

16. WAS IT A SURPRISE OR DID YOU KNOW?
Not applicable

17. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
Apart from gestational diabetes in the 3rd trimester, nothing.

18. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Bangalore. I worked till the day before I was scheduled for the c-section

19. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
I had an elective c-section. I was wheeled into the theatre at 5.15 pm and was back to my room at 6.00 pm so 45 mins…

20. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL/BIRTH CENTER?
My Husband

21. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
My husband and the team of doctors

22. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
C-section

23. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
Of course!!

24. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
3.07 kgs

25. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
17th Sep 2009

26. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION WHEN THE DOCTOR ANNOUNCED THE SEX OF THE BABY?
Doc asked “so you want a boy or girl” and I blurted out “ I just want a healthy baby, now can I see my baby please?”

27. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST REACTION ON SEEING THE BABY?
I could not believe I was holding MY baby.

28. DID YOU CRY?
YES!! She was so tiny and beautiful and I thanked GOD for being so kind through my tears…

29. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Diya

30. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?

5 ½ Months

For all those people looking for good OB/GYN, I would recommend her. She also consults at Airport Road, NM Medical Centre on every Tuesday from 2.00 pm to 4.00 pm.

In the 21st week of my pregnancy, I was diagnosed as borderline case of gestational diabetes. My sugar levels were not very high but if I did not control my diet, it could well develop Gestational Diabetes. I was somehow terrified of the idea of injecting insulin everyday. So I tried to control it will strict diet and I can say that I have been successful in it. Trust me, controlling diet is not very easy especially for a person like me who had crazy sweet tooth

Consequences:

• One of the main concern of having too much sugar in your blood is that it crosses the placenta to your baby which means that baby can grow big. A big baby makes labor and delivery more difficult and the chances that you might end up having caesarean section are very high.

• Another cause for worry is that too much insulin or glucose in baby’s system may delay lung maturation and cause respiratory/breathing difficulties in babies especially the ones which are born before 37 weeks.

• Baby might develop Hypoglycemia immediately after birth. Hypoglycemia which refers to low blood sugar in the baby immediately after delivery. This problem occurs if the mother’s blood sugar levels have been consistently high, causing the fetus to have a high level of insulin in its circulation. After delivery, the baby continues to have a high insulin level, but it no longer has the high level of sugar from its mother, resulting in the newborn’s blood sugar level becoming very low.

What worked for me:

1) Taking 1 spoonful of Methi powder everyday morning of empty stomach with water. Its very effective, though it tastes horrible. First few days were difficult, but now I am used to it.

2) No sugar in coffee, tea, milk etc or in any form. Please refrain from taking sugar substitutes as they cause more harm than good.

3) Eating small and frequent meals on time. Avoid eating junk food.

4) Reduce intake of carbohydrate or at least eat less carbohydrate at breakfast as this is when insulin resistance is greatest.

5) Avoid eating fruits which are rich in sugar content like Mangoes, Papaya, Sapota etc. Replace them with Apple, citrus fruits like Orange, Sweet lime etc.

6) Choose food high in fiber such has whole grains, breads, cereals and greens.

7) Drink at least 8 glasses of water

With my doctor’s permission, I used to indulge in sweets once in a while as an occasional treat

Way forward

In my antenatal appointment at 31 weeks myOB/GYN had told me that she might induce me at 38 weeks if the baby’s weighs too much. She advised me to get a glucometer and monitor the sugar levels every alternative day. I bought One Touch glucometer which is very simple to use and monitored the blood sugar levels every alternative days. One day I did fasting and then after breakfast, then fasting and post lunch and so on. I recorded each days reading and my blood sugar level was fairly consistent and within normal range. So in my recent appointment, she was quite happy with the sugar levels and told me that we will wait till the due date if it goes the same way. So keeping my fingers crossed!!!

Apart from the little adventure (or rather misadventure) which happened sometime in the 4th month of my pregnancy, my first trimester went on very smoothly.

What causes bleeding in First Trimester:

 The fertilized egg will attach to the lining of the uterus, which at times causing light bleeding. This is known as implantation bleeding.

 When the placenta is being attached to the lining of the uterus, in this period some uterine lining might be discharged, This is usually considered normal.

 If the bleeding is bright red in colour accompanied by sever abdominal cramping, it might be a sign of miscarriage. In this case you need to contact your Doctor immediately.

Slight bleeding/spotting is considered normal in pregnancy. Usually it is brownish or pinkish in colour and there will be no cramping. But still it is always better to contact your OB/GYN. She might ask you to have an ultrasound to ensure everything is fine.

You need to worry if the bleeding is heavy and accompanied by cramping. There is no specific reason why bleeding occurs in the first trimester.

If anyone has any similar experiences, please share your thoughts

Now I have a new found craving for..guess what??….Mishti doi!!!!! and that explains all the extra pounds I have been gaining lately….. I don’t know how many Shaimak Davar dance classes I will have to join in order to lose all the calories I have been piling up…… sigh…….

But what the heck….it feels great!!!!!!!!!!!

Luxury Package

Normal Delivery will cost you around 45,000+ pharmacy charges for 3 days/2 nights stay. This includes Ward stay, food charges, LDR charges, Obstetrician charges etc.

Caesarean Section will cost you around 55,000 + pharmacy for 3 days/2 nights stay. This includes Ward stay, food charges, OT charges, Obstetrician charges, Anaesthetist’s fees etc.

Suite Package

Normal Delivery will cost you around 55,000 + Doctor’s charges for 3 days/2 nights stay.

Caesarean section will cost you around 70,000 + Doctor’s charges for 4 days/3 nights stay.

The suite will include an additional attendant room with separate entrance, bathroom and sleeping space. The patient room and bed is also quite big and spacious.

We settled for the Luxury package as it works best for us. Initially you need to pay a deposit of 10,000. If you have an insurance cover, then you can go for cashless facility.

*Note* The package mentioned here are subject to revision. Please check with the website www.thecradlebangalore.com for latest updates.

Once the pregnancy was confirmed, the next step for us was to search for a good hospital. Since we stay close to Manipal hospital, we decided to go there for my regular check- ups.

We zeroed on same GYN/OB whom we had consulted before I conceived. So I was familiar with my GYN/OB and I must say that she is really good. I will recommend Dr. Meena Muthiah to anyone who is looking for a good GYN/OB. She is very patient, has pleasant personality and makes you feel very comfortable. One of the things I like about her is that she patiently answers all your questions and never seems to hurry. Couple of times I had to call her on her cell when there was an emergency and she was always available on the phone.

Although I was really happy with my OB/GYN, I was not at all impressed with the facilities that they provided. So I decided to do some research on net. I read many reviews and all of them confirmed my fears.
I also had some personal experiences which prompted me to change my decision of having my baby in Manipal.

The only good thing about Manipal is that they have good and experienced doctors. As far as the cons are considered, there are many!

1) The hospital is always very crowded.

2) The staff attitude is horrible. They are rude and do not show any sort of compassion.

3) They do not allow you to check the private rooms and they do not have any sort of package.

4) You never get appointments for scans. It’s always booked up to 2 months and if you go as walk-in patient, you will have to wait up to 3 hrs or more with full bladder!!

5) The washrooms are dirty and there is never any soap in the dispenser or tissues and the floor is always wet. The washroom near the scan dept did not even have a lock!

I just felt that for the money that we were spending, the facilities we were getting was not justified. So finally I had to take the tough decision. I liked my OB/GYN very much and the hospital was near my house. But I shuddered when I thought about all that was in store for me and decided to change my hospital in second trimester. After all, giving birth is experience of a life time and I did not want to be awful!

The cradle

Although Cradle is far from my house, we decided to give it a shot. I had read some great reviews about Cradle and so we decided to check it out.
I was really impressed with the hospital. It was spic and span and the reception area was really great! I did not feel as if it’s a hospital.

The staffs were also very cordial, they showed us around and I was really impressed with the Luxury rooms they have. Oh! the bathrooms were just awesome!! We checked out the packages and it seems quite reasonable for the facilities they provided. I will provide details on the package later on in this blog.

We decided to meet Dr. Anuradha S (I had some research on her and read some reviews) and I was quite impressed with her. She is very warm person and spent considerable amount of time going through my reports and asked relevant questions about my medical history. Then she did the routine check ups and also provided me with some useful tips. I was very comfortable with her the moment I met her and that was something which was very important for me.

I was worried that she will ask me to do all those test and scans all over again, but she never even mentioned it. She just referred me for the Anomaly scan at 21 weeks which is done normally by everyone.

Overall, I am very satisfied with my experience with The Cradle and my GYB/OB. I hope everything goes well in future as well!!

P.S: As Cradle is far from where I stay now, S and I have decided to move somewhere closer to Cradle in couple of months.

(For more information on The Cradle, please visit their website (http://www.thecradlebangalore.com/)

Thank god we don’t have to rely on those tell-tale signs anymore. One of the easiest ways to confirm pregnancy is to simply take the Home Pregnancy Test. This is especially convenient for women who are trying to get pregnant so that you don’t have to run to your health care provider every time you suspect that you are pregnant!! It is very simple to use and can be done within the privacy of your home.

In India, one can choose from various brands Pregcolorcard pregnancy kit, Velocit Pregnancy test kit etc. I took the Velocit Pregnancy test kit it was fairly simple to use and the instructions were not too complicated.

How it works?

All home pregnancy kit detects the presence of hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) in your urine. It appears in pregnant women’s urine in approx 20 days after her last menstrual period. The hCG level rises rapidly after this.

Interpreting the results

It’s fairly simple. If single line or band appears it means that the test in negative. are not pregnant. If you see two lines on the test kit, it means that the result is positive and you are indeed pregnant!! If you get a faint line it means that there is level of HCG in urine is very less but still it indicates that you might be pregnant. Don’t get disheartened, try the test again after few days and you will be able to see a darker line.

However, some times home pregnancy test might give a false positive result i.e. you may get a positive result although you are not pregnant. This can happen due to certain medical condition, improper testing or defective test kit. So it is always better to confirm the pregnancy by the doctor once you get a positive result on the home pregnancy test before announcing it to the world!

Similarly, you might get false negative results too!! The test will show negative, but you might be actually pregnant!! This can happen if you take the test too early or the pregnancy test kit might be defective. If you get a false negative result, then try the test after 4-5 days again. By then the hCG level in urine might rise and you may get a positive result.

Home pregnancy tests are not considered 100% accurate. You need to visit a doctor and get a blood test done to check the beta hCG levels which will confirm the pregnancy.