The pregnancy update

Here is a quick update on how the pregnancy is progressing so far:

• At 17 weeks and 4 days, I finally feel like I have my energy back. I do have the occasional bouts of laziness but none of that dead tired feeling every morning.  
• My biggest concern has been my weight. For the first time ever, I am worried about not gaining enough weight. Pregnancy guides tell me I should have gained at least 4-5 pounds by now, but I have not registered even a a single additional pound on that scale, yet.
• It seems like I have developed some kind of photophobia. Every time I step outside into bright sunlight, I have a brain splitting headache. 
• I do not have a noticeable baby bump. I am still at that, "is she pregnant or just fat" stage. 
• My boobs have quit being the bitches they were for the past couple of months. And I must say I am enjoying the extra cleavage :)
• Everyday, the first thing I do when I wake up is rub my belly to see if I can feel that firmness in my lower abdomen, which I think is my womb.
• My mom asks me every other day if I felt the baby move yet. Honestly, I have no idea. I don't know what to look out for. I probably felt the baby move but did not know it was the baby.
• I am waiting for the genetic screening test results to come back. I hope the results are nothing bad and that our baby is safe and healthy.
• We have the option of finding the gender of the baby in two weeks. So far we want to find out to be better prepared. Part of me also wants that huge Surprise.

On a side note, it was such an eventful week for us. JG got a fantastic job offer. He actually had two job offers and he made a decision yesterday after a lot of drama and bollywood style twists. In the end, he thinks he made a very bold and risky choice, something that he believes he would love in the future. I really hope he is right. Also, we just finished booking a trip to Toronto. It was a work trip for JG, to give an invited lecture, which I tagged along and converted into a 5 day vacation. Apparently, a vacation while expecting a baby is called BabyMoon. Who knew! I am super excited about the trip and can't wait for the last week of May to get here soon enough.

How I met your father....

My dearest Baby Gult,

It has been 6 years since I met JG, your daddy-to be and I figured, if you've got any of my genes, you would be curious as a cat to find out how your parents met each other. So here is the story.

Like any other respectable couple, we began our relationship being "just good friends". It was August 2003 and I just started grad school as a wide eyed and home sick twenty something. And JG, he was new in town too, but he had the experience of negotiating through coursework, research work, managing to have a life outside the lab and other such fun things you get to do in graduate school. Also, he just got himself a shiny new car. So overall, JG was the decent guy material that good girls were expected to hang out with. The first few months, we were really just friends. You know, meeting for the occasional coffees, lunches and dinners. A semester ended and the brutal winter began. No, no, the cold and the snow did not make me horny; the winter just made me lonelier and more home sick than ever.

I had trouble waking up in the mornings for my 8am class, navigating my way through piles of snow to and from school and a terrible time cooking for myself and being alone in the apartment. Somehow, JG always came to my rescue. He would give me a wake up call every single day (I know, alarm clocks were invented by then), he picked me up from school when I had to stay back late finishing stuff and made Maggi for me when there was no food in my refrigerator. By the end of the winter, we were spending more time with each other than away.

One beautiful Spring evening, we decided to go to a nearby pond for a walk. Sometime during the walk, we instinctively held hands, like it was the most natural thing to do. And it got me thinking about us, about where all of this was going and such. We decided to meet after dinner to watch TV together (didn't I tell you we were spending a lot of time together, besides, there was no TV in my apartment). Sometime during a commercial break (yes, even life changing moments need to wait for commercial breaks) in an episode of Law and Order, I asked him where all of this was going and what it meant. Without missing a beat he told me that he thought the world of me and would like for nothing to change between us. Ok, honestly, I don't remember the exact words, but I guess the feeling is more important, right? I was not expecting this confession and was taken aback. I promptly left saying I needed some time to think about it. 

Come weekend, JG invited me to go on drive to the nearby mountains and spend the day with him. After driving for about an hour, we reached a beautiful place in the Berkshires with winding roads, a little river flowing next to the road, lush green trees and bright sunshine. Of  course, there were also ugly naked people sun bathing, but we chose to ignore them. We parked the car and took a walk along the river on wet pebbles. We finally settled down on a huge rock. The sound of slow flowing water and the serenity of the place,suddenly made everything clear. I realized that next to him was my favorite place to be then and forever. And I gathered the courage to tell him just that. What followed was a confessional about our past and quick agreement on what we expect from the future. And just like that, on May 1st 2004, we moved a step ahead from being good friends to a couple. The rest as they say is history and a story for another day. 

Lots of love 

Your Amma-to be, who cannot wait to hold you.

My dearest JG, Congrats for sticking around with me for 6 years! It was been a super fun ride so far and I look forward to the many many more turns on this roller coaster by your side. Love, NM.

I have been diagnosed....

...with the Egyptian flu. 

   Yes, yes, yes my dearest dearies, I am going to be a MUMMY in less than six months!!!

The news came as a surprise to me one Monday morning. The Saturday before that, John Gult (JG) and I went on a moderately strenous hike and I could barely move a muscle next day. Come Monday, I still had a  funny feeling in my stomach and suddenly out of nowhere, I decided to take a pregnancy test. The next thing I know, I was bawling my eyes out in the bathroom. You know how all your life you dream of something but when the moment of truth comes, you are so unprepared for it , you are left clueless? That is kind of what happened to me. 

   We weren't actively in the baby making business, but we were aware we that were not doing anything to not make a baby either. Also, at some level, both JG and I had a feeling that it would never happen to us; don't ask me why. It took a couple of more tests, a visit to the doctor's office and a few weeks for the news to slowly sink in. To be honest, we are both still scared of what is going to happen and we doubt our parenting abilities everyday. But for now, we have decided to sit back and enjoy the ride and wait for a certain little person to teach us everything!

   I have known this news for about 2 months now and it took me so long to come to terms with the idea completely and to gather the courage to post it here; especially since I have been MIA for the past so many months. I discontinued blogging because a few of my real-life friends found me online and had discussed the blog with me offline, which made me self-conscious and  re-evaluate every sentence I typed out  here. But now that I am going through this incredible experience, I wanted to make a record of it, irrespective of the audience. Besides, we all know mommy bloggers are the most popular kind!

   So all you parents, bring on your wisdom. And the yet-to be parents, please pray that I don't turn into one of those obsessive pregnant women who refuse to talk about anything but their pregnancy. And of course, any baby name suggestions you may have will be greatly appreciated.