Our Journey to Parenthood – Part I

This is a humble effort to frame our journey of 37 and a half weeks into closer to 3500 words. The idea is to share our experience and joy with our well-wishers as we truly believe that the joy doubles when it’s shared. The entire narration is divided into four parts to make the reading as less boring as possible. Further more, there are breaks within the four parts to offer ease at reading. Please do share your feedback below the post that it stays here with the blog.

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Did I ever care so much about her monthly biological routine!!! Never ever in last 24 months of our togetherness. But not very surprisingly I did it this time for my wife. I guess all my male friends who have now graduated as fathers did care as much for their wives at one point of time.

It was a pleasant morning of March in Delhi. I got lost in the thought of ‘n’ numbers of 'what if' questions. A call to Ruhi, my wife before entering washroom to get freshen-up did confirm the delay of her biological routine. Both excitement and anxiety gripped me and derailed my control over the sharp three in one cartridge of the razor. I came back to my senses after tasting the fresh blood oozing out from partially cut lower lip. Thanked my schedule that I was booked for an afternoon flight. There was a strange urge to see her and be there by her side.

Next few hours kept me significantly busy with researching various aspects of pregnancy and its detection. Google on the move and calls to friends for 'man to man talks’ adequately improved my general knowledge. I almost knew what to do next and what not to. All the suggestions came with proportionate disclaimers attached with them.

I was scheduled for a meeting at Camac Street in Kolkata in the evening. ‘Don’t forget to visit the medicine shop’ Ruhi reminded me. I made sure to buy the pregnancy detection kit before heading to the meeting venue.

Finally we met. It was late evening. Ruhi and I exchanged smile. She too appeared to be equally anxious and excited. We had a feeling of the night before the results of board exams. Little did we realise that it was just the beginning of experiencing such feelings. There would be many such occasions in future to experience such feelings in different avatars. I suggested her to drink more water that she feels the pressure earlier than usual.

‘Listen…’. Ruhi woke me up. It was 3 in the early morning. Not that she would wake me up every time she plans to visit the wash room but this time it was a very special call. I immediately got up. It’s time to collect the first urine of the day.

A simple test that takes just five minutes had so much power. It tested positive as we expected and wanted from the bottom of our hearts. This test too was no exception. The life changing moments do not last for long. The imprints that they keep slowly grow on us. Her face was glowing. I was beaming with joy. ‘Congratulations’ we told each other. We felt ecstatic and at the same point there was confusion as the slide did not react exactly the way it's mentioned in the instructions of the detection kit. Two pink lines determine the test to be positive. Since the second line was not as prominent as the first one, we were slightly clue-less. A call to Dhruba, my doctor-friend assured Ruhi indeed is going to be a mother and a gynecologist should be consulted for her treatment.

Time has changed a lot. There was a time when mothers used to call their sons and inform after a lot of dramatic delivery of dialogues that they are going to be fathers soon. Sons used to blush and so used to be the daughter-in-laws. I did quite a reverse, broke the news to Maa at the breakfast table that she is going to be a granny soon. It's just a visit to a gynecologist away. She looked very happy and surprised at the role reversal. We had a good laugh with Dada, my elder brother joining us and declaring a niece is what he wants.

Who should be consulted for the journey to motherhood is a big decision. There would be several suggestions available with detailed analysis. We made it simpler. We decided to consult the gynecologist who Dhruba had consulted for his wife's delivery. While trying to schedule the appointment at 8:05 in the morning, I figured that we are behind 3 'patients'. I was pleasantly surprised at the demand of a seasoned specialist. Doctors are recession-proof and never out of business!

We requested Maa to join us that she gets a feel of the new beginning of her next generation. We reached the clinic well before the scheduled time. For the first time in life I saw so many pregnant women together. They were patiently waiting for their turn. My eyes quietly scanned the various shapes and sizes of the baby bumps. I could feel that Ruhi too was doing the same and trying to place her in various phases of pregnancy. Our eyes met and we laughed a lot as silently as possible.

It was time to focus. The 3rd 'patient' came out of the doctor's room. It was again that moment of strange feelings before the results. What if the doctor says that the pregnancy detection kits are not reliable? We entered the room and introduced ourselves. The doctor in his early 40s appeared to be knowledgeable - knows his business to the T and knows how to keep his clients confident and relaxed. He put the final seal on our intention to be parents. Ruhi indeed was few days old pregnant.

End of Part I. Part II to be posted soon.