1st Month Birthday

I can hardly believe it! It's been a month already. I remember how I was feeling on the day Sayalee breezed into our lives. Since I had to undergo a C-Section anyway, we figured it would be best if we could pick the date and time. 18th September was a good day according to the Hindu calender. It was decided that the operation would be carried out on this day in the morning.

I wasn't able to sleep a wink the night before. Anticipation and anxiety was coursing through my veins. Thankfully there are games online which can help to shift your focus for some time. That's what I did. Mom woke up at 5:00 a.m. and finished her chores for the day. I took a bath and washed my hair (knowing that I probably wouldn't be able to do this for the next couple of days.) Then I got dressed, picked up my hospital bag, which I had packed the night before, and gave my sleeping Saee a kiss. I woke Shrikant up, and told him that I am leaving for the hospital and asked him to reach there by about 8:30 a.m.

It was  so surreal. With Saee, since I had gone into labor, I hardly had time to think. It all happened so fast. With Sayalee, it was so slow, so deliberate. I mentally spoke to my unborn child, not knowing whether he or she would understand. I told her what was going to happen. Time seemed to have lulled into sleep. Finally after all the preparations were done, I was taken into the operating room. I swear I thought my feet had gone numb even before my mother administered the spinal anesthesia! Between not feeling my legs, and people pushing on my belly till I thought I would faint, I heard a loud full-bodied cry. Mom exclaimed somewhere behind me, "Mulgi zali!" It's a girl!

I waited for the pediatrician to tell me that my daughter was fine and healthy, and then drifted off. Hours later when I woke up, I was told that  Saee had already christened her Sayalee. We had once discussed possible names for girls and boys, and Sayalee was one of them. Saee had become an instant hit with the staff after this. I loved the name. Once I got a better look at my newborn daughter, I thought that my older daughter had been bang-on with the choice. She was Sayalee Shrikant Kekre.

It's been a month since that day. We plan on buying a small cake tonight to celebrate it. :-) For now, I think I must catch some sleep. Last night, when she awoke for the 2 a.m. feeding, I was so sleepy, that I remembered Tom and Jerry. I thought that I might have to prop my eyelids open with toothpicks, the way Tom does :-)

Right now, it's chaos time in my home. Saee is getting late for school. Shrikant is rushing through the daily puja, so he can go to drop her at the bus stop. Ma in law is getting frantic trying to get her ready. Amidst a lot of yelling and crying, Saee has had her food. And through this ruckus, I was able to feed Sayalee, write this post, and chat with a friend! Motherhood does teach you two things- being calm in the middle of a thunderstorm, and multitasking.

Now that Saee has left for school, the storm has passed and quiet once again prevails in the household. A little resemblance of sanity. It just fires my imagination about how things are going to be in a couple of months, and even years. I salute my mom, and all other moms who have single-handedly done this job, and done it fantastically. I can only hope to be half as good as them.

On a signing off note... A very very happy first month birthday to my dear Sayalee. I love you, forever! :-)