The Birth of Wan Mikhail

Note: This will be a rather detailed story of how my son was born.
Be forewarned :)

Recap
I had written about how at first the doctor thought Mikhail was gonna be coming earlier than his estimated due date (EDD). So much so that she recommended that I stay home to await labor pains. Doc figured that he might come during raya and she made the necessary preparations with the hospital just in case I was admitted while she was away. Raya came and went and no sign of baby coming out anytime soon. Then, the EDD came and went and again, no sign of baby coming out anytime soon.

Upon the final check-up, the good doctor said that she had to help along the labor process because my contractions were not getting any stronger, the 'air ketuban' was getting lesser and the placenta was mature. Thus, the decision to check me in for an induced labor. Despite the many stories of how induced labor hurts more, I was willing to go through with it. Redha jer...

Midnight Trip to Hospital
At around 0100hrs 21 November 2006, Wan and I packed up our stuff and got ready to go to the hospital. We took some pictures of us in front of the baby's crib, excitedly saying that the next time we entered our room, it'll be the 3 of us, not just the 2 of us and the crib will be occupied.

As I stepped out into the cool night, I have to admit that I felt a bit nostalgic. This would be my final step out of my house as a pregnant woman. The next time my feet touched the floors of this house, I'll be holding my baby... I breathed deeply and sucked the sweet midnight air into my lungs and released it slowly as I stared at the starlit sky.
InsyaAllah... I was ready.

The Pre-Labor Process
We checked ourselves into our room. It felt a bit surreal, being in a hospital room knowing fully well that in a few hours, we'll be saying hello to our son. The very same boy snug in my belly. Of course, I couldn't sleep - I was too excited and anxious. So I spent my time reading and reciting the Quran while Wan slept soundly next to me where the nurses had prepared for him a bed.

Occasionally, the nurses came in to take my blood pressure and (this is worse) conduct the 'vaginal exam'. This is where they put their hand in 'there' and feel for the cervix to check how much it has dilated. It is VERY uncomfortable, VERY painful and VERY annoying. But it had to be done.

At around 0300hrs, they gave me an enema to 'evacuate my bowels'. They administered the enema and asked me to wait 2-3 minutes before going to the loo. I made it till 2 and a half minutes before SPRINTING to the loo. Yeechh...

At around 0500hrs, the nurses came in again to start the inducement process. They inserted this thingy in 'there' to jumpstart the labor process. They said it'll take about an hour before I felt the contractions strengthening. So I waited. True enough, around an hour later, I felt my first painful contraction. By that time, my parents had arrived.

After bestowing several pearls of wisdom, my father left for work while mom stayed with us. I was cringing through the contractions which were getting steadily stronger.

Off to the Labor Suite
Around 0900hrs, a nurse came into my room with a wheelchair and told me that it was time to get myself to the labor suite. I slipped myself into the wheelchair and enjoyed the ride to the labor suite. That was the first time I rode in a wheelchair and I have to admit that despite the contractions, it was fun (yeah, there's still a little bit of kid in me).

Wan and Mama walked alongside me and as only husbands were allowed in the labor suite, Mama took the opportunity during the short ride to give me her final words of advice and support. At the doors to the labor suite, I said my goodbyes to my mom and again I was hit with nostalgia - the next time I went through these doors, I'll be a mom myself.

The Labor Suite was a big room with a huge window facing Ampang. I could practically see my house from up there. It was filled with funny (and scary) looking gadgets and right next to the bed, there was a little cot for when the baby arrived. I changed into the dressing gown and laid down. The nurses started to prep me up; putting in the IV and poking me here and there. Wan stayed beside me and we made small talk... until the contractions started to come with a vengeance.

The Pain
I had spent the last few weeks of my pregnancy asking mothers to describe labor pains. Most of them answered with "It's difficult to explain how it feels..." and "Rasa macam nak terberak... multiplied by a million".

After going through 'em myself, I can only say that you'll only really know how it feels when you go through it yourself. There are no words to describe it, really... but I'll try...

It's like there's a giant fist inside your body that slowly but surely curls itself over your innards and clenches you with all its might before letting go.

Heck. That was lame. That really doesn't do justice to what labor pains are like. Suffice to say, it hurts.

Sometime during the contractions, the nurses came in and told me that they were now going to break my waterbag. This was to help the contractions to come faster and stronger. They gently told me that it might 'hurt a bit'.

Nurses are the Queen of understatements.

The Husband
I cannot imagine not having Wan beside me throughout the entire thing. I shudder to think that we had earlier decided that he would wait outside. I'm SO THANKFUL that in the end we decided that he would be with me instead. I don't think I could have survived the ordeal without Wan. Even thinking back to what we both went through in the labor suite makes me tear up.

Wan was my pillar of strength, my soothing voice of calm and my best friend in there. Whenever I had contractions, I gripped the steel rails on the bed (I had heard horror stories about husbands who were hurt by their contracting wives) but whenever the contractions subsided, I held on to Wan's arms. He was steadily and calmly reciting Quranic verses and Zikirs in my ear. When the contractions were especially intense, he would lower his head to me and whisper the verses with his lips pressed gently on my forehead. As the contractions got worse, I was touched to see tears streaming down his eyes although his recitations never faltered.

There were times when I needed him there right by my side, and times where the pain was so unbearable, I just wanted to be left alone. I had heard stories about wives who yelled and cursed at their husbands, oblivious to their witchiness due to the pain and I had vowed not to subject Wan to it. So I just used hand gestures and fortunately for both of us, Wan deciphered them well. He was there exactly when I needed him, and when I needed him to fade into the background, with a wave of my hand, he was gone.

My husband was indeed my Superman.

The Medical Staff/Stuff
I told you earlier about the vaginal exam... and how uncomfortable and bloody painful it can be. In the labor suite, they conducted 'em a LOT. Everytime a nurse walked into the room and snapped on rubber gloves, I'd wince and start gripping the steel rails preparing for the oncoming onslaught of pain. I began to recognize the individual nurses styles. One was gentle and caused minimal pain, while the other was a ramming bull who acted like I had no nerves down there and another was all 'wham bam thank u mam'.

By the time I was 5cm (for those not in the know, women are allowed to start pushing the baby out when their cervix was open to 10-12 cm), the nurses began to ask me to decide on the pain relief I'd like to have. I had 3 choices, (1) the gas (entonox: provides good pain relief but takes about 30 to 40 seconds to have effect - no known effect on baby), (2) the injection (diamorphine: provides stronger relief as drugs are injected straight into the bloodstream -may cause baby's breathing to slow down) and (3) the epidural (provides strongest relief inserting painkiller through a tube down the lower nerves - may cause headaches, nausea and low blood pressure).
I had initially decided with the gas and stuck to my decision. The nurses seemed very keen on pushing for an epidural but as I could still bear the pain, I declined.

The gas was heavennnnnnn!!!
Every time I felt a contraction coming, I took deep breaths at the entonox mask and felt the blissful effects take place. I was in lala-Land, I barely felt the pain, I was happy... I was high. It felt so good, Wan managed to leave my side for a few minutes to solat hajat by the window. It felt so good, I almost fell asleep, which was VERY bad because I missed the onslaught of a coming contraction and it was too late to suck in the entonox and YAARGHH! Contraction pains hit me once again. But other than the almost-falling-asleep thing, the gas was fantastic. It definitely helped me bear the pain of the contractions which were coming faster and harder.

A Twist in the Tale
Okay, it was now around 1500hrs. I had spent the last 9 hours cringing and stifling screams through the contractions. All the time in the labor room, I was hooked to a machine that monitored my contractions and the baby's heartbeat. As the contractions got stronger, I noticed something disturbing. Everytime I had a contraction, the baby's heartbeat slowed down noticeably.

I thought it was my imagination, but when I saw the concerned looks the nurses exchanged amongst themselves, I knew it wasn't. A few minutes later, my obgyn came into the room. First, she did the vaginal exam (she belonged to the 'ramming bull' school of thought). "You're almost there. 9cm already." Then she stood by the machine and reviewed my records. My heart came to a standstill when I saw a frown etch her usually calm features.

"Ooh... this is not good"
Coming from your doctor, this was NOT a good thing to hear!
"What? WHAT is not good, doctor?"
"Your baby's heartbeat decreases during contractions... it's been going on for quite some time now"
"Allahuakbarrr... what can we do?"
"The good news is that he seems to recover very fast after each contraction and his heartbeat reverts to normal almost immediately... but..."
At this point, the good doctor concentrated on the machine, looked at me with a worried look and glanced at Wan who had been silent all this time.
"The cord may be twisted around his neck... and each time the contraction pushes him down, the cord tightens."
"Oh my God........"
Upon hearing this, I had the insane desire to flee. Take my precious belly with me and fleeee...
"I have no choice, I have to do an emergency c-section. I can't take the risk of you going through normal labor... we may endanger the baby."
"Ok doctor, whatever doctor, as long as we deliver my baby safely pleaseeee"

As the doctor left to prepare the team for surgery and the nurses prepared me for the same, Wan and I held hands tightly and prayed.

The Emergency Caesarean-Section
After 9 hours of active labor, this was not the ending we anticipated. I had done my research on induced labor, epidurals, entonox etc, but I hadn't read a single thing about C-sections. I had no idea what I was going to go through.

As the nurses wheeled me out towards the elevators, I saw my mom and my sister. They took one look at me and the blood practically drained from their faces. Mom tried to get the nurses to tell her what was going on but they evaded to answer, which made mom ever more worried. Wan was racing alongside my gurney and he held on tightly to my hand as I went through intense contractions which were practically one on top of the other. The sensation was that I just HAD to push, but I could not as it might endanger the baby. The pain? Indescribable.

At the doors to the operating theatre, it finally dawned upon Wan and I that we were to part. He could not come in with me and had to wait outside in the waiting room. It was like a scene from a Hallmark movie as we said our rushed goodbyes. And in a flash, the doors closed behind me, leaving me alone with a team of people dressed in light green scrubs and donning surgical masks.

Before I could see what the operating theatre looked like, the anasthetist slipped a mask over my face and in less than half a second, I was out.

************************************************************************************
The Outcome
In a haze, I came back from my slumber... to look into the smiling face of my mother... "Hi sweetheart... you have a beautiful baby boy".
Relief swept my entire being. "Is he okay?"
"Yes, he's fine. He's in the incubator and Wan is with him"
"He's beautiful, Medi. And he's got Wan's hair" I turned to look at my dad who was practically clapping his hands and was grinning from ear to ear. He showed me a photo of my baby via his handphone.
I gave a drowsy "Alhamdulillah..." and drooped back into drug-induced slumber.

I was wheeled into the room and still in a daze, I could hear Wan's voice speaking soothingly to me and my parents voices in the background. I could feel tugging and pulling as the nurses checked my IV drip and the catheter. I vaguely recall them giving me instructions on how to press a button to introduce morphein into my bloodstream as a painkiller. I was still in a daze...

Then the door opened and I heard wheels... A smiling nurse pushed a rolling-cot and positioned it right by my side.

There he was...
My baby.

And everything... EVERYTHING was worth it.


Assalamualaikum sayang...
Mommy & Daddy are so happy to finally meet you, darling.
Say hello to the world, Mikhail :)

Wan & Mediha are proud to introduce to you.... Our Son

Wan Mikhail Wan Syahrul Amry

21st November 2006, at precisely 1606 hours, our (much awaited for) darling firstborn arrived into this world.

I'll save the story of his birth for another day, right now, I'm just contented with staring at this precious little boy and being his mommy.

He's finally here.

Our son.

Can you see my humongous grin from all the way over here? :)

D-Day

My darling baby’s EDD (Estimated Due Date) is today, 17th November 2006.

A couple of days ago, Wan & I went for our routine check-up at the obgyns. The nurses were surprised to see me and greeted me with a friendly volley of “Tak bersalin lagi?” and “Ehhhh, dah sarat dah tuu...” I was asked the question “Ada rasa sakit tak?” countless of times and I repeatedly answered “Tak lagi...”

The second I walked into the doctor’s office, she asked me the same question. “Are you feeling any pains? Tightening of stomach muscles? Back-aches? Pelvic strains?” and once again, I sighed “Nope...”

She looked at my record and said that this was odd, as at the last visit, I was already ‘showing’ and my ‘cervix was softened’. She then made me go for a CTG [cardiotocograph].

A CTG is where the baby’s heart rate is monitored along with any contractions of the uterus. A print out of the baby’s heart rate and contractions is made and compared.

So off we went to the labor unit where they hooked me up to the CTG monitor. I had to lie down there for 20 minutes while the CTG took my reading. Wan was by my side the entire time and we passed a pleasant 20 minutes chatting and joking against the soothing background music of our baby’s heartbeat.

Once we got the results, we went back to see the obgyn. She reviewed the slip of paper and gave me a funny look.

“You’re already having contractions. Regular ones. See?” she pointed to this graph at the bottom of the paper. I saw a static line with intermittent spikes at regular intervals.

“Oh” was my brilliant response.

“You’re not feeling them?” asked the good doctor. At my sheepish grin, she continued, “Well, they’re regular, but they’re not that strong yet. But you should be feeling them getting stronger soon. The labor process is steadily beginning.”

Wan and I looked at each other with a mixture of excitement and anxiety. The doctor then told us to wait and see for the next couple of days. If the baby still doesn’t come, I was to check-in at the hospital on midnight Friday (baby’s EDD) for her to check-up on me and perform another CTG. Then she will help the labor process along. Basically, God Willing, the baby is to be born sometime on Friday. [That is, today (17.11.06)]

By this time, I was in a haze... Too much information all at once! Contractions already? Labor process well on the way? Baby coming on Friday?
Whoaa...

I spent the next couple of days being well-tuned to the goings-on of my body. I’d lie down quietly on the bed and feel the contractions coming. And BOY did I feel ‘em! The stomach muscles would suddenly tighten, my back would go all strained and uncomfortable and my pelvis would experience a sharp twinge. These occurred regularly but didn’t get much stronger. I could still go around shopping and watch movies at TGV KLCC (It’s just 5 minutes away from Ampang Puteri, mommmm).

And then Thursday came. If the baby didn’t come during the day, later that night, we were supposed to check-into Ampang Puteri. And the baby seemed quite contented staying in my belly. Despite being told that ‘usually when contractions start, the baby’s movement will lessen’, this little tyke is doing his whole samba-routine as per usual. It’s a really odd feeling when you feel a contraction AND your baby tumbles around in there at the same time.

I guess this little Sultan doesn’t want to spend his energy in pushing his way out on his own and wants the privilege of experiencing the midnight drama that the doctor had planned for him. I could feel him packing up his bags in there and getting ready for his big debut.

Drama King.

Then, in the late afternoon, my mom knocked at my door. She had a funny look on her face and said she wanted to ‘talk’. When I was a teenager, that phrase always gave me chills. Usually it meant that I’m in big trouble. But hey, I’m a 27 year old, married, heavily-pregnant woman, a “We need to talk” from my mother shouldn’t scare me.

Mama voiced her concerns. She was not too keen on the idea of me checking into the hospital to have the labor induced. She had talked to a lot of her medical personnel friends and her matron-sister and her sister who actually experienced labor inducement and they all told her that there will be extra pain.

A couple of weeks ago, when mom and I were chatting nonchalantly about the baby, she had started to sniffle when she talked about labor pains. Mama said that I’d probably be crying out for her when I go through the agony. The very idea of her firstborn daughter experiencing the pain of giving birth reduced this lovely, soft-hearted lady into tears.

So, when she heard that inducing labor might cause EXTRA pain, my dear mom couldn’t contain herself. She HAD to try and coax me out of it. “I don’t want you to suffer any more pain than necessary, darling” she had said, as she stroked my back. That’s when I realized something.

I may be a 27 year old, married, heavily-pregnant woman... But I’m still my Mama’s baby.

So, to make a long story short... if no natural labor starts today, my little baby is gonna miss his EDD.

We’re waiting for him to come out naturally and on his own time.

And knowing this wilful little Sultan, it can be today, tomorrow, next week, or next year even. At this point in time, I feel like he’s planning to come out only when he turns 18 and only if we promise to buy him a car.

*sigh*

Come on, baby. Come on out. We’re all so very excited to meet you.
Please, little darling, come on out into the world.

I’m ready.

One never knows what each day is going to bring. The important thing is to be open and ready for it.
Henry Moore (1898 - 1986)

The tie which links mother & child is of such pure and immaculate strength as to be never violated.Washington Irving

A wise man shared with me something very profound...
‘Once you have a child, you discover a love that you could never have possibly imagined existed”.

I’ve been reading stories on pregnancy, giving birth and parenthood and most of these literatures say the same thing. There is no love equal to the unconditional, absolute and everlasting love of a parent to a child. Most of these stories tell me that from the moment you lay eyes on your newborn child, you experience this Supreme Love.

My child isn’t born yet, but I think I already have an idea of what this Supreme Love is all about.

A long time ago, I wrote about how wonderful it is to feel my baby moving around in my belly. People, that is an understatement.
The feeling of having a child moving in my belly is The Most Wonderful Feeling in the Universe. It’s what makes me proud and so very grateful to be a woman.
No matter what men do, this is something they can’t possibly feel.
The beauty of a baby in their womb (okay, a big part of the problem lies in the fact that men don’t HAVE wombs).

Women's Liberation is just a lot of foolishness. It's the men who are discriminated against. They can't bear children. And no one's likely to do anything about that.
Golda Meir

Having my baby tumbling around in my belly is a constant reminder to me that I’m never alone. I’d be sitting in a very somber meeting at the office and my baby gives me a solid kick – and I’d smile a secret smile. I’d be stuck in a vicious traffic jam and start feeling stirrings of grumpiness when the baby in my belly slowly stretches and every single ounce of moodiness just evaporates as I lay my hand on my belly to feel him move. I’d be lying in bed alone, totally bored and sulky, when he starts doing the samba in there and I’d giggle as I watch the rise and fall of my bulbous belly (yes, I do know how to giggle).

And every single time he makes his presence known, my whole entire being is awashed with a strange combination of tender warmth and intense compassion that I can only describe as ‘The Supreme Love’.

Knowing that there is a human life residing in my womb makes me extra-extra-extra careful in conducting myself in everyday life.
I’m more cautious in crossing roads, more aware of potholes and uncovered drains on the sidewalk. I’m more alert to suspicious looking characters. I’m more watchful of steel poles that poke out from construction sites. My mind keeps repeating ‘Please, if I’m gonna get hurt, make sure it’s just me and nothing happens to the baby’.
I wish I could take out insurance on my tummy.

I am fiercely protective of this baby in me.
If I find myself in a crowd, and some bastard accidentally elbows my abdomen, I actually find myself vilifying him with curses and a ‘drop-dead-creep’ glare.
If I’m in the lift and a crowd starts to fill it, I’ll immediately place my bag in front of my belly and ward off any accidental touching.

I was in Tesco a few weeks back and this little girl was haphazardly playing with a shopping cart. I kept my eyes on her, making sure she was at least 10 feet away from me and my precious womb-cargo. I kept glowering at her parents (get your kid under control, will you!).
As luck would have it, that silly little girl pushed her cart towards me and as the damn thing sped towards me, everything went slow-mo, like a bad action movie.
My eyes widened, my lips closed in a tight grimace, my hands dropped the package of waffles and in a flash, I swirled around with my shirt flapping, like Keanu Reeves in The Matrix.
Instead of hitting my tummy, the cart banged against my well-padded butt.
Of course, the girl and her parents were not spared from my tight-lipped rebuke.
That’s one family that will never be going to Tesco Ampang ever again.

Will I be a protective mother to my son?
Yes. And I believe the answer is true for all mothers.
How can we NOT be protective over this precious gift that God has bestowed on us?
How can we NOT be protective over this beautiful child that is the manifestation of our love with our darling husband?
How can we NOT be protective of our child?

I am honestly excited about greeting my child into the world.
I can’t wait to hold him, hug him, kiss him and devote my life to him.
But I’m also aware that once he’s out of my womb, I am no longer his sole protector.
I have to share him.
While he’s in my belly, he’s all mine. His thumps and bumps are all mine unless I decide to share the experience with others. And even then, they can only feel him from the outside. He’s in ME and he’s MINE.
When I give birth to him, and he’s out here in this world, others can hold him...and hug him...and kiss him...and care for him.
I’ll miss having him in my tummy and feeling his activities in there.
I’m human enough to admit that initially, I loathed the idea of sharing him.

But I’ve come to realize something.
It’s a big, bad world out here.
And my son’s gonna need all the protection he can get.
And who else can give him that other than the ones who love him.

I’m glad he has his Daddy, his grandparents and his many uncles and aunties (and assorted family members) who will all be his guardian-angels-on-earth.
To lend a hand to his Mommy in keeping him safe and happy.

They may not share The Supreme Love that his Daddy and I have for him, but they’ll love him anyway.

And my son deserves all the love in the world.

There is nothing to suggest that mothering cannot be shared by several people.
H. R. Schaffer, O Magazine, May 2003

Changing the baby? The Baby Changes You.

Warning to my single, childless, not-expecting-babies friends:
The following excerpt of Mediha and Nadia’s IM’ing may result in inducing extreme boredom and incomprehension among you. If you find your eyes glazing over and drool trickling down your chin, please click on the ‘Back’ button and continue surfing for whatever it is you Happening Singles surf for.

diha_mahmood: babies are expensive, kan
nadiazaabar: no kidding
diha_mahmood: and we're not even thinking of the kindergarten tuition fees, school costs, university fees bla bla bla yet
nadiazaabar: we calculated how much we spent on baby's stuff....wow it was a lot - considering we got lots of hand me downs!
diha_mahmood: i know what you meannnn!!!! i bet you, credit card companies LOVE it when we get pregnant...
nadiazaabar: no kidding!!! justin and i even went to check prices at discount places like fajar, etc
diha_mahmood: hah! we did that toooo
nadiazaabar: pehhhh, difference pun berapa sen je.... serupa tak payah ...we even went to warehouse sales, that helped us a lot. oh have u stocked up on diapers yet?
diha_mahmood: heheheh.... (sheepish) no ... just bought SOME.
nadiazaabar: for newborns, on top of mamy poko which can get too mahal for frequent usage, hazel suggests anakku or pureen diapers S size. Omar is going through an average of 13 diapers a day and raiyan abt 12. so yikesssss!
diha_mahmood: whatttttttttttttttttt???????????? how often do these babies poop la weii??
nadiazaabar: pretty much after each feeding laaa weiii .. kan breastmilk easily digested. u gotta change after every pee and poop. even if its the size of a 5 cent coin
diha_mahmood: and how come diapers costs more than sanitary pads.... AND adult diapers? giler la... so mahal
nadiazaabar: buy the economy sized ones....and make sure they dont cost more than 45 cents a piece. if not might as well buy small sized mamay poko.... hehehehe courtesy of my hubby
diha_mahmood: hehehehe lucky you, o’wife of accountant! he does the research! so, mamy poko, pureen or anakku eh? what did you stock up on?
nadiazaabar: for 1st 1 week - while unbilical cord still on, mamy poko
diha_mahmood: okay.... got that. though from what u just told me, i think we stocked up on newborn mamy poko for the duration of exactly 4 days only... nadiazaabar: then after that anakku & pureen diapers...for frequent usage. the front says Basic Pureen / Basic Anakku. hazel has been using those and nat too and they said minimal leakage
diha_mahmood: fabulous! great to have mommy-friends. all this valuable information
nadiazaabar: and then as time goes by see lah what suits baby's needs.... like hazel she uses different diapers for day, night and going out
diha_mahmood: Wow... really?
nadiazaabar: i think we will all resort to that pun
diha_mahmood: No wonder they make diaper bags so darn HUGE and no wonder some of my friends have a trunkload of diapers in their car! ....learn something new every day...
nadiazaabar: u know now ...... :))
diha_mahmood: Can u belive Nadia Zaabar and Mediha Mahmood are having a lengthy conversation on diapers??? :)) I'd never have foreseen this a couple of years ago :D
nadiazaabar: heheheeheh it's interesting lahh weiii
diha_mahmood: yeahhh... interesting NOW! This time last year, we'd have balked at such a topic! Heheheh
nadiazaabar: that is so true. well last year we were talking abt marriage
diha_mahmood: We've happily slipped into married life nicely, haven't we? :D InsyaAllah, we'll slip into motherhood just as easily

Honestly, I still find it amusing how being pregnant has changed my relationship with my friends. Especially those who are my fellow travelers on this ‘mommyhood journey’.

We used to spend time IM’ing about work grouses like how bosses should NOT be female and menopausal, how colleagues should be banned from humming Pussycat Dolls ‘Don’t Cha’ while working, how disgusting it is to have to work on Sundays etc.

We spent some of our chat time on gossiping about mutual friends and keeping up with who got married to whom.

We chat about our beloved husbands and how interesting married life can be.
We even find time to chat about current issues and exchange brilliant opinions and ideas about how to Change The World.

Then we peed on a stick and saw the blue line appear and everything changed.

Now, 99.99% of our time is spent chatting about The Baby.
And topics or issues that we would have found gruesomely dull just 10 months ago, are now sooooo extremely fascinating. I find myself Googling search terms like ‘labor signs’, ‘breastfeeding in public’ and ‘newborn poo’.

My friends who already have children are mercilessly drilled by me with questions ranging from ‘How has your relationship with your husband changed since the baby came?’ and ‘Are Enid Blyton books still recommendable for children these days?’

My friends who are pregnant find each other excitedly sharing information that would make our swinging bachelor friends cringe and roll their eyes.

The babies aren’t even born yet and they’re already the centre of our universe!

I can’t imagine the kind of conversations Nadia & I will have next year.
We’ll just go with the flow…

Everything passes. Everything changes. Just do what you think you should do.
Bob Dylan (1941 - ), "To Ramona"