Two weeks old!

Rohan is two weeks old today. The days have just gone by - I feel that I just walked out of the labor room and the hospital. But our baby is two weeks old! The most overwhelming feeling I have had is to capture every moment I spend with him in some form or the other. Like all new parents, we have taken hundreds of pictures and videos. But there is so much more than what meets the eye through pictures. I don't want to miss a single expression of his and also want to keep it in my memory forever.

The first week was not easy - we came home on Tuesday afternoon and settled in our room. Rohan was to sleep with us in his little snuggle nest. The crib, right along our bed, seemed too distant to put him in. Earlier I was adamant that I would put the kid in his own sleeping space for several reasons, but no way. Both Ravi and I wake up every time we hear him squirm or move - we will perhaps settle down eventually, but for now Rohan will sleep smack in the middle.

The diapering process has been streamlined as well along with the sleeping arrangements. Whats in that you ask? Plenty. Two weeks later, we still have quite a few leaky diapers. We are still trying to figure out what to do about that, baby wipes vs. wet paper towels among other things. Each day is a little better, but challenges still remain.

Besides sleeping and pooping:), Rohan loves to eat - like his mom. After a few trying sessions at the hospital and home, we quickly settled into a feeding routine. Formula and bottle feedings wll have to wait for now.

Rohan does sleep a lot but has two awake sessions - one in the morning between 8:30 and 11:30 and then in the afternoon between 3:00 - 700 pm. He is quite alert and in a mood to talk, stare, listen to some music in this time. We do all of the above.

My recovery has been quite good - thanks to my mom and Ravi for pampering me to no end. I have been getting breakfast in bed, great food, and help every step of the way. My mom has been giving me some fabulous massages using mustard oil. She is a great at this stuff and boy are those hands strong. All the aches and pains just dissapear after one of those 20 minute sessions and I feel as good as ever. I wish I have half the strength she has when I am her age. She tells me the secret is in drinking plenty of milk. Ouch! I am not a milk fan, but I have been gulping the liquid down like anything and strangely its starting to taste good.

Rohan's arrival [Richa's perspective]

I was able to cope allright until around 9 pm, which is when we decided that it was probably a good idea to call the hospital and go in. My contractions were were 2-3 minutes apart and mom and dad were insisting that it was time to go in. I was almost certain than we will be sent back, but we decided to take the hike to the hospital. The hardest part at this juncture was to decide whether I was in enough pain or not. Such a subjective thing isn't it? I was not trying to be brave, but I had been able to deal with it. Probably because I was so excited about what was to come.

Upon reaching the hospital, the nurse (Amelia) who checked me in remarked, "You look too happy to be in labor!" Jeez! I should have practiced some whining and screaming beforehand I guess. She got me hooked to all the monitors and checked the baby's heart-rate. Everything A-OK. The intersting thing here was to watch the baby's heart-rate go up to almost 150-160 beats per minute with every contraction. The heart-rate would go up before the contraction started -- a good clue for me to begin the level 1 breathing Ravi and I learned in Lamaze class.

Nurse Amelia did an internal checkup and told us that I was 3cm dilated and around 70% effaced. I was told to walk for an hour and see if things progress. So, I walked. The contractions had definitely gotten stronger by now. But an hour later when we went back to get me checked again, there was no change. I was given a pill to helpme relax and was told to go home. It seemed like it would be a while before we would have to come back again. Perhaps as many as another 10-12 hours. I was hoping multiple hospital trips could be avoided, but that was not to be. Good, no? Makes for a good story to tell.

After coming home, almost everyone crashed. I was able to sleep between between 1:30 - 2am, after which some severe pains woke me up. From here onwards, it was a session of trying to find comfort using various measures. I took hot showers, which were great! Also gave myself a nice back rub, which was also good. Somewhere in between I walked down to the family room and watched hindi songs on TV, sitting on my glider and talking to Rishi, who was half asleep. Around 3 I came back up, took another hot shower, and tried to sleep again. This was the most uncomfortable part - I was not able to doze off at all and that's rare for me. Around 3:50 or so, Ravi woke up and heard me whining. I told him we had to call back and go in. I called the hospital and for the first time was not able to talk through my contraction. I also realized that I was really having the urge to push! This was a first for me, and I remembered that it was an absolute no-no from what we had been told in our Lamaze classes.

The ride to the hospital was difficult as well - several red lights. Ravi was tring to help me with my breathing. We reached the hospital around 4:35. They took us in, checked me up and the nurse said I was ready to deliver. Since I had the strongest urge to push, they told me to hold till the doctor got in. I tried and Ravi really helped me with my breathing - but actually to no avail. Before I could realize and the doctor could suit up, Rohan's head had crowned and they asked Ravi to take a peek. The doctor positioned herself , the next contraction happened, and there he was!! He came out all at once, the doc cut the cord, showed him to me and took him away.

I don't even remember pushing the placenta -- I think it just came out. There was a tear so the doc stitched me up and that was that! I later looked to see the timing - they checked us in at 4:38 am (that was the time on our bands) and Rohan was born at 4:45 am...in less that 10 minutes. Our friends were laughing and termed this a Fedex delivery...

I am really thankful that I didnt have to take any medication or go through a C section - I was worried about those two things.Rohan passed his screenings with an Apgar of 8.9! I thought he would be bulkier and taller, but he was tiny and made my job easier during labor.

9 months of prep time and such a fabulous outcome. Going through labor is for sure one of the most exhilarating experiences I have ever gone through. Ravi and I later recounted the entire episode as I did not want to miss even a single moment.

Here he is!

Rohan Upamaka arrived at 4:45am on October 3, 2004, at the Washington Hospital Birthing Center in Fremont, Calif., USA.

Witnessing Rohan's birth and being part of Richa's entire labor experience has been the most amazing experience of my life, bar none. Below, I am trying to recount my memory of the events leading up to Rohan's delivery. Richa and I haven't yet traded complete notes about our respective individual recollections, so these events are retold as I remember them.

Is this it?

The officially predicted due date for our baby's arrival is October 6, 2004.

Since about 9.00am today, Richa has been having "labor-like" symptoms: regular contractions, 1.5-2 minutes apart, lasting 30-40 seconds each. I am pretty sure that I have observed her stopping to catch her breath, more than a few times. However, according to her, the contractions haven't been that painful: she says she has been able to talk through them, mostly.

Rishi (Richa's brother) arrived earlier today. Richa's parents have been staying with us over the past several days, too. In the afternoon, we had visitors show up. Richa's paternal uncle, his wife and kids stopped by. Richa chatted comforably with them, giving no real outwardly indication of what was going on inside her.

The rocker-glider that we had purchased a few days ago at Babies'R'Us has come in very handy. Of all the chairs and couches available in the house for sitting, Richa has found the glider the most comfortable. I'm glad it is proving to be useful.

In the evening, a couple of hours ago (around 5.30) Richa felt like taking a walk around the neighborhood, so she and I headed out. We did a little walkabout of our street, basically circumnavigating the houses on our street. It was a short walk, which would have been shorter had we not run into the nice old lady who lives 4 houses down the street from us.

In other words, it has been a normal day in every sense of the word. So far.