Monday, August 11, 2008

What to expect in a hospital bag

Published: http://www.yash.ca/
On: August 10, 2008
At: Toronto, Canada


Staring at the mirror, I look at my watermelon-sized belly. I can't see my toes anymore. My clothes fit me no more. My hormones are swinging like a monkey on a tree and my ankles are inflating like a balloon. I am done with finding more baby names, and collecting baby frames and clipping coupons for diapers. Had enough of hanging around at message boards and spending hours saying "so sweet" at all the clothes in Toys R Us.

At 36 weeks of pregnancy, I want to scream, "I can't take this anymore. Get him out. Let's pop the cork" I begin packing my hospital bag before my head gets mixed up again. Below is a compiled list of things that I think is essential for the big trip that I will be undertaking shortly.

What to pack for labour
· A birth plan (It helps my doctor / nurse understand my wishes and needs. Even though there's no way I can control every aspect of labour and delivery, so I am flexible)
· Loose tees and pyjamas or night dress
· Socks and slippers - useful if I end up pacing hospital corridors in early labour
· Snacks and drinks - I might not prefer hospital food or I simply want more
· Toiletries
· Pillows / cushions
· Camera / camcorder to record the eventful moments
· Mobile
· Address book - to call friends and relatives
· Change - to buy snacks or make a call

For my support person
· A change of clothes
· Toiletries
· Snacks and drinks
· Pillows / cushions

For after the birth
· Loose comfortable clothes
·Nursing bras - two or three
·Breast pads for when milk comes in
·Maternity pads - a couple of packs
· Nightshirt or T-shirt -- front opening shirts are useful for breastfeeding

For the baby
·An infant car seat - some hospitals won't let you leave without one
· One outfit for the trip home (a bodysuit is the easiest)
· Two to three baby vests for baby to wear while we are in hospital
. Some hospitals provide baby gowns for the baby to wear during the stay
· Baby blanket (a warm one if the weather is cold)
· Nappies
·Wipes
· Towel
· Baby soap and oil
· One pair of socks / booties
· Hat
· Sweater / Jacket / snowsuit for winter babies

Ah! My two bags are packed. I am ready to welcome my baby. I know I will never see the world in the same way again. Good luck to me!

Monday, July 28, 2008

The birth of a mom

Published: www.yash.ca
On: July 28th, 2008
At: Toronto, Canada


One week before my rebirth, I get restless. Now I am desperately waiting for my baby to arrive in this world. Moving from one room (with husband) to another room (with mom) like a ghost I toss and turn on my bed. The pain is getting unbearable. The continuous phone calls of friends and family who are eagerly waiting for 'the news' pains me more. I am getting heavier, could give an elephant a complex as well.
On 26th july, I clean all the washrooms, and house. Sparkling clean, just as they show in the ads. After dinner, mom and Santosh decide to retire for the night. I continue with my ghostly antics.
Suddenly I am hungry. I tip toe to the kitchen. Look here, and there, and gobble peanuts. Strangely, I feel heavy. I wobble up now, no longer afraid of waking anyone. I try to sleep, honestly I do try. But the pain becomes unbearable. It's impossible to sleep on my right side, but now sleeping on left side appears impossible too. I get up, and walk towards mom's room. Phew! Doesn't an elephant get tired ever??!!! Well, I do!
I can't sleep with mom too. It's 3 am. Trotting back to my room, my scuffles wake up Santosh. Trying to soothe me to sleep, he surely does his best. But this isn't my day. I cry, cry, cry for no reason at all.
Mom hears my Boo-hoo and comes to the room. She decides its time to go to the hospital. Unanimously, we agree, and get going with changing clothes, packing bags, etc.I visit the bathroom to relieve myself. When I get up, I see blood. My screams bring Santosh and mom rushing to check on me.
My water bag has burst declares mom. NOW, it's really really time to rush to the hospital. We are now residing in Mississauga, but my hospital (Scarborough Grace) is in another city, Scarborough. It's a good one-hour drive from home. (It's a long story why we live in one corner, and I am delivering in another corner of the city).
Santosh zooms to the hospital. Thanks to our previous visits, we know where exactly to park and where to go. Sitting on a wheelchair is no fun. I feel funny being driven by someone else! Talk about giving control of my life to someone else!!!
We are quickly ushered in by a nurse. On the hospital bed, I go through a battery of 'tests' that qualify me to be in labour. Santosh completes the registration hurriedly.
Here's my true test. I hate needles. I am petrified! I know that "But you are a Doctor's daughter" statement. My nerves are really thin, and difficult to find. So I need a baby needle or a butterfly needle as they call it. However, the nurses don't think so!! They want to first try their expertise on me, and then when they are not successful they call an Anaesthetist to do so! Result: Both my hands are blue with numerous pokes.
It's noon finally when they give me glucose, and then the best thing that man ever made: epidural. They inject right into your spinal cord while you remain still for few minutes. Then, its bliss. You are unaware of the pain and contractions. They do monitor your contractions though with their advanced monitors.
I sleep for 2-3 hours, unaware of time passing by. Come 8 pm, and a nurse walks in. She is all ready to butcher me. Wearing her gloves, she checks for how much I have dilated. She declares, it's up to you now! Do you want to whine and be here till tomorrow morning or push hard and deliver in the next 15 mins!!!
Now, I am not used to someone telling me that. Yet, I meekly listen to her instructions and PUSH!! I felt as if I am heavily constipated. And, I push, push and push. Yes, we can see him. And, I push, push and push. I see his head, Oh he has got so much of hair, Santosh says with delight. (I am only interested in pushing). The nurse quickly pulls my baby out, and hands him over to Santosh. The proud papa cuts the umbilical chord. Wiping him off, and amidst oohs and aahs, a mother is born.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

It’s true. We are going to be parents soon!

Published: http://www.yash.ca/
On: July 14, 2008
At: Toronto, Canada


It is January the 24th (2007) today. It is a lovely day outside. I am up, bright and early as I am too excited to sleep my regular hours. I am heading for an important ultrasound this morning. I have done a pregnancy test and I know Santosh and I are going to be parents of a beautiful child, but doubts are lurking in my head and I am hoping today’s ultrasound will do away with them.
At 8:30 a.m. I walk into the clinic for my first ever ultrasound, full of fear and anxiety. I was told to have a full bladder. I must drink lots of water one hour prior to the procedure. This will help to move the intestines out of the way and aid in distinguishing various fetal parts. As the technologist takes my health card and asks me to wait, I can only think of going to the washroom to relieve myself. It is too much of a pain to sit still! A few minutes more of waiting, and I am ushered in by a sweet bespectacled lady. I am asked to change my clothes. I slip into a blue gown, and then join her in room no. 3.
As I enter in , I lie down on my back. She proceeds with the transabdominal ultrasound process of putting a lubricating gel on my growing tummy, placing a probe over the gel and moving it all around on the abdomen. Sound waves pass through my abdomen to the fetus and bounce back to create the fetal image on an electronic monitor.I look at her with growing anxiety, fear knotting my stomach.
Am I really pregnant? Is everything okay with the baby? How old is the baby? When am I due? Can I see him? All kinds of questions creep in my mind like snakes in the plane. I am wating with a bated breath for the verdict. I cannot wait anymore. I finally blurt out, "Am I pregnant"? She gives me an amused look, and asks if I did my pregnancy test. I hesitantly tell her that I did but that I was still confused.
She further probes me if this was my first pregnancy, and if I was new to Canada. I wonder what it has got to do with my pregnancy. Finally she laughs and answers my question: Yes, you are pregnant. I probe her further: how old is the baby? She hesitantly answers, approximately 14 weeks. Wow! I can’t believe it. I have to see the baby myself.
After doing few more measurements, she calls in Santosh. Moving the monitor towards us, we watch with anticipation and joy. I see my baby on the screen, yes, with my own eyes! The tiny hands that are going to hold my hands, his newly formed face, eyes, body, limbs, abdomen, shoulder, spinal chord, and his beautiful throbbing heart. Yes, I hear his heart beat too. It is like the sound of a water stream rushing in. My eyes well up with tears. Is it out of happiness? Disbelief? I have no idea. In a blur, I enter the washroom, change my clothes, and come out with my baby's picture in hand.
Santosh and I come out of the lab smiling. It is true! We are going to be proud parents of a wonderful son. I am determined to give the best to my baby.

Friday, July 4, 2008

A mother's letter to her to-be-born baby

Published: www.yash.ca & http://www.4indianwoman.com/
On: July 1st, 2008 & January 23rd, 2010
At: Toronto, Canada


Dear to-be-born baby,

I haven't seen you, but I feel you inside my swollen tummy. I haven't heard your voice, but I sense your fast breathing. You are growing within me since the last 7.5 months; touched by my innermost thoughts and heartfelt emotions.
I can't wait to see you in flesh and blood, to hear you go ba-ba-ba-ba. Oh, what fun it will be to wake up and see your bright and smiling face, listen to your cries of hunger or discomfort, feed and swaddle you, give you a bath and good night tuck-ins. I am looking forward to playing with you all those gorgeous toys in the market.
As I dream about the good times, a part of me is full of questions about taking good care of you. How will I know that you are not feeling well? Would I know, all you need is a kiss and squeeze from me? Or, maybe you are hungry? Or, you do not like the new baby soap that I just brought you?
Somewhere from within me comes the answer, "You will know with time. You will be a wonderful mother." I break into a wide grin thinking, "Yes, I can do it." I wasn't born with all the knowledge in the world. I am going to fall, and learn with my mistakes. Celebrating my mistakes makes me a strong person. You taught me to appreciate every moment in life. From you I learned not to lose sleep over the endless worries of life.
When you come out of my secured womb, and begin to grow, you will soon realize that we live in an image bound society. "So what do you do?" is the most famous question asked as soon as you meet anyone. What will your mom say? "I am a stay-at-home-mom" or "I work in so-and-so company as so-and-so."
In today's times, it's a no-win situation. Either way, I have to defend my choices. If I choose to be a career mom, I will be seen as a career obsessed parent who has neglected her only child for money, and if I opt to be a stay-at-home mom, I will be looked down upon by others as someone who is incapable of taking care of both, home and work.
So is it possible to have a satisfying career and personal life? The answer is a resounding yes. I may need to revisit my expectations. Is it essential to have a picture perfect home? Is it crucial to bake a cake from the scratch?
My baby, I refuse to join in this mummy war, and choose to be responsible for my choices: A choice that I am going to make for my family's wellness, needs and desires. Whatever is my choice, my love and attention is what you will get in plentiful. A loving home filled with joy, laughter and warmth is what you will get. I promise.

Love,
Mom

Monday, November 5, 2007

Love - framed forever

Published: online magazine - www.lovingyou.com
On: February, 2006
At: Toronto, Canada

My husband and I had a long-distance relationship after marriage for 4 months. He sent me a bouquet of red roses in the first week. When the flowers got dried I did not have the heart to throw them out.So, I made a picture frame with our wedding picture in it. For that I got a large size of 6mm wood and cut 4x6 sized box in the center and adhered handmade paper on the wood. Then I stuck the dried roses in an L shape and added a few leaves and tendrils made with clay. After which I created a background with abstract design in gold and silver on the handmade paper; and finally framed the wood with glass.I presented to him the picture frame on the day we were reunited.He LOVED it!

Technical Writing: Everyday Learning

Published: Society for Technical Communications Newsletter
On: November 2006
At: Toronto, Canada


In the first few days of my Foundations of Technical Writing course at George Brown College, we were asked by our professor to write procedures explaining how to tie a shoelace. At first I did not think this would be difficult, but as I began to write, I quickly realized that understanding how something is done is not the same as being able to put it into words. It was a demanding exercise to me, and it changed the way I looked at writing. When given a writing project, you need to sit down and think about who, why, what, and how: Who are you writing to? Why should you write the document? What information should the document contain, and constraints within which you must work? How should you structure the information for your readers? Answering the above questions will give a structure to your project. Using plain language to explain a new concept will reduce the wordiness of the document. Your user will find what he needs and understand quickly thus saving on time.

Asking questions
As I dived deeper in Technical Writing, a lot of things were unclear to me. My mind was swirling with questions. Yet, I did not ask explanations, neither to my professor or peers. I quietly walked in the class, listened to the lectures, and went back home without uttering a single word. All the time I was frustrated at my inability to ask questions. My lack of assertiveness and inhibited nature annoyed me even more. I had a growing realization that by not asking questions I am pouring a wave of darkness over me. I am stopping my learning, and thus not growing. When in doubt, ask questions and learn from the answers. Don't be afraid to admit that you do not know the subject matter at all. You might be nervous because a bunch of experienced writers listening to you, may judge you, yet go for it. It's the only way to learn and grow.

Volunteering and Networking
When I immigrated to Canada a year ago, I did not know anyone. For about two months I struggled with myself to understand "Canada". I thought I could do so by reading articles on "Living in Canada". How wrong I was. Volunteering is a great way to not only know about Canada, but also your career. Give your time out. It takes few hours of your week, and it will look good in your resume. You develop skills and gain work experience. You will meet people from all walks of life. Introduce yourself and let people know your interests and skills. Establish a relationship. All of this is networking and it's the key to finding work. For me the benefits of volunteering at STC include:
An insider's perspective on navigating my career
Knowledge of the tools and process of technical writing
Exposure to the challenges of being a technical writer
Opportunities of getting work
Identification of skill gap
Possibility of finding a mentor
Access to a support system during critical stages of my career development
A lifelong career network

Attitude
The most important factor of survival is a positive state of mind. Attitude is everything. How often have you heard that classic statement? The perfect blend of motivation, goal-setting and positive attitude is a must. The world is a mirror. Smile and the world will smile back at you. Show your enthusiasm, and the world will enthusiastically nod with you. Face the challenge, and be a shining example for others.

Conclusions
Learning lessons is about taking opportunities, experiencing, learning, changing and growing. It is about creating and finding out new trails through one's life and work.