Recently, there was a tag which I thought was very feminist. The First Born Tag. Women went on about their first borns and we men seemed to be left out. It even felt weird thinking whether to even comment details about whether it was normal or a C-sec. And then, since it is an equal world (or so the women who rule us say), Solilo tagged me on this one asking my wife to do it. But I guess, she suffers from what I call “BSS (Blogger Spouse Syndrome)” – a condition wherein the spouse of a blogger develops a jealousy induced allergy towards the blog. So actually, I thought of doing it myself. Felt weird but after almost two weeks of being away from my wife and son, I guess, it got to me. Time to chuck the corona chronicles and be a loving husband and doting daddy :).
1) Was Your First Pregnancy Planned?
Yep, my wife’s first pregnancy was planned; And planned with a lot of preparation. I stopped all vices (didn’t have many btw). I stopped drinking beer / wine at least 6 months in advance. I didn’t tell this to anyone, else they thought I was crazy but wanted to make sure, not a drop remains in my system. I know it was just psychological but was satisfying.
2) Were You Married At That Time?
Yes, married for 3 full years.3) What Were Your Reactions?
Happy obviously, and Proud since this is the ultimate proof of manhood. He he
4) Was Abortion An Option For You?
Nope.
5) How Old Were You?
My wife was… (wait I can’t reveal her age). I was 30. My wife is 7 years younger!
6) How Did You Find Out You Were Pregnant ?
Home Test Kit but my wife was not convinced unless she saw it herself on the ultrasound.
7) Who Did You Tell First?
My brother and bhabhi first of all coz. we live together, so if they don’t count, My parents back in India and then her parents at a dinner.
8) Due Date?
07/07/2007 (My fascination with the number 7 was thus reinforced).
9) Did You Have Morning Sickness?
My wife actually lost weight in the first trimester because of morning sickness and her lack of desire to eat. She used to drink so much Digene that I thought my baby would be born with Pink hair.
10) What Did You Crave?
She craved for anything that was not at home at 12 in the night. And more than that, when we went out to find that elusive snack, she’d be just happy with the drive around town at night.
11) Who/What Irritated You The Most ?
Dunno really but she used to be upset a lot of times without reason.
12) What Was Your First Child’s Sex?
Boy.
13) Did You Wish You Had The Opposite Sex Of What You Were Getting?
My Bhabhi just delivered a girl a month before my wife’s delivery. So honestly, I was hoping for a boy to complete the family.
14) How Many Pounds Did You Gain Throughout The Pregnancy?
I guess, she gained around 12 to 14 kgs in all. And now she’s lost all of it and more 🙂
15) Did You Have A Baby Shower?
No.
16) Was It A Surprise Or Did You Know?
Not Applicable.
17) Did You Have Any Complications During Your Pregnancy?
None of the medical kind. But a lot of complicated thoughts seemed to occur to her.
18) Where Did You Give Birth?
A Hospital (Al Wasl) here in Dubai.
19) How Many Hours Were You In Labour?
A long long time. I mean, don’t really know when she was taken to the labour room but was very long. I was in Amsterdam at the time. Wait wait, there’s some explanation required here before you start cussing me. My trip to Amsterdam was purely business and I was supposed to be back a good week before the due date. Everything was going fine till I left. And even when she was in the hospital on 28th, I felt, I’ll make it before him. But he’s my Son. How could he let go of this opportunity? After all, this means, every year, my wife will make me give him a really expensive b’day gift (in addition to all the gifts I’ve to give her for managing this on her own) (and yes, in addition to all the times she gets to tell me “you weren’t there” in jest or otherwise).
20) Who Drove You To The Hospital/Birth Center?
My brother, mother, father, her father, mother, grandmother and brother – the whole Gang drove her.
21) Who Watched You Give Birth?
Her Mom. My new friends watched me listen and react to the news in Amsterdam when I was in the train on my way to the airport.
22) Was It Natural Or C-Section ?
Natural.
23) Did You Take Medicine To Ease The Pain?
Yes, She called me from the room asking if she could opt for Epidural. I said yes. I didn’t know what else to say.
24) How Much Did Your Child Weigh?
Around 2.5 kgs
25) When Was Your Child Actually Born ?
29th June – 6.20 pm.
26)What Was Your Reaction When The Doctor Announced The Sex Of The Baby?
My mother in law told me on the phone. I somehow knew it would be a boy so wasn’t surprised. I was almost expecting her to say “It’s a boy” and she did.
27) What Was Your First Reaction On Seeing The Baby?
I saw him almost 24 hours after he was born. Strangely, my first reaction was “he doesn’t look one bit like me”. I was all the while in the flight expecting him to have a longish face, loads of hair and droopy eyes but he was the exact opposite – Chubby round face, no hair, not even eyebrows and big eyes (like his mom). He completely resembled my brother in law.
28) Did You Cry?
No. I mean, I thought, I should cry but I didn’t feel like. I just felt happy like crazy. I was scared of hugging him too tight so was controlling myself. He seemed so fragile. So I just took out a hand of his and was trying to make him hold my finger. In the process, he woke up and started crying. I didn’t cry.
29) What Did You Name Him?
We thought long and hard about the name. He was born under special stars so the naming ceremony had to happen after 40 days instead of the normal 6 days. I didn’t want a name that ended with “sh” coz. I thought those names were out of fashion – Rajesh, Rakesh, Suresh, Ramesh, Haresh, Paresh, Rupesh etc. etc. I wanted to have a name that’ll be in style after 20 odd years. So we took the entire 40 days to decide. Yuvaan, it was. Btw, these naming sites on the internet are all crap. Out of the 10,000 names that they claim, you can’t find one descent name on the alphabet you’re looking for. Almost all the names there, are either too complicated and ancient or too Spartan and common.
30) How Old Is Your First Born Today?
Today he is 20 and half months old and he’s away with his Mom in India, celebrating Holi and poking his tongue at me!
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Located in Dubai but Heart in India 