A Girl is full of Ambition, passion, dreams, hobbies, and goals. Few hidden desires from which one of the most cherished ones is being a MOTHER.
I am Ritu Chauhan; I stay in Dubai, I am a mother of Two – Lyra (Girl), Nakshatra (Boy) that makes a complete woman. I won Mrs. INDIA INTERNATIONAL Pretty face crown in 2015 in the USA. I was a banker in Dubai, and now I am a video creator on YouTube and of course, a full-time mom.
My journey from Pregnancy to Motherhood is exciting, boring, happy, sad, stressful, motivating, emotional, and whatnot.
All thanks to pregnancy, Hormones! There will be moments or even days of ups and downs, Food cravings at odd hours, you can smell all the strange things in the world and trust me some gets into your head forever. It was such with me that I couldn’t eat cooked food in a pressure cooker; it just smelled awful. I couldn’t bear the smell of perfume; even high-end perfume gave me a real headache!
It was my first pregnancy; I had no clue what and how am I going to deal with in these 9 months. I was working then, so I had so many female colleagues to talk to and clear my doubts. The Best thing I did was to Download Pregnancy App, and that was a life savior. It had all the details and guided me throughout. The next step is to choose the right Doctor. We need to trust our Doctors, but at the time, we also need to upgrade our knowledge by talking to our mother and grandmother and our friends. Don’t be shy, Knowledge is the key!
Our body requires extra nutrition, not extra food. Don’t fall for the myth – “You should eat more”. Doctors prescribed Iron and Folic acid supplements, but my body reacted is a very different way. I just couldn’t take medicine. I felt short of breath, uneasiness, anxiety, loss of appetite, and loss of sleep. The doctor changed by medicine thrice, but it didn’t get better, so I had to give up on medicines, and I choose to fill the gap with the Fruits and Vegetables. I included Avocados, Almonds, Fig (Soaked in Milk overnight), Dates, Eggs, Cheese (only cooked cheese), coconut water (1 Daily ) Oats, Dal ( Pulses ), salads – Lettuce, cherry tomato, cucumber, 3 types of different fruits every day. And normal healthy meals. Watch out for fruits with High sugar example Grapes, Mango, and we also need to keep track of Sugar level in the body and get the Diabetic and Thyroid test done on time. Don’t eat papaya, pineapple, Jack fruits, raw eggs, raw cheese, and fish.
I was okay taking my calcium tablets, so I continued with that and maintained a healthy pregnancy. I was 56kgs in my first month with 5’5ft height.
Pregnancy is divided into 3 trimesters and 1 trimester is 3 months. During my 1st trimester, I discovered I wasn’t sick in the morning, but as the sun goes down, my energy goes down. I was sick, nauseated, and even vomited many times. I used to hit the bed early, and the next day I will be all for fresh for office. I enjoyed food, walks in the lunch break, eating in the office canteen, and I used to love Pickles, and the smell of it was just WOW!!
2nd trimester is the best as all the sickness goes away, I wasn’t that fat 🙂 I could easily walk around with my baby bump, enjoy the glow on my face, and it is the best time to plan a babymoon. We planned to go to Georgia- A beautiful country with fantastic landscapes, friendly people. A place was full of old-world churches. We visited the 4th Century church to seek blessing for our child and for us.
Now comes the 3rd Trimester- this gave a feeling of being Real Pregnant. I couldn’t fit in my clothes anymore, sleep well on sides, and had a hard time digesting food. My skin was itchy, and I was so moody. I was 75 kg’s towards the end. These months were tough; I said to myself it is not going to stay like this forever. Things will change and improve.
So, it did happen. I got through a difficult time and that one day was the day when I had to deliver my BABY.
I was already prepared for it, but no matter how much you prepare, there is always a surprise element. The pain I felt day still gives me a shrill. We dedicated to taking the epidural injection. OMG!! It was a miracle; God bless the people who invented this. It was so smooth. I could feel everything but not the pain. Tiny little Angel was placed on my chest; I was scared to touch my baby as she was so small and delicate.
When I hugged her, I got the world’s best feeling. That was my moment, and I was stuck with her beauty, I had never seen such a beautiful baby in my life. Then I resigned voluntarily from being a Banker as I had a bigger role to play. Being a Mother is the most difficult yet amazing role, and my life just revolved around my child. I had no idea I had so much love hidden inside of me. All the Love is free-flowing towards my Lifeline – Lyra Vikram Singh.
2 years had gone by, and I made myself fit by doing Yoga, Zumba, walk, healthy food, and I wanted my second child. Soon, I discovered I was expecting, and That day, I realized our prayers are always answered. Everyone says the second one is easy as you know what!! I tell you my side of the story; it is quite the opposite. The second one is tough atleast for me.
I still had evening sickness as usual, but this time it was for 2 or 3 months. I used to love sweets; my favourite fruit was Guava sprinkled with salt and chili powder (Yummy), I enjoyed Idli, dosa, samosas, cakes, ice creams and successful rewards the end of pregnancy I reached around 85Kg. By the way, I started with 60 kgs (In my first month, I was 60kgs). This time it was difficult as I had two years old Lyra, and I quit my job, so there was no set routine of the day. I slept most of the day on my sofa with Lyra playing beside me and watching TV.
I moved to Dubai in 2008, and I took a break in 2016. I was planning to complete my family in one break and then get back going to work. We lived on the 31st floor with an amazing view with Burj Khalifa in the front and sea. On my right side.
This time we planned babymoon a little late, so I didn’t enjoy much, but I enjoyed the thought of going for Babymoon. We went to London, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany. It was 15 days long vacation with beautiful weather. The best part is we saw the much talked about original KOHINOOR Diamond in London. It was pure sight. We were not allowed to take pictures of it, so I just have it in my head. When we returned, I was in my 3rd trimester.
I had to prepare myself for delivery, so I started to go for evening walks in the park, and it helped me overcome my leg and backaches. Movement and exercise are essential. Also, keep track of your Haemoglobin. Mine was 8, had to take two iron drips in 2 weeks, and included iron-rich food in my diet. My hemoglobin shoots up to 13.
We all are scared of that one day when we have to give birth, but that ONE day you get some inner magical strength physically and emotionally to overcome anything. Some prefer C section as it has its pros, but I choose Normal Delivery, of course, with Epidural. And this time it was a Boy!!
My Nakshatra was born. I just couldn’t control my tears, when I held him for the first time realized and felt what love is. He is the most handsome boy ever for me. One Girl, one boy, my happiness was on a ninth cloud, seventh heaven.
Then comes the crucial and most important part of all. Taking care of myself and my babies. We really need rest and complete recovery of our body. A good post-delivery massage from a professional really helps. Feed your baby, keep yourself fit as the best is yet to come. All the Mumma moments will start now. The new life with kiddos awaits. I love them, and they love me back. My day begins with smiles, hugs, cuddles, laughter, and day end with their stories. I thank my Kids for coming into my life and giving me the joy of Motherhood. I am Nothing without my Kids.
Then when everything was settled, I focused on myself and started working out, Added more of protein-rich food in my diet. Daal, peanuts, chana, grated coconut, lots of salad – cucumber, tomato, and fruits and fresh fruit juice prepared at home with all of this, exercise is a must, and I lost 15 kgs with regular exercise and dedication. My daughter is 4 years old and is in KG1. I have started my own YouTube channel, which is dedicated to kids. Fun learning with home Activities. Do subscribe and share your feedback.
Ritu Chauhan’s YouTube Channel: Learn with Lyra Nick
Thank you very much. Ritu Chauhan.
