Expecting a Baby in Pandemic Times !!

New Year's Eve!

As the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve, we hugged to wish each other a happy new year and danced the night away. When 2020 began, it was like just another calendar year, little did we know that only two months later, the coronavirus pandemic would sweep the planet and effectively stop the way in which the world operated for so long. The unpredictability, gravity of solitude, fear of another human being, and the struggle to have our plans, hopes and dreams put on hold.

Always masking up!

At some level we all have been affected by the Covid situation and this is my story. The onset of lockdown was a boon for us as we conceived our little bundle of joy in March 2020. It is said pregnancy is the most special time of a woman’s life and my whole experience that ran parallel to Corona environment was like a beautiful rose (obviously with few thorns).

In the first trimester going out for medical examinations by doctor in PPE kit sitting 100 metres away wasn’t really comforting but courtesy Corona, getting to have my husband around 24 by 7 was sheer bliss.

Delighted at the farm!

During the second trimester, I like all other expecting women too wished to go out for street snacking or fancy dinners, watch movies in the theatre; however that couldn’t happen….. So what did we do instead! We took frequent getaways to our farmhouse, soaked the winter sunshine in morning walks, binge-watched numerous series tucked in bed and pampered ourselves to the core. 

What to crave for?

My lawyer husband Ankit being the amazing in-house chef delighted me and our baby with multi-course fancy meals (sometimes with full mahaul !). People often ask me what food did I crave for? Honestly, thanks to my loving family I didn't long for anything as all sort of dishes were either cooked at home or sent over with love from family/friends even before I could yearn for it.

As much I wished to flaunt my maternity clothing on our babymoon vacation, we ended up staying-home, staying-safe and hence saving quite some money which now for good goes to our baby fund.

Since a child is en-route my sasural after 35 years, a lot was thought of as soon as we got the good news! My mother-in-law had a two-day traditional god bharai in mind which due to corona increase had to be altered and later even cancelled. Then new plans of a fun baby shower were made, guest list was made, preparation was done and when we were good to go corona happened in the immediate family and then entire thing had to be scrapped. 

Loved all of this!

However I truly believe that "Jo hota hai ache ke liye hota hai!" Instead of one big ceremony, I was blown away by so many surprise showers... everything was so informal, heartfelt and indeed made me felt so dearly loved. Every tiny thing was celebrated, be it janmashtmi, father’s day, mother’s day and monthly birthdays of our unborn child (nicknamed neebu).

As you might know me by now, I am a person who always pre-plans. From Day 1, I had started to save maternity photo ideas and intended to get the professional photoshoot done with flowy gowns flaunting my baby bump. However one thing that Corona has taught me is that things may not always go by the plan and it is only better to find the next best alternative. So whenever I got dressed a little, I took it as an opportunity to get clicked on random days throughout the journey and truly loved the whole candid experience. Trust me, it is an absolute delight to look back and have so many memories instead of one big one!

As we ventured in the final month and started to prepare for the little one's arrival, I was pretty excited to shop for my baby. However given the Corona scare, I bought some stuff online and surprised myself with what the super excited daadi-to-be and bua-to-be shopped for the little munchkin. It was truly quite overwhelming to hold and feel the tiniest clothes of my super awaited baby.

Pandemic times in 2020 has given me a much wider perspective and taught me that -

· Sometimes all you need to be happy is you and your family

. Life is unpredictable and things might not always go by the plan A. So learn to prioritize and re-prioritize

· Never take things/people for granted; be grateful for little things and savour smallest of experiences in life

· Every problem brings along an opportunity; we just need to look for it

· While “Health is Wealth”, financial planning is also a must

With the essentials
during Covid

Expecting a baby in pandemic times may have stressed me out a little and made me miss on my babymoon, photoshoots, liberty of throwing tantrums, shopping for myself and the baby and a big baby shower but at the same time has given me so much more.....I am so deeply grateful to both my families who despite this tensed macro environment made this experience so amazing for me; the surprises, gifts, unconditional pampering, undivided attention, anything and everything I could have asked for!  

I am truly overwhelmed with so much love....With tons of excitement and a tinge of nervousness, can’t wait to see our little wonder. 

Fingers crossed!!

Shruti Sethi (Mommy-to-be)