Memento - Part 3

There is no way, I am going to deliver now; I am not mentally prepared - my wife said. Don't worry, I said with calm, portraying a strong heart - if it has to be, then we cannot do much. But ma is not here yet, she said. We will handle it until then, it is our baby after all - I said with no idea what that meant.

Your blood pressure is on the higher side, our substitute doctor made the announcement stepping inside the exam room. It has been normal until now. Yes, but it is quite common in the last month – said the doctor. So, what’s the deal? I would like to keep her under observation for a day and check for the protein leak, she kept saying in an unmodulated voice. And, if it is indeed leaking, then we will have to get the baby delivered now. What? Are you crazy? The due date is still three weeks from now, we don't even have any help here right now and I have to be in the office today, all went through my mind in less than a second. But I kept my cool and asked if we can go back home and get few stuff in case we have to stay longer. I don't want to regret if something goes wrong, so I wont recommend going back home, you will have to get admitted now. And baby is completely mature in 37 week, so you shouldn't be worried about that too. My wife looked at me as if telling - you know that there is no way I am delivering now.

OK, 37th week, friday, routine checkup, very typical. I will drop you back home and go to the office after we are done there - I said as I used to on every other checkup. As usual I also carried my office bag with me, so that I don't have to go back up at home. Our doctor was on vacation for few days, so we were going to see another one in the same group. The nurse took the vitals and we waited for this new doctor, didn't have a zilch of idea that we will see four new doctors in next four days.

Were you guys prepared? You know - mentally? I have faced this question quite a few times. Well I didn't know, if I was. Nine months now and I know I was ready indeed - to play with him, to smile on his smile and to walk him until he sleeps, holding my shirt tight with his little feeble fist.

The End.

Memento - Part 2

All of a sudden, the monitor showing the heart beat rate spiked and our nurse came rushing in. What happened here? - She asked. No, nothing, she is just talking to her mom - I said with a casual smile. My wife was speaking over the phone - Ma, everything is fine. It wasn’t. I knew she was just too weak after a terrifying night and loosing probably quarter of her blood. I started talking to the nurse - you saved our lives and she smiled genuinely. I was finally relived that it was all under control. It was a minor surgery and bleeding stopped. Why the heck the previous doctor let it all go on for the whole night and didn’t decide to do the same thing earlier. Well, every doctor work differently, the old nurse mentioned it to me. And lucky(un) us that we had to deal with this particular one, I thought in disbelief. Although, it was a first good morning that I could say – we are a family of three.

Early in the morning, the shift changed and a very old looking nurse took the rein. First thing she looked at my wife’s situation and said this is not normal. You bet it is not, I thought. She rushed back and got another doctor on duty at that time. The new doctor told me that my wife needs to go through a minor surgery and hopefully it will be all good. I saw light at the end of this tunnel and said - please.

After couple of hours, I got the baby back from the nursery for my wife to take a first good look at him, but she didn’t care. I wasn’t surprised; she hardly had any consciousness left after the whole ordeal. She was also consistently loosing her blood and the nurse in that shift kept me assuring that it will stop on its own. Gosh, an unseasoned nurse and a confused looking doctor are the worst possible combination to have your baby delivered. Mujhe achcha nahi lag raha hai, chalo ghar chalte hain (I am not feeling well, could we go home) - she said and turned to the other side with any energy she was left with. I took the baby back to the nursery and told them that I am not picking him up until next morning.

The first hour of the 31st march, our baby was born. Bahut chhota sa hai (It is really tiny) - thats all I could say, held my wife's hand and burst into tears. It was really small, but way too cute, crying intermittently, as if annoyed by his disturbed sleep. By the time the nurse cleaned him up and wrapped in a blanket, he was opening his eyes and looking up towards me. One of the five (or may be six) nurses in the room put him on the scale and announced - 5 pounds and 6 ounces.

To be continued..

Memento - Part 1

Time flies by. He is in his ninth month already. We noticed a single tooth breaking out from his lower gum line. I tried to take a snap of it, but he would simply not open his mouth thinking that I am trying to feed him when he is not hungry. Finally, my wife captured it one day along with his most photogenic expression.

I can already see that things are evaporating from my memory, little things that he did in his first few months and how we have been adjusting to the presence of another human being in our home. He had decided to move in with us three weeks earlier than we expected. Thinking of it now, it almost feels like an impromptu drama that we enacted together.

We had came back from the hospital after spending four days in there and what a relief. There is a good reason it is called home. It was exactly the same as we left it on friday, but a very strange feeling. A stuffy smell, days old plates in the kitchen sink, the half filled tea cup, covered, that my wife wanted to have after she was back from the checkup. We both took a deep breadth and started planning our next week, before her parents will get here.

So, what do you guys think - our doctor asked us without looking up, while scribbling on her pad, standing right outside our rat hole. It was our third day in the hospital. Scanning through my wife's eyes and then looking at the doctor I said, if it helps to stay for another day here, then we would like to. Hospital is not for healthy people you know - the doctor spoke with the same synthetic smile on her face, that we were used to for past nine months. Healthy? You know that she has got three blood infusions in last two days, from which angle does she look healthy to you – I was screaming in my mind. Finally, the doctor decided to keep us in the hospital for one more day.

To be continued..