Waiting to Exhale

The memory is fading so let me bottle it in cyberspace quickly. I was pregnant until almost six months ago, and somehow I just can't recall anymore what it felt like to lumber around with the big belly, to squeeze into the driver's seat, to do pregnancy yoga exercises, to eat eat eat, drink chhonka, sleep through the afternoon, keep books like 'What to Expect When You're Expecting' and Nutan Pandit's notes by the bedside... It was all rather pleasant, and boringly uneventful (except for the occasional scare of the baby being ulta in a breech position).
There was no pain (the occasional backache and some problem in the ninth month turning sides in bed), just a calm anticipation. A contentment. An excitement. Awaiting the arrival of a 'little person', another witness to our lives.

A couple of weeks before the delivery we drove off to Neemrana to catch a little sunlight in the wintertime and laze on louge chairs by the pool chugging beer and lime soda. Gorge on aloo paranthas on the fort's parapets looking at fields below. It was a lovely trip and Gautam needs to post the pictures on this site. As the D-day drew near, the impatience set in. What would it be - a girl or a boy? What would she/he look like? Would we remember all the breathing exercises from lamaz class? The exhaling, the long breathe-in, short puffs out, and the final cry - 'out'. Would it hurt? (Clearly I had NO IDEA.) We could only wait, to find out.