my first, my everything

1. WAS YOUR FIRST PREGNANCY PLANNED?
honestly, i thought i'd waited it out till at least a year, get our life in order, learn how to live with each other, or at least go on a honeymoon before we even think about having a baby. tak sempat semua tu. first try dah lekat. hah! no regrets or anything. i am blessed. because i know couples who've been trying for years but still no rezeki. and also given my history of severe period pains and ovarian cysts, never thought it'd happen so fast. but alhamdulillah.

2. WHAT WAS YOUR SECOND CHOICE NAME OR OPPOSITE GENDER NAME?
Aryanna Arwen Johanabas was the second choice, actually. initially, we wanted to put Arissa Arwen Johanabas because the husband's name ada 'Haris' but Aryanna won the toss. maybe the next one, if its a girl. (ceh boleh lagi nak fikir next one lagi tu!). If Arwen was a boy, it would've been Aaryan Haris Johanabas.

3. WHAT WERE YOUR FIRST REACTIONS?
total disbelieve, like .. how the heck did this happen? and then i freaked out, and i smiled, and got freaked out again, and i don't know .... i wasn't really sure how i should be feeling then. happy only came much later, after the reality sunk in.

4. HOW OLD WERE YOU?
i just turned 28 then.

5. HOW DID YOU FIND OUT YOU WERE PREGNANT?
i felt sick, like i was coming down with flu or something. felt tired all the time. then i started craving for sushi, Inari specifically. i sort of had this instinct that maybe i could be pregnant. i didn't rely on my period because i know how irregular they can be. so i googled the symptoms on the net, and with gaping mouth, i mentally ticked on almost all that are listed. told my husband. and the next day, i bought the pregnancy test and peed on it in the toilet in the office. at 9.30 am. yes, i even remembered the time.

6. WHO DID YOU TELL FIRST?
it wasn't my husband. because i couldn't get him. i YM, i called and he didnt answer. and blabber mouthed wanker that i am, desperately needed to tell someone or i'll burst like sparkly colourful confettis, so i told bob and sonia, my colleuges.

7. DID YOU WANT TO FIND OUT THE SEX?
yeah! so i know what kind of stuff to get for him/her for preparation.

8. DUE DATE?
due date was 10 or 11 september 2008. yes, in the middle of the fasting month.

9. DID YOU HAVE MORNING SICKNESS?
ah, only for the first 8 months of it. you can ask my husband. he's the one who cleaned up most of it anyway. heh.

10. WHAT DID YOU CRAVE?
depends. it changed everyday. from messy roadside ramlee burger to juicy cempedak goreng. but never anything healthy. the first thing i craved for was rainbow paddle pop ice cream that's so rare to find. the only craving that wasn't fulfilled was Portuguese egg tart. people say that's why Arwen is drooling nonstop.

11. WHO/WHAT IRRITATED YOU THE MOST?
i tried not to hate anyone and i think my threshold of tolerance towards people was at its peak when i was pregnant. i was really agreeable, kind and friendly. very unlike me. and i didnt talk much. maybe because i knew i had puke breath so i didn't dare to open my mouth. as for things .. i couldn't smell anything nice at first. shampoo, soap, perfume, cologne, air fresheners, food.. all made me sick. and during my pregnancy, i couldn't eat curry. any curry. i hated it even more when it came out. can you imagine the pain of having semi-digested, spicy, oily curry coming out through your nose when you puke?

12. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CHILD'S SEX?
girl. although people keep on mistaking her for a boy.

13. DID YOU WISH YOU HAD THE OPPOSITE SEX ?
maybe when she turns 15 and boys start to call the house looking for her.

14. HOW MANY POUNDS DID YOU GAIN THROUGHOUT THE PREGNANCY?
i lost 4kg before i reached the 3rd trimester, due to all the puking. but gained 20 more after that. now i need to lose about 75 kg - the equivalent of godzilla's left toe. i want to look like one of the olsen twins, the one with the eating disorder.

15. DID YOU HAVE A BABY SHOWER?
somebody wanted to throw me one. but i told them, wait till i know the baby's sex. but once i knew, i didn't want to have it.

16. DID YOU HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS DURING YOUR PREGNANCY?
only the constant puking, the sleep deprivation, swollen everything, hormotional issues, inability to wash hair every alternate days and thus suffering from limp hair with hormonal grease, and sciatica - you know, the normal thing that happens to every woman growing a human being inside of her.

17. WHERE DID YOU GIVE BIRTH?
Kohilal Medical Centre (its a humble clinic with some of the most friendliest doctors and staff)

18. HOW MANY HOURS WERE YOU IN LABOR?
i was in pain at about 5 am only i didn't know that that was labour pain. coz it felt like i was having period cramps and food poisoning at the same time. you know - like you were going to puke and poop and fart and die all at once.

by 7 am i saw some stains on my bed (i didnt wear panties to sleep during the last weeks of my pregnancy because it only gets in the way of me having to pee every 30 minutes or so - and also because i had an embarrassing situation once where i pull up my kaftan and forgot to pull down my panties and just sat on the toilet to pee. very charming, indeed)

.. and then i walked down the stairs alone, stopping mid flight to catch my breath and bear the cramps that were getting stronger. told my husband that i think we're having this baby and he thought i said i was going to cook breakfast. once he realized what i truly meant by 'baby. hospital. now!', we woke my mom and went to the clinic.

got warded around 8.30 where i was told that i was already open at 5 cm ... and 5 hours and waves after waves of pain later, i was officially a mother. all in all i think it was about 8 hours. and that's all you wanted to know, right? well, you know me .. can never give a straight answer.

actually, i couldve just let you read it here. but it was nice to reminisce.

19. WHO DROVE YOU TO THE HOSPITAL?
the husband. luckily it was only 5 minutes away.

20. WHO WATCHED YOU GIVE BIRTH?
1 doctor, 1 nurse, 2 midwives, 1 husband, 1 brother. small delivery room. imagine.

21. WAS IT NATURAL OR C-SECTION?
natural

22. DID YOU TAKE MEDICINE TO EASE THE PAIN?
i dont know, the doctor poked a needle in my butt saying it was to manage the pain. but i felt everything. EVERYTHING! i even felt the outline of the shape of her face as she breached out. the forehead, the nose, the chin ... everything! very surreal. a few minutes later, i passed out. i think that was the painkiller kicked in too little too late.

23. HOW MUCH DID YOUR CHILD WEIGH?
2.85 kg

24. WHEN WAS YOUR CHILD ACTUALLY BORN ?
31st August 2008 at 1.38 pm

25. WHAT DID YOU NAME HIM/HER?
Aryanna Arwen Johanabas binti Azrin Haris

26. HOW OLD IS YOUR FIRST BORN TODAY?
5 months. 1 week. 6 days old

27. WOULD YOU DO IT AGAIN?
err ... (like what my friend nash said once) maybe i'll wait until she can wash her own ass.