As the third trimester creeped, we had finalised the house we would be moving in to. We found a newly constructed building that was ready by the third week of October. Soon, my sister moved out to her own place, followed by my dad who found a cozy one bedroom apartment very close to us.

Before we knew it, it was October 15th, and we were celebrating Thia’s second birthday. We got a Masha and the Bear cake made by Mano. Some photos from her special day:

God’s hand of protection over me

“But you, Lord, are a shield around me,
    my glory, the One who lifts my head high.” Psalm 3:3

Throughout my pregnancy God’s mighty shield of protection has surrounded me physically and mentally. The number of instances where his protection has been over me are uncountable but here is one that will stay with me forever. One day during my second or third trimester (This is why I shouldn’t have delayed writing this for 3 years almost), I was clearing up the kitchen and the cast iron tawa that we use to make dosa was on the gas stove. Quite absentmindedly, I picked up the tawa with both my hands. When I say both my hands, I mean i held it firm with both my hands, all ten fingers curdled around the pan. What I didn’t know was that the pan was just used, and was piping hot. I held on to the pan for at least 30 seconds before my pregnancy brain sent the signal up to my super slow brain and I felt the heat and kept the pan down.

With how hot the pan was, and the amount of time I held on to it, my hand should have been burned very badly. I panicked and held my hand under the tap for a few minutes and then went and sat down waiting to see blisters. Hours passed by but not a single blister appeared on my hand. Not one at all. And within an hour my skin was not even hurting or burning. What a miracle this was! What a huge huge miracle.

Even when we feel like nothing is going our way, it is going in God’s way!

“Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

After Thia’s birthday, we started packing up to be prepared for our move to our new house.

The first bad news we got is when the owner informed us that he wasn’t able to get the electricity line connected and that the officials were giving him a hard time but it would be done in a week max.

We decided to start moving our clothes slowly, and moved and arranged most of our clothes in the new house, leaving behind just a few clothes to live in. But a week passed by and we were in the fourth week of October but the electricity wasn’t fixed. I started to panic as I was hardly a month away from my delivery date (December 7 I think). We prayed and waited for things to fall in place and kept moving things slowly. Finally towards the 24th the house was ready and we were scheduled to move on the 26th when the ground floor of our house got filled with sewage water. We had to move to the new place the very next day and it was quite crazy. But God was with us through it all and sent us all the right people to help us. And even though we feared that we’d be paying rent in two places, God had other plans.

The owner in the new house only asked for prorated rent for the last week as the electricity delay was his fault. The owner of our current house gave us back our entire deposit and some more to compensate for the sewage water entering our house (it is very toxic and harmful for the baby). We had blessing after blessing.

Also, my dad being the first person to move out made so much sense because if he had been there when the sewage leak happened on his floor, he would have lost ALL his possessions. God has his way of protecting all of us.

By the first week of November we were moved in and slowly settling into our new home. I was one month away from holding my baby, that’s when the tough times began!

My last month was filled with severe skin irritation (PUPPP), hot flashes, and mood swings. To add to these, My AC took nearly a week to be installed. I would spend every night bathed in sweat and itchy. Through all those tough times, Santosh would give me towels soaked in cold water and ice to help me cool down and relieve the itchiness.

As I have said a zillion times, my husband is my best gift from God.

We got closer to the D day, and my doctor asked me to take a Covid test that would be valid for exactly 14 days (until November 30 – my birthday). Due to my gestational diabetes, I was scheduled for induction at 39 weeks. My doctor gave me the option to get admitted a day before my birthday so I could share my birthday with my baby, or get admitted on my birthday and have baby’s birthday as December 1st. We decided to get admitted on the evening of November 30th, and that’s what we did.

The story of my delivery, and birth of Lionel Santosh will be next.

Hope you enjoyed reading this!