Tag Archives: Covid

My Covid Diaries: God ordained pregnancy

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“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” Colossians 3:17

My pregnancy progressed with no obstacles. Movements became stronger by the day and it filled my heart with joy every time I felt him move. I started showing pretty early and also lost between 8-10 kgs in the first and second trimester because of my eating habits. Overall, we were blessed with a peaceful pregnancy, considering we were busy balancing our office work and home work and were up late most nights.

Letting my office know!

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” Deuteronomy 31:8

Sometime in July, there were talks about offices opening up in phases and this worried me a bit. I decided to have a talk with my manager and to let him know that I am pregnant. When I chatted with him, by default I took the approach of apologizing for being pregnant, like I was admitting I made a mistake; and I also was more focused on reassuring my manager that my pregnancy would not stop me from performing at the expected levels. His response shocked me. He first asked me not to apologize and congratulated me because a second kid is good news (I knew that but the fear of being judged made me behave otherwise). He went on to tell how good it is to have a second child and that we had made a good decision as a family. He concluded by assuring me that the team, office, and he would help in every way to make my pregnancy easy on me and that I would not be required to come to office until it is completely safe to and only if I want to. He even asked me to send an email including everything we discussed and replied back with a confirmation on the same.

His kind words really made me feel so much comfortable, it showed that as an organization and as a manager, they had my best interests in mind, and treated me like an employee and not a machine. With the way things were going, offices did not open until much much later, sometime in either November or December!

Thia starts loving baby Lionel…

“For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord; I sing for joy at what your hands have done. How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts!” Psalms 92:4-5

We had to consciously make Thia sleep next to Santosh more, to avoid her kicking or headbutting my stomach by mistake in the night. The transition was hard but Thia made it easy, as always! She was weaned off breastmilk and moved to formula in the first trimester and soon she started to understand when we repeatedly told her that there is a baby in amma’s stomach. One day, sometime between the first and second trimester, Thia lifted my t-shirt up and kissed my stomach and said baby Lion. From that day onwards, she always addressed my stomach as baby Lion and was always aware that she had to be careful around my stomach.

When the movements became more prominent, I started letting her feel the kicks, but it took her till my third trimester to properly feel the kicks herself when I put her hand over my stomach. Through my pregnancy, Thia grew to love her little brother in my stomach, much before he was even born. This truly was a blessed time.

Our decision to shift homes!

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

In the mid of 2020, we decided that we would need to shift to a smaller house to be more financially stable. We first discussed making this move sometime in the beginning of 2021. But circumstances changed and we had to prepone our decision to move as early as October itself. After discussions and debates, we decided to move in October so that it won’t be too close to my delivery date. My dad decided to move in to a one bedroom close to us so that he would continue to have his own space and privacy.

Once that was decided, we started mentally preparing ourselves for the move, as we knew this time we had accumulated a lot of stuff and the move was definitely going to be super hard on us 😛

Continued protection and good health!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:6-7

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes and through my second trimester, we were able to better refine my diet. Also, with a better understanding of what suited and what didn’t suit me, we were able to keep my sugar under control with almost minimal oral medication, and no insulin, AT ALL!!!

Our anomaly and NT scan went well and baby Lion was growing strong, healthy and flawless, under God’s love and protection. We only regretted not spending as much time talking to Lionel as we did with Thia. Our main focus was to ensure Thia never felt excluded, whilst getting our office work done and keeping the house clean. Now that by itself was a herculean task.

My blessing: my husband!!!

“In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.” Ephesians 5:28-33

Santosh spent most of last year working day and night! During the day he took care of Thia, and in the nights he worked late to ensure he was meeting deadlines. And he never complained, even once…

I can’t thank God enough for him in my life. The way he is, the way he treats me and our family, is a true testament to his upbringing and faith, all and only God it is!

My Covid Diaries: Pregnant during Covid

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So now that I knew I was pregnant, it was time to let my doctor know and fix the necessary appointments. Before we started the next steps, we sat and spent some time thanking God. Then we informed our first family; parents and siblings. Everyone was so happy and every time I thought of how God showed me this and promised me exactly this, it filled me with more joy.

God’s promise, delivered!

Soon after, we informed Dr. Rajnish and he asked us to come in for our first scan and appointment post the lockdown. I was already so excited, excited to hear the heartbeat and know that there was a little baby growing in me. But we were also so anxious about being pregnant in the midst of such a weird time, with the pandemic and everything surrounding it. But we decided to stand strong on our faith. God had promised us a baby and had given us as promised.

So if God had chosen this time for me to be pregnant, then he would protect me through this pregnancy as well. And we again reminded ourselves to stand strong on our faith and trust God.

Trusting in God’s protection, always!

“The God of my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my Savior, You save me from violence. I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies.” 2 Samuel 22:3-4

My first scan was good. We heard the heartbeat and were filled with so much joy. The doctors appointment went well and we started settling into the new normal, where Santosh wasn’t even allowed to come in for my scans. I felt bad but it was what it was. And rules like this had to be followed for a reason.

My pregnancy progressed and I started experiencing very severe nausea caused by an aversion to a long list of foods. This list included dals, spices, coconut, certain veggies… the list was so endless. So many things made me sick that it took me a while before I figured out what didn’t. That one thing that I enjoyed was meat! This was so totally opposite to my pregnancy with Thia.

Facing challenges, with God steering us…

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

We also had to give blood and urine tests in our next appointment. and when my test results came back, it became evident that I had a very serious urinary infection (bacterial), and to top it, this infection was completely asymptomatic. This worried me as the doctor mentioned I would need to take antibiotics to treat the infection and there was a small chance of miscarriage. With my history of miscarriage, the word by itself, with however small the risk, made me scared. But I continued to pray and trust God, cos this was His blessing, and He would protect it.

My blood tests also showed that I may have gestational diabetes and hypothyroidism, and I was put on medication for both. This further shortened the list of things I could eat. It was definitely a struggle but we overcame it all and set ourselves into a routine of what to eat and what to not eat. There were still so many days when I would eat something thinking it is okay and then I’d be sick for the rest of the day.

By the end of the first trimester, we were able to monitor my sugar, and my medicines were reduced to the minimal. Though I was restricted from eating most of the things that I liked, I still was healthy and had a healthy baby growing in me.

I am so thankful God took care of these pregnancy concerns for me:

  1. Bacterial urinary infection: Disappeared within a week with medication and without any long term effects on baby and me. Santosh had a dream during this time that we met with an accident but we were okay, even the baby.
  2. Low heartbeat: First scan showed that the babies heartbeat was a little low. The heart beat picked up drastically within weeks.
  3. Gestational diabetes: I was diagnosed with gestational (not completely confirmed in the first trimester) and put on medication to control the sugar levels. God brought me down to the lowest level of medicine by the end of my first trimester. He gave us the wisdom to identify and eat only those foods that kept the sugar in control.
  4. Breathlessness: During my second month, I experienced severe breathlessness a couple of times and informed my doctor of the same. The doctor suggested a cardio visit if it continued. Prayed about it and the breathlessness reduced drastically.

This is just some of the many ways God protected us during the first trimester.

Feeling him for the first time!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

I started feeling flutters when I was about 11 and half weeks pregnant. These felt so identifiably different from the usual gas or acidity you feel when you’re pregnant. I was amazed at how early I could feel him, and how often as well. It was truly amazing.

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes. Psalm 112:7

God in action! This is what I call it…

My Covid Diaries: Jesus take the wheel

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‘If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.’ John 15:7

The last time I was here, I was speaking of how God answers our prayers, but only at His time. Here’s a recap of what I said.

Now, what I am going to do is rewind a bit and tell you about how God set the stage for one of the best things that happened to me this year. Let us start with December, the end of 2019.

How 2019 ended for me!

‘Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.’ 1 Peter 5:7

The year of 2019 was good, my gift from God, my first daughter Thia, turned one. I returned to work in April, post my maternity leave. My journey back to work may have been tough, leaving my daughter at barely over 6 months and having just introduced her to a creche, there was a lot that was happening but I had quite a great workplace, very understanding colleagues and a super accommodative manager who let me work from home once a week. But over all this, I had God watching over me through every step.

Thia, from day one at the creche, was one of the easiest babies to manage (as told to me by the creche staff). One small example of this, on the first day at creche, she was to stay for only 2 hours and my husband was to pick her up. The creche staff mentioned that they might call him in early incase she gets very cranky. But to our and to everyone’s surprise, on the very first day of her going to creche she stayed for over 3 hours. They only called Santosh in to pick her up because they didn’t want to keep her any longer as her milk was over, and they didn’t have any to feed her. This is how well our God takes care of us when we have faith. Since then, Thia has been with the creche till March 2020 and she learnt and grew and made some amazing memories there.

I started to actively look for jobs in October and landed a job in PhonePe, where I am working currently. The job came at the right time and with the right offer.

2020: Not just the year of Covid, but also the year of many blessings…

‘And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.’ 2 Corinthians 9:8

How my year began: Work from home, the new normal!

The start of 2020 brought on the start of a new job for me. I settled in quite quickly into a workplace that was one of the most welcoming I have been in. Within a month, I was settling in and feeling like part of the team. Just when I was comfortable and sure of what I was doing, it was March and we were by then very much aware of the rising number of Covid cases and the impending lockdown. In the first week of March, my office announced an indefinite work from home, and we were told that we will be updated as and when the government takes any further decisions.

Meanwhile, on the news and everywhere else, all we heard about is the number of rising cases, and deaths. And me being me, I still didn’t know exactly what Covid was.

God led decisions and God’s answered prayers

In the second week of March, Santosh and I were speaking and one of us opened up the idea of trying to get pregnant again, it may have been me 😛 Ok, it was ME!

So we discussed and decided to consult my doctor who delivered Thia (Dr. Rajnish Samal) and see what he says. My concern was whether we should wait till I lose weight and get healthy. Also, we were initiating our immigration process to Canada, so I didn’t know whether to wait till we got there or to just get pregnant. When I asked him all of these questions, he said I should try for both, to lose weight and to get pregnant as well, pretty solid advice that was and we decided to go with what he said. I am still thankful for the wonderfully practical advice he gave me on that day.

God’s promise of what was to come…

Exactly 4 days later on the 17th of March, which is my dad’s birthday, I had a dream that I was pregnant with a baby boy. The next day when I told Santosh, he was so excited but reminded me that we should wait and see what God has in store for us. Also, one thing that needs to be mentioned now is that I was trying to get myself to wean Thia off breastfeeding but wasn’t able to get myself mentally ready. A week after I had the dream, I noticed that Thia had reduced her feeds and was biting me in frustration. This made me wonder if I wasn’t producing enough milk, and the next most obvious question was, “Could I really be pregnant?”.

The excitement was building, and we waited patiently till the first day of my next cycle to see if I missed it and if I should test. The weirdest part was that my cycles were still so weird, so there was actually absolutely no way to know when was late. But we decided to test on day number 32, which was April 4th.

Santosh bought the test and asked me to wait till I was at least a day late before I tested. But I had no patience, and on the 4th morning I decided to take the test. Thia was playing with her friends in the hall and Santosh was with them. I cannot forget the excitement and nervousness as I took the test (without telling Santosh as he would have only warned me to wait so that I don’t get disappointed). I waited with my heart in my mouth for the line/lines to light up. After what felt like forever, the second pink line was shown nice and dark and there was this oh-so-faint first line, it was as good as invisible but it was there, and I knew in that moment that God changed my dream into a reality, and I was pregnant. I called Santosh in frantically and showed it to him. We took another test, and with this one both lines were dark and so visible. We just stood there and thanked God for giving us the best gift ever, in the midst of our struggle with the pandemic, the lockdown, the new way of life, working from home or hardly working from home, the sleepless nights, and so much more.

All that mattered in that moment was the joy we felt when we knew God had given us the best gift ever. Here is a picture of the test from that day:

‘For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ Jeremiah 29:11

So this time again, I will be taking you through my amazing journey with this pregnancy. Today, I’m hardly a week from meeting our baby and I want to get this journey on record before I deliver so that the memories are fresh and I am still free and able to complete it. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed living it and penning it down for all of you.