Monday, October 17, 2005

Each day brings more strangers smiling at me - Is it because I'm fatter than they are?

*Eyes lowered and all*
Voice over - Gabby Ma banne wali hai!
*Gabby hurries away (To the restroom actually. Yet again.)*
Voice overSharma gayi!

LOL! I’m PREGNANT! And I have been dying to tell you all about it. Pregnant women really, truly believe that the world is centered round their pregnancy and so the sooner they enlighten people about that, the sooner they can all understand their roles – they are but satellites to this planet called MY PREGNANCY, and then we can all talk about it. All the time. How cool no? I held back for four months because I figured that once we start talking about this great, great phenomenon, nobody (you can read that as I) will want to talk about anything else...and maybe 5 months of non-stop pregnancy talk might just be easier of my hapless readers that the full 40 weeks of it. You can all thank me later.

Gross things have been happening to my body and horror of horrors I am no longer noticing it. When one gross thing is over, another one starts. See if you were lying in a spotless pristine spa table draped in spotless white towels and a mosquito bites you in the centre of your back you would be horrified and complain but do you think prisoners chained in rat-infested underground dungeons stir when a roach runs up their leg? Same difference. There’s no longer the oh-my-god factor, it’s just a mild stirring of the conscious. You nod and move on. And now that you are all so interested in MY PREGNANCY, I might just tell all you about every roach, either in passing, or in great detail. So you can either gag or grin, depending on your respective tolerance levels. Sit back, it will be great :)

I bid goodbye to predictability a long time ago. I don’t know what I will feel in the next 5 minutes, I don’t know what I will want to eat, I don’t know WHEN I will fall asleep. I don’t know when I will laugh and more importantly when I will cry. Granted “Notebook” was a bad choice for this hormone plagued body but Mr.Gabby lost it when he caught me crying while watching the Apollo mission on the History channel. My explanation between ribcage-shattering sobs of how “They had all worked so hard! Too hard!” didn’t quite cut it. But he played his comforting part to the T. After all, I am but a vessel for his procreation here, and we do not let him forget that. So I bid goodbye to self-control. I am also bidding good bye to all my ultra low waist fashions and the teeny little tees and those sexy bitches called high heels...comfort is paramount now. And no, I’m not giving all my clothes away, so stop forming that line ladies! I aim to get back into them. Laugh all you want people, I will do this. I can do this. I hope to do this. I will do this? God, please let me do this. Pulllleeeaze let me do this GOD!

When I first found out, I talked to friends who have recently acquired the Mommy tags, hoping that they would dish on all the crazy stuff. But horror of horrors that Mom-amnesia is not a fable! They REALLY forget all the scary parts. They gush and tell you it will all pass and it’s all so worth it and “Think of it, you’ll have a cute little Gabby at the end of this!” Pretty nice to hear and all...but these babies, they do not drop from the sky you know, and EVERYTHING is going to change. FOREVER. How can all that be cute and warm and sunny? Floral maternity frocks, glowing skin and hubbies tying your shoe laces on sunny park benches is for the ads...what happens in REAL life? Give me THAT!

Very, very luckily for me, I have 4 friends who are going though this with me.(Yes, 4. It's like we have taken it upon ourselves to boost the desi population of the New England area.) They are all about a month or two ahead or behind me in this and they all extremely vocal with their complaints. So we all get together and complain. It’s beautiful, all that free flow of knowledge, makes for many, many interesting discussions. Interesting how “horrifying” turns “interesting” when it happens in the collective. All that letting out feels so good. Well I can’t really discuss how my belly button is starting to look slightly distended with people at work now, can I?

As we head towards that much awaited 40th week, we rush though doing this and that. Preparing the nursery, and the guest rooms, for all the different relatives who will be visiting. Yes the in-laws will be here too. More on that later. Much more on that later! :) The delivery itself is a much discussed topic. Mr.Gabby doesn’t do so well in hospitals. He assures me he will be the best birthing partner ever (like I have any data points to compare him with!) but this image of Mr.Gabby fanning himself in a corner of the labor room with an IV drip on his arm is just not leaving my head! We can’t have him hogging all the attention, can we? After the baby arrives, it will anyway be about the baby. Let me make a scene while I can at least! My Mom worries “You, you, you! How will you make a hole in all that selfishness for the baby?” How will I, I wonder!!!! :)

So in case you did not get the drift yet there will be a lot of pregnancy talk on this blog. But people remind us that these are the last few months of Mr.Gabby-and-I kind of stories and we are trying to make the most of that. So there will be other stuff too. Don’t run away guys!! I haven’t even told you about my yoga classes and all the hot and verrry flexible chicks there yet!

71 Comments:

Blogger Vee Cee said...

CONGRATS!!!! So, I was right (go back to your posts on Aug 3, 4 and look at my comment)!!!
And, in case you are wondering if your cravings for onion rings is normal, it totally depends on what you do with them.
:)

11:15 AM  
Blogger gvenum said...

Great news! Congrats Gabby. Find out if Mr. Gabby might be needing my superman suit for all superhuman things he has to do for the next few months.

>> I haven’t even told you about my yoga classes and all the hot and verrry flexible chicks there yet!

I love happy, promising endings. You didn't dissapoint at all:)

11:58 AM  
Blogger Twilight Fairy said...

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG

11:59 AM  
Blogger Twilight Fairy said...

Congrats deary!!! wonder what you would look like now.. not as skinny as earlier I guess.. and I suppose your skin problem would be history now eh? :) .. so all that house hunting was for the new arrival kya?

12:02 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats ! My wife and I recently had a baby boy, and the only advice we can give is to stop expecting what you have read in books or seen in movies. Every pregnancy is different, and there are only a miniscule amount of pregnancies that are textbook perfect. Enjoy every moment and rest up. Once the baby arrives, trust me he/she is going to keep you on your toes for a long long time.

12:22 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congrats Gratis :-) And to Mr.Gabby too.

I'm sure these developments will make for some very entertaining posts indeed!

12:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I suspected so. Much like the vc dude. The poem on unexpected changes to your plans comes to mind? *grin*

1:01 PM  
Blogger tris said...

nice .

1:55 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

CONGRATS Gabby baby!! Mr, Mrs and junior Gabby. Looks like lots of fun stuff coming up :-)

1:55 PM  
Blogger anantha said...

Yo Gabby! was stuck speechless in the morning. Now i have read enough to actually leave a comment that is longer than the three letters that i left earlier... Congrats!!!!! Have fun :D
And ya, I am eagerly waiting for all those stories about your yoga classes and all the hot and verrry flexible chicks there

2:16 PM  
Blogger Peg said...

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
I hear a cry in the night!! Hey that is exellent news!! Congratualtions and many blessings to you and the Mister!!
All will be well!! And after my first, at my 6 weeks check-up, I not only was wearing my size seven jeans but had weighed three pounds less when I got pregnant!!
See what sleepless nights and worrying about "everything" can do for your post baby figure! ;-0}
Just kidding, about the last part of the weight loss method!! Kinda! ;-0}

Many Congratulations!!

3:05 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Whew Gabby, this is awesome! Congratulations and YES, YOU ARE SO RIGHT about the diminishing horror at the changes the body goes through.Wait till you get clumsy and forgetful, that happens too :-O

Peggy

3:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WOW !! CONGRATS ! That is so cool !!

Big, huge, enormous, squeezy hug from me to you and the Mr.

Wow, I'm blown away. I can't believe you were able to hide it from us for so long. Dyamn !

*Note to self: Must buy teensy-weensy cutie booties for future Boston trip*

4:16 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MD (chaitealatte)

5:01 PM  
Blogger shub said...

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!congraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaats! *hugs* *hugs* *hugs*
now onto the rest of the article too :D

5:17 PM  
Blogger anantha said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

5:19 PM  
Blogger anantha said...

* is reminded of a particular post on this blog where he was the first commenter on the post and smiles as he reads his comment there :)

6:01 PM  
Blogger AmitL said...

OH WOW.***drumroll and applause***...hearty congrats,Gabby.I,for one,look forward to the next few months of 'preggy'talk from you.And,I am sure u will run a quiz for us bloggers to select a 'baby name',too?Please?heh heh.Just kidding.Again,congrats and Take Care.

8:48 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Congratulations Gabby

8:56 PM  
Blogger Casablanca said...

Congratulations.
Right now.. I'm still reading. But if you stop talking about EVERYTHING else, I might have to leave ;)

Too much baby talk freaks me out :p

9:00 PM  
Blogger Hornswoggler said...

wow!!!! I read 'fellow-mom-to-be' on my comment box, choked on my extra-thick milkshake and hurried here. Congratulations to you and the to-be-dad. And yes I have that IV drip labour room image about P to. Am v scared he'll faint when asked to cut the umbi cord. ha ha.
Waiting for the yoga class update :)

10:14 PM  
Blogger Arunima said...

congrats!!

One of my sissy too is six months prgenant and she looked damn cute when I visisted her last week.

Her husband keeps eating a lot it seems :-)

10:25 PM  
Blogger Visithra said...

COngrats :))))))))))) I love babies when you were saying there's a lot of pregnant ladies around I was tempted to ask ;)

and ure pregnant together with ur friends awwww ;) |

Congrats again ;)

10:40 PM  
Blogger Twilight Fairy said...

Come to think of it.. I remember I also commented on some post here, where you sounded like you were pregnant!! I guess it did come out somewhere in ur posts :p

1:36 AM  
Blogger Chugs said...

congrats :)

1:59 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

When you mentioned 'Project B' on your post dated Sept. 28, I thought that's what you meant.

Congrats and have a happy pregnancy! :)

5:02 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh sorry, it was 'Subject B'.

5:03 AM  
Blogger pingoo said...

Hey Congartulations :) Just when we had some preg talk at work yday ..I read your post ..more preg talk here !! A guy at work wanted me to accompany his wife to U2 concert yday. I said ok and later realized that his wife is 7 or 8 months into pregnancy ! That freaked me out ...I had a feeling that.. when we are at the concert ..her water is gonna break and blizzy(blizzy is the name of the kid..I'll tell you about the name in a moment) is gonna pop out... now whats she gonna say ??...."Its a beautiful day"... straight to U2.

Story behind "blizzy" - When the weather is all snowy snowy..cold cold and all..when there are blizzards...couples tend to ilu-ilu more than in any other season. This tendency has been refered by my friend as "blizzard baby plans"..and apparently he had one this year..hence we nick-named his kid - "blizzy".

Too much pregnancy talk can kill me but lets c what stories you got up your sleeves :).

7:02 AM  
Blogger Sin said...

:):):) Congratulations!!! I lovvee babies. I guess you can quote Chandler and say I have baby fever! They say you get the utmost attention and love from your hubby when you are pregnant. Make use of it! :D

7:10 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Congratulations! My wife and I can very well relate to your symptoms, she would sob if the toast got burnt :-O

I look forward to lots of entertainment on this front. HA HA!

Nick

7:21 AM  
Blogger Akruti said...

Congratulations:)

7:58 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Gabby-
Congratulations!!! Is it wrong to now go through your previous posts over the months and exclaim.."I thought as much"! :)

Enjoy!
SB

8:17 AM  
Blogger B o o said...

Hi Gab,

I had to open my mouth to congratulate you. Join the club! :) Sleep well! That's the most piece of advice I got and I was like "I can't sleep more and store it for later"! But it helps to know that "once upon a time, you slept"! ;) - Boo.

8:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

HEY HEY Gabbie, CONGRATULATIONS!

I'm a silent reader of your blog. I had to drop a line this time :D

9:23 AM  
Blogger tris said...

gab - check out my latest food reco too.

9:23 AM  
Blogger The Man Who Wasnt There said...

Well frankly me not really sure what is the "right" reaction when someone says she is pregnant..I mean do you say "Congrats!" (didnt sound right well I mean saying it as if it is an "achievement" didnt really convey the right tone..I had only Mr. Gabby's best interests in mind...),say "oh cool!" (Well this pretty much understates what I want to say really...I mean this is the same reaction probably Sania Mirza would have given to another 2 crores coming to her kitty...I know this is a bad analogy but somehow wanted to fit in Sania....err..*blushes*),say "Err..so?" (Do I even need to explain about this...? ),say "Dudette where's the party yaar?" (This sounds more like a movie title..hold on it IS a play on a cross over movie title!!),say "I hope your health is fine...." (Dumb I know...but then since you seem to know all about the psychology of men....guess wont be surprised at this....),say "I am happy for you..." (duh! But obviously...)....

Well so being caught in the unenviable-but-all-too-familiar poshish of not knowing what exactly to say I take refuge in the word "ineffable"....and ask aimlessly...
"Nice weather there eh?"

Quite Embarrassed,
Girish...!

12:45 PM  
Blogger The Man Who Wasnt There said...

And oh ofcourse I cannot even give a all-knowing smile and say..."Been there..done that..." ;) Btw it's a Happy and Embarrassed Girish....

12:48 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi Gabby!
Been a silent reader for a long long time. Couldn't resist dropping in to say "Congratulations". Take care and sleep well.

2:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

VOILA! Happy days ahead for Mr&Mrs G :-D

Your belly button will invert itself. Wait and see!!

3:05 PM  
Blogger Rhyncus said...

This is nice. You could always come back to read these posts when you get struck with momnesia in the near future. Have a nice time ahead! :)

11:33 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

boy or girl
what will it be
whatever it is
sweet little gabby

11:35 PM  
Blogger Swathi Sambhani aka Chimera said...

A huge Congrats (accompanied with a virtual Hug)
one of my close frends at work is also preggy so
all these rants rnt new at all.

wud luv to read all 'bout it...

12:09 AM  
Blogger :-) said...

Gabby: Hearty congrats baby!!!!!!!!!!. What a lovely post. Its raining joy in this blog. Thanks for getting us wet.

Sigh. Yet another mom on my blog roll.
*Smiley, when are you going to stop reading this baby stuff?*

1:12 AM  
Blogger :-) said...

Leela and Fairy: Woman's instinct. Ha!

1:13 AM  
Blogger burf said...

for sakes do not name it baby gabby, call it anything baby rajnikant, baby mahadevan, baby kamal but not that..... pllllsssssssssss

2:06 AM  
Blogger burf said...

and huge congratulations

2:07 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

allo,
As entertaining as ever.
Good luck to the lil feller or fellie.

Naturally things aren't tra-la-la for the hubba. Fancy having to put up with all the mood swings and sudden cravings.
Best wishes to both of you.

2:38 AM  
Blogger Twilight Fairy said...

smiley, not woman's instinct.. it's called "observation".. :)

5:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thrilled to bits! Congratulations! Enjoy every day and write down all that you can! I'm gonna read :-). And a big CONGRATS to Mr. Gabby too.

7:19 AM  
Blogger GratisGab said...

THANKS PEOPLE! All overwhelmed here. This feels so cool :) And HEEEY, it seems like a lot of my silent readers have broken their silence...I don't keep those fancy trackers and hit-counters on my blog so everytime a new person/Anon comments it's like "YAY"! (How sad am I! *grin*)

For those of you who guessed it from my previous posts, what can I say, pure genius! Thanks for your name suggestion too ladies and gentlemen...but we might go with something very un-Rajnikant-like (Burf, Burf, it's okay)....More on this later.

By the way an update from the hubby. He thinks the crying and laughing have NOTHING to do with the pregnancy. Nada! "We've been here before" says he. "It's just 9 months of PMS".

He is so bold. He lives here after all. Maybe knocking up a woman gives them like the biggest ego-boost EVER! LOL!

Girish, it's stopped raining here. Thanks for asking :)

7:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

hey congrats!! :)
so u gonna be all fat n round? hehehe :)
happee babying!!
cheers!!

8:02 AM  
Blogger anantha said...

Gabby: I take umbrage at all the negative slants thrown left right and centre about the name Rajnikanth? :p
For starters, it is a perfectly good name derived from the Vedas. "Rajni" is one of the wives of the Surya and even with my minimal Sanskrit knowledge, I can safely say that "Rajnikanth" refers to the offspring of Surya and his wife, Rajni!
20 years from now, Rajini will be the new Sean Connery, charming everyone even at 70 and everyone will be sorry that they did not name their kid after him. Soch lo! I am having fun, even by adopting a part of Rajnikant for my online persona! Imagine the fun if your kid has the whole name. Endless fun, I say!

9:32 AM  
Blogger GratisGab said...

20 years from now, Rajnikanth's hairline is the only thing that would have head north. O wait a min, the hair-line, it still exists?

I'm sorry, but he is UGLY. :)

9:36 AM  
Blogger anantha said...

Let's be realistic. I did not say "Robert Redford" or "Richard Gere" or for that matter, "Harrison Ford" (all three still have a full head).
Sean Connery lost hair much early, and he still has that *grace*, the *charm* and the *style*. And Rajini has oodles of those and hence the comparison!
"Ugly"?? Looks like you have seen only certain facets of Thalaivar and that is a pity. Like he himself says, wait till you see every face! The context of that quote was different, but like a lot of his lines, it is adaptable ;)

10:30 AM  
Blogger GratisGab said...

We Gabbies are not into copying :) So no Rajni and no Richard Gere either. I hope he/she has his/her own brand of charm. Btw, I can't say much about your idol's "charm"...I've caught glimpses of it. It involves a lot of finger movement and head-shakes and eyebrow-raises and scarf-flings and hair-tosses...sounds more "desperate girl in bar" rather than "hero" when typed out!!!

Are we still friends? :)

10:37 AM  
Blogger anantha said...

Ofcourse, I *would* give a similar recco for Chiru (and am sure a lot of your relatives from Vizag would agree as well), but for one reason. I am unable to do this whole-heartedly only because I am half-Tam by birth. Also, if I recco Chiru, then my other half, which is Mallu will fight for a name like Blossom Babykutty or something like that and then 20 years from now, I will have to watch my back! So, no more fighting for names ;)

10:38 AM  
Blogger GratisGab said...

Chiru???

10:39 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anti I love you.

10:40 AM  
Blogger anantha said...

Arre, copying ki baath kahaan se aayi? Its all perception. :D
Why can't we desis appreciate one of our own sons of the soil?? Mithun da and Thalaivar are so much under-rated that it pains my heart.
Of course we are still friends. And that is why I am letting that "desperate girl in bar" statement go without batting an eyelid. But my fight to bring Rajinikant into the living rooms of all you Amrika educated folk shall continue from the inside ;)
Chal, ab mein kuch kaam karoonga! :D

10:48 AM  
Blogger anantha said...

Me too, Anti-curious, me too! :P
Your mysteriousness is very attractive, jaane-man!!
If you are anytime in the Chicago area, call me, ok... :p

(P.S: Arre, is love shove ki baath chodo aur apna resume/CV ek copy bejo!)

10:51 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anti I love you.

11:05 AM  
Blogger GratisGab said...

Heeeey!!! Lucky day! Anti-C is here! So this is a two-way street? I should start charging you love birds for using my space :)

So Anti, is this the real thing? (Please note, Anti-C does not seem very articulate today)...No offense but he/she is stuck at ilu :)

11:09 AM  
Blogger anantha said...

Gabby: I was a popular kid, by most accounts and this sort of attention is certainly not unknown to me. But, looking at it from a detached perspective, am reminded of this exchange between one of my favorite on-screen couples (thanks to IMDb.com)

Marie Barone: I have my own opinions. I'm not just some trophy wife.
Frank Barone: Trophy wife? What contest in hell did I win?

11:40 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

OH...MY...GOD! SUPERB! :)
Congratulations Gabby! What shall we call the little one: Gabby Baby ? :D
Look forward to more on the topic later, but lets talk about your yoga classes for a while... :)

3:06 PM  
Blogger phatichar said...

Congratulations...and welcome to the club of parenthood!!

10:11 PM  
Blogger GratisGab said...

Anti -What happened to your louvvverr?

Karan,Phatichar - Thanks guys! Yoga class femmes will be covered, not to worry!

9:08 AM  
Blogger anantha said...

Gabby: Do you have any idea who your you and your parents trace their lineage to? You seem to have the same genes that the mythical sage Naradha had.

louvvverr, it seems :p

11:40 AM  
Blogger Krish said...

Gabby, how did I miss on this post - Congratulations for increasing the desi population in amrica :-) (no seriously, really my best wishes are with you :-))

2:45 PM  
Blogger anumita said...

CONGRATULATIONS gabby!!!!!!!!

10:20 AM  
Blogger KJ said...

Congrats to u n ur hubby.

Join the gang, welcome to the world of sleepless nites, poo poo & endless changing of diapers!!!!

But it seems worth it when ur baby comes running to ur arms as u get back from work, all ur tiredness vanishes in a second when ur baby says mama!!!

take care of urself & the baby.

congrats once again!!!

10:19 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sweetheart... I am so glad for you... congratulations and all the best... and have fun... as they say its a phase... so breeze through it.. :)

HUGSSSSSSSSSS

1:30 AM  

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