The first of many precious milestones to come!

By Amornrat Sidhu

First smile, first giggle, first word, first steps…all these heartwarming milestones begin with the biggest ‘first’ of all–the first time one discovers they are pregnant. To celebrate motherhood, we’ve asked members of the Thai-Indian community to share their precious moments of how they learnt they were expecting and how they broke the news to their partners, subsequently changing everyone’s lives forever.

WHAT DID I EAT?

Nimarta Narang
33 years old, Senior Analyst

I had no idea I was pregnant. I found myself throwing up for two days in the evenings and simply equated it to food poisoning. I could not eat anything, travelling to work was making me feel weak, and the medication I was taking to treat it was not helping. I then decided to visit a doctor and that is when I found out I was 2.5 months pregnant!

My husband was in Phuket for work and was not due back for another two days. I couldn’t wait, so I called him and told him the news that we were pregnant. He got the shock of his life! We were both in shock, but elated! When he returned home, I got the tightest hug, but it was not even for me! It was for our baby girl on the way!

THREE TESTS LATER

Navkirat Khanijou
33 years old, Mother of Two

My husband came home from work just in time to see me holding a positive pregnancy test. Surprised, his first question was not about the results, but where I got the test from! Still in disbelief myself, I told him that it was from the 7-11 down the street. Within the next 20 minutes, we found ourselves home from the pharmacy with three of the most expensive tests they carried. To him, more expensive meant more accurate. All three tests came back positive which lead to shock and happiness!

I thought that when we had our second baby, I would reveal the news in a more exciting way. However, the universe had written down that the second reveal would be very similar to the first…

BANGKOK, BABY, LONDON

Kruti Mawani
31 years old, Communications Consultant

To say that I was stressed out is an understatement. I was frantically performing Google searches like “How easy is it to fall pregnant?” and “False pregnancy stories”. I distinctly remember the day I bought the pregnancy test. I remember staring at this pee-filled stick, shell-shocked because my entire future was now different. Any pre-conceived notions I had about my life went into the trash with the test.

A bit dramatic, I suppose, but this lovely discovery was made barely one week before my fl ight to London—my MOVE to London. My husband left to London a few weeks before me for his job, and I was supposed to join him later after having dealt with administrative issues back home.

I had to break the news to my husband over the phone since we weren’t in the same country. Even though I was freaking out, I still wanted it to be special, so I decided to do something simple and cute. I drew a picture of a mum, dad, and a child holding hands and wrote “Congratulations, Papa!” and sent it to him. He called me straight away and there was so much joy and love in his voice. I’m thankful that my husband had no fear right from the beginning! My family, on the other hand, bounced between “I’m so excited to meet the baby!” and “Do you not know how to use birth control???”

WHILE HE WAS ASLEEP

Raveena Narang
30 years old, Mother of One

We were ready to begin the next chapter of our lives, but I did not anticipate it to happen so soon. This is why when I found that I couldn’t catch my breath while playing a two-hour sports match. Coupled with other suspicious symptoms, I was ready to take a test. I took a test that night, but the results came out negative. My husband and I decided to wait another week and take it then. The morning of the day finally came. Lakhan was still sleeping, but I could not wait anymore. I took the test without him, and the result came out positive, which then triggered a rollercoaster of emotions. I woke him up immediately. He was still delirious with sleep, but happy. That moment began a period of having to constantly lie about why I was not participating in Sports Day, basketball matches, dancing for upcoming family weddings, when I’m usually a very active participant!

THE GUESSING GAME

Nitti Srisinghaprapha
33 years old, Co-founder of owear.co

I was walking in IKEA looking for a new work desk and I recall thinking to myself that it would be funny if I found out that I was pregnant with my second child today. I was there by myself, lugging around a heavy table, after which I had to assemble it at home and all the while, I was thinking whether I should’ve been exerting myself in this way if I was in fact pregnant.

The next day, I went to buy a pregnancy test and the second line on the test was barely there at first, so I decided to ignore it. However, after ten minutes, it became clear, so I called my husband to relay the news. He was ecstatic, but he said to take a blood test first before announcing it to everyone. At dinner, I couldn’t contain my excitement and blurted out the fact that I might be pregnant. Nobody knew how to react because I said it in a way that was not certain! How do you congratulate someone who only ‘thinks’ she’s pregnant? We all had a laugh about it the next day when the blood test results came back positive!

THE TAKEAWAY

The prospect of a family growing bigger warms everyone’s hearts and brightens every smile, even when it is not your own milestone. For these stories allow you to fondly remember what these precious moments were like for you…or make you wonder excitedly about your own special moments to come!