Yes, just as there are ‘shaadi’ ke side-effects, motherhood brings with it some side-effects too. The addition of the word ‘mom’ isn’t the only change in your life.
Look at your tummy, mummy!
The first casualty, of course, is that sexy hourglass figure you worked out so hard for, right since the time you were a teenager. It’s natural, and there’s little you can do about it – the baby bump keeps on expanding, making your tummy stretch generously and almost magically to accommodate the fast-growing baby inside, for a good nine months, at the end of which, you are left battling sagging skin and stretch marks all around that once-upon-a-time-fit-and-flat tummy.
Now, while the stretch marks may be easier to get rid of (thanks to the plethora of Anti-Stretch Mark Creams/Ointments), getting the tummy back into shape isn’t easy at all, unless, of course, your name is Malaika Arora Khan. Talking of the ‘Chaiyya-chaiyya’ mom, well, she’s worked REALLY hard to get back to her old, or should we say, young self! In an interview, she had revealed that she did a hundred sit-ups daily to get rid of the post-pregnancy flab around her belly. And, this, you can be sure, is just one of the many steps she must have taken to retain the ‘Hottest Bolywood Mom’ tag.
So, you have two choices – both equally painful, mind you. One: Do what Malaika did. Make the time and the will to burn the flab, which involves a strenuous workout regime (ala Mrs. Khan), apart from the calories you will burn, while tending to your baby. Two: Just accept the change. You’re no more a girl, but a woman – a mummy! So, a tummy is just fine. It will get back in shape on its own, or so you desperately hope. Anyway, you have a much more important task at hand – that of bringing up your child!
New life. New wardorobe.
The transformation in your body calls for a transformation in your wardrobe – feeding bras, maternity/nursing nighties and gowns; loose-fitting clothes (the tight ones will have to wait until your body regains its previous figure, if at all; till then, avoid them as they will highlight those extra curves that have come up in the wrong places).
The spotlight shifts from the mother to the baby
While you gleefully carried your baby inside your body, the spotlight was entirely on you. And you were pampered by everybody. Why, even your mom-in-law pampered you – ready to feed you often with her own hands!
But, now that the baby is here, it’s time for her to soak up the spotlight. So, gone is the coconut water you used to have first thing in the morning almost as a ritual, followed by the specially prepared meals full of everything – vitamins, proteins, carbs, minerals, fats, sugar, salt, the works; all of which you were supposed to eat without feeling guilty (“The baby needs it!”).
Gone are the sumptuously decorated plates of ghee-drenched laddoos (besan, rava, methi…you name it!), the saffron-enriched milk and the tantalizingly eclectic mix of dry fruits. Also gone are the invigorating massages, for which a masseuse had been specially appointed to cater to you! Sorry, but now she has to attend to the baby.
Also gone is the extra love and care everybody – right from your hubby to his mom to your own mom – so generously showered on you; now all of it has been reserved solely for the new addition to the family. And you are only too glad to let your little one be the cynosure of all attention, aren’t you?
Time to change your time-table
Motherhood is a 24×7 job. You’ll be donning many hats –friend, nurse, cook, maid, watchdog and more, all rolled into one superhuman being called ‘mom’. So, your time-table will have to be reset. The gym, beauty parlour, spa, kitty parties, lunches and dinners with friends, everything will have to be postponed, or worse, skipped altogether. No time to look at yourself in the mirror. No time for dear husband. Sex? Who has the time and energy for that? Sleep? You’ll turn insomniac, playing watchdog to your baby 24×7.
You will make all these sacrifices and more. But, then it’s a very small price to enjoy the bliss of having your bundle of joys in your arms, isn’t it?
