An urge to nest

an-urge-to-nest

It is not just another autumn evening. It is cold, calm, and composed. It is rainy, cloudy, and happy. People are home, drying their rain boots and raincoats. We are wandering outside. I am clicking the sky, my usual activity on rainy days. I am heavily pregnant.

A flock of birds is returning home. I am wondering why they need a home when they have wings.

Soon I am going to find the answer.

 

Fast forward to a few weeks~

I became a mom this October. That means I spent this whole year anticipating motherhood. While my close people talked about pregnancy glow, hair growth, stretch-marks, I closely watched my health- physical and mental both. I put extra effort to stay fit. I hiked everyday with my husband. I exercised. I cautiously monitored what I ate and whose company kept me sane. I laughed at all jokes they made in Frasier. I watched thought-provoking films. I read. A lot.  I wrote. I wrote my heart out. I followed my daily routine like I was in love with my life for the first time ever.

In return, I wished for a healthy and happy baby.

I got one.

She smiled for the first time when she was four days old.

And when she was inside me, every test and every doctor told me one common thing,” You have a happy baby.”

 

Rewinding last ten months in a heartbeat~

One day in September, I found myself cleaning the kitchen floor, organizing items on the table, dusting the notebooks, folding old clothes to give away. According to books, I was “nesting.”  Things a mother does before the baby’s arrival. I never knew I would love “nesting.” I always loved being a nomad, a life without permanent address. I loved being a seeker, an adventure-lover.

For the first time, I felt I was changing. Like those birds who return to nest in stead of having wings.

And it felt good.

My pregnancy was not always smooth. But I worked hard to make the journey special. I wrote poems to kill that very famous first trimester nausea. I took the help of photography to find out all great things this world offered. Close people became distant. Strangers helped in so many new ways.  I finally understood how unconditional and multi-faceted love can be. I understood some complicated little details of human emotions. Each experience made me strong.

And I felt stronger after giving birth. I could keep it natural, though not pain free.

Bringing this girl to this world was the best thing that I have ever done. My labor was intense and scary; I will save that story for later.

I have more respect for my womanhood now.

It is absolutely incredible what a woman’s body is capable of. The fact that we can create a human, nourish him/her for nine months, deliver, and then keep him/her alive off our milk is truly phenomenal.

**

Author: Archita

Musings about life and photography.

36 thoughts on “An urge to nest”

  2. I wonder how I missed this post! ❤
    Congratulations again! It's amazing to read the stories of motherhood. Yours is a beautiful one too. I am so happy to know that you have a happy baby! 🙂 🙂

  4. Thank you so much, Michelle. I think that smile was the greatest reward; also that moment I will treasure forever when they gave her to me and I forgot all labor and delivery pain. 🙂 <3<3 I am waiting to read your novel btw, Michelle. Happy writing! I will check back soon ❤

  7. What an absolutely beautiful capture of the new and beautiful life you and your hubby created. With just a few paragraphs, you whisked me back 22 years…the nausea, the drug-free (but not pain-free) labor, 3 a.m. feedings. I wouldn’t pass any of that up for that smile you mentioned seeing on Day 4…my girl’s smile still rocks me: 8000+ days later. xoxoxo

  13. I love Nicole to the moon and back. I met her soon after I began blogging. Such a lovely lady with so much talent and a heart of gold. I’m ecstatic that you and she have connected!

    (PS- hormones…ugh! I hope things balance back out soon and normalize back to pre-pregnancy. ) ❤️

  16. Right? I am going to hold on to these memories forever. Thank you so much for sharing your story. ❤️Some day I will remember it.

  18. It’s truly pure bliss. ❤️ Remember you praised my hair on insta- all thanks to Hormonal changes. Now I am all set to chop them off and be back to my old self! Thank you so much for your friendship, Christy! It meant a lot. ❤️

  20. Thank you so much, Indira. My namaskars to you and uncle ❤️ Motherhood is beautiful and Now that you have told me, I have to write lullabies for her. ❤️

  27. These memories will stay with you forever. My son is 33. My second son and his wife have a 7 month old. I hold him and remember the joy I felt being pregnant and caring for him. Congratulations!!

  30. So happy for you and yours, Archita. What a blessing to bring a happy healthy life (a little Princess!) into this world.

    Looking back at some of your comments and changes this year….much illumination now. 🙂

    Congratulations my friend! ❤️❤️

  32. What a lovely post Archita. Congratulations. My blessings to you and baby. We have all gone through such feelings. Holding a baby seems so heavenly. I always wanted to be a mother so…Now write lullabies for her.

  35. Oh wow, congratulations! We grow alongside our kids. There is always something to discover and learn in this wonderful journey. Lots of love and best wishes. ❤

So what do you think?

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this: