Seven a side

I woke up early in the morning in Melbourne on our way back from new Zealand. We were staying over night at some friends who graciously picked us up late at night and let us all bunk down for the night. We are so grateful to them. So as I was saying…. I woke up, rolled over to D.C and said, “I feel pregnant”. This was the beginning of our Yatra back to India.

We arrived in Singapore after a flight of a vomiting child and the first thing I did was sneak away and find a chemist that sold a pregnancy tester. Sure enough two strong red lines appeared and I whispered to myself in the cubical, “Oh my, I really am.”
I then returned to D.C and asked if he was ready for 7 a side. We were both in a bit of disbelief as we had been told after an issue with Son 6 that we probably would not be able to have any more and that if we did it would be very dangerous to me. D.C happened to be chatting to two of our good friends at the time so we spilled the beans but said to keep quiet as we need to get scans done etc before we tell kids or family. It was a funny feeling because we were not expecting it but were also feeling happy about it. We kept looking at each other, laughing and then shaking our heads.

After arriving back to Bangalore the symptoms of nausea and vomiting set in and I was very tired. We then made our way to kollegal and I was so excited to be there but had no energy to spend as much time as I would have liked with all the girls there. It was hard keeping it from our kids and doing secret runs to the toilet to try and vomit quietly but I am happy to say that after a trip back to Bangalore, we had a scan and all looks perfectly normal and baby's heart was beating away and he/she was wiggling around. I was 9 weeks by this stage so we decided to tell everyone.
The kids were so excited and screamed and hugged each other. It was so nice to see how welcoming they were for another addition to our family. We also told our parents who were pretty good about it. It was a bit of a shock to them but I think it helped that we had had the scan and they knew all was well.

So it’s been a huge increase to our family. Not only do we become a family of 9 this year but we also gained another 62 girls. I am now feeling so much better than I was and can begin to enjoy having so many kids around. I feel extra happy because some of the girls have started to call me Mumma Aunty. I can’t tell you how much that warms my heart. A feeling of acceptance.

One of the girls has given me a photo of her Mum and I have put it on our fridge. She looked so lovingly at it and was so proud of her Mum. I asked her if she was still living and found that she was. Then this evening she was so sad because her Mum was supposed to have called her on the phone and didn’t. She had waited all day and the call never came. It was so sad to see the sadness in her eyes.

Most of the girls will be going away for the holidays, some to single parents, some to extended family and then a few that have no where to go will stay back here with us. We plan to make it a special time for these girls. Do a trip to the zoo that is about 1.5 hrs away in Mysore and just spoil them a bit. It’s a time when it hits home for them that they do not have family. Not all the girls will be going back to a good situation though. Many have fathers that drink and no mother or two parents but alcohol causing violence. So the time back home has been limited to 15 days. Apparently the girls often return under nourished and their clothes get taken and given to others. It’s hard because they so badly want to see family but it is not always a good experience for them.

Last but not least….. It was my birthday yesterday and I woke to a trail of hearts and arrows made on the floor by my girls  and some of the volunteers staying here. The trail lead to a decorated lounge and kitchen where some presents sat on the table and candles on a plate and a couple of little cakes to share. they had gone to so much trouble and had snuck in at mid night to do it all. My hubby had written a lovely blog entry For My Bride, it was so lovely and one of those moments that is better than any gift that could be given.We also went out for breakfast and then I came home and made 3 cakes to share with our huge extended family. i should have made 4 but never mind. So all in all, I had a lovely day. Didn’t expect to be having a baby at age 39, how exciting.