August 2020

Mother number 6 called me sometime in late May, and I don’t even know who gave her my phone number.  She had heard about me and asked me what services I was offering. The phone was only 20 minutes long, because her husband was live on TV. I didn’t have time to ask who he was. When I came on my first visit during pregnancy, I was greeted by two beautiful dogs, jumping on me and licking me. I immediately fell in love with them. I knew my children would go crazy if they were with me and could pet a dog in Sri Lanka without being afraid of getting rabies.

Pleasant couple; tall lady, attractive Sri Lankan, yoga instructor, husband a businessman. I realized: “This couple is moving in high circles and they will feel the pressure of society for various reasons.” But my approach has unchanged. They drove me home, with their dogs, and I wrote an SMS on the way, that I am on my way home and if the children want to pet two beautiful dogs, they better wait for me by the entrance into the condominium. Of course they would not miss it for the world and after a long time they felt what it was like to pet a soft furry dog.  I was grateful that they allowed the children to do this only after 4 hours after I had met them.

The next visit was with my children, I normally don’t mix family and work life, but I took them with me because of the dogs. They were like in heaven, Emilka fell in love with little eight-year-old Maltese and yorkie mix Zoe, and Misa with smart 2-year-old labradoodle Riley.

They chose their obstetrician because of politics and business on request of the husband. Mum was having trouble connecting to her doctor and trusting him. Even when she told him about her birth plan and that she would have a lot of support from me, she did not feel any passion from him. Doctor didn’t want to meet me; it wasn’t necessary apparently.

When I last visited her, she lived with her mother and enjoyed the “Hotel Mummy”, because her husband was ill with severe tonsillitis, on antibiotics and did not want to make her stressed. You can guess what comes next – of course she went into labour while her husband was ill. Luckily, he felt better that day and was able to support her. At 4.30 in the morning he called me, that they were already in the hospital from 4 am and informed me, that CTG (uninterrupted recording of the baby’s heart activity) is pathological and they will most likely go for emergency caesarean section. I promised to support her in any situation, so I went to the maternity hospital right away and I was with her by 5am. Fortunately, the CTG improved, she breathed through the contractions beautifully (using Etonox – laughing gas only) and to everyone’s surprise, within 3.5 hours after arriving at the maternity hospital, she gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby boy Aarin, weighing 2.42 kg. The doctor did not speak with me at all. I always try to encourage the woman, explain all what is happening to her body, describe the situations and if necessary I communicate with the doctor through the woman, using non-verbal communication (predominantly eyes and touch).

Members of both families gathered in the visiting room and enjoyed the hospitality of the maternity hospital after the birth. The new mum was over the moon and was in disbelief how fast she birthed her baby. All was well afterwards and within two days they were discharged from the maternity hospital. I went to visit them home on day 9 after the birth and the family was slowly adjusting to new pace of life. They have a 24/7 nanny, which takes care of the baby during the day and sleeps at night, when the baby sleeps with his parents. Feeding is a challenge (every two hours), but I’m sure that with time it will get easier with longer intervals.

I’m in contact with them frequently via WhatsApp, can’t believe Aarin is two months old and growing beautifully. Parents enjoy their parenting very much and sometimes have the chance to “run away” for a cheeky romantic dinner. They even had a weekend away by the sea already.

And the dogs? They managed to accept the new addition to the family with ease and their inquisitive nature is amazing. They want to know everything what is happening, so they are together 24/7 watching over little Aarin carefully.

I feel privileged to be part of another journey to parenthood and will never forget this special couple. 

She has got at least 3 pregnant friends, so apparently, they will be contacting me in due course. More empowering of Sri Lankans women; wish me luck.