Motherhood – Source of Joy and Learning

MAA – The Mom Series (Post 4)

Hi friends, let’s welcome December with this lovely story of a mother who has found her source of joy and learning in motherhood. This post is special as it is written by the person who actually gave me the idea of doing The Mom Series. Well, and the best part is she herself has no idea about it. Time to reveal!

So, one day we were having a normal chat and she appreciated me for my work, then she said something which made me think about it over the next 2 days. She said whatever I am writing on my blog, she can write that too but couldn’t as she herself doesn’t get such ideas.

It made me ponder on her comment and I realized that she was right. I am no one special, just a mother who loves to share her experience, in the hope that someone reading it could get benefitted or someone going through the similar situations can feel relieved that she’s not the only one. And if we look at the bigger picture, don’t you think we all mothers have some or the other kind of experiences which if shared with others can help, motivate and inspire other mothers too.

Hence the credit goes to Gunjan Bhatla, for giving me this brilliant idea of calling out the mothers and letting them share their motherhood experience with the world. Thanks a lot, dear!

Now, it’s time to read her story in her own words.

Motherhood story Gunjan

 



Motherhood – My Source of Joy and Learning 

By Gunjan Bhatla



Someone has rightly said – “Motherhood is an experiment that how long your body can function without adequate sleep or nourishment and fuelled only by caffeine and baby smiles.”

The joy of motherhood comes in moments. There would certainly be hard and frustrating times but amid the challenges, there are shining moments of joy and love. As soon as my hubby and I came to know that a new family member is on its way, we were overjoyed; even my in-laws and my maternal side were really happy.

But I was not aware that soon I would be getting experienced teachings from everyone in the family and to my surprise from few of my friends too. All sort of suggestions started flooding in.

Give me a break, at least wait for my Motherhood to begin. Typical Punjabi family, if you can imagine.

Gunjan

Then came the day – 4th March 2016 and I was a mother of a handsome baby boy after having more than 10 hours of labor pain and still getting a C- Section at the end. When I came out of the Operation Theatre, my mom shook me and asked, “what happened?” I was obviously clueless at that time, as I was still regaining consciousness. I remember a voice came in my ears, “Babu Hua Hai”. I was so happy, as my hubby always used to tell me if there would be a girl, then we would find a “Ghar Jamai”. I would not send her away from me, LOL.

Our family was filled with joy and all the good things were happening.

I would like to mention, at that time my Father-in-law (FIL) & Mother-in-law (MIL) were in their 80’s. And apart from me and my MIL, there was no other lady in the house. And I was literally forced by the very same situation to spend my first three months post delivery at my mother’s place. And for those three months, my hubby was not with me. He used to come and meet us on weekends.

Obviously, I was overjoyed with the arrival of my baby but could also see the hardships I would be facing while upbringing my child. And the worst part was, I became very emotional. But I had no idea what was happening with me. And as my hubby was not with me, it was very difficult for him to understand the situation.

Here the Learning phase started. After some days I read an article, which literally shocked me. It was all about the Post Partum Depression. After reading that I recalled all the incidents that happened to me. And believe me guys, it was really easy to correlate the things. Now I am aware that I was trapped in PPD. I forwarded the same article to my hubby to make him understand the situation I was in. However, things on his side were even more complex. I realized being alone for 3 months, he had gone into a kind of depression himself. This further broke me and later the situation got worse and we started having arguments and misunderstandings between us. And that was the last thing that I wanted in my life.

But thankfully, because of my mother and sister, things between us gradually improved. They used to counsel us regularly and calm us down. Thanks a ton MOM and SIS!

After 3 months, I was back to my hubby’s home. I would like to mention that my MIL used to try and help me, but could not do most of the activities due to her age. All of a sudden God gave me another dose of shock; my MIL was diagnosed with Dementia when my baby was just four months old. After that, regular visits to the hospital started. Sometimes it used to stretch for more than two weeks and I had to manage all the things at home and outside on my own.

Dementia is a broad category of brain diseases that cause a long-term and often gradual decrease in the ability to think and remember that is great enough to affect a person’s daily functioning. The most common type of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease, which makes up 50% to 70% of cases.

Source – Wikipedia

She was in bed for more than six months and later in Dec 2016 the worst thing happened; she expired. And I was left all alone. Now, the situation was, I had a 9-month-old baby in my lap with all the responsibilities of the house; as I was the only lady left. The situation was really tough!

And believe me guys, I am still learning to cope up with many things, managing all the household activities and taking care of three kids…my own baby, my hubby and my FIL (after losing his better half, he had become a kid whom we have to take care of very consciously).

Now I can say that I perfectly understand the meaning of “Learning is a never-ending process“. With my three babies of different generations, I have learned so many things:

1. Wake up with lots of energy, even after sleepless nights.
2. Have patience even if the baby is crying without any reason.
3. Handle baby’s tantrums.
4. Taking care of all the day to day needs of my hubby.
5. Taking care of an 84 years old baby.

The list is never-ending.

I pray to GOD that he gives me the required strength and blessings that I become a responsible Daughter-in-law, a loving and caring Wife and a successful Mother.


Thanks for sharing your story Gunjan, Motherhood indeed brings unlimited joy as well as lots of teaching on its way. Only after going through such myriad emotions and situations, mothers become even stronger.

This is the last post of The Mom Series and I want to thank all the awesome mothers who shared their stories to be featured on my blog. It was exciting as well as inspiring to read the stories of real moms, it made us look for hope, courage, determination, faith, and joy in our own motherhood journeys. Much power and love to all the mothers! And big thanks to all my lovely readers for making it successful, people coming back to read these stories proved they loved it as much as we loved bringing these to you.

A Real Mom

Having said that, though I am not continuing the series for December but will definitely bring some more stories of strong mothers to end our year with lots of positiveness and inspiration in our hearts. And we will call these as the Bonus Posts.

Those of you who have missed reading the previous stories, you can read them all by clicking on the below links-

>> Stories of Hope & Courage – By Rajavee Gupta and Srishti Singh <<

>> Stories of Determination & Strong Will – By Rupal Agarwal, Rashmi Datta and Neetika Soam <<

>> Stories of Faith & Perseverance – By Richa Kaushik and Arushi Arora <<

Hope you like these stories. Do comment and share if you liked!

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By |2017-12-04T22:42:52+05:30December 4th, 2017|Categories: Experience Talk, The Mom Series|Tags: , , , , , , , , , |68 Comments

68 Comments

  1. Niki December 4, 2017 at 12:59 pm - Reply

    So overwhelmed to read the journey of life with so much ups and downs and specially motherhood …we all are strong and we shuld belive in that ..much power to all

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:01 am - Reply

      Thanks for reading it and very rightly said.

  2. Veena December 4, 2017 at 9:56 pm - Reply

    You are an incredible woman. Most people crib and get depressed in such situations but you learnt to deal with the situation and do the job of being the only lady in the house marvellously.
    I am sure your MIL and your entire family would be proud of you ?

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:17 am - Reply

      Thanks for the lovely compliments. This means a lot

  3. Ar. Shivali Singla December 4, 2017 at 10:00 pm - Reply

    The picture looks so cute. You guys look adorable

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:18 am - Reply

      Thanks….

  4. L steffy Manju December 4, 2017 at 10:49 pm - Reply

    Amazing pics….. So true motherhood is entirely diff phase…like rediscovering yorself…learning new things… Patience, hard working.. N multi tasker…

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:18 am - Reply

      Thanks. And bang on. 🙂

  5. Sabeeka Lambe December 4, 2017 at 10:56 pm - Reply

    Hats off dear…. you are truely a super mom … am sure your story will give more strength to moms reading

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:19 am - Reply

      This really means a lot.

      Thanks a ton.

  6. Anchal December 4, 2017 at 11:47 pm - Reply

    Lots of love to you Gunjan and your little one. More power to you

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:23 am - Reply

      Thanks Anchal.

  7. Zainab December 5, 2017 at 12:07 am - Reply

    Motherhood changes the woman like nothing else! Very inspiring! Hats off!

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:27 am - Reply

      Thanks you liked it….

  8. Papri Ganguly December 5, 2017 at 1:03 am - Reply

    Really Enjoying reading the series and somehow I can relate.

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:29 am - Reply

      Everyone of us can relate to this….

  9. Priyadarshani Panda December 5, 2017 at 1:44 am - Reply

    I love how positive you are gunjan incredible..anyone would have lost it but look at you managing everything and handling everything with a positive attitude..kudos

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:30 am - Reply

      Thanks for the appreciation.

      This really means a lot.

  10. Harshitha December 5, 2017 at 2:35 am - Reply

    Being a mom is probably the toughest job in the world.. so nice to hear how you have aced it 🙂

    • Gunjan December 13, 2017 at 11:33 am - Reply

      Rightly said Harshitha.

  11. Shreemayee Chattopadhyay December 5, 2017 at 7:09 am - Reply

    Really it’s a heavenly feeling to be a mom. And yes, many of us go through the phase of depression, but family works here.

  12. Rohini James December 5, 2017 at 7:35 am - Reply

    You have coped and done such a good job of holding on. More strength to you.

  13. Jiya B December 5, 2017 at 9:32 am - Reply

    Motherhood is a learning for self as well as teaching your child. each word is resonating so well . Loed reading your post

  14. Rakhi Parsai December 5, 2017 at 10:06 am - Reply

    Very happy to have met Gunjan via this article and reading about her journey of motherhood which was filled with so many ups and downs and still she came out with flying colors. Salute to you Gunjan. Thanks for bringing in these special stories via your website.

  15. Deepali December 5, 2017 at 10:40 am - Reply

    Wow !! Such an inspiration. We usually loose our balance in such type of situations. More power to you.

  16. Dr Bushra December 5, 2017 at 10:45 am - Reply

    Proud of you Gunjan how well you are managing so many things. Trust me if I’m in your situation I’ve not done it

  17. jhilmil December 5, 2017 at 10:50 am - Reply

    Im so happy that GUnjan is such a brave woman and mommy that she is handling 3 kids together, it is really difficult to be the lone lady of the house and managing a toddler, a senior citizen and your own husband. I’m sure , God will give her all teh strength she needs.

  18. Sharvari Paivaidya Mehan December 5, 2017 at 11:23 am - Reply

    I doff my hat to you Gunjan. Hang in there your doing a fab job

  19. Jayshree December 5, 2017 at 11:43 am - Reply

    This was so interesting to read…
    I really liked your journey of motherhood.
    Thanks for sharing this with us

  20. Prerna Sinha December 5, 2017 at 12:50 pm - Reply

    The whole write up was so deep and so catchy as well, hats off to her.

  21. prisha December 5, 2017 at 12:52 pm - Reply

    i like the perspective of the author that she had to take care of 3 babies – i think this is a very beautiful thing i have read after a very long time. muchos love to Gunjan <3

  22. Nidhi KM December 5, 2017 at 1:01 pm - Reply

    Such a strong story Gunjan! I admire you sharing all the tips and tricks and practical situations one goes through after having a baby. You being a strong woman not only passed them through but also sharing your experiences with tips! Thanks for all of this

  23. Tripti Charan December 5, 2017 at 5:20 pm - Reply

    Wow!! Love your blog post.. Deep thoughts and well written 🙂

  24. Swati December 5, 2017 at 5:58 pm - Reply

    So proud to read about your life Gunjan. You are so strong. More power to you!

  25. Glow Origin December 5, 2017 at 7:56 pm - Reply

    Hats off to you so proud of to read the post.. Btw the pic is adorable

  26. Minakshi Bajpai December 5, 2017 at 8:17 pm - Reply

    Enjoyed reading all the stories of this series. Gunjan is a such a strong woman. Hats off to her.

  27. Alexx bloom December 5, 2017 at 8:47 pm - Reply

    Lovely picture, it is a full time job to be a mom salute to motherhood and their sacrifice of sleep for everyone

  28. Preetjyot Kaur December 5, 2017 at 9:24 pm - Reply

    Gunjan’s story is really inspiring. The way she keep being positive with all the hurdles is worth praise. Cheers.

  29. Nisha Malik December 5, 2017 at 9:31 pm - Reply

    Wow you are a superwoman. HOh do you manage everything so well. You are an inspiration to us.

  30. Amrit Kaur December 5, 2017 at 10:03 pm - Reply

    Motherhood is a beautiful experience and life’s phase. Loved reading the journey of her and the hurdles she had to go through. She is a strong women.

  31. Rashmi December 5, 2017 at 11:13 pm - Reply

    Love your positivity mama you are such an inspiration. Lovely writeup. More power to you.

  32. Amrita December 5, 2017 at 11:22 pm - Reply

    I think being a mom is the most adventurous and also most dangerous choice.We go through so many changes and all of our experiences are unique.Wonderful post ideas.

  33. Abhinav Singh December 5, 2017 at 11:26 pm - Reply

    Such a lovely heartfelt post. Motherhood indeed is special.

  34. Bulbul Varma December 5, 2017 at 11:38 pm - Reply

    Omg! I just adore your writing style dear !

  35. Priyanka Patwari December 6, 2017 at 7:28 am - Reply

    Your post touch my heart . Motherhood is always give us unique lesson

  36. Aesha Shah December 6, 2017 at 10:08 am - Reply

    Thanks for sharing Gunjan’s story. I can completely relate to it. I had become too emotional too as I had to stay at my parents ho,e in Delhi and my husband being away at Ahmedabad. I didn’t want to spend time alone but my mil was working so had to shift for a couple of months. After I was back I raised my baby single handed and it was tough. Thanks for sharing stories of moms, as you rightly said each has their own experiences and reading about them is comforting . I read your entire series and each mom has had a unique experience to share.

  37. Snigdha Prusti December 6, 2017 at 10:28 am - Reply

    The positivity in you is the best thing.. Hats off to you… Lovely write up…

  38. Sapna Krishnan December 6, 2017 at 11:25 am - Reply

    It is amazing that you could understand your situation of PPD and find your way through it. It’s been really difficult for you with the demise of your MIL and the additional responsibilities. I am glad you are able to handle it to the best of your capabilities. More power to you Gunjan.

    Thank you for bringing stories of wonderful moms to us Neha. It’s been a pleasure knowing them through your posts.

  39. Ophira December 6, 2017 at 11:27 am - Reply

    This takes so much courage to talk and live. Its not easy Motherhood and you are going a great job at it. Hats off to your positivity and dedication to your role in your families life.

  40. L steffy Manju December 6, 2017 at 11:30 am - Reply

    Motherhood makes us multitasker….inspiring story…… Cheers to dis woman…. ???

  41. Neha December 6, 2017 at 12:19 pm - Reply

    A woman battles it out on various fronts and the most hard-hitting is the emotional one. In all this mayhem, Gunjan is putting her best foot forward and exuding positivity which makes it a great read.

  42. anjana December 6, 2017 at 12:22 pm - Reply

    this was an interesting read, you are doing a great job. A well-written blog.

  43. Bulbul Varma December 6, 2017 at 1:37 pm - Reply

    A mother has to go through a lot and reading your struggles in life has only motivated me more that how I can make myself stronger and better person to deal with the struggles! Thank you for encouraging us all with your life experience

  44. Roopika December 6, 2017 at 4:01 pm - Reply

    What an encouraging journey! Hats off to you lady!
    And a great write up too!

  45. Neha December 6, 2017 at 4:26 pm - Reply

    Motherhood is not easy but most rewarding. Very interesting read, you are doing a great job, thank you for sharing it with us
    .

  46. anupriya December 6, 2017 at 11:29 pm - Reply

    I love the idea of stories from other moms on your blog. This one too really touched my heart. More to woman and mother power

  47. Deepa December 7, 2017 at 11:27 am - Reply

    Being a mom is not easy and we all have different stories and experiences. This is a great series Neha. Good to know about so many different moms.

  48. Priyanka December 7, 2017 at 1:16 pm - Reply

    I love reading your series.All such inspiring stories. I feel that motherhood is the toughest of all jobs yet so satisfying. Thank you for introducing us to the lovely mothers and their inspirational journey.

  49. Charu December 7, 2017 at 1:27 pm - Reply

    Wow the mom series is so honest and touching. And in this particular article/ realising ppd was a big step

  50. Dr Dhanya Prajesh December 7, 2017 at 7:52 pm - Reply

    More powers to the supermoms…. such a heartfelt post….love d series..motherhood is not easy

  51. Kamana@SocialandStyle December 8, 2017 at 3:45 am - Reply

    Gunjan thank you so much for sharing your journey. You are so inspiring and know you are an AMAZING Mom!!

  52. Kavita Singh December 8, 2017 at 6:48 pm - Reply

    So, we all should be thanking Gunjan for this idea because of which we got the wonderful series. Postpartum depression is very real and most of the moms are unaware about it. Thank you for sharing this.

  53. Anubhuti December 9, 2017 at 1:15 am - Reply

    As we become a mom, we tend to get that magical power to bear problems with a smile. Gunjan ..you are blessed with the same…

  54. Divya jain December 9, 2017 at 11:23 am - Reply

    Gunjan u r a true mom nd very well written ur story inspiring to every mom

  55. Shruti Shankar December 9, 2017 at 2:09 pm - Reply

    It is a strong story, but what pains me the most is a woman always stepping up to take care of the family. All that I read in the story is her struggle to maintain balance in the family, she has been very courageous in handling this.

  56. Gayathri December 10, 2017 at 1:07 pm - Reply

    Such a powerful post .. Gunjan more and more power to you!!!
    I am so sad .. These series have come to an end .. I was loving the stories!! Well hope u revive them soon!! ❤️

  57. Geethica Mehra December 10, 2017 at 8:57 pm - Reply

    Every motherhood experience is tough and many lessons to learn. They make you strong. But this one is the toughest I have heard

  58. Ishieta December 10, 2017 at 10:00 pm - Reply

    A beautiful post.. Her story is so inspiring.. Her spirit is so strong and positive despite the challenges!

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