“After doing some research I found the most beautiful name which meant strength of mountain – ARIN. When our boy was born my hubby and I looked at each other agreed that this suited him the best.”

Your family

My name is Aruni, I am 33 years old. I was born in India and left my home country at the age of 20yrs old.
We are family of three right now – Me, my husband (Sameer) and my son (Arin). We had a fur baby
who passed away in 2021.

Journey to conceiving and pregnancy

As an Indian woman, I was raised to believe growing your family and having your own kids is very
important for a woman. My hubby and I got married when I was 20 years old, and he was 22. Soon
after my marriage I was diagnosed with PCOD and Thyroid. Doctors had strictly told me to get
pregnant by the age of 25 otherwise it could get complicated.

However, having a baby or growing a
family was not on our agenda until 9 years of marriage as we were both busy in our career life and
moving around countries trying to build a happy and stable life. I was on birth control pills for 9 years
and I could feel my body has starting to reject them and giving me all kinds of gynaecological problems.

December 2018, I decided to stop using birth control pills after struggling for 8 months with some
gynaecological issues. We were told I would only be only able to get pregnant in 6 months to a years time. However, to our surprise in April 2019 I was already pregnant and blessed with our baby boy In
December.

How was your pregnancy?

My pregnancy journey was beautiful and smooth sailing with no complications until I was 8 months along. I never had morning symptoms or any kind of pain till I was in labour.

I loved every day every minute of being pregnant and growing my beautiful boy.
Until in our 8 month midwife visit, we were told there was a drop in his heartbeat. After a few rounds and check-up at the Heart specialist we were told he had an ectopic heartbeat and it might go away after he was born.

Now started the wait and anxiety hoping and praying everyday that his heart is perfectly fine.

Did you find out the gender of your children?

Me and hubby both wanted to know the gender and were so excited to have a baby boy. I personally
think its good to know the gender so you can be prepared.

Birth story

We went into labour on 40+2 days – It was a Sunday morning, and I woke up not feeling any
movement so we rushed to the North shore hospital. We were monitored for full day and were told the
amniotic fluid had reduced so were booked in for induction on Christmas eve. But God and baby had
other plans. The same evening at 7pm all of a sudden, my water broke and after half hour I was in
labour which lasted for 9.5hrs and we ended up having an emergency C-section as baby boys heartbeat dropped.

How was the first week?

Recovery was very good with mum and hubby on my side, so blessed to have an amazing family
support.

Your little one

How did you choose your children’s names and do they have a meaning to you?

I always wanted and hoped to give a unique name to my cildren – after doing some research I found the
most beautiful name which meant strength of mountain – ARIN. When our boy was born my hubby and I looked at each other agreed that this suited him the best.

How did you find the fourth trimester?

Fourth trimester – A phase which is not a lot spoken about. A women goes through so many changes
and challenges. Nonstop bleeding, breastfeeding, blocked milk ducts, matitis, postnatal depression. The list in endless.

However, if you ask for help, give your body time to heal instead of being in an hurry, talk to someone it passes on nicely. My fourth trimester was the worst time of my entire pregnancy – C section incision infection, mastitis, blocked duct, feeling of a failed mama but I was blessed to have my mother by my side to help me overcome any issues I had and help in every step of the way.

The first two months were a roller coaster with sleepless nights, no routine, just going with the flow.
We had a bed side bassinet but ended up co sleeping with Arin. I just felt it was easy and I felt less
anxious because I could hear him breathe.

What were your must-have items, and what others were a waste of time/overrated?

Lots of nappies, nipple cream, bed side bassinet, diaper pail, and lots of yummy lactation cookies and
blends.

Is your parenting different to how you thought it would be?

I don’t know if we have a specific parenting style. We just go with the flow and try to teach my boy what’s the best is. Be gentle and kind and get him ready for this world.

Before Arin was born I used to tell my hubby I would not let him have gadgets or watch tv till he is 3-4 years old. But today here I am being a working mom – TV is a lifesaver when you need to cook or do
something.

How does your typical day look? Are you a stay at home parent/juggling work/kindy?

A typical day is busy, chaotic and yet beautiful. Our day starts at 6am and ends at 11pm… We are a full-time working family, juggling between work, home, kindy and trying to give a perfect and happy life to our boy.

Tips & advice

• Trust your Intuition – no one knows your kid better than you
• Try to be gentle on yourself as a parent – You are doing the best you can don’t stress
• Teach your kid how important a family is.

If this has helped you, would you consider sharing your story to help others too? Please submit your details through this form. Whether your story is about trying to conceive, pregnancy, surrogacy, loss or parenthood, we would love to hear from you.