My Saadh Day

As I mentioned earlier in my blog, my husband and I are expecting our first child in October. In both American and Bengali cultures the time leading up to the birth of the baby is very exciting. One of the most recent events I experienced was called a "Saadh" which in Bengali means "wish". What happens is that the mother-to-be gets to choose whatever she wants to eat and that is prepared for her. The thought is she will not have time later to prepare and eat all the things she likes so they shower her with food and gifts now. The baby gets gifts later after it is born.

We were visited by Bengali friends this past weekend and she insisted that I have a Saadh day. When they arrived, I was gifted with a lovely silk shawl, earrings, and some very nice bath acutraiments. Sunday morning she started cooking and the lunch was delicious. We had sambar, rice, okra(very different from how I usually make it),lao(bottle shaped green gourd), cooked lao skin, kaala jamun, and eggplant. My mother-in-law is in India and feels like she is missing out on all of the preparation for the baby so she was very happy to learn that I was able to experience this day.

One valuable piece of information I learned this weekend was how to prevent stretch marks. Our friend told me when she was pregnant with her children that she was told to mix olive oil and water together and 30 minutes before you take a shower, you rub it all over your stomach and let it absorb into the skin. She did this and she had no stretch marks with either one of her pregnancies. I think that I will give it a try.

We have a little less than six weeks to go until our little one is here. It is so exciting feeling it kick and move around. We don't know what it is so it will be a surprise. Everyone has told me I look like I am carrying a girl so we shall see.