I was 36 years old and mom of two amazing boys 10 and 9 years old. Lakshmy and I started the club in June 2015.  I started walking everyday and was charging ahead in my mile count. Hit the first 100 miles within a month on map my walk right on the heels of power walker Nita Awasthi. Was going after the next 100 and made it to 200 miles in the same fashion and then … Boom!! I started feeling tired, irritable and not as social as my usual self.

I just turned 37, we were doing great as a club, work life was excellent, kids were doing good in school , more or less there was no reason to complain. Why then did it feel like something was really wrong ??

Now when the waterworks started for no reason (which pretty much never happens with me) and the nausea and lack of appetite latched on, lights went off in my head and the home test answered my question the same day!!

A BABY ON THE WAY!!!

Everything was right again. Very obvious reasons for the  symptoms.

During this time I continued to partner with Lakshmy and lead the club as well as participate. The only group  events I missed were the heart walk in Lisle and the India Day parade as days were too hot and I could not carry a gag bag with me without being noticed 🙂

True to happy feet promise, I shared the news with all happy feet family.

After the first trimester queasiness settled down, I resumed walking as usual. Slower pace , reduced miles but walking nonetheless. This was both for me and the club. I often used to say the pregnancy is not an illness. This was my time to prove it.

Week over week went by and we walked together as group , we walked in smaller groups on weekdays, we created and completed challenges , we had several occasions and themed walks. Life was beautiful. I continued to wear the small size happy feet Tshirt too.  I also performed pre natal yoga under the able guidance of Vimi Shukla.

As the 3rd trimester was fast approaching, the family wanted to have a vacation during Christmas break. If not for confidence driven by Happy Feet walking , I may not have ventured out. We ended up spending 10 wonderful days in California with lots and lots of walking and on one of the days I even biked 7 miles.

January in Chicagoland is usually hibernation time. But not this year, we spoke to fox valley mall authorities and made arrangements for indoor walks at the mall. An excellent solution to keep walking as a group in a safe and cost free environment.

Around the same time, I had the first minor hiccup related to pregnancy. A potential to develop gestational diabetes. Doctors recommended walking to metabolize the sugar in the body after eating and watching my diet.  I was able to successfully do it because walking did not feel like exercise or an effort that I had to push myself for. It was just something I did naturally. For myself and for the club.

I kept adding those steps and walked to my repeat test to find out that I was not longer considered to be a gestational diabetic. It was a big win. I did not rest or start eating those mochi ice cream that I love. Instead I continued to eat healthy, guavas, coconut water etc and kept walking and doing my yoga.

Then came time to plan and execute the large annual Valentine Day Ball. It was a non stop marathon of phone conversations with Lakshmy for planning and execution. The husbands helped and kids gave their ideas too. The goal was to make it an evening to remember for everyone. Happy feet members their families and friends. We made it happen!!

I walked the ramp with Lakshmy , danced to the music , catered to guests and Logistics all with the super duper support from my partner Lakshmy. She did more heavy lifting and still did not make me feel like I should get special treatment. She supported me in proving that “pregnancy is not an illness”.

Just few more weeks to go, atleast per my calculations which was sooner than the doctor stated date of March 25th.

More things to do, parties to plan and attend. Nothing stopped for a single minute.

Here is the critical timeline:

Wednesday March 2nd: Planned and executed a birthday party for a friend with my buddies Lakshmy and Ushasri. Line danced with the group in cow girl outfit and had a blast with the birthday girl and friends.

Thursday March 3rd: A full work day with non stop meetings.

Friday March 4th: Woke up to a sign to head to hospital. Got there at 4 AM. Had the most awesome experience of labor and super short duration of less than 15mins to actually deliver

“The first Happy Feet Baby”

His name is Khush meaning “happy”.

From left to right:

Happy Feet Mamma 2 days after delivery

Happy Feet Baby at 1 week

Lakshmy welcoming tiny Happy feet to club

And back to walk with our lovely happy feet group after 2 weeks!

Go happy feet!!