Joys Of Motherhood

Ex-tennis player and life coach Shheethal Robin Uthappa tells us how the journey of motherhood is sometimes sunshine and sometimes rain

Robin Uthappa and wife Shheethal welcomed their baby boy Neale in 2017. While pregnancy was a wonderful, life changing experience for Shheethal, she explains why it’s hard as hell and also incredibly special — and we love her honest perspective. Hear her story in her own words.

IN AMAZEMENT

Pregnancy came as a complete surprise to both me and my husband Robin. Yes, we always wanted to have kids but first, we wanted to understand each other better and feel absolutely settled in our marriage. So we started planning in January 2017 and we were pregnant almost immediately. My friends told me that it would take a minimum of six months before I actually conceive because the timing needs to be perfect. I was confident that I had a minimum of six months before I have a bun in the oven but to my surprise, I discovered that I was pregnant the first time I took the home pregnancy test. I told to myself ‘This is not possible’ so I took another test only to further confirm my pregnancy. I was excited, anxious and scared at the same time. Robin was playing a match that day and I could not wait to speak to him. I left him heaps of messages asking him to call me back at the earliest. When he finally called after the match, we both cried out of excitement. That said, I was also extremely nervous because I didn’t know what to expect.

THE NINE MONTHS