Flesh & Buds

Second—time mommy Poonam Dugar highlights an important part of her mommyhood journey — prepping her son for the arrival of his sibling

- Kriselle Fonseca

For homemaker Poonam Dugar, nothing brings her greater joy than being a mum to her two kids. But the process in between brought its own set of challenges. However, one of her biggest challenges was to prepare her firstborn for some lifelong company, a bond that has been cemented since before this company came along. With her fourth addition, Poonam certainly has her hands full, but she gets by with a little help from her family and friends, she says. The mum of two tells us all about the highs and the low of her journey with her children — five-year-old Rajvir, and five-month-old Ryka.

THE FIRST

My husband Rumit and I were in no rush to start a family. We got married in 2009, and his profession took us to a number of different places. We travelled a fair bit, and even lived in Hong Kong for a year. It wasn’t until after three years when we moved back to India, that we decided to have our first baby. We went through all the necessary medical tests, and soon after, I became pregnant. My husband and I always maintained a healthy lifestyle where food and fitness were carefully monitored, and nothing changed even when I was pregnant.

D-DAY

Our baby was due in the first week of October, but nature had a different kind of plan! Rumit was set to go on a week long business trip to the US, and just as he was boarding the flight from London to New York, I went into labour. Talk about bad timing! It certainly must have been the most difficult seven hours of his life — there was no way he could even try to return and reach back in time. Ten painful hours later, our son Rajvir was born. It was upsetting that Rumit missed his birth, but I had the support of my mum and brothers.

THE BIG CHANGE