Too many reasons to be grateful

A friend and I were discussing about our baby’s milestones, our experiences, challenges and joys as mothers. I told her I usually peer into my baby’s face in amazement that I’m a mom! She said she always feels the same way, especially when she uses the expression “my son”.

For days now, I’ve caught myself saying; “So I’m a mom, I have a baby?” I wonder how I bore her in my womb for nine good months till she grew to full term. I’m not undeserving of the rewards of a child, for the Bible says;

“Children are a GIFT from the LORD;they are a real blessing.
The sons a man has when he is young are like arrows in a soldier’s hand. Happy is the man who has many such arrows. He will never be defeated when he meets his enemies in the place of judgment.”

But the most amazing thing, is the privilege God has given me to be a custodian, to carter for and to express the gift of motherhood. Its one of the most awesome experiences of my life. My Father in Heaven knows I’m one very grateful mom, despite not being prepared or pre-informed on all it takes to care for a baby(all by myself), yet he’s equipped me.

I usually hear moms make statements like; “I can’t wait for my baby to start sitting, crawling, talking, walking, going to school blah blah” and I wonder,why the rush? Some of our (hasty)desire for accelerated growth leads to comparison and unnecessary competition even among innocent children.
I receive comments from “observers” on my baby weight. Either I’m told she’s not as chubby as she should be or I’m not feeding her fat. Someone compared my baby’s weight with another baby which got me thinking if her weight was okay for her age. But,experts say babies come in different shapes and sizes, and some will be on different “centile” for weight than for length. For example, a baby who is on the 50th centile for weight and the 70th centile for length, is taller and slimmer than average, while a baby who is on the 15th centile for both weight and length is petite. Both may be equally healthy.
There are no basis for comparison as boys and girls grow at different rates, as I’ve said before, no two babies are the same. The key thing is, to have a healthy baby who’s feeding well and achieving significant milestones.

So I decided to check with a doctor and I’m glad my baby is on track, growing steadily. It doesn’t mean I’m not anticipating her achieving her milestones, but I’m learning not to put pressure on myself and my baby(on account of what people think). I tell myself time and time again to enjoy her, despite the exigencies of this season of my life, taking one day at a time.

I must say, I miss my yummy baby at three months, I miss the early days I could swaddle, cuddle and lay her in one position even though I sacrificed some sleep for her sake. The months have really rushed by like a whirlwind, she’s growing so fast and becoming very active. As much as we cannot turn the hands of time, we have thoroughly been fascinated by her milestones including her repertoire of sounds- the squeals, bubbling noises, operatic octave changes and babbling :).

We are at another level which requires a lot of attention and love : keeping our valuables away, taking unsafe objects out of reach, getting her to stay calm during bath time and diaper change. And yes, we discuss a lot with her and also scold a few times ; ” take this”, “lie down”,”I love you”, “don’t pull my hair”, “don’t bite me”, “leave it”, don’t touch that, give it to me,”eat your food” etc. Its a very interesting development.

She’s seven months old today, I am very grateful to God and so excited at the journey so far.

*Some info culled from Baby Centre and Your baby month by month

Ramblings of a Nigerian mom

This afternoon, I was trying to make a small pot of soup for hubby when the gas finished on me. I had to wait till he got another gas cylinder.
Hmm, I think I always have to cook especially as there’s hardly power supply in the Estate we reside. I’m not the greatest of all cooks neither do I enjoy cooking so much(I’m a functional cook), but due to the electricity situation in the country and in my neighbourhood, I have to cook one pot of soup to last for two days or prepare any kind of food and finish it as soon as possible.

Now anyone who comes from Nigeria and is conversant with meals from my tribe (Ibibios),will agree it takes a lot of time and energy to prepare. Since we enjoy these meals, I try to cook them often. But the snag is with the power supply, and the fact that we cannot store food to serve us for at least one week. So I cook in bits,though,I would prefer to stock up my freezer with different kinds of food- it makes life a lot easier.

We’ve had some good days when electricity is a bit steady. So all we do is cook, freeze, then thaw and warm the amount we need daily. But several times, when there’s epileptic power supply, we use the generating set to power the freezer, but we hardly keep food for so long.

It gets really challenging for me when I have to cook every other day with my baby crying for my attention. Talk of wearing her on my back to cook and I’ll tell you about a pool of sweat and more tears. Its not convenient to have her in the kitchen when I’m cooking because the weather is extremely hot.
Ok, a few days in the week, I have someone who comes in to help with chores, with the baby and market run. Such days, I can rest, while she prepares the food items for me to cook. Hubby also helps over the weekend, otherwise,I’m alone.

I love the variety of eating out in a decent eatery, eating light or just snacking away. I also would enjoy some Friday night outing or weekend specials away from my pots and spoons, and boring space :).

I’m hoping the power situation in my neighbourhood improves pretty soon.