It is a beautiful Monday, and as I am enjoying the view of the ocean from my veranda, I cannot think of a better way to launch “My Beautiful Mondays” feature than by sharing some of the amazing steps in my motherhood journey which began almost two years ago – or three, if you include the pregnancy.
Many of you have asked me how motherhood has changed and enriched my life, but I realize that I have not talked as much about it as I should have, considering that my wonderful little daughter Nielsine, who will soon celebrate her two years birthday, plays such a central role in my life.
As a working mom I have to balance my professional activities with my family life, which as you can imagine is not always easy. This time I have actually managed to take a lot of time off from my otherwise very busy schedule to spend time with my daughter in our home at the coast. And I feel so blessed to have been able to be with her 24 hours a day for the past two weeks.
As a first time mom it is beautiful to see how much she has grown and how every day brings new awesome developments. The months have been flying and it seems like only yesterday that she took her first couple of steps across our living room floor, and now she is already running so fast on the beach that it is hard to keep up with her. And now when she is seriously beginning to talk, our relationship is reaching new heights.
Her biological father has never played any major role in my or her life, and I am convinced that he will probably never be in our life either, And I am at peace with that. I thank God for bringing me and him together, because through him, I got the greatest gift life could ever give. But some relationships are not ment to be, and no woman should ever hate herself if she ever had to walk away.
My little Princess fills my life so completely and I am happy to have a career and a flexible work style which allows me to spend quality time with her as often as I do. At the age of 2 she is already a little person with a strong personality, sometimes cheeky but always happy.
During my quiet moments I love to dwell on some of my favourite motherhood experiences, and my thoughts often go back to the day she was born. The delivery went fairly smoothly (thank God for epidurals) but the 30 seconds it took the doctor to place her in my loving arms seemed like an eternity. She immediately latched on to my breast, and then there were only her and me in the world, and our bond was complete.
Breastfeeding her is such a wonderful way to be together, which we both enjoy enormously, and sometimes I wonder if we will ever be prepared to give it up. Of course she is now more and more dependent on formula and cow milk, but she still asks for “matiti” every day, and I am only too happy to oblige.
Locking her hair which I did one year ago, was my choice, and she is happy to look like Mama. Not surprisingly she wants to be like me, a real fashionista who loves her outfits and smiles at herself in the mirror. A real copy cat she is, and often wears my bangles and necklaces and is proud to have her nails painted !
Sometimes people ask me how I feel about exposing her on social media, and of course it is something I think about often, and I carefully weigh what can be shared and what not. I am definitely not giving intimate details about her and our life together. But she is such a big and important part of my life and always will be, that it is hard to leave her out of what I post on the Internet, putting her a bit in the limelight allows me to share what we are passionate about.
Of course she may eventually grow up to feel uncomfortable about too much attention and if that will be the case, it is easy to shut the door and let her enjoy all the privacy she wants. Just like she should feel free to cut off her locs, if at some point she wants to try different hair styles.
I realize that although motherhood lasts a lifetime, the time will come, sooner than I expect, maybe, when she wants to express her individuality. And I look forward to her being my closest friend, which is how a perfect motherhood journey should develop.
And yes, I would want to get married and have more children one day. But I have learnt to leave it all in God’s hands. Right now I am enjoying a beautiful daughter and a blossoming career.
Let me end by wishing you all a beautiful Monday. Mine just got even more beautiful when I woke up to discover that I have been nominate for not only one but TWO Bake awards: “Best Fashion/Beauty/Hair/Style Blog” and “Kenyan Blog of the Year”. I still cannot believe it. Thank you God ! and thank you all for nominating me !!
The voting site is open already: www.blogawards.co.ke/vote. let’s get voting !
I could go on and on about my motherhood journey, but if you have any questions. Drop a line on the comment box below.
Love,
Silvia
