OUR LOVELY baby
Ugandan musician Grace Nakimera expresses her joy at being a first-time mum.
For the 22 years I have lived, seeing my baby for the first time was the best thing that has ever happened to me. I had not gone for a scan and so I did not know I was expecting a girl. When I laid my eyes on her, my baby was a very beautiful surprise for me.
Her names are Myra Channel Ringen Nandi Markura. We came up with these names because they were all so nice, and we didn’t want to leave any out. She weighed 3 kg at birth and she has gained steadily since.She turned four months on 28th April, and I am thinking I should introduce her to complimentary food at six months. Mum suggested mashed bananas, mixed with milk and margarine, and some cereal porridge.
Being a mum is the best experience ever, even though when she was born I did not have any breast milk, and by the time it came she wasn’t interested in it- having become used to formula milk.
After her first immunisation, she developed a pink patch on her leg and a little fever. I soothed her thigh with some ice. She cried for a few seconds and then calmed down. It feels painful when she is getting her injections so I don’t watch, but I cuddle her after this to soothe her.
She sleeps at 11.00 pm and wakes up at 6.00 am in the morning. She is a quiet girl who sits by herself and smiles on her own. She knows her name and is aware of music and loves a particular song I sing to her. I love dressing hair and I can’t wait for her to grow older, before I try out my ideas on her. I plan to pierce her ears, because I think ear-rings would look so pretty on her.
I prefer leaving her indoors when I am going somewhere because it’s very dusty outside. She only goes out when I am taking her to the clinic.
I have not returned to work, and I am not in a hurry as my baby is still young: since I own my business I don’t have to rush. I want to be with her until she is six or seven months, then I will work in the mornings and keep the afternoons for her. I plan to have three children, but just one is a lot of work. Taking care of Myra while attending to my personal chores and errands at the same time, makes me think that I will have another one only after she turns five years!
Myra’s daddy and I
We met when I was modelling. When I got pregnant,we had dated for two years and I think he is a good man. We decided to have a child together. We are engaged and living together and we are planning to get married.
Both of us wanted a baby and so as soon as I missed my menses I knew I was pregnant. I went for a test at eight weeks which confirmed I was pregnant, and I was very excited.
I had all the support that I needed from my fiancé, and the pregnancy was great, fun and comfortable. During the pregnancy I didn’t like perfumes but I didn’t get morning sickness, I only threw up once.
I wore ordinary clothes until my pregnancy was 24 weeks old. Not many people could tell I was pregnant. My bump started showing when I got to 32 weeks. I delivered through a Caesarean section, as I had exceeded my due date by three weeks. It was getting stressful because I was feeling so heavy and I couldn’t even move, even turning over in bed had become difficult.
The operation scar healed so well it is hardly visible. I am glad I can still put on a bikini. I managed to work off the extra weight I had gained and flatten my stomach. I did this mainly through a healthy diet: I avoided junk food, ate small portions of home-made meals regularly. I did some exercises but was cautious because of the C-section. I tied a sauna belt while doing house work. This one causes you to sweat around the mid area and probably helps burn the fat too. My husband did not believe the sauna belt can help but now he appreciates my flat stomach. He bought me some oil which I think helped to clear the stretch marks.
Grace Nakimera
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