Mja Mzito Journals 47

A full blessing
Angie Mwamigi

“My pregnancy was unexpected, considering it was in my honeymoon phase. It took a whole month for it to sink in that I was going to be a mother,” Angie narrates. But her partner was besides himself with the news. The thought of becoming a daddy was exhilarating for him, she says.

She says morning sickness was the worst bit about her pregnancy, other than watching kilos piling on her – thanks to the junk food she craved. The healthier cravings were cabbage and avocados.

She went to work as usual but had to take some time off for bed rest after fainting at some point. The second trimester was fun, Angie gathers. She was full of energy, happily going about her first baby’s shopping – now that she even knew the gender.

By the third trimester she was so heavy, everyone kept asking if she was expecting twins – So full! Angie says.

D-day

She was home alone, a few days past her EDD, when the labour pangs struck. She took a cab to Uhai Neema Mission Hospital where she laboured for four hours before they opted for a Caesarean Section, when the baby’s heartbeat could not be felt.

She says she both laughed and shed tears of joy when she first heard her baby, Jabali, cry, “Till my blood pressure rose, I’m told,” she  laughs.

Jabali, a calm four months old, is the spitting image of his father. Angie plans to exclusively breastfeed him for six months before weaning him.

“I will make sure I do what is right for him,” she remarks. She insists that every new mother should trust her gut.

She says careers don’t go anywhere. “Start raising your family first, then the rest will follow. Life is too short,” she says adding that if it were up to her, she would have another baby next year, “But under the current circumstances I will have to wait,” she smiles.

I love being a mum
Perpetual Wamboi

Her husband was the first to point out that they were having a new entrant in the family. And has not stopped being very supportive – all through labour and seeing baby Mugure grow by the day, says Perpetual.

“Mugure gave me cravings for healthy foods such as melons and grapes during my first trimester,” she recounts.

Her most challenging time was the last trimester where she experienced very painful cramps and heartburns. “I was finally admitted for a week due to painful contractions which came at week 35, and had to go for an emergency Caesarean Section,” she recollects.

Then she gained quite some weight, which she looks forward to shedding off.

“I would advise first time mothers to get great gynae/obstetricians who will be there for them throughout the pregnancy,” she says.

Does she plan to have more kids following the trying pregnancy? Yes, she admits. That would serve to ‘complete’ her family, she says.

“I must say it feels great being a mother,” says Mugure Karanu. “And Family support is one of the best things in pregnancy.”

END:PG47/14-15