Maternity leave living

Chronicles of a first time mom to a 3 month old.

This past week was one of those weeks were I cant really say I was productive yet I feel like I was extremely busy. I’m in that phase of maternity leave where I want to do a lot , but struggling to balance it all.

Eden turned 3 months on the 23rd of this month and I was just reflecting on how grateful I am to God. I clearly remember the months of December last year and January this year when the fibroid pains were at its peak and I was so scared and always praying to God that my baby will be fine. By the grace of God , that baby is 3 months old and now lying on my arms as I type this. Watching her grow has been a very surreal experience and I know that we are just starting. I’m so excited for this journey.

I believe the main thing I did this past week was make my hair, it was practically a 3 day affair. Day 1 was wash day( the natural hair girls understand), Day 2 was the actual braiding and Day 3 was recovering from the braiding. My Mother in law kept asking me to take paracetamol and if my ògé (apparently that means something that has to do with beauty) was worth all this pain. Lol. One day I will write about my Mother in law and how grateful I am to God for her. I have two younger sisters. And now with the death of my mother, I find myself praying that my sisters find Mothers in Law like mine, honestly she’s amazing. I’ll also tell you about how she is teaching me yoruba and how since she’s arrived, my amala skills have gone from non existent to maybe a 50%.

The hairstylist made a video to create some content for her page, enjoy.

Personally , I had high hopes for my maternity leave when I first found out I was pregnant. I wanted to learn new skills or at least try some new things, things I have always wanted to do but felt I was too busy to really do. I had no idea the hand life was going to deal me, and now, in between grief and motherhood, i’m basically just trying to take it one day at a time. I sincerely pray that I can build something outside medicine for myself. I think about that a lot. How I would love to take some time away from medicine to focus on other aspects of my life, you know, maybe run a business , be a stay at home mom, lol, just thinking about it excites me. The issue is, I dont think I have any skills I can make a living from at the moment, so this maternity leave is for levelling up in that aspect of my life. May God help me. Watch this space because I will be taking you on that journey with me.

In conclusion , I would just tell you a few things I learnt this week that i didnt know last week

1. When babies get BCG vaccine( it is given around 28 days of birth to certain babies), that area can form a little swelling ,burst and ooze fluid. That’s all normal. Its funny i know this stuff theoretically , but seeing it on my daughter was quite interesting.

2. In the book i’m currently reading, Bringing up Bebe( yes, i’ve not finished it, please dont judge me), many years ago in France, There used to be these ladies called Wet nurses. They were paid to breastfeed babies born by other women. In fact, it was richer women who made use of wet nurses, so that the mother could return back into society or focus on getting pregnant again, if she hasnt had an heir. I went down a rabbit hole of trying to find out if wet nurses still exist and guess what they do. For 1,000 USD a week in one US based company. Interesting.

Till I write to you again next week, have a wonderful week.

All my Love,

Glory Adedoyin