1. Keeping short nails.
Boo boo has scratched or pinched my face on more than one occasion with her tiny little nails and being scratched isn’t fun at all. So thanks to that I have known the importance of having short nails that won’t scratch boo boo or myself. It’s usually a fight when it comes to cutting her nails, she’ll cry and scream and you won’t be able to touch her fingers; bribery, threats and negotiations never work (at least I know she won’t be involved in corruption in the future) So I usually wait for her to fall asleep then we cut them. But at least I can now apply nail polish since she stopped eating my fingers.
2. Sleeping with one eye open.
I think by now we know how much I love my sleep. I have mastered the art of taking 2 minute power naps. Most of the time I’ll want to take a nap during the day but Imani is full of energy and you can’t convince her to sleep if she doesn’t feel like doing so. She’s miss Independent and will do what she feels like doing. So I usually give her her toys to play with then I take a long 2 minute blink with my ears tuned to listen to any unusual noise. Once I’m up, I’m usually ready to stay up for hours and play with her till we’re both tired and ready to sleep.
3. Cleaning up in the evening.
On days when my help isn’t around, the house is usually in such a mess. I’ve never been the neatest person in the world and I’ll never be the neatest person (sorry future lover no clean house unless we pay someone and get household appliances to ease the tasks). I let boo boo play with her toys and everything else that she can reach
Read more: I am that Mum who sets Herself Up
4. Cooking with one hand.
When it’s my turn to cook or when my help isn’t around it’s usually a hustle to cook since Imani will insist you carry her. She won’t agree to sit and play with her toys or listen to music and dance. Even when you carry her on your back she’ll insist you turn her around so that she can see your face and what you are doing. So the trade off is usually I turn her around and let her ‘help’ me with the cooking. She’ll try to turn the food and add spices to the food.
5. Waking up at 6.00 am.
Imani is my natural alarm clock. Even on days that I am not around Imani, I still wake up at 6.00 am as long as I’m asleep by 2.00 am. I’m usually unable to go back to sleep after that unless I force myself to sleep. On the plus, I’m usually able to work on a few things when my brain is still fresh.
New Vocabulary: “Ni moto” (it’s hot).
When boo doesn’t want to eat, she’ll say “ni moto” and refuse to open her mouth. When you go to cool it, she’ll slip away from you and run away. When you catch her, she’ll scream and cry and refuse to completely eat the food.
For more about motherhood read Muthoni Njoki’s Blog