30 year old Vellah Murengu is a mother of two; 7-year-old daughter Edel and 4 year-old son Larveen. A Legal Assistant in an NGO, Vellah talks about some of her motherhood experiences, as narrated to Mummy Tales writer SYLVIA WAKHISI.
“Life as a mother has been very eye-opening for me, based on the different experiences I have gone through. Starting with the pregnancies. Both of my pregnancies were characterized by different experiences, including weird cravings and developing a dislike for certain things and people.
With my first child Edel, I remember disliking food. Would you believe that all I ever seemed to drink was Krest (the soda) and eat roasted clay? (don’t ask). I would buy the small pack of roasted clay for Sh50 from the supermarket twice or thrice a day, and happily munch on them. At the same time, I had low haemoglobin levels in the early months of pregnancy. The doctor told me to consume lots of beetroot for this, though I absolutely detested it.
Interestingly, with my second pregnancy, I loved all foods and ate almost everything. My only issues were lots of back ache and swollen feet. I even has to be put on bed rest at some point.
Life as a New Mom
Before the arrival of my daughter, I read lots of articles on motherhood and had lots of conversations with my friends who were already moms. By the time I was due, I had immense knowledge on motherhood. That notwithstanding, I still was very anxious, but I managed to go through new motherhood just fine. I thank God because I never had issues with my babies in the first three months as is usually the case with newborns. I would sleep through the night and only wake up to breastfeed.
House Girl Challenges
When it comes to house girls, my experience is similar to that of many other moms. It’s not an easy journey. There is a time you wake up in the morning to go to work and she tells you that she is leaving! You ask yourself so many questions but you have to remain calm and think fast on what to do next because you can’t force her to stay when she has already made up her mind. When it comes to house girls, I have had my share of ups and downs with them…
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