I am a mummy!

With joy in our hearts and immense thanks to God we are pleased to welcome into the world our beautiful daughter Siobi.

Born yesterday at 9:07pm, she weighed 7lb 5oz.

Thank you for your prayers, love and support.

It is totally amazing and overwhelming at the same time. Details and pics to follow.

All three of us are doing good.

Total thanks to God!

The Middle Wife

This was sent to me today and I thought it would be fun to share.

The 'Middle Wife' by an Anonymous 2nd grade teacher

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself,but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.

When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.

Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.

She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'

'First,  Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my  Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'

She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me.. The kids are watching her in amazement.

'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)

'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)

'And then, pop!  My  Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands mimicking water flowing away. It was too much!)

'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe.

They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.'

Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest. Ever since then, when it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another ' Middle Wife' comes along.

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Here is my latest pregnancy vlog (hopefully the last one before baby comes!)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Solving the puzzle

Back when I was seven or eight, I remember entering this competition at school. We were split into teams, where I was a team leader and we had to work together in groups to solve these puzzles in the fastest time.

The clock started I remember attempting to do all the puzzles myself. My other team mates were around me, but I recall not allowing them to do anything and wanting to do the whole thing myself.

Consequently our team lost the competition and my parents pulled me to one side afterwards to explain a few life lessons; namely around teamwork and delegation.  They told me that we were in teams for a purpose and that if I had shared the tasks out and included everyone in the team, we would have had a more successful result. Equally as team leader it was my job delegate and not do everything myself. Completing the puzzle in itself was not wrong, but I was not effective on my own.

That lesson has stuck with me to this day.

Earlier this week I was studying my bible and came across the the story of Moses and Jethro in Exodus 18.

Jethro was visiting his son-in-law Moses and observed a few things. Day and night Moses would sit in a certain place and the Israelite people would present their cases to him for him to solve. This was obviously time consuming and was beginning to take its toll on Moses. Jethro noticed this and asked…

" Why are you the only judge? Why do you let these people crowd around you from morning till evening?"

¹⁵Moses answered, " Because they come here to find out what God wants them to do. ¹⁶They bring their complaints to me, and I make decisions on the basis of God's laws."

¹⁷Jethro replied: That isn't the best way to do it. ¹⁸You and the people who come to you will soon be worn out. The job is too much for one person; you can't do it alone. ¹⁹God will help you if you follow my advice. You should be the one to speak to God for the people, ²⁰and you should teach them God's laws and show them what they must do to live right.

²¹You will need to appoint some competent leaders who respect God and are trustworthy and honest. Then put them over groups of ten, fifty, a hundred, and a thousand. ²²These judges can handle the ordinary cases and bring the more difficult ones to you. Having them to share the load will make your work easier. ²³This is the way God wants it done. You won't be under nearly as much stress, and everyone else will return home feeling satisfied.

²⁴Moses followed Jethro's advice

What I like about this dialogue is that Jethro identified the problem, provided counsel to Moses and Moses listened and took his advice. Call it the first lesson in the art of delegation.

Being able to delegate is the sign of a good leader but also a wise person. Sometimes we may not see the need to delegate, but those around us who we respect will identify this and tell us.

The ability to trust others to complete the task in hand so that you can focus on the bigger picture is so important in being successful both in your personal and working life. Some people get this, some people don’t.

Delegation also requires humility. Moses could have got angry with Jethro’s suggestion, telling him that he was fine to continue as he is, but he put aside his pride and listened. He was able to let go and release authority to others, while still remaining in control and it didn’t make him any less of a leader. In fact it improved the situation no end. 

I suspect that these first few weeks (even months) of motherhood will definitely require me to put aside my pride and allow others to help me. It will require me to listen to those around me who I trust when they tell me to slow down/take a break/not be too hard on myself (*delete as appropriate). It doesn’t mean I can’t do the task in hand but rather it makes sense to allow others to do it or take a step back.

Letting go and delegating…so important.

Image {via}

Baby E…the story so far

So it’s fair to say that I am getting a bit bored waiting around. Everyone is like enjoy this time…

Not feeling any signs so just getting on with house stuff and daily walks with mum. I suppose it’s nice not to have the ‘pressure’ of doing things, but it’s still that unknown of ‘when will it happen’.

I’m properly in nesting mode, having cleaned out my kitchen today and rearranged everything! I’m also going to attempt to make some hummus this afternoon, after having a craving for it and not really feeling like trekking to the shop for it.

Friends and family have been so generous the past few days, dropping off baby clothes and equipment for us. I’ve also sorted out my labour playlist for my ipod; a list of my favourite worship songs to listen to in hospital.

So anyways here’s the latest info…

• How Far Along? 39 weeks and 5 days
• Total Weight Gain/Loss: Dare I look at the scales anymore.
• Maternity Clothes? Yes. Live in my mothercare leggings – love them so much.
• Stretch Marks? Moving on.
• Sleep: Doing okay on this front. Although all my dreams are no longer weird vivid things but are all about labour. 
• Best Moment of the Week? Antenatal appointment and finding out baby is engaged.
• Miss Anything? Bending down. Lying on my back.
• Movement: Yes but baby E is getting pretty cramped in there for sure. Also she is now back to back, rather than front to back, so I getting lots of random body parts poking at my belly.
• Food Cravings: Cheese, sardine and jam. All on the same sandwich. Also these bad boys:



• Anything Making You Queasy or Sick? Nope fortunately.
• Gender Prediction: Still a girl.
• Labour Signs: Not really sure. Baby is engaged and have felt mild cramps but nothing more.
• Belly Button In or Out: Was an innie, now it’s just flat. 
• Wedding Rings On or Off: Have been fortunate, have not had to remove them yet.
• Happy or Moody Most of the Time? Depends. Generally happy but have moments of frustration!!!
• Looking Forward To: HAVING THIS BABY.

I can see the finish line!

Woohoo – hello week 39!

Not feeling any labour signs as of yet, at least I don’t think I am.

Below is my latest pregnancy vlog for weeks 37+38.

Can’t believe I’ve been recording these videos for the past 30 weeks. It was a completely new thing for me, one I had to step outside my comfort zone to do, but I’m happy that I’ve managed to continue making them to the finish line.

Some weeks have been harder than others, but it will be nice to have a record of my first pregnancy and see how I changed over the months. Also if baby girl ever wants to see details of her journey to the world, she can watch!

Just for laughs, look at the difference between my latest vlog…

and my very first at just a mere 7 weeks!

p.s. I’m thinking of doing a pregnancy q+a video, so if you have questions you would like answered, feel free to comment below and I’ll do my best to compile a video with answers.