Recently, precisely two weeks to her due date, my sister informed me she was pregnant. I was flabbergasted.
“Excuse you?” I asked in disbelief. “What do you mean you are pregnant?” I stared at her tummy incredulously, as if the answer to my question lay hidden there. In hindsight, it did. Just the day before, I had found myself subconsciously wondering why her legs were swollen, but didn’t dwell on the matter much. That is because she already has thick legs, as beautiful as Zari’s, you see. So I thought maybe they were just a bit more swollen than normal for one reason or the other.
On the same day that I noticed the swollen legs, I casually told her we need to go slow on the chapatis. “We’ve been cooking chapatis every two days, and the results are beginning to show in your tummy,” I told her absent mindedly. “If it is not chapati it is mandazis. All this wheat is not good for our vitambis. And it is worse because we are not getting any younger.”
I caught her looking at me funnily like she wanted to say something but thought the better of it. “This fool,” she must have thought to herself. How I missed the pregnancy for nine whole months is something I will never understand.
After the initial shock of that revelation wore off, the first thing I asked her was, “have you shopped for baby items?”
“Soon,” she said dismissively.
“When? You have less than 14 days to go!”
I remember when I was pregnant with my daughter. Five months in I was running up and down with my other sister in Toy market, purchasing blankets, beeps, rompers, towels and what have you. They were fun moments those ones, other times not so much. The exhaustion after shopping the whole day in the sun used to put me down a good one.
“Allow me to go and purchase stuff for you in Toy market tomorrow then,” I almost pleaded with her.
“Don’t worry, I know just the place.”
“Where?”
“Nila Baby shop”
“What? That overpriced place? Why would you do that? And the way babies outgrow clothes before you can blink twice!”
“You will see why when I purchase them.” I shook my head as I walked away, not wanting to indulge her further. Why would someone waste all that money to purchase clothes that a baby would outgrow in just a few months? Later, she explained to me that the quality of those clothes is usually different from what other stores sell, but I was still doubtful. Clothes are clothes right?
The delivery day came and I went to the hospital to see her. She had delivered her baby at KU referral hospital, a hospital by the way, that I did not previously know existed. But that is a story for another day.
I went in, washed my hands and prepared myself to hold the baby. Tears of joy were rolling down my flustered face. I felt so blessed as an aunt. I held my niece, born to a sister I never thought would have another child (her last born is 18, after all)….Never in my wildest dream would I have imagined she would give birth again. I was happy, and this was a blessing in its finest form.
I held the baby and said a prayer.
The blanket she was in felt so soft….so plush. Honestly, I have never felt anything so soft in my life. The sweater….the hat, my goodness. Even carrying that baby felt like royalty. Carrying that baby, my niece, I understood why my sister was willing to spend extra money for those products.
Yours truly meeting her niece for the first time
Nila baby shop products are nothing short of royalty-like. The material used is exquisite. I do not know where they source their stuff from, but it sure is worth every penny. I understand now when she said the products are not the same as other stores.
This, by the way, is not a paid promotion. Far from it. I am writing this post just to appreciate a Kenyan brand that is going all the way out to make sure their buyers enjoy the experience of having a new born. I do not know much about them, all I kept seeing online was people complaining of how expensive their products are. But, expensive or not, at least one is getting their money’s worth.
Buy kenya, build kenya. The statement speaks for itself. And this is one of those companies I would proudly support, having experienced them first hand.
My niece rarely cries, as long as she is well fed and bathed, you won’t hear a sound from her. She is not one of those babies you hear crying the whole night. And even if a visitor came to that house, they might leave the house without realizing there is a baby inside. I can’t help but wonder if the comfortable clothes play a part in that….
Later, my sister purchased their baby bed, and it was delivered straight to her doorstep, where the delivery guy also fixed it for her. Me, of course, I couldn’t wrap my head around purchasing a baby bed for 27 thousand (or 29, I can’t seem to remember well.) But once again when I saw the bed, I understood the why.
The exact baby cot that my sister purchased at Nila baby shop.
Who doesn’t like enjoying the fine things in life? I know I do, even though I would complain about the price while enjoying it, lol.
