Happy 3rd Birthday to Coco!

Can you guys believe my baby girl is 3 whole years old today????? I have an entire THREENAGER on my hands!!! It feels like just yesterday, I was crying on Youtube about trying to conceive, then announcing my pregnancy here and to my family, and giving birth to her! I am super blessed to be her mother and I know without a shred of doubt that she was 100% created by God for me. I'm one happy mama and I ask that you say a prayer for Coco today. Woot woot!!!!!!

Mummy and Me: Dashiki

I've got another set of Mummy and Me photos to share with you today! I had a different shoot to share, but I can't find the memory card that has those photos... so sad. However, we can make do with this new set of "And co" photos! For this photo shoot, Cocoa and I wore African dashikis! Are there non-African dashikis, come to think of it? Where do dashikis really come from? See here if you're interested.

Mummy and Me: Dornubari's Apparel

Before I got pregnant with Cocoa, I knew I wanted to have two children - a boy and a girl. I didn't think it out loud, but I think I hoped that my first child would be a girl. I didn't have any particular reasons though. Maybe because I'm the first child? Anyway, some of the things I looked forward to when I knew I would have a daughter included being Mummy-Daughter best friends, playing with makeup (which she does already), and also dressing alike in matching Mummy and Me outfits! Now, my husband does not like to dress in matching outfits, but I can do what I want with my daughter in that regard, and I got another chance with Dornubari's Apparel (see our Christmas photos for the first time we had a Mummy and Me shoot)!

Happy Childrens Day!

Today, May 27th is Childrens' Day in Nigeria. No matter where I am in the world, I will always acknowledge the holiday inwardly at the very least. I always enjoyed Childrens Day, for a few reasons - it was a school-free holiday, and it's two days before my birthday. In my mind, they should have just added May 28th into the fray so I could have 3 days off! Anyway, today I'd like to share a few photos of Cocoa (my daughter, if you're new to the blog). She's a full blown toddler now (with tantrums to boot), and even though she's almost 2 years old, I still catch myself looking at her and wondering in amazement at God's grace in my life!

Why I Don't Want to be a Mummy Blogger

Can I be honest with you? As in, really honest? I do NOT want to be a Mummy Blogger. There is nothing within me that wants to be referred to as a Mummy Blogger (or Mommy Blogger for the Americans). You can call me a Blogger who's a Mother/Mum/Mom, but please do not refer to me as a Mummy Blogger. I realize it might look like I dislike those who are Mummy Bloggers, but I really don't. More grease, spit up, powder, and general children bodily fluids to your elbows! You guys rock! I'm sure you're wondering why Mummy Blogging is not for me? Well, scroll down to see why.

Ten Tips for Reading with Toddlers

I used to worry a little bit about building a reading habit for my baby. I read and heard many times that you should start reading to your baby while pregnant, and every day after they're born to help them discover a love for reading. I had a little bit of a rough start and had some mum guilt festering below the surface, but thankfully, my toddler loves to read!

Sleep Training a Toddler with Baby Sleep School

I got my first Christmas present already! FINALLY, I think I can definitely say that Little Miss Cocoa has been sleep trained successfully. Our journey here has been long and full of tears from her (AND me too). I've practically passed out at work from sheer exhaustion. There were starts, then stops, then restarts and more stops. I've been yelled at, scolded, reprimanded by well-meaning older family members because they don't agree with leaving a baby/toddler to cry. Basically, it's been a long road to get here! And thanks to Baby Sleep School, we have finally arrived!

BERRY VLOG - Mummy Tag with Cocoa

Hi there!!!!

I have a new FUNNY video up on my YouTube channel, and my most favorite guest, Cocoa is featured quite prominently! Check it out below and make sure to LIKE, SHARE and pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease SUBSCRIBE to my channel!

Cruise Vacation - Costa Maya, Mexico

Hola!

How was your weekend? Mine was pretty good - I got a chance to really rest, and so I feel pretty refreshed today. I know it seems like our Family Cruise 2018 series will never end, but I promise, I have just 2 more posts after this one. I'd like to share some photos of the ship, and all the food we ate :D But in today's post, I'm sharing photos from our very last stop on the cruise with Royal Caribbean. We docked at Costa Maya, Mexico (remember our first Mexican stop in Cozumel?).

BERRY VLOG: What I Have Learned About Motherhood

Hi there!

Thank God it's Friday! And since it's Friday, I thought I'd give you something fun to watch this weekend. I have committed to at least 1 blog post every week, and 2 Youtube videos per month. This is the second video for September and I shared 10 things I've learned since I became a mother. But guess who else features in the video - COCOA!!! It's a really fun video and I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing her antics while I try to film - this video was my third attempt to film and I'm happy with the results. Please don't forget to LIKE the video, but most importantly, SUBSCRIBE!

Thanks a bunch!

I hope you enjoyed the video. Have a pretty weekend!

Old Love and New Love

Today I did something that I haven't done in a long time. When you go through a particularly tough time, like I've mentioned a few times, you can begin to lose yourself. When you laugh, the laughter is mostly hollow. When you smile, it doesn't quite reach your eyes. You subconsciously carry a weight on you that makes you slouch. You slowly stop doing the things you used to enjoy. You forget or lose the will to do the things you used to love. I stopped writing. I stopped twirling. I didn't want to play with makeup anymore. I can't even remember the last time I listened to Flavour! *hang on, I'm about to play my favorite song of his - Destiny*

My Breastfeeding Story

Last week was World Breastfeeding Week, and I thought now would be a nice opportunity to share how breastfeeding went for me after the birth of Cocoa. But before I get into it, can I just say that sometimes I still feel astounded that I have a child. As in, I have a daughter! It's just amazing and I thank God every day for her life! From sharing our struggles to conceive, and then our pregnancy, and labor/delivery - it's just amazing. Cakes and I have really been blessed and shown immense grace by God.

Traveling with a Baby - Part 2 - Diaper Bag Packing Checklist

In part 1 of this series, I shared a few tips on what I did before and while flying with Baby Cocoa on her first flight to Detroit, and her second much longer flight to Lagos, Nigeria. Flying with a baby can be daunting, especially if you're traveling alone with the baby. I won't lie and say the international flight was a breeze. Baby Cocoa is a generally easygoing and cheerful baby. A lot of passengers on every single flight we've been on always complimented her, and said how sweet she is and told me how lucky and blessed I am to have such a happy and friendly baby. Honestly, during a flight from Abuja to Lagos, she allowed one of the air hostesses to carry her off!

Traveling with a Baby - Part 1

At the end of March, just before Easter, I flew solo to Nigeria with Baby Cocoa. I don't know if I mentioned that I traveled to Detroit with her at the beginning of March and I was nervous about flying with an infant. Traveling to Detroit was short - less than 2 hours - and I did a little research about traveling with a baby beforehand. I knew that since she's under 2 years old, I would not need to buy a ticket for her, as she would travel in my lap. I did need to call the airline ahead of time, to ensure that they had her information (especially for international travel). I also found out that it would be best to bottle feed a baby just before take-off and landing to prevent air pressure in their ears. Our trip to Detroit was a breeze - Baby Cocoa is a light-hearted and cheerful baby, and I got a lot of compliments on my happy baby!

On Losing Pregnancy Weight aka Snapback

Hey y'all,

I announced in January that my sister, cousin and I were starting a new live web-based talk show called Tea With Cubes. We have completed 5 episodes so far!!!! You can catch us on the FIRST and THIRD Sundays of each month at 4pm EST (9pm Nigerian time) on Instagram and Facebook. If you missed any of the episodes, please subscribe to our Youtube channel and catch up with our Hot Topics segments and our various discussions.

Happy New Year's Day

New Year's Day across the world always comes with the hopes and dreams of positivity, possibilities and renewed purpose for most people. I am also one of those people. 2017 was not my best year, even though it was the year of my biggest testimony. Something I learned last year was that life is a cycle of tests and testimonies.

5 Baby Shower Tips| My Baby Shower Photos

Baby showers are one of the events most looked forward to during a woman's pregnancy. From having one or two or more parties thrown for her, to the baby shower gifts she'll receive, the baby shower is an important event. Typically they are planned and hosted by the mummy-to-be's family and/or friends. These days, baby shower themes run from Parisian to Hawaiian Luau to a Tea Party like mine. Check out the photos below and some helpful tips for hosting a baby shower.

Hey Cocoa!

Hey everyone!

I'm sorry I've been so silent on the blog in the past couple of weeks. June was a really tough month for me - I was quite stressed out emotionally and mentally. I also started the month with a tooth infection, which apparently can be common in pregnancy. I had to plan and prepare for my maternity photo shoot with my brother's media company, Primavera Pictures (@primapics on Instagram). I was still on doctor-ordered bed rest, waiting for Cakes and my mum to get back to Atlanta from Nigeria just in time for my baby shower. The plan was to start getting the nursery ready the week after my baby shower... BUT God had other plans! I started having contractions a few hours after getting home from the baby shower, and last week Monday, Baby Cocoa arrived!

Thanks to everyone who already congratulated us on social media! God is too much!!! Y'all praise Him for answered prayers and testimonies!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll share my maternity shoot photos soon, as well as my labor and delivery story. Would you prefer it in written or video format? Let me know!

I'm trying to figure out a schedule that works for me, so that I can get back to blogging properly. I love all of you for sticking by me :) God bless!