From the Cradle

Welcome to you all who take time to read and follow my blog. Like a newborn baby, I believe with your help, LIFE(through my eyes)  will grow through all the stages of growth it needs to survive on the site. I hope we all have fun as we share ideas on various aspects of life.

Within a space of three weeks, I can confidently say that I'm happiest person on earth as I'm now a true and real aunt...meaning no more <<la borrow>> aunt levels. Oh yea, this isn't strange is it? I even have one of the babies named after me... aww how sweet a feeling it is.

This feeling of joy that envelopes me whenever I come in contact with a newborn or even hear about its birth is just awesome. 

Thoughts of a mother's anxiety, the pains, the discomfort and the thought of growing another life in a tiny bag (womb) within one's body is something that never stops overwhelming me. The response that keeps coming to me when I express my admiration for women who have gone through pregnancy and jumped the hurdle of labour is; "wait till you experience it yourself".... well truth is I look forward to that day when I would hold my tender little one in my arms...mmm

Anytime I see a baby, I couldn't agree more with Diana Gabaldon when she describes babies like this: "Babies are soft. Anyone looking at them can see the tender, fragile skin and know it for the rose-leaf softness that invites a finger's touch. But when you live with them and love them, you feel the softness going inward, the round-cheeked flesh wobbly as custard, the boneless splay of the tiny hands. Their joints are melted rubber, and even when you kiss them hard, in the passion of loving their existence, your lips sink down and seem never to find bone. Holding them against you, they melt and mold, as though they might at any moment flow back into your body........"  Isn't this just the barest truth one could think of babies?

Sometimes however,  in spite of all the joy and <teethy> smiles a newborn's arrival brings to the faces of many, there comes questions like these: "Is it always the case of happiness whenever this newcomer arrives? Is it always a welcomed member of the society? 
Well, if you ask me, my answer will be a definite 'NO' and my findings will  attest to that fact.

I once asked a young girl who had a baby out of wedlock how she felt about having a baby at the age of 16 and her facial expression gave me all the answers even before she ventured giving me a response. As if a dark cloud had descended on her, her lips parted and out came these words:  "when I realised I was pregnant, the first thought that rushed through my head was to get rid of the innocent being growing inside me....I knew I couldn't handle the shame and the delay this could bring to me. I had plans and I felt  the baby would delay my progress."

But you know what, she kept the child all the same and I can say that this child was just  "lucky". 

Wondering why I said so? 

Check out these statistics. What do you have to say about it? <<The Ministry of Health in Ghana has reported there were 16,182 abortions in 2011, almost double the number in 2009 when there were 8,717 abortions. In 2010 there were 10, 875 recorded abortions. >> 

Apart from these abortions, some people do well to go through labour and deliver their babies but end up either throwing them away or abandoning them in orphanages and in front of people's houses or even on pathways where these babies could be found.

There are more reasons why sometimes, the arrival of newborns does not usually meet the smiles and happiness from the society with the family as the main point of call. 

Being born with an abnormality such as albinism and even sometimes being born twins becomes a nightmare for most newborns. In some parts of Africa, albinos are used for money rituals whilst some twins are suspected to be evil and subsequently thrown into forests referred to as "evil" for them to die..... Oh yes of course, those rejected twins shouldn't be expected to survive under any normal circumstances whatsoever when even the sun or the air they breath in that open space can kill them within a day. These babies are just defenceless victims of some of our inhumane traditions which need to be critically revised.

It really hurts when someone spends his time praying for a baby and never gets it whilst in the name of some tradition; we cut short the lives of innocent souls.  What an irony it is....

Well, let me not spoil our “baby” talk with these unfortunate details. Babies are a beauty of life that every woman should experience. Their soft and tender skin is one that you relish to touch at the least opportunity.

I for one will never reject having my finger gripped firmly by those tiny hands. More than once, I have thought to myself, " When will I have my little one growing inside me? When will I feel it <kick> inside me as it's usually said? Will I ever get to hear that first cry, see that first step and hear the first "mama" or "daddy"?  Sure! in the not too far future I believe I will get to enjoy this wonderful experience.

Let us appreciate the new members of our families and societies. All newborns deserve all the love, attention , patience and commitment we could ever give for them to grow into the best we expect them to be. 

LIFE for all of us begins from the cradle so the best gift we can give to our own existence and future is to handle our cradle  with all the care we can think of. 

• Protect your Life
• Protect his or her Life 
• Lets Protect OUR Lives

We come from the Cradle.