Act of drinking water in my house is a weighty issue

Nairobi; Kenya: I once had a colleague who would occasionally come to work sulky.

Whenever she exuded these moods, no one dared talk to her, lest you face her wrath.

However, after things cooled down, she would open up and disclose that her baby’s weight loss was worrying her.

I had not thought of being a mum then, and I, therefore, could not understand why a baby’s weight would cause such a fuss, until when I delivered mine and her weight issues were not good news either.

I lost sleep for days and my inundating calls to the nanny  to inquire whether the baby had eaten her food and fruits were not helping either.

My little one had lost 20 grammes. This was such a big deal that I came up with #OperationReclaiming20grammes. I summoned everyone in the house, seeking their support to ensure the ‘operation’ succeeds. I was not ready for another graphical explanation from the nurse on what happens when that curve on the clinic card stops rising.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  How new KRA guidelines will impact income tax calculation
• 
  Out in the cold: The quiet lives of sacked Cabinet Secretaries
• 
  MPs should explain benefits of SHA to clear doubt, win confidence
• 
  Siaya residents ask Orengo to resuscitate ailing health facilities

With the help of a nutritionist, I devised a diet timetable for the baby. My nanny was enthusiastic and promised to give our little ‘operation’ her best.

The people I shared my predicament with thought I was overacting, but I had to check on the baby’s diet to recover our 20 grammes.

We started off well but before we even hit the second day, we were in for another challenge.

Baby never wanted to drink water. She rolls her eyes and sneers at me whenever I approach her with a bottle of water.

This has been my predicament and not even our pediatrician can fix this.

The nutritionist’s trick on this hasn’t worked either. Water time is always war time in my house.

My research and advice from other mothers has also flopped. I have tried out fancy cups and bottles, but she insists water is still not part of her world. Now I have resorted to using spoon to give her water, which is also proving to be a tall order. Can you imagine how tedious and time consuming it is to even finish a quarter litre of water using a spoon? I have run out of ideas but I am not giving up. My #OperationKunywaMaji is now taking shape.

This space is open to mothers who would like to share their experiences. E-mail your story of 600 words to: [email protected]