The Cuddle Blog

Pregnancy Diary No 2: How we found out

September 29, 2021

You might recall that I wrote about TTC baby no 2 sometime last year and honestly by the end of the year I was tapped out. Like when you have a child already and you decide to just still try but focus on the one you have right? That's the place that I was at.

Prior to that time, I had tried like everyone TTC using my apps that track my cycle to track my ovulation and tried using some herbal drug but since it wasn't working for over a year I just decided I didn't want the pressure.

One day, I was watching a Vlog by AdannaDavid and she was sharing her journey to her 3rd pregnancy and seeing how she planned it and all. What was most fascinating to me was she talked about Ovulation kits. I had seen those before but I just concluded that it was too complicated for me to try and I mean, I had my app, this time I decided to give it one last shot.

I bought the ovulation kit and started using it and yes it eventually became complicated because I wasn't even sure which day was positive or even if we had sex on a positive day. I just know we tried our best and after tracking for like 3-4 days I just gave up.

This was in December 2020. Went about the holidays not thinking of anything, had fun and January, planned our homeschool for 2021 and went about our business.

We planned a trip to Abuja in January and all the while I had a cold and felt sick.

Steam inhalation

I was almost convinced I had C-19 and because I hadn't missed my period at the time, I didn't think too much about pregnancy (although it crossed my mind) the sick feeling was there on our first few homeschooling trips this year that I felt I was going to pass out, still convinced I had the virus, did hot water inhalation and all but then I missed my period.

I took a test, sent a message to Hubby like "Is this real?" 😂 as much as I wanted it, I just never expected it.

Like the ton of bricks, it hit me harder... Not the news the sickness!

Feeling Sick

Next, we would talk about the first trimester!

The app I use to track my ovulation: Flo

What “Come As You Are” means to me and my family/kids

September 17, 2021

Come as you are - Freedom

Freedom to choose who you want to be

Freedom to choose how you want to do things

Freedom to choose your path.

Freedom to come as you are.

As a family, we made the choice to home educate our child in a country where it is still unpopular to make such a decision, and for us home educating means freedom. Home education opened our world up to new knowledge, to new connections, to new people, and to various opportunities.

In making the decision to home educate, we stripped ourselves and children of the expectation of how education is supposed to look like in our world.

We gifted our child the beauty of an interest-led life.

We embarked on experiences that last a lifetime and make memories from the mundane of every day to the grand view from another state.

This freedom to choose brings so much joy

This freedom to express brings laughter

This freedom to become bring fulfillment

This freedom to experience births curiosity

This freedom to explore births creativity

Although this freedom is not without its challenges, we constantly challenge ourselves to stay true to who we are, embrace the journey, be confident in what we stand for, pursue our convictions and most importantly every day, come as we are.

Golden morn

"What age should children eat golden morn?" || I wrote a letter to golden morn and they responded

August 7, 2021

Very recently, I saw for the umpteenth time how people still give their infants Golden morn. I went over to social media to write about my frustration and also my experience here is what I wrote;

"Dear @goldenmorn_nigeria We love you and your product but please it is not enough to write "It is not an infant cereal" on a tiny portion at the BACK of the cereal. It will be very nice to write the recommended age boldly on the front of your cereal.
Soooooooooooooo many mothers out there give their little children this cereal because it's affordable (that's commendable) we understand you really want to feed our babies but if something is not good for them at a certain age, wouldn't that be counterintuitive to what you are trying to achieve?
We can do better! We are tired of guessing what age is appropriate. Thank you as you comply! --
Dear Mums, If you gave your child golden morn from like 1year without knowing the recommended age, please let's join mouth to ask them to do better. I love golden morn and my son loves it too but hearing that it should be from 3... Wow. Let's not imagine how many low-income families give their children before 1 year old!!! Let's ask for the change we need it's not enough to just put social media circulations!"

I have been tired of hearing this thing so much and the seeming silence of Golden morn (because I had not see anything official written addressing the issue) is why I decided to make my last post and by the end of the day Golden morn sent me a message asking for my phone number to speak to me. I was really impressed because to be honest I didn't expect them to respond. Anyways, I spoke to a representative of Nestle yesterday and here is what the conversation was; -- The lady who spoke to me (one of their customer service rep) told me about their cereal and how they know because of the composition it can be mistaken for 'baby food' which is why they write " it is not an infant cereal" on the pack and she went on to say they do not expect that mothers give their children between 0-6 months golden morn as they as a company advocate breastfeeding. We spoke further and she explained that Golden morn is not bad for children but since it is not an infant cereal it lacks all the nutrients that a child needs in comparison with infant cereals that are specially fortified for children which is why paediatrician won't recommend it. I listened to her, let finish and stated that the issue is not about if Golden morn is good or not but that the small label at the back is not enough to educate mothers that it is not an infant cereal, because let's face it, the reality of the product is that it does look like an infant cereal when mixed, in response to this she said creating the artworks for their products takes time and they are subjected to alot of policies but the same nestle cerelac has boldly written in front "from 6 months". I also mention to her that, we know that most children at that age are picky eaters and once they are introduced to their product there is a tendency that it becomes a majoooor part of what they eat. The final thing I said it that, it isn't also enough for them to say "It is not an infant cereal" they should put an age to it. - While I like that @goldenmorn_nigeria took their time to receive feedback, I wasn't at all satisfied with what I got because, when I said they needed to define who their infant is because they know what they put in the product and should be able to define who it is fit for, she said to me that different people define infant differently which means that if a mum thinks her 7 month old is not an infant it is okay for her to give golden morn and if another mum thinks 6 years is an infant she shouldn't give golden morn. - At the end of the conversation I asked "What are you going to do about this" and she promised to give the feedback to those that can actually make the change and will give me a call back if there is any development. She also mentioned that they have toll free numbers that people can call them on if they have any complains as they are open to feedback. - I think this is what is most important that they need to do; 1. Define who 'infant' is for your product. Yes we know there are different standards in the world but only the manufacturer of a product can tell who it is good for. 2. Go ahead and put that age on the front of the pack so everyone is clear

They might not set out to mislead anyone but as it stands it is very misleading. I really do hope they make the change.

Verdict: Your baby below 3 should not be eating Golden morn for the very reason that they could become dependent on it and Golden morn doesn't have all the nutrients required for the growth of a child. It is also assumed that from 3 they would have supplemented their foods to get the daily requirements of nutrition they need. There are available infant cereals that have been fortified to give your child(ren) the nutrients they need as they are growing up, and also they can start eating local foods too.

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Things to do with kids in Abeokuta || Full breakdown of our trip

July 30, 2021

Our initial plan was to take a day trip to Abeokuta since the train now goes 2 times a day because we thought the only place to visit was Olumo Rock but with more research, we realized that there was a bit more to do.

The train now leaves for IB/Abeokuta for 8 am and departs Abeokuta 6:50pm (A day trip is possible once you plan your time well)

So we got planning.

List of things we wanted to do in Abeokuta

Visit Olumo Rock (Click to see a review)
Go to where they make Adire and get some souvenir - We were able to only buy Adire because apparently the market has been revamped and turned into a mall so they claim you have to see the head of the market (Iya Oloja) to seek permission to go to the place they make the Adire and we were so tired already.
OOPL
OOPL Wildlife Park
OOPL Amusement Park - When we planned to go it was on the day of LG election in Abeokuta so the staff couldn't make it to work that day but there are quite a number of things to do as we saw from outside. We wished we came the previous day.
Swimming - Access to the pool was complimentary because we lodged at the resort.

Click here to get a PDF for more things to do in Abeokuta with your kids

Our initial Budget was about 45k/Family but we realized that it made so much more sense to stay at the resort where the other activities we would do were.
We planned to stay at the Green Legacy resort which is in the compound as all the OOPL facilities.

Here's a breakdown of our initial budget;

From our initial budget, we planned to take a single room, stay for 2 days and share the bill of the hotel. I didn't budget for food and this was a major expense as we would quickly find out. About a week to our trip Grandma decided to come with so we upgraded our room to the double room of 45k and that was already our initial budget and I remembered we will eat and buy some Adire, so our budget HAD to increase. We booked the hotel via hotels.ng and the process was so seamless.

The double room we booked comes with complimentary tours for 2 adults for the OOPL and Wildlife park, complimentary breakfast, and access to their other facilities, we only had to pay for the tours for the kids and Grandma.

Breakdown of what we actually spent:

What we loved about the resort:

The room was big enough and I loved that although the resort is old you can tell they make an effort to maintain the place. I just really hope they could give the place a facelift and more people can know about the place. It's a great place to visit and the fact that you don't have to go anywhere and still have fun in the resort is commendable.

What we didn't like:

One thing though is they didn't have a number of things on the menu except for the regular Naija meals and it felt too pricey for me especially because there was nothing fantastic about the food.

Verdict:

I do recommend you stay at the resort for ease of access and because you have an option to do many things within the facility, but I would suggest you also get snacks, quick easy meals (cereal, bread etc), and also maybe drive out to eat or buy some food at a restaurant.

I would give it a 3.5/5 Cuddly loves!

P.S: I got the phone number of the Cab person we used while in Abeokuta and he is available so, please DM me on IG @thecuddleblog for his phone number. He can pick you at the train station and He is punctual.

Please come and tell us of your experience visiting Abeokuta if you eventually visit.

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OOPL Wild Life Park Review

July 28, 2021

Intro:

The OOPL Wildlife Park is part of the presidential library which houses over one hundred and forty indigenous and exotic animals. It was set up to encourage wildlife conservation, educate the general public, promote tourism, and also support research.

Highlights of our Zoo’s collection are lions, spotted and striped hyenas, a Marabou Stork, pythons, and a striking aviary that houses several species of fowl.

The Wildlife Park also provides the Animal Adoption Programme. This program is aimed at recruiting individual and corporate partners who will support the Park in providing the financial resources for the preservation and care of animals that are on the brink of extinction as a result of increased human activities

Source: https://oopl.org.ng/wildlife-park/

What we loved:

I absolutely loved that all the animals they claim to have, they have. That is very rare trust me. Everywhere looks clean and well maintained. The animals looked good and they had LIONS that didn't look too malnourished 😂

What I didn't like:

A stock chased us 😭 the stock was left to roam and we initially didn't see a staff to help us so it scared me and the kids and we just wanted to go back. Eventually saw a staff that helped us chase the stock back before we were able to continue with the tour. While they had all the animals they claimed to have the tour was quickly over as it looks small and was over as soon as it started.

Price:

1k for Adult
700 for kids

Verdict:

4/5 cuddly love.

If you are in Abeokuta and have never been to a zoo or wildlife park I highly recommend but if you've been to other zoos before you might just be impressed just because of the lions because you'd see active lions that are not sleeping throughout your tour.

P.S: We went to cool off in their pool after. It costs 1k

Have you been to OOPL wildlife park before? What did you think about it?

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Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Review

July 26, 2021

How do I start this review. Hmmm...

The Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library is a library owned by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, a former President of Nigeria. It is a historic, tourist and academic centre established as a national archive for the preservation of documents and materials used by the president during his tenure as the president of Nigeria. The library is located at Abeokuta, Ogun State in Nigeria. Source: Wikipedia

One of the first things you'd notice is the magnificent building that is this Presidential Library. It's such a huge edifice and you can't but marvel at it from the outside.

When you go in you'd be in for more surprises. We were first shown the museum of his life from birth to when he became a democratic president and another room from his time as a democratic president till date. A section of the museum too was dedicated to his wife Stella Obasanjo then we moved to somewhere across the facility to see all the cars he used.

What we loved about the OOPL:

We absolutely loved the ambiance and how well maintained it is. We also loved that the documentation of his life was deliberate for this purpose as well, the history beyond what we read in the media and our democracy was well documented. It's just amazing and so inspiring to experience. The access to the library is close to the entrance of Abeokuta which makes it easy to locate and the place creates employment for nothing less than 500 people if not more.

The tour guide was very knowledgeable, patient, and accommodating.

What we didn't like:

history documentary

Timeline of Baba's birth to drafting

I don't think there is anything I can really say I don't like about the place, honestly. It's just that amazing.

Price:

Tour for adults 3k
Children: 1k

Verdict:

5 cuddly loves! I really suggest you visit at least once. It's such an educational and rewarding experience. The kids were a bit distracted but different things around the library will pique their interest.