Gospel Singer, Benita Okojie Graces Cover Of FABMUMNG magazine, talks on child birth, depression and motherhood by Ukpono Etuk

Benita Okojie became a bona fide star when she released her evergreen track Osamudiamen in the 1990s.

Now a mum, the FABMUMNG team recently spent an afternoon with her and got a rare peek into her life .

In this interview, the soft spoken Edo state- born singer shares various lessons that appeal to mums of all ages.

Here are excerpts from the interview ;

What was it like becoming a mother?

I think the early stage of course was overwhelming, I knew that my life had changed forever for good. I had to share my time with the new baby. It wasn’t easy because it was not something I was used to, it was a new experience for me and I thank God for the Joy of being a mother. It can be also be challenging and I understand why people have post partum depression because if you don’t have people there with you the feeling might be overwhelming for some people.

And labour?

My mum and my sister were there with me during labour. My husband was also there but had to go get some items. I don’t even want to talk about labour.I was just really glad when the baby came out because I was there for 17 hours. I looked at my baby and I was like that huge guy came out of me but I thank God for counting us worthy of such a great blessing and having our families supporting us with prayers meant a lot. There were times the reality of being a new mother set in and I would go quiet. My mum would say baby blues and smile. I’m grateful for an amazing family system. Every one was helpful one way or the other. Thank God, baby A and I have grown since then.

What can you say really prepared you for motherhood?

I don’t think anything prepared me for motherhood, honestly, the pregnancy stage was a process for me; there were days where I felt very good and there were days I was nauseous. I remember I bought lots of books; I would read and do almost all they said in the books and they’ll be like enjoy this time of pregnancy because by the time the baby comes out you wouldn’t have time to yourself and I am like what do they mean by that. They were actually right because after the baby came out of me, if I had to go out I had to consider the baby. I have learnt to plan my schedule and make sure I am at home at certain As a new mum, you learn to manage your time efficiently such that nothing suffers for another. I’m now a planner and I’m amazed at how God has helped me to spend my time wisely on what matters as I strive to achieve a balance as a mom, a wife,an artiste and other interests I have.

Are you saying what helped you so far was planning?

Yes, deliberate planning, that means if I have to be somewhere I already plan for it hours before. I know that at this time I should be back home to him and I also understand it’s important for me to go out with him. I also have mummy and son time with him, read him stories and it’s a lot of fun. I know how important it is to spend/cherish every time you spend with your child because he’s not going to be 1 or 6months forever. He’s going to grow and what you’ve deposited in him is what will help him, as he grows older. We tend to spend more time with him (myself and his dad).It’s important for us to plan our schedules well so we can create time to be part of his everyday life.

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