Life has a way of sometimes making things happen at the right time. Janice Ramsey is somewhat of a testament to that. She wasn’t looking for a relationship but one day in 2012 while walking through Bridgetown, she happened to meet Dale Rowe. A conversation started and they hit it off and now they are engaged.
Janice also had a plan of becoming a mother by age 30 – she wanted two kids.
“After hitting the 24-year-old mark and having gained some level of stability in my life I knew I wanted to have a child at some point . . . . It was mandatory before I reached the age of 30. That was my cut-off point.”
Janice, 28, is two years shy of that mark and is a mum-to-be, expecting a daughter. At the time of the interview she was three days before her due date. But she was fine with no labour pains and just anxious and excited to see her bundle of joy.
“I loved being pregnant. My favourite thing about being pregnant is the bond I feel between me and my unborn child. I get really excited when I feel her movements.”
Janice and Dale know it is a girl as they were both anxious to know the sex, “just for knowing sake. I don’t like surprises . . .”, said Janice, adding she couldn’t believe “I was officially going to be a mother.”
Dale waited around to be part of the interview and pictures but the EASY team was running late so he went off to work.
“Dont’ worry, he is not getting away with anything else. He is already on the roster for the night shift when the baby arrives,” said Janice, chuckling.
Dale is “very hands on”, she said, as he is already dad to a three-year-old daughter and Janice has had some practice already being a mum,
“We [stepdaughter] have a very close relationship actually. I met her when she was just over a year old and I’ve been around since then. Sometimes she even calls me mummy. She is so excited to see her ‘Jadey-boo-boo’ . . . that’s what she calls her.”
Janice said she had a smooth pregnancy with the only major challenges was dealing with the cravings and the first trimester nausea was overwheling at times.
“I felt like I was always eating,” she said laughing. “I had a fair share of cravings . . . from ribs to chocolate ice cream; from cake to avocado pear, I had so many different food wishes, some at the same time which made me indecisive and I ended up with both. My fiancé was understanding though, he didn’t mind the drive,” she said.
Yet she said she didn’t gain much weight. Before her pregnancy she was wearing small, so it was just an upsized to medium: “To be fair the pregnancy was a great one . . . . No enlarged nose . . . . I think I carried being pregnant very well and no excessive weight gain. The weight that I did gain, anyone that knows me knows I was quite happy with the extra pounds,” she explained.
Janice said during her pregnancy she became knowledgeable on quite a number of things associated with her nine months of child-bearing.
“Nothing took me by surprise as Google became my best friend. I googled everything,” she said. “During shopping I couldn’t go crazy as we were a little undetermined about the sex. I had to settle for unisex items. Even though the doctor said it was a girl at 21 weeks I was still hesitant . . . maybe because everyone was telling me I had a boy belly,” she chuckled.
Janice has the baby cot set up by her bed to facilitate the late night feedings, but she says she will move her to their other room when she gets older.
Janice is a personal accounts executive at The Indar Weir Travel Centre and a past student of The Alexandra School. She pursued an associate degree in office administration and management at the Barbados Community College.
“I love my job and my bosses are very tolerant. I worked up to my due date. After month four, I felt like myself again and I was able to cope with the demands of my job. Sometimes I did not remember I was pregnant.”
Janice grew up in a single parent household with two younger brothers.
“Life for me growing up was okay. I didn’t come from what people would call a well-off family but we made ends meet. I was raised by my mum alone and I knew she went through a struggle to raise and provide for us. . . . She made sure she provided my basic needs and made sure I received the education I wanted.
“I admire my mum a lot as a single parent. She made me who I am today and I am grateful. Just as my mum did, I will instil upon my daughter the value of being hard-working, independent and God-fearing,” she said.
Janice said she is looking forward to many special moments in her children’s life.
“Before the pregnancy I would have made sacrifices as it was just myself, but now I’m living and working for not only me but for her. My mother didn’t fail me and I don’t wish to fail my daughter either.”
Janice said a special memento she will pass down to her daughter is “a pair of bangles I wore when I was a baby. To think of it . . . those bangles would be over 25 years old.”
Janice is looking foward to everything in her new baby’s life.
When asked if any more kids were being planned she replied, “Since this pregnancy would make two kids in the household, I’m contented. But a bigger house is in the future,” she said, laughing.
