Faith, Resilience, and a Love Like No Other

Travel content creator and digital fundi, Thobi Rose is officially a mom! Yes, the avid traveler welcomed her baby girl in September, which officially kicked off a journey like no other.

Leading up to the sudden birth of her daughter, who was born a week shy of 28 weeks, everything was smooth for the 34 year old. “No crazy craving—just had a few food aversions, no morning sickness, and just exhaustion in the first trimester. I kept on working and even hosting trips. It was a fairly easy pregnancy,” she recalls.

But that smooth pregnancy was quickly followed by a c-section and her baby having to spend two months in the NICU. That period became a testing moment that grew her in all ways possible.

Thobi Rose | Instagram 

“My aunt’s words, ‘fear and faith cannot coexist’, have literally been my motto right through this season. I had to keep the faith, believing that everything would be okay,” said the dotting mother.

But even with the unwavering faith, she admits those hard moments didn’t just disappear—they lurked in the shadows, waiting to pounce. Each challenge would resurface like a relentless wave, pulling at her resolve and testing her strength, as if daring her to falter. Yet, through every struggle, she fought back, determined not to let those dark moments claim her spirit.

“The latter part of the journey was extremely taxing both physically and emotionally,” she said. “I was discharged two days after giving birth, which meant leaving my baby in the hospital and then having to travel to and fro every day while also trying to adjust and heal myself,” she shared.

“I went through postpartum about a baby, but there is no child with me daily. That realisation was the worst,” she recalls.

Never in a million years did she ever imagine her journey panning out like this. She recalls the time she found out that she was pregnant, when she started getting a little sick at a work trip with her sister.

“We were such a great time that last at that trip, and one night, after a glass of wine, I felt really sick. Also, I had missed my period, and I am someone who is always on top of my cycle. My sister quickly concluded that I was pregnant, but I dismissed that as just being stressed and tired because I had been working so much.”

Fast forward to coming back home and taking a test that came back positive.

“I remember laughing so hard upon finding out. And when I stepped out of the bathroom to go tell my boyfriend, the first thing I remember him doing was google schools.”

Thobi Rose with her daughter and partner | Instagram 

From that day on, they both knew that they were ready for the journey. They embraced the journey, ready to be parents.

“There was never a moment where we needed to discuss anything or doubted. We just both knew that this is something that would happen in our relationship,” she said.

Thobi admits that she never did any form of research but trusted in her maternal instincts to kick in when the time came.

“I was awoken in the middle of the night in September with aches and pains and decided to go to the hospital. They tried keeping the baby in, but the next day, on a Monday, she wanted to come out.

“It was in that moment when my entire life perspective changed. I have never felt how I feel now—feeling the wisdom of being a woman overcome you like a blanket instinctively.

“From the second I was cut open on that bed and having to recover, I remember thinking, ‘Shuuu, the respect I have for women. I respect I have for motherhood.’ From the moment of pregnancy to the time when the baby is taken out of your womb, there’s a shift that happens, and that was the biggest realisation. That even when the baby was not with me, you could never deny the fact that the shift has happened. It’s just a different kind of maturity in a way,” she said.

A type of calling that carries a special grace with it, she shares.

Being a mother has heightened her faith and given her the extra push to do more, which means also reimagining how her work factors in her new beloved role.

Thobi Rose with her daughter | Instagram 

“I will be a mom that allows her daughter to find herself in the world and not live vicariously through her (and my children). This child was given to me by God, and I am here to guide her. I want her to know that she can be anything she desires,” adding that travel will form a big part of her daughter’s life as she believes that travel is the biggest teacher.

She acknowledges that she will have to rethink her entire approach to her content but is excited to appeal to a wider audience on a deeper level. But for now, Thobi is just excited about the nuances that motherhood will bring—”Those unknown moments. I believe that is where the fun lies—the unknown, going through those different transitions and growing with my baby,” said the smitten mommy.

Thobi Rose with her daughter | Instagram