This week’s story comes from Laura in Washington State. She reflects on her pregnancy and postpartum period surrounding the birth of her fourth child, a daughter, who was born in June.
It was a chilly winter afternoon on the preschool playground when I first heard about the novel coronavirus. I listened to a worried mom tell me about what was happening in China and how concerned she was. I tried to comfort her as I spoke of other new viruses in recent decades and how none seemed to impact us. …
This week’s story comes from Elizabeth S. in Arlington, VA. She shares about her struggle with anxiety during the postpartum period after the birth of her second child.
I have struggled with anxiety for a long time.
At first it was a quiet buzz in the background, but the birth of my first son three years ago supercharged it. And because of several strange medical issues — including a difficult birth with my son that led to an emergency C-section, and postpartum preeclampsia after my daughter’s birth — a lot of that anxiety has been triggered by health issues.
In…
Our post this week comes from Riley in Wisconsin. She writes a letter to her first son, who was born in June, sharing about one piece of her faith journey and learnings during the pandemic.
Baby boy,
Oh, what a time it is to be alive! From the start of 2020, your Dad and I knew your life was going to be our greatest joy and our biggest challenge. But little did we know just what that meant.
We were nearing the third trimester of our pregnancy when the word “coronavirus” began to be spewed on every media platform. At…
Today’s story comes from Heather Flaherty in Bellingham, Washington. She welcomed her first daughter into the world in May. Today Heather shares her reflections on some of the unique aspects (both hard and good) of pregnancy and the postpartum period during the pandemic. Stay tuned for her birth story in the coming weeks.
Early on in my pregnancy I was on an Alaska Airlines flight and ordered their Signature Cheese Plate. As I ate the brie, I wondered if the cheese was pasteurized. The label didn’t indicate whether it was, so I called customer care when we landed. They didn’t…
I have written previously about our decision to switch from a hospital to a home birth while pregnant with our second child during the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read that story here. This post recounts the story of the birth itself.
The day started like every other preggo Monday in quarantine — a bit of Bible reading and prayers, some light exercise, family breakfast, shower, and getting our toddler off to her in-home daycare so we could both start work at home. I was 39 weeks and 2 days along in my pregnancy.
…
Today’s story comes from Lydia in Hoboken, NJ. She shares about the circumstances surrounding the birth of her first daughter in May.
When we decided to expand our family at the end of last summer, I truly couldn’t imagine the world as it is now.
After so carefully calculating and planning for a much-wanted and much-anticipated pregnancy — waiting almost five years into our marriage, buying a condo with room for a future child, securing our financial stability, health insurance, and support system — the last thing we thought we would need to plan for was a global pandemic.
Both…
Today’s story comes from Elyse in Colorado. She shares about her struggle with postpartum depression after the birth of her second child in January. You can find her on Instagram at @songbirdelyse
Adjusting to a new baby is hard. Whether you’re a first or fifth time mom. While you are absolutely in love with your newest addition, the adjustment is intense. I didn’t struggle with any postpartum depression (PPD) with my first child, but I had a feeling my second would be different. The entire pregnancy was rough. I was physically miserable and mentally and emotionally fragile. …
It’s mid March and I’m 34 weeks pregnant with our second child. We live in the Washington, DC area, and I’m planning to give birth in a major DC teaching hospital.
The same place where our first daughter was born.
The same place I’ve been going for 34 weeks for this pregnancy.
With the same midwives I’ve come to value over the years for the holistic, empowering, woman-centered care they provide.
Except now everything is being called into question because the world is rapidly shuttering and spiraling in the face of COVID-19. …
In case you haven’t noticed, the math of who pays what for health care in our country is a bit convoluted. And messed up. I work in the field and have a relatively in depth knowledge about health care financing, and I still find it mind boggling at times. But. Perhaps in part because I’ve had a number of odd health situations and in part because of my background, I’ve had to navigate the payment system a number of times. …
Lots of people give you suggestions for what to buy when you’re pregnant. And there are loads of sample registry lists out there — I received a number of helpful lists from relatives and friends. But what is less common (I think) is suggestions for what not to buy. Not because a given item is bad or unhelpful, but in the event that you either have limited funds or limited space, you may need to make tradeoffs. For instance, I am concerned about space constraints in a small urban apartment. …
Liz Jones
I seek to grow in wisdom, build community, and love people well. I write to share what I’ve learned along the way and encourage others in their journey.
