Preparing to have a baby in a crazy world
If you read the previous article, you would know that we planned pretty well for our new arrival. But nothing could have prepared us for giving birth in the middle of a global health crisis!
It was such an uncertain time, with limited data and information. We found ourselves constantly searching Google for the terms ‘Coronavirus and pregnancy.’ As our due date approached, we found an article explaining a Mother passing COVID-19 to her baby through labor in London and our minds started to race; not really knowing what to expect and unable able to find any answers to calm our nerves. We were left with many unanswered questions: Does it pass through to the baby if Jen gets the virus? What happens in the first couple of weeks when the baby’s immune system is low? Would Mum and baby be separated post-delivery? It was a scary and uncertain time to bring someone into the world.
What did it mean for us?
Well, to start it meant that we made sure we stayed at home prior to the birth to make sure we limited the potential exposure to Jen and the baby. But then, as it got worse, all of our best-laid plans started to fall apart. Hospitals announced that they were allowing only one guest in the delivery room, so no Doula and no family members would be able to support us through labor.
We were lucky that I was still able to be there, as some hospitals stopped guests all together and left Mum to labor alone… one article we read said the Dad drops his partner off at the hospital and the nurses then become the Dad. I can’t imagine anyone going through labor alone with zero support and also not being able to be there to see your child come into the world.
The other big impact the virus had was on family visiting post-birth. My family from England had a trip planned to meet Mason, which at the time of writing, is still completely up in the air if it is still going to be possible. We were all so excited about this trip as the whole family would be together in California for the first time to meet the little man. It kills me that we don’t know when this is going to happen, as all I want is for them to be able to give him a snuggle!
Hopefully, this will clear up in the not too distant future, and if not, then rescheduled for another time where we can all be together!
One of the things people told us when we got pregnant was they felt a great amount of support from parents and close family members to navigate and guide new parents through the first few weeks of this big life change. Coronavirus put a stop to that. We had Jen’s Mum & Dad visit us once, but due to the increased risks, it has just been the two of us working out our routine and keeping Mason safe. At times, it has been a little overwhelming and sad for the two of us!
That said, we have a fantastic group of friends who all rallied together to provide Grubhub gift cards, dinners delivered and care packages. Not wanting to leave our apartment, we are so grateful for this support, as it’s provided us with sanity in these crazy times. We can’t wait to repay these kind gestures with baby snuggles once we get to the other side of this pandemic.
Thank you so much to all our friends and family members for their virtual and socially-acceptable distancing support during this time!
If you’d like to read more about our journey, please see the following articles on this publication:
