I had my third baby (and third daughter) last month. Though I never planned to have a baby in the middle of a pandemic, I am happy to say that I survived it.
Between the regular temperature checks, the mask
requirements, and the signs plastered all over the hospital saying not to come
if you have any symptoms, it was hard not to be nervous about this pregnancy
and labor. Every part of it was different - from the prenatal appointments, the
birth, and even my recovery.
Everything was normal until my 20-week appointment when
COVID-19 started closing schools and businesses down. I suddenly had to go two
months without hearing my baby’s heartbeat since the office was cancelling the
“unnecessary” appointments because of the virus. I was relieved when I switched
doctors at 28 weeks and had regularly scheduled appointments again. Though my
husband couldn’t come to any appointments with the new regulations, I was just
glad to get the monthly reassurance since I would stress out whenever I
couldn’t feel the baby kick.
My sweet baby girl, Nora, was almost two weeks late. When
she was born, the hospital was asking their patients (and their visitor) to
respect social distancing regulations 14 days prior to admission. Of course, I
didn’t know when she would be born, so that meant for about a month I wasn’t
really leaving my house at all. I knew that if my husband or I got a fever,
then it was going to be a very different birth than the one I had imagined, so
I did my best at staying away from people.
I finally went into labor on the morning of my 30th
birthday. We walked into the hospital with masks on, checked our temperatures,
and then headed to our room. Luckily, as long as we stayed in our room, we
could take our masks off.
I wasn’t allowed to have any visitors at the hospital except
for my husband, and even though I would have loved for my daughters to have met
their new baby sister in the hospital, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten so much
sleep after having a baby. Not having visitors meant that I could sleep
whenever, and thank goodness for the hospital nursery, because I was able to
get plenty of naps in before going home. If I have another baby, I am
definitely going to limit visitors again.
Coming home with my new baby has been different too. I have
had many sweet people drop off dinners, treats, and gifts, but only one or two
visitors actually came in to see the baby, and that has made this transition
much easier. I don’t have to clean my house in preparation for people, I don’t
have to feed the baby before company arrives, and I don’t have to stress about
the germs coming into my house. This has been a smoother transition into “real
life” than my past recoveries in that aspect.
I absolutely cannot wait for the world to go back to “normal”,
however, this experience has changed my perspective on how things should be
done.
Published in The Tremonton Leader in September 2020
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