Pandemic babies: a blessing in disguise
No one could have predicted that my baby would be born at the start of the COVID pandemic. No one could have prepared us for parenting without support, without help, without loved ones showering us with love and excitement to meet our newest family member. To be honest, it’s been shown to us that those people don’t even really care, and still to this day, have never met my sweet Lucy. However, this is not a tale of sadness (for that please read pandemic babies: the lonely side), this is a tale of slowing down, being present, and a story of so much love!
My baby was born in March 2020- enter pandemic. There were many blessings in disguise for my partner and me as we brought our daughter home. I am not going to discuss the downsides and the hardships of each of these blessings; I really want to show you the positive side of our journey into parenthood during a pandemic.
I am a self-employed holistic healing guide; my job consists of very close contact. My first blessing came because I actually wasn’t allowed to even work during my maternity leave. I was allowed to go back to work until the day I had planned on going back. Thanks, universe, for aligning that for me. This was great for a few reasons. Selfishly, none of my clients left me for other healers because no one was allowed to work- a fear I had to let go of as a self-employed pregnant person. So no worries there! My partner, who is in the music industry, also wasn’t allowed to work. We got to spend all our time together. Paternity leave is practically unheard of, and we got it. We were able to have this quality time together that we will never regret. Our baby has had the benefit of having two parents home for 3 full months! All our attention was on her. I am so thankful for that time together to bond and become a family.
My partner was home for a bit longer, so he was able to be with her while I headed back to work. Work was hard at first, as I had many COVID-related cancellations. But that meant more snuggle time and less pumping breastmilk for this mama!
Money was tight- but we had saved for me to take three months off and were able to get some much-needed help as we navigated less or no work because of the pandemic. Blessing? I learned to live with less. We learned to live a simpler life. We don’t need a bunch of stuff. We cooked all our meals at home, we never ate out, and rarely got takeout. Simple, that’s how we lived. I actually enjoy life better that way.
The most beautiful part of being so isolated during our baby's entrance into the world is that we did it together, all on our own! We are a stronger couple now, we are better parents, and our daughter has been cared for solely by us. We didn’t have anyone else’s opinions or ideas clouding our intuition. We did what was best for our family and our baby. We were free from all that unwanted new-parent advice. And you know what? We did a pretty good job! Our now toddler is thriving.
The pandemic took a lot away from us, but it gave us the gift of time, of being present, of slowly figuring out how to be a family together. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for our family. I can see that through the hardship and the loss that took place simultaneously.
Be Well,
Becky