Pregnant During a Pandemic

Pregnant!

I admit that in the couple of weeks between finding out that I was pregnant and the first case of COVID-19 in my state, I would actually forget that I was pregnant. Not because we weren’t over the moon excited. Our first took three years to grace us with her presence, so finding out after only two months I was pregnant felt like winning the lottery for a second time. With my first pregnancy there was so much to think about. Every decision had to be made which meant a constant gathering of information and pondering, deciding, acting, and hoping it was a good decision. From who my providers would be and where I’d deliver, to which changing pad and diaper pail we’d get and from where. The guest room had to be revamped, bassinet assembled, and every blanket and onesie pre-washed.

I was happy with most every decision made the first time around and if I wasn’t, I had already decided on an alternative before getting to this point. Like starting out with more supportive shoes before the pregnancy foot pain takes hold. Knowing we would be trying for a second child, I had either kept or temporarily loaned out everything we used for our first.

This time I was finding an almost unsettling few decisions to make or tasks to complete, and therefore things to keep my mind on the pregnancy. In fact, all I feel like I need to get is tiny diapers and I even already know what brand I’ll use when the hospital stash runs out. Not to mention having a two-year-old that requires my brain to be on high alert to notice the second before she tries to climb up on the kitchen table.

So with all the decisions made, a toddler to keep track of, and despite being absolutely over the moon excited and grateful for this second pregnancy, I might have eaten a couple turkey sandwiches in that first week because at lunch time I forgot that I was pregnant and was supposed to stop eating deli meat…

First bump pic! Taken just before meeting the family at a restaurant. So surreal now.

…during a pandemic.

Cut to this last week when the global pandemic came to my town. Being healthy and otherwise not predisposed to complications, my first worries are of course for those who are already ill or at higher risk. With COVID-19 being all anyone can talk about or think about, my pregnancy is also now constantly on my mind. Instead of just the excitement for the new baby, watching my daughter become a big sister, and a little dread for having SO many weeks to go (I’m not someone who loves being pregnant), there’s another huge element of how this virus could affect me and my unborn baby. Cancelling trips to visit family is disappointing. Missing prenatal appointments or actually getting this sickness is terrifying when I don’t know what that means for a pregnant woman.

But we only fear what we don’t understand. So I aim to understand what I can about being pregnant during this pandemic that will answer my questions, but stop there. There is a lot we don’t know, but information is coming in fast. That’s why it’s important to me to have my trusted sources and not worry myself with the speculative noise that surrounds uncertain times. I’m grateful that there are a lot of people who are working on answers to my questions as I think of them. And that even before this, my medical providers were already keeping themselves current on the best information to give me the healthiest pregnancy and baby possible.

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