Pandemic Babies: A Blessing in Disguise
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. 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! To be honest, it’s been shown that most of the people in our pre-pandemic life don’t even really care and still to this day have never met my sweet Lucy.
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 will not discuss the downsides and the hardships of each of these blessings; I genuinely 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 involves very close contact. My first blessing came because I wasn’t allowed to 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! Not being allowed to work 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 benefited from having two parents home for three whole months! All our attention was on her. I am so thankful for that time to bond and become a family.
My partner was out of work 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, which 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 got some much-needed Covid relief help as we navigated less or no work because of the pandemic. The blessing here is that we have learned to live with less. We learned to live a more simple life. We didn’t waste money on unnecessary things. We cooked all our meals at home, we never ate out and rarely got take out. Simple, that’s how we lived. I actually enjoy life better that way.
The most beautiful part of being so isolated during our babies’ entrance into the world is that we did it together, all on our own! 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 dam good job! We are a stronger couple now, we are better parents, and our daughter has been cared for solely by us. Our now toddler is thriving, happy, and healthy!
The pandemic took a lot away from us, but it gave us the gift of time, of being present, of slowing down, and figuring out how to be family together. What a wild feeling to be the happiest I have ever been and also so sad. The pandemic was a blessing in disguise for our family. I can see that clearly through the hardships and the loss that took place simultaneously.