How Are You, New Parents?

I had a baby girl in August and she is my 2nd child. Now I have a 4 year old and a 4 month old. Sometimes I get sad over the things we cannot do, but I enjoyed this maternity leave so much more than the first. I had no pressure to do anything or be anywhere and just got to spend 12 weeks with my last baby. I didn’t have to clean the house because we didn’t have visitors other than my parents and didn’t have to worry about entertaining anyone. Having a baby during the pandemic has been the one silver lining for our family and what keeps me going. Now that I am back at work and my son is back at school I worry constantly about someone getting sick. I am a healthcare worker and just want to be able to keep my family and patients safe. I have always been an optimist and it is a rough year for that kind of thinking. One thing is for sure…kids are resilient. My 4 year old got more family time this year with us all home than I ever would have been able to give him otherwise, and despite the challenges this year has brought he remains to see this world as a magical place and that warms my heart. He told me last night that he loved every one in the wild wild world. It reminds me that maybe love can still win.

I had my first baby, a girl (Brooks), last November. Breastfeeding was hard, anxiety was high, witching hour was a doozy and altogether the fourth trimester was just challenging. About the time she was 4 months old we felt confident and ready to socialize and bring her along with us, and then the pandemic hit. All of this quarantining has made motherhood very lonely for me because I was not able to meet other moms at the park or at church like I had planned. I am thankful that I chose to go back to work to have an outlet and feel like myself. My heart goes out to the new SAHMs who are doing this without the SAHM community that usually surrounds you.

Thank you for asking! I gave birth in August to my firstborn, a sweet baby girl, who has only been held by 6 family members aside from my husband and me. It was so hard to not let her be held by my brother when he visited from NC (we’re in PA), but I wanted to take care of her… and it’s so hard not to let other friends hold her either! So we text photos instead.
I’m on maternity leave for 6 months and have a few other mom friends who are SAHMs or work part-time so I usually find a few activities each week to do with these friends, like meeting up at a park or going for a walk. I worry about what these will look like when the weather gets colder. I am fortunate to have my parents living 1.5 hrs away and my in-laws 10 min away, along with other family members local. Without this support (along with regular calls with my therapist), I’d be in a much harder place.
I echo other’s comments of how being pregnant during covid made it feel hidden/forgotten. I started working from home in early March, right when my pregnancy was starting to show, so I missed out talking with coworkers in hallways about my pregnancy! Yet I was so thankful to have the opportunity to work from home and get extra rest if needed during my pregnancy.
One group that has helped me has been the Latched Mama Love facebook group. This group is a community around the breastfeeding-friendly clothing brand Latched Mama, but also serves as a good support group for moms. I’ve been able to ask (and receive) advice on how to take a long car-ride with my 2 month old.
Any other suggestions for breastfeeding-friendly clothing are also welcome!

I gave birth to my first in July, a beautiful baby girl we named Harper. To say it’s been hard just doesn’t feel like it speaks to how difficult this has been. Baby girl was 12 days late and I had a rough induction. I had a bad case of the baby blues when we got home which thankfully cleared up quickly, but was still scary.

I feel so much pressure from family to try and treat things as normal as possible, although with masks on and distanced. My brother and his wife are due to visit from the west coast (we are on the east coast), and I feel so horrible but I had to tell him I’m uncomfortable with any visit other than virtual right now. To be honest, if I didn’t feel so much pressure, I wouldn’t have had the grandparents meet her yet either. I just feel so guilty and that I’m making these alienating decisions, but my baby is my top priority. She’s already had some minor health issues and I just want to protect her as much as possible, without hurting anyone’s feelings.

Anyone have advice on how to navigate asking family to stay away for now? Numbers are rising around my area again and I just don’t feel safe.

Another “M” name here – Maren was born on March 24th, just has the lockdowns began. She’s an earth angel and while we did miss the visits, the food, the hugs, the naps, and so forth, we feel incredibly fortunate that she and her 5 yr old brother along with my husband and I have built an unbreakable bond through this. Job loss came, loneliness came, but then so did therapy and a lot of love.

Monroe is the first M name for a boy I thought of.

Man, this hits home. My son is 10 and a half months. We hit the 3 month mark, thinking OK, we’re getting the hang of this, now let’s come up for air! and then Covid hit very soon after. Its been very isolating and very much a shot to our confidence as parents. Friends without children would say, oh but he’s so little – imagine homeschooling your 5 year old. They just couldn’t understand that it was HARD having an infant at home, trying to work remotely, and fearing for the health of our family. At first I wasnt sure if anxiety stemmed from the pandemic or being a first time mom – I realized later, both. Get in line, working mom guilt. It felt like too much. But, we did it – we’re doing it. Our son, Henry, is happy and full of magic and wonder. I think this experience has changed my parenting philosophy forever. Other mamas, hang in there. Cry about it, laugh about it – whatever feels good in your heart. I’m with you!

My son’s name is Maximus, which at first felt like a really big name for a tiny baby, but 18 months later and our sweet toddler’s personality matches his name.

We’re having our daughter next month after two pregnancy losses in 2019. For me, 2020 is just a terrible/trippy continuation of the grief of last year.

We’re naming her Milena – after my father, Miłosz, who passed away in December 2019. She is already my ray of sunshine — no doubt we can’t wait to meet her!

While quarantining and pregnant this summer, I felt like Alice from Alice in Wonderland – specifically the part where she drank the potion and grew and grew and became so enormous her body burst through the doors and windows. That said, I reminded myself nearly everyday that it is a privilege to stay safe at home.

We just had our baby girl, Elena Ruth, 2 weeks ago. She is our first born after suffering a miscarriage last year. Isolating is the best description of how I’ve felt. I missed celebrating our baby as we pictured with a baby shower and having our friends and family meet her. We’ve allowed the grandparents to meet her but only while wearing a mask and even still I felt anxious so we are going back to our little cave and will no longer allow anyone in our home even if they offer to wear a mask. I’ve had just about the roughest time. Every time anyone asks me how I am, I burst into tears.

It’s pretty intense to say the least but we’re happy to just have our baby girl here with us.

I’m due with my second in just over 4 weeks. I found out I was pregnant 2 days before our stay at home/work from home began. I’ve recently realized how forgotten I feel. Obviously everyone is dealing with the psychological impacts of 2020, so I understand. This pregnancy has truly made me feel like a vessel, just here to carry the baby. Stay locked away from people to keep the two of us safe; No/Very few check-ins from friends & family on how I’m doing or what we need for #2; Constant guilt on not allowing grandparents to visit the 2 year old, and not be here during/immediately after birth. My husband hasn’t been able to join for any of my prenatal visits or ultrasounds. Spending the entirety of this pregnancy on lockdown has been tough.

All that to say – I’m so appreciative of the fact that this isn’t our first. I would be an anxious mess if I hadn’t been through it all and had all those happy experiences once before. Here to send my love to all you first time mommas. And here to send love to everyone trying to navigate what’s best for their little ones (no matter the age) at this time.

Some other boy M names…. Matthew (our son’s name :); Moses, Mason, Marcus/Markus, Mitchell, Marcel, Micah

So much love to all you mamas and your sweet little ones.

Not a new mom as I have a 3yo who makes my heart flood, but I will be a new-again mom in mid-December–or whenever our second little girl makes her arrival. (Side note: we are an M name family as well :)

Conceiving this baby was a little tougher than the first time around, and as luck would have it our 1st cycle of IUI in March worked (!!!). During the procedure they told me, “We hope this works for you, it may be the last of these we do for a while.” This was a week into our stay-at-home order where I live. That clinic is now closed, likely forever. The weeks of my pregnancy line up exactly with the weeks of COVID ‘shutdown’ here. Sometimes that feels fun, sometimes stark, but I could not be more thankful.

My son was born in July 2019, so he was 7 months old when COVID hit. I just put together that he is 15 months old on Thursday…so he’ll have lived more of his life in a pandemic than he hasn’t. That’s a jarring thought.

Marshall. Mathias. Morgan. Mick. Maverick.

How about Malachi?
I’ve always thought it was such a lovely boy’s name.

I had a baby last October. She is about to be one. Most of our family was able to meet her when she was first born, but once March hit that all stopped. We have slowly allowed our parents to come to visit but most everyone else has just known her as a newborn. Now she is becoming a toddler with so much personality. I haven’t been able to meet other new moms to start to build my support network. I mourn the year I missed with her.

My (1st) baby boy, August was born April 1st. When we entered the hospital, everything was normal. When we left two days later every nurse had a mask and face shield. We came home to a different world.
It’s been awful honestly.
We have family members in the same town that have never held or touch August, because they’re essential workers.
Our state (UT) continues to have high numbers which is so frustrating.
I’m grateful for technology and therapy but ugh It. Is. Hard.

My son is named Micah is he is obviously my favorite person, so his name makes me really happy!

Marcelo!

How about Mikel? It’s Indonesia version of Michael

I love Miles. It was my first choice for our son’s name (born May 2019) but my husband couldn’t get on board with it. Since I essentially named our daughter (now 9), I felt like I had to let him take the lead for our second. He settled on Rafe, which I also love and suits him perfectly. But for M names – Miles is perfection. X

This is for Maggie searching for a name! (Congratulations!!!)

Maxime
Milo (pronounced the French way, mee-lo)
Malek
Marc
Merrick
Matias
Marcel

In early March, my best friend found out she was pregnant by in-vitro. This has been a terrifying time for her. There have been lots of phone calls, video chats and socially distanced gift-sending. Since we live far apart, this pandemic pregnancy has brought us closer together. The pandemic forced my husband and I to put our in-vitro on hold. But I’m so occupied pouring all my love and time into my friend’s pregnancy that I’m not as upset or worried about getting back on track for my own little miracle. It has given me time to slow down and reflect and not stress. New mamas, you’re doing great!