Tag: COVID-19

COVID-19, mommy blog, New Year, prematurity, Tampa blogger

The First Month…

Mars

The first month of a new year is always interesting to me. It’s the time for planning out your year and trying to recuperate from all of the holiday activities. This January has been no different in that respect. However, it also almost always feels little long…

Transitioning back to work and our son back to school while still in a pandemic has been tough. With the COVID numbers being as high as they have been, my company made the decision to have all non-essential workers work remotely, which I am grateful for. However, Emerson still has to go to school and my husband still has to physically go in to work.

We were able to be COVID free for two whole years, and then here comes January 2022, and our son tests positive. In that moment, I was immediately concerned for what this would mean with his chronic lung disease history and also with him being too young to be vaccinated. To my surprise, his symptoms remained fairly mild (fevers and vomiting mostly, which is still no easy feat), and were almost completely gone by day 4. We are more than grateful that we never had to put him on oxygen or take him to the hospital. It was a blessing that we were able to fully manage it at home and keep track of his oxygen saturation and heart rate with the pulse oximeter. Now that’s not to say those 10-days of quarantine were easy for us… juggling work and a 4-year-old (especially once he was back to full strength) was a bit challenging. (See the photo below for proof.)

Really? On the sofa table, though?!?

So, I’m not sure if I’m the only one feeling like whew, I made it through January, but I just had to come here and say WHEW, WE made it through January, and I thank God for it! Although, we dealt with COVID head on and have lots of other things going on right now, there were a few positive things in this long month, one of which included me having the opportunity to be a part of my friend’s new podcast, which I am super excited about, and can’t wait for you all to see! I love opportunities to share and create awareness around what it means to be a preemie mom, so I am very appreciative for Tivi Jones and her company, Hey Awesome Girl. More details on the podcast episode coming soon!

Here’s to a positive and hopeful 2022… Stay safe and be blessed. 💜

birthdays, COVID-19, Holidays, mommy blog, NICU Life, prematurity, Tampa blogger

The Celebration Continues

Mars

March 2020 has been a complete whirlwind. I always look forward to March because both my husband and I celebrate our birthdays: his is March 7th and mine is March 30th. This year, we could have never planned for what this month has become: A month of quarantine and social distancing due to COVID-19.

The social distancing hasn’t been too much of a shock to our family because we spent so long in the NICU (191 days). I’ve seen memes going around that say how NICU families are made for this type of thing, and it’s true. I remember many times where Emerson was in isolation due to being sick and even less people than normal could be in his room and anyone entering the room needed to have a gown, gloves, and a mask. The difference is that now essentially we are having to live this way in the world rather than one room. Also, the fact that it’s due to a new virus that has no cure or vaccine yet, which is scary to think about.

Admittedly, I have been slightly bitter/sad about my birthday and not being able to celebrate as planned with a spa day and dinner with friends. This probably sounds like something I should just get over or not a big deal, but I am one of those people who LOVES birthdays and feel like they are kind of a big deal. I also felt sad that my husband’s birthday plans fell through at the beginning of the month when we had to cancel our trip to NC. Nevertheless, we have persevered and made the best of the situation. I was able to take my husband to a nice dinner (before all the restaurants closed their dining rooms) and get him a nice gift in place of the trip. For mine, we were able to have a virtual party with my friends, which was so much fun! We ended up chatting for almost 4 hours with anywhere from 11-16 people on at a time. It was so great to spend that time with friends and do table topics while talking about shows, movies, and whatever else came up. I was reminded of two things that night:

  1. How amazing my friends are
  2. How much they genuinely care for me

I do not take either for granted. What I appreciate most is the grace they all show me by being able to pick up right where we left off no matter how long ago we may have spoken or spent time together. I think we all understand that there’s a lot going on in our adult lives that we have to manage and I am just grateful for the grace they have all shown me and for still “showing up” for me.

(My friend Crystal sent me this photo of her view of my virtual party.)

During this time of social distancing and staying home, I would encourage you to take some time to connect with your friends and family virtually. It’s easy to be anxious and worried at a time like this, but a good way to combat that is through being connected. It reminds us that we are all in this together and not suffering alone. If there’s something special to celebrate, like a birthday, don’t let COVID-19 bring that to a halt. Celebrate virtually, and have so much fun doing it. I promise it energizes you and makes you feel just as connected as a typical in-person celebration because the point of it all really is the human interaction.

Lastly, my heart goes out to all the families currently living in the NICU. I don’t know the details, but I am sure that more stringent protocols have likely been put into place to keep the babies and families safe. Although, it’s for the best, I understand how that can make what you are already living through more stressful. Know that we are thinking of and praying for you during this time. 💜