3 Ways COVID Affected Perinatal Experiences

 COVID-19 caused some changes when it came to my perinatal period. 

 

1. Job

I lost my job in March at Eldora Ski Resort in Colorado, where I was a cashier, but it was only supposed to last another month. That was a little upsetting, but not devastating. 

 

My husband and I made some last minute decisions and moved back to Phoenix at the end of April, which worked out well because I was able to work for DoorDash and GrubHub. 

 

Actually because of Covid, I did really well. It also helped being 7-9 months pregnant delivering food because people saw me and gave me bigger tips. One time I delivered Walmart groceries to a guy and he tipped me $50. 

I made an average of $25 an hour during those couple months before I gave birth. Restaurants were not open to dine-in and people were scared to leave their homes, it worked perfectly for the food delivery companies.

 

This is what I looked like when I delivered food to people.

2. Labor

A downside of COVID happened when I went into labor. Josh dropped me off at the ER entrance and they told him that he had to wait until I was admitted to come with me. It was an hour and a half to two hours that he was sitting in the car waiting to come in. 

 

I was in triage for at least an hour by myself having contractions every two minutes. There was no one there to help me focus on breathing and give me emotional support. It was a very lonely and challenging hour. Go to this post for the full birth story. 

 

You can see that I was happy to be in the labor and delivery room finally.

3. Appointments

 

I have had appointments that were supposed to be over the phone, but I was able to be seen in person for a couple of them. My postpartum appointment was going to be over the phone, but that didn’t make sense to me because I had a tear and I wanted to make sure it was healed correctly.

 

I drove down to the clinic and they called me right as I was arriving. I told the doctor I was already there and she asked if I wanted to be seen in person. I had to wait an extra 45 minutes, but it was nice to have full confidence that everything was healed.

 

At my son’s circumcision appointment, I noticed he wasn’t gaining weight like I thought he should. They suggested I see a lactation specialist. I called a lady that my OB recommended, but she said she wasn’t doing in-person appointments. 

This was taken right after we got home from that appointment; doctor's appointments always knock him out.

 

I started crying over the phone. I had been up since 3 am and was tired (before I read these books about sleep training) and I was nervous about my ability to provide what he needed to grow. She was so kind and offered to come to the house pro bono. Now I have her cell number and can text her all my many random questions regarding breastfeeding.

How has the Corona Virus affected your life? Tell me about it in the comments.

4 Ways to Shop with a Newborn

Because newborns cannot sit up yet, you need to be creative in how you take your baby with you shopping. 

1. Baby Shopping Cart Hammock

The one I use the most is this baby shopping cart hammock. If you use this link, you can get 10% off any Binxy Baby products. It clips onto the shopping cart and fits most carts. It is a little slanted because of how the carts are made, but it doesn’t seem to bother my son.

Here he is at the beginning shopping trip.

Here he is at the end, sound asleep. 

He'll probably outgrow it by the time he is 4 months, but he should be able to sit up by then and be able to graduate into sitting in the cart seat.

2. Car Seat in Cart

Second option I use the most, at this stage at least, is to put his car seat in the cart, as long as I do not need to buy much. As you can see it takes up most of the cart, unless you go to Costco, those carts are huge. This does eliminate (some) people from commenting on your baby if you are trying to avoid that. 

3. Stroller

Third way is to keep him in his stroller. If you have an infant car seat stroller combo, it makes it easy to not have to take him out of the car seat, which works with the shopping cart method as well. This works well to shop for small or few items.

Obviously, this was not when I went shopping. It was during one of our early morning walks. 

4. Wear Your Baby

The final way to take baby with you, that is not ideal for places where it is especially hot, like Arizona, is to wear the baby in a baby carrier. When your baby is really little, it’s best if they face you. 

This was my first trip leaving the house with my new baby, walking to the mailbox. 

I have taken him in this Infantino Carrier to dollar tree, which was successful minus the poopy part. He pooped and it did not stay in his diaper completely. 

I also did this at Hobby Lobby, but he started screaming because it was too hot. It was 110 degrees that day, not smart on my part. I carried him on my shoulder the rest of the shopping excursion.

When they are able to hold their head up well, facing outward is good if you want them awake.

You can also use a wrap like this one or I have another carrier that is just as versatile, but feels more like a backpack and is sturdier, probably better for hiking. 

Wearing your baby as much as possible in the first few months is recommended by pediatricians, such as author of Happiest Baby on the Block, which I reviewed in this blog post. 

I would love to carry my baby more, but unfortunately this past summer has been all kinds of record breaking hot, with over 50 days of 110 degrees or more.

What is your preferred way to bring your baby shopping with you? Let me know in the comment section.

This blog post contains affiliate links. If you click and buy, you do not pay more, but I get a commission.

Newborn Faces

Check out my son's many faces from when he was 5 weeks old. The first 7 pictures were all taken within seconds of each other, and the last 3 within seconds of each other. Write the number of the picture and give me your best comment. Best comment wins a virtual high-five. :)

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ER Visit

We had our first (and hopefully only) ER visit August 30th, when Samson was nine weeks old. I had just finished breastfeeding him and picked him up on my shoulder to burp him and immediately he spit up and the coloring looked weird. I took him and the burp rag off my shoulder to assess the coloring. There was blood in the spit up.

 

Because it was a Sunday, I called the on-call pediatrician. 

 

Pediatrician: What’s going on?

Me: My son is vomiting blood. 

Pediatrician: When did this start?

Me: 20 minutes ago. 

Pediatrician: Has it stopped?

Me: No.

Pediatrician: That is a 911 call. 

Me: Ok, thank you, bye.

 

Immediately I started crying. Fortunately my dad, the voice of reason, was there and said, “How about you drive to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital? If you’re going to an ER, might as well be the best one.” 

 

So my mom drove, while I sat in the back with Samson. He wasn’t crying, and didn’t act like he was in pain. We got there and they told me to put the car seat in the red wagon and my backpack behind it. She rolled him inside to the check-in area and they got my information.

Then I turned around and the nurse asked me some questions, got his vitals and weight and height. 

 

Then we walked down a couple long hallways to the patient room. I told the nurse what was going on, showed her the picture of his spit up and she asked if I had a sore or cracked nipple. I told her that I do and she said that he probably was swallowing some of my blood and it irritated his stomach. She said that is what she thinks and the doctor will come in to verify. He came in 10 minutes later and agreed that it was my blood. 

 

When I was on my way to the hospital, my husband, Josh, looked it up and read the same thing the doctor said; he called me on the phone and told me that. But I didn’t believe him. I thought that if I was bleeding, I would see it. 

 

My husband has never gone to school for anything medical, but he is smart. He tends to be right about this kind of stuff. He, honestly, has done a better job diagnosing or treating things than trained professionals. 

 

Nearly 4 years after my car accident I was still taking Zoloft and Concerta, which is similar to Ritalin.  Josh thought I would be better off without them. I talked to my psychiatrist about it and she agreed. She recommended a medically approved way to wean off the pills, but when I tried it that way I wasn’t able to follow through and ended up back on the pills. Josh had me do it a better way. It took a couple months to completely wean off them, but it was a smooth transition and I haven’t felt like I even had a brain injury since then. 

Back to the ER story. Samson did not act like he was in pain; he didn’t hardly cry and he was even smiling at the nurses. They were probably wondering why I was even there, but they didn’t give me any grief or think I was crazy for bringing him in. If he had been crying, I would not have been so calm and anxiety-free. 

We were in the ER for about an hour and a half, and after spitting up blood a few more times he fell asleep. Every time, it was a different person that came into the room. The ER was slow on that Sunday evening; they were all taking turns getting to see the cutest baby on the floor.

We got home and he was not spitting up blood anymore and I made sure to take better care of myself so that I can take better care of my child.

I thank God that it was not serious, and pray that I never have to return.

Have you had any scares that seemed a lot more serious than they actually were?

3 Newborn Book Reviews

These are three books that I have read so far about babies and each has served a purpose in helping me be a better mother for my baby.

 

 7 Secrets of the Newborn

This book is a good starter for getting in the mindset of parenting and beginning to think of how you’ll raise your children. He tells stories of patients from his practice to explain things. He recommends nothing but diapers, you and baby for the first month. No screens, no clothes, no toys. 

 

He is a baby advocate and recommends bringing the baby along, as much as you can wherever you go. He gives tips on how to travel with a baby. He talks about how to be intentional in the choices you make raising your child. It is an excellent read to get your mind thinking on how to begin taking care of your baby and everything that is involved. Also included are many fun facts about babies to help you understand them better. 

 

Happiest Baby on the Block

 

The main purpose of this book is to teach how to calm babies. Every parent needs these tools. The author coined the 5 S’s: swaddle, side/stomach position, shush, swing and suck. Use as many of these together to calm a crying baby. 

 

This book did a great job in explaining how to do each one, the purpose of them and when to do them or not do them. I highly recommend it. I have used these methods and the majority of the time, they work great. The first half of the book was specifically for colic babies, so it can be skipped if your baby is not colicky. All of his recommendations are in line with those of AAP, as far as I know. 

 

Moms on Call Basic Baby Care: 0-6 Months

 

This book is controversial. They have strict eating and sleeping schedules that are earlier than recommended by the AAP. There are other things that are not recommended by the AAP, such as having a bedtime routine that includes a bath for newborns. Baths are usually not needed daily until the baby is crawling. 

 

This book is a short and easy read. I read it in less than 2 hours, though I skipped a lot that does not apply. It is read as a handbook for caring for a baby. You can skip around to each chapter, except for the feeding and sleeping section. That section is the reason I bought the book.

 

My son, thankfully, has been a great night time sleeper from the beginning. Many times during the day however, I assumed my son would nap only 20 minutes and end up wasting 3 hours expecting him to wake up. These schedules allow for more predictability and planning. There are different schedules based on the age, but they are all fairly strict and early for what the AAP recommends. As long as your baby sleeps and is growing well, I recommend trying it out. The first two months, I had my baby lead the way: feeding and sleeping on demand, but now it is time for me to take over.

Have you read these books? Tell me your thoughts on them. What books have you found helpful?