“What kind of horrible person am I? I was begging my husband to just get me out of there! ‘It’s going to be a joy like you’ve never felt.’ Instead I was frozen with fear. I was hemorrhaging. I was still searching her face for the joy I was supposed to be feeling. I felt guilty and ashamed.”
‘They all said I would be so happy. I wanted to be happy, but I also wanted a sandwich.’: Mom says post-birth ‘I definitely loved her, I just wasn’t sure I was IN love with her’
‘You are an excuse to be goofy at a time when the world is not. You are chubby-cheeked hope for the future, a constant reminder that life goes on.’: Dad shares ‘fairy tale’ IVF birth, ‘All that matters is the family we choose’
“You are a child of the COVID pandemic. When we wake you up from your crib, you look at us with such electric excitement that it is impossible not to start each day with love. You have shown us how to surrender to stillness, to stand together through fear, and to see the beauty in every moment. You are our reason to play and dance and keep smiling.”
‘Today my dad walked over 4 miles to my house so he could see baby Elliana through the window…again.’: New dad urges ‘stay home for the grandparents who want to hold their new grandchild more than anything’
“While my wife was pregnant, I don’t think an hour went by where my dad didn’t brag about becoming a grandpa soon. Now, his granddaughter is finally here and the only thing he can hold are pictures. It breaks my heart. If this grandpa can resist coming inside and loving on his first grandchild, I know the rest of us can do this too.”
‘She’s cancelled the baby shower. She stands alone, quarantined, for her first prenatal appointment. There will be no visitors—at the hospital or at home.’: Woman pregnant during pandemic says ‘I will choose to be fearless’
“Mom-to-be should have been preparing the nursery, spending way too much time shopping for baby’s perfect take-home outfit. Instead, she’s buying diapers and wipes online—worried there may not be enough to go around. She thinks of her husband—will he be allowed to see his son come into this world?”
‘I went to the hospital in labor. All the doors were locked. Our baby decided to come early. We escaped with a ‘normal’ birth experience by the skin of our teeth.’: Mom grateful son’s birth timing was ‘untainted by the coronavirus’
“I held my breath on the way out. Within 24 hours of our arrival home, the L&D ward where we had our sweet boy changed all their restrictions. Had he come one day later, my 4-year-old daughter wouldn’t have met her baby brother at the hospital. All those special moments would have been put on hold, lost forever. We hit the curve of timing by the skin of our teeth.”
‘Today I cried with you as you checked in, full of tears, because your family could not join you. I know it’s the hardest thing in the world to be doing this alone.’: Labor and delivery nurse says ‘we will be your biggest cheerleaders in these uncertain times’
“Right now, labor and delivery units are on strict isolation, only allowing one or NO guests (not even the baby’s other parent) to visit during labor, delivery, and postpartum time. We want your cheering section to be standing at the window when we open it to show off your new baby. But what we want more than anything, is a healthy mom and baby. We are hurting almost as much as you.”
‘It’s time to check on your pregnant friends, too – because their babies will be born, even if the rest of the world is shutting down.’: Birth doula urges to expecting moms ‘you are NOT alone, don’t let fear win’
“Preventing a birthing person from having their support team with them – not even a spouse, but ALSO not their doula, trained and contracted to provide them with emotional and physical comfort – is traumatic and brutal, plain and simple.”
‘They should have been stocking up on diapers and miniature clothing, not toilet paper and hand sanitizer.’: Woman reminds us ‘don’t forget to check on your pregnant friends, they’re hurting’
“They should have been worrying about morning sickness, which crib to buy, and what to name their precious little. These amazing women thought they would be carrying life, but instead they’re also carrying dread, anxiety, and fear. I cannot imagine a scarier time to prepare to be pregnant.”
‘As soon as you birth your baby, you’re a different person. Take it and run. You’re now a mama before anything else. There is no higher title than that.’: New mom shares candid reality of first-time motherhood, ‘You’re doing an amazing job’
“They don’t tell you you’re going to cry. A lot. You dropped that pacifier on the floor? Might as well throw in the towel. According to your postpartum brain, your partner will NEVER do it right. Your ‘friends’ will drop you like it doesn’t even phase them. You’ll check your baby’s breathing every few minutes. Whether you breastfeed or formula feed, it hurts. Someone will always have something to say.”
‘I’ll hold you tight, but I’ll hold your mother tighter. My love for you grows the more I understand the measure of a mother’s love.’: Dad pens appreciation letter to wife for birthing son, ‘I will never be able to repay you’
“Before I sacrificed time for you, your mother gladly sacrificed her body. Before I consoled you when you were upset, your mother consoled you with just the beat of her heart. Your mother is the reason I hold you today. I will never be able to repay her.”
