Pregnant during Covid19!

I initially blogged this for another portal, 

but since they decided not to go ahead with the collaboration, 

I thought I would post it on my own blog for memories' sake! :)

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What an unprecedented time that we live in, 

and to be pregnant & to give birth during this period of uncertainty! 

 

 I consider myself lucky that this is my second child - 

my son Momo is now 2.5 years old. 

I can only imagine the nerves if I had to experience my first childbirth during Covid.

 

As a second-time mom, I know exactly what I need for a newborn - 

from bathing and diapering, to feeding and sleeping, to breastfeeding! 

In fact, I breastfed Momo exclusively from birth till about 14 months, 

and weaned him at about 18 months after he took well to formula milk.

I had my fair share of clogged ducts and desperate moments 

when I had to ring up a lactation consultant to my doorstep, 

but I gradually eased into the momentum of breastfeeding after 6 months and really enjoyed it! 

This time round, I hope that it will be a similar or even better experience, 

and may there be no curveballs thrown my way!

I also feel much more at ease thinking about childbirth - I had a natural birth for Momo, assisted by epidural, at 40 weeks and 4 days. Since I was already at full term, my gynae induced my delivery by breaking my waterbag. My childbirth process is documented here on my web series "Married, and Then?"

I've already decided to go for an epidural shot this time round as well, 

and barring any unforeseen circumstances, 

I am pretty much mentally prepared for the childbirth this time round! 

 But hospital security is now much stricter, and we are being told that there will be a limit on visitors upon delivery, and only one person is allowed in the ward (other than the husband) at one time. 

It's so sad that even the grandparents wouldn't be able to see their grandchild together, 

they would probably have to come in one by one.

When Momo was born, our ward was a constant party, filled with family and friends, we even had a tea reception for our guests! This time round, I can only imagine how intimate it will be, it will really be just us two and the new baby.

We have been staying home for the past 2 months, and I find that humans are really adaptable! It took us a while to really find our groove and to flow with it, but once we settled into a certain rhythm the days just seemed to fly by.

Initially it was really difficult to have any kind of schedule for Momo, and his sleeping hours were really messed up. He would resist napping and that would affect his bedtime, and because he had too much energy being home all day he would end up sleeping near midnight.

We had to find a balance between stopping his naptime and also draining his energy by letting him run or kick a ball outside, so that he would fall asleep easier.

 Since we were home all day without too many distractions or commitments, we also took this time to potty-train him, and it's been working well! We set a 15-30min timer that would go off regularly to remind him to go pee, and he could last the whole day without diapers after a few days!

Since my husband Alfred is also a track and field coach (aside from being a singer), he spends most days coaching and does not spend as much time with Momo. This circuit breaker period really allowed us dedicated family time, and Momo has grown much closer to him.

 

I love that we also get to spend this time with Momo right before the next baby is here, it is really a blessing in disguise that we have this time to ourselves, and work priorities can be set aside temporarily.

Like any second-time mom, I have my worries about sibling rivalry and also having to split time and attention between both children, but I have been hearing from experience that your love will just grow and accommodate them, so I guess I will just take things one step at a time.

Signing off for now, will be blogging again soon! Stay safe, stay positive!