Coronavirus as a New Mom

COVID-19

It's all the media is talking about. It's all my friends on social media are talking about... heck, one of my mommy friends even called me to make sure we were okay.

I was already in a self-imposed quarantine. My little guy is not even 2 months old yet, and we've been holed up at home avoiding the crappy late winter weather (is it snowing or raining? why not both?!) and the regular seasonal flu. The ones who have stopped by were sure to be healthy, but really the only person besides the baby that I've interacted with is my husband.

The media has made COVID-19 sound like a plague.

News reports are all dire doom and gloom. The memes have been great, and Hubby shares them avidly on social media. Neither of us is particularly panicky in nature, and our daily life hasn't changed much. We're both introverts who rather only interact with fewer than 10 people at a time anyway. Baby could contract all sorts of things that he hasn't been vaccinated for yet, so I have already been keeping a distance from people. Coronavirus will probably get to us whether we want it to or not. But most days I'm not too worried.

I'm significantly more afraid of people panicking about the virus.

I had to actually Google why people were hoarding toilet paper. I couldn't believe toilet paper was in short supply (and it's not). Of all the things to panic-hoard, I would have chosen food or cough medicine. But really there was no need to hoard anything.

The friend who called to check on us? She was worried our store shelves were being emptied by crazy people like hers were. She was worried my little guy was sick or myself. I haven't been to the store, but Hubby keeps returning with the things I put on the list so I assume our shelves look relatively normal.

There's a reason I'm not worried about the virus, but rather other people.

People as a general group are stupid. Very very stupid. Like, hoarding toilet paper for no reason stupid. These are the people who wait until they have a single roll of toilet paper left in the house to go buy more or never have any food on hand because they eat out most meals. They are the people who panic.

Winter is a thing here, a long thing, and so there's quite a bit of prep that goes into it. Normal people here have at least several days worth of food in our homes as well as toilet paper. Most of us live at least 2 miles from the nearest store and at any point we could get snowed in, so we live prepared all the time. Well, at least in the winter anyway. Today's weather for example is snow coming down sideways and it's nearly the end of March. I have plenty of toilet paper.

I didn't plan on having to worry about a global pandemic while on maternity leave, but my family is surviving it quite well. Social distancing tactics of staying home and watching Netflix (or working remotely like I will be again next week) is all in stride. Aside from nerve-wracking news reports, my day to day is actually no different.

But that doesn't mean I don't worry at all.

I'm still a new mom and I'm just as terrified of my kid catching measles as the coronavirus. I sit awake at 3am breastfeeding and wondering if I would be okay if something happened to my little guy. (The answer is probably not). It's scary, and it's okay to be afraid. But it's not worth while to panic. What could have been just another illness we treat and try to avoid spreading has become an economy-crippling, panic-inducing nightmare.

So what's a new mommy to do?

Well, first, don't panic.
It's not productive, it won't improve your situation, and it leads to bulk buying of things you'll never need that much of- like toilet paper. And if you're truly worried about not having something to wipe your butt- people used to use magazine pages, newspapers, etc. before toilet paper was invented. You could also make reusable toilet paper- I know that sounds gross, but it's similar to the idea of cloth diapers. I don't have any tips on making reusable toilet paper, but I had a co-worker once who was big on being zero waste and she had reusable toilet paper in her home... so Google can probably help you out there.

Second, adopt good cleaning practices.
Wash your hands after every use of the bathroom. Don't pick your nose or rub your eyes without clean hands (aka freshly washed). Keep the house clean and if you have a sick spouse, kid, roommate, etc. keep them isolated in specific parts of the house if possible. In other words, don't kiss your husband if he's sick. Try to avoid letting your kids sneeze on you (I know, basically impossible).

Be a homebody.
I know, for you extroverts out there this sounds like a prison sentence. But like I mentioned earlier, my lifestyle hasn't changed- I was already living the idea of social distancing to near perfection. I was already planning to work remotely when my maternity leave ends on Monday. If you can stay home- do so. Deep clean your house, organize your closet, play in your yard but avoid talking to the neighbors over the fence.

Embrace family life again.
If you're like me and have a tiny baby, hold that little one close and keep yourself healthy. If your kids are school age and now home being little terrors, I recommend a glass of wine (or a Corona, hahaha) while they watch a half hour of age appropriate TV. When that's done, play games, build puzzles, read together, and throw on some snow pants and go build a snow fort with them. And if, sadly, you no longer have snow, play outside with your spring weather instead. Maybe have them help with spring yard chores. No yard because you live in the city? Yikes, but you'll be fine too. You'll just have to be more creative with your indoor space. Try taking virtual tours of museums, zoos, and the like. With modern entertainment technology, there's no reason anyone should be bored for a few weeks at home.

Don't worry too much.
I won't tell you to not worry at all, because I'm certainly a little worried. Laying awake at 3am, silently crying because you're worried your baby will die of the newest plague isn't where you want to be though. A moderate level of worried is probably all you need- just enough to make sure everyone washes their hands and stays home. Your baby will be okay.

Don't read the news reports constantly.
It's been long enough now that you probably have the general gist of the coronavirus news in your area. You know what's closed, what's still open, and which store still has toilet paper for sale. Maybe do a brief check in for updates, but I highly recommend avoiding reading or watching the major news networks. Coronavirus is the only thing they are talking about and after 2 articles or 10 minutes you'll have a very gloomy outlook. I suggest getting your updates directly from the CDC, not social media or CNN.

We'll get through this. New moms too, even if we're a little scared. Cheers.

*Corona Beer has no link to Coronavirus, feel free to enjoy beer responsibly.

Until next time,
Emma Leigh