These difficult times have been especially hard for me as I became a first-time mum just a week before lockdown was announced! I had my baby girl, Isla, via C-section ten weeks ago and my first few months as a mum have been a rollercoaster.
We’ve been in isolation since we had her - the nurses and midwives in the hospital seemed to have a strong sense about what was to come, and advised us to go home and keep her from seeing friends and relatives for a while. That’s been the hardest part. I’d have loved for Isla to have been held by her grandparents or aunties and uncles during her first few months of life, and to have family around me for support.
Instead, there’s been introductions over Zoom and we have video calls daily now. In a way, it’s lovely because it’s been more intimate than it may have been to have people over for visits.and I have been able to spend so much time with Isla and both be full-time parents, as David would have only have had two weeks paternity leave normally. I feel like we’ve really bonded as a little team.
The negatives of course are that it’s an incredibly anxious and stressful time for all new mums. I do worry about what future life will look like, and I do feel incredibly protective. I think I’ll find it hard to hand her over to other people in the future.