Baby Boom Among Doom and Gloom

Having a baby just in time for the world to shut down.

Let's start at the beginning. February 26th 2020. My son Roman was born in the middle of the night. (Note the extremely tired eyes in the picture above.) I remember sitting in the hospital room, holding my newborn in my arms as I tried to breastfeed for what felt like an eternity, and watching the news. At the moment I looked up at the TV, there it was, in bright flashing letters at the bottom of the screen.

The world as we knew it, was over.

The CDC warning schools, businesses and the healthcare system to get ready for what could turn into a pandemic.

Two weeks later, the world shutdown. The Governor of Ohio Mike DeWine, made the announcement schools, and non-essential businesses would close beginning March 23, 2020 until April 6, 2020.

I was stuck inside my home 24 hours a day seven days a week taking care of a life I barely knew, and barely knew how to take care of.

Panic and the shit show.

I was in panic mode. My husband, an engineer, was considered an essential employee. At the time, he was working 12 to 15 hours days, add to that an hour commute one way.

My son, was tongue and lip tied and I didn't know it for the first six weeks of his life. The anxiety I felt in trying to take care of this tiny human and at the same time heal physically, mentally and emotionally was unbearable. I felt alone.

I remember watching the pandemic unfold as I clung to what was supposed to be the future of our society, (yes I'm well aware now my expectations were too high). I cuddled my son as I watched our state's governor announce the latest COVID-19 deaths everyday. I fed my son, as I heard over and over again, stay home, protect yourself and your family. And yet, my husband worked. My anxiety was through the roof. I would wake up several times a night with my heart pounding out of my chest. I became fixated on getting sleep, making sure the baby slept, anything to keep my mind off what I thought was the end of the world as we knew it.

I truly believe the anxiety of being a new mom, the isolation while being a new mom, the struggle of figuring out how to be a mom combined with post partum depression made me go to the extreme when it came to protecting this innocent baby that I brought into the world.

Protecting my baby at all costs.

My husband and I made the decision together to protect our son, Roman, at all costs. It was then, we isolated him from not just the world, but community, kids, and family. At the time, the decision felt like the right one, but now, I question, like every mother does, was it the right decision to make?

Now, nearly three years later, we're grappling with a speech delay, temper tantrums, and the possibility of other social-related delays because of our decision to protect our baby. A decision I don't regret, because in the moment, it felt necessary.

And with our second son born in December of 2021, we now have to decide what's more important. Making sure he gets the critical socialization in the first three years of his life, or protecting him from a virus.

I started this platform to not only talk about my personal life and decisions as a mom, but also to explore what we're now doing to make sure our two kids have the best possible future.

Let me take you on this journey with us, as we navigate the struggles we now face, the resources available, and what experts are now saying.

Connect with me!

Please, feel free to reach out to me on social or email. I would love to hear your stories, share your stories on this platform, but also do the research and ask experts what we can do to give our kids the best future possible.