What it's like to have a baby during a pandemic

I’m writing this newsletter to you about a month postpartum before the amnesia sets in. There are droopy bags under my eyes, but I’m more than a little obsessed with our tiny human. Writing this has been cathartic, so I’ve been jotting my thoughts down between feeds and naps.

Having a baby during a pandemic was a lonely experience. While pregnant, I did most of my visits to the doctor solo, including the ultrasounds. After the delivery, my husband wasn’t allowed to leave the hospital room except for a quick trip to the vending machine. We had no visitors. My month-old probably thinks that there are two humans in the world. In so many ways, I’m not surprised about the reports of a falling national birth rate.

But there was one huge benefit: Remote work. I’m not ashamed to say that I needed the occasional mid-afternoon nap, especially in the first trimester. And if I felt nauseous, I didn’t have to make an excuse to run out of a meeting to commune with an office bathroom. And I didn’t have to stand up in a crowded subway or the bus to work.