Baby (No)Fever during Covid-19

Flashing back to before the Corona Virus was a household name seems like a lifetime ago. Back when Levi was able to join me in the prenatal doctor’s appointment and hold my sweaty hand as I anxiously awaited hearing the baby’s heartbeat. When I could sit in the waiting room mask free, breathing cool air, smiling, and talking to other soon to be mommas. My to-do lists and working on color-coding the calendar for when my leave started, dates family would be arriving, time alone with each kid before baby, spring break, and days daycare was closed. Booking a newborn photographer. Hiring a housekeeper to come deep clean after I have cleaned and recleaned ten times. You know normal everyday pregnancy life.

Mid-March as the reality of Covid-19 hit our neck of the woods, all the careful planning went up in flames. I was out of work a month before we budgeted. School and daycare were closed. Kiddos were home every day. State lines were threatened to be shut down, and with no family in the state of Washington, we were looking to do this alone. But the most shocking part of all the change was learning that there was a real possibility I would have to birth this sweet little baby by myself, as some hospitals were banning any guests including spouses.

Trying to muster the energy to home school, two kids, with the weight of an extra 35 pounds, the stress of all the change and what-ifs was damn near impossible. What happened to my week at home to prep for baby while the kids were still in school? You know my alone time to watch Bravo on TV and power reorganize the house? Who was going to watch our kiddos if I went into labor early? Did we trust anyone had socially isolated enough? How am I going to be able to deliver without Levi by my side?

Alas, we adapted. For prenatal appointments, Levi would no longer meet me at the doctor’s. He instead came home to be with the kiddos, that I had been “homeschooling” all day. I wore one pair of clothes to the office, stripped-down when I got home, put all the dirty clothes and shoes in the wash, showered, and then joined the family again. Quarantine was taken super seriously at this house. We didn’t want to take any risk in catching COVID-19 for obvious reasons and of course the fear of being separated from the baby if either of us tested positive for the virus at the hospital. I hadn’t left the house in over 5 weeks, other than for neighborhood walks and doctor appointments. I canceled the house cleaner and photographer. The family we were excited to see and share a new baby with postponed their visits. My momma, after she tested negative for Covid-19, agreed to be our on-call. As soon as the doctor said the baby was close she would power drive herself the 13 hours to our house to be with the kiddos while we were at the hospital.

Amidst the turmoil, we were figuring it out. Not like we had planned, but it was going to work. Through all our struggles over the years, Levi and I always reassure each other that things are going to work out, that’s its job. And so far Levi was still able to join me at the hospital, no new restrictions, and we were all symptom-free. In the grand scheme of things we really were ok, things were going to work out.

Two days before Leah was born I woke up in a panic. I hadn’t felt her move most of the night, which was usually her time to really show off her wiggles, kicks, and punches. I took a shower, pressed on my belly, laid on my left side, bounced up and down…I couldn’t get her to budge. Levi and I loaded up for an unscheduled check-up with Labor and Delivery. We were met outside the hospital with staff ready to take temperature, provided us with masks, and then we were escorted up to the right floor. The moment I was hooked up to the monitor and heard baby’s heart beating I breathed a sigh of relief.

With Coronavirus we weren’t able to tour Labor and Delivery prior, unfortunately. However, with my scare I was now able to visualize how the check-in process would work, the room I could birth in, and it really settled my nerves. Now just to get over the whole pain part…

My mom had made her solo journey to our house and was enjoying her time with the kiddos, so it was time to get this labor started. I indulged in pineapple for lunch, hiked to a little waterfall, and drove down some bumpy roads. Low and behold it worked. During dinner, contractions were noticeably more intense. I took a shower to prep myself for being exposed during labor (if you know what I mean), made a drink with some Miralax to get that business out of the way, downloaded an app that tracks contractions, and promptly went to bed.

Around 3 am, as I was laying in bed staring at the contraction timer (next to my lovely snoring husband) my water broke. So glad he was able to get a good rest as I laid awake and timed myself…

I was hoping to have a fun, crazy birth story. The nurse checked me, saw the baby’s head, and delivered the baby before the doctor could even get into the room. But that was not the case, go figure. We had a few hours yet.

As the pain slowly progressed I opted for the epidural. As the doctor began to administer the shot I looked over at Levi for support. He was leaning against the counter looking faintish, wiping his head down with a paper towel. By the time I asked if he was ok and the nurse tended to him, the epidural was over. Nice sidetracking me, Babe. The second that spinal block worked I was legitimately thinking, Oh this is amazing, I could totally have more babies and more importantly why the F&%^ didn’t I do this the first time around?! And then the spinal block wore off and the epidural didn’t work. Ok, this is our last baby for sure!

I felt the urge to push, and I couldn’t stop. The doctor suggested doing a few practice pushes, not quite thinking it was time. I remember thinking, oh hell no these are not practice pushes, we are getting this thing out of me. Four or five pushes later, we officially met our sweet little baby!!!

Leah Kate finally joined our family on Earth Day, April 22nd @ 1:12 in the afternoon.

No visitors, other than Levi, were allowed in the hospital. Although it was a bummer to not have my mom bring the little ones to meet their sister, it was something minuscule compared to other sacrifices I feel we made being pregnant during this time. We were able to Facetime the kiddos and show them their new sibling, but we wanted to see them in person to tell them if they had a brother or sister. They had to wait 24 hours for us to come home, even with Claire telling me I was torturing her we all stayed strong. They were never so excited for us to come home.

Henry called her “him” for the first week and couldn’t really get on board with having another sister. Claire still says she doesn’t like her name and wished we named her anything other than Leah Kate. But they absolutely love her. Until she is crying at which they are both quick to yell, “Mom, your baby is crying!”

My recovery after Leah Kate’s birth was night and day compared to Henry’s. I was feeling so good, well as good as you can feel after delivering an 8-pound baby and your milk is coming in engorging and leaking all over you.

Until I wasn’t… Follow our recovery journey here.