Pregnancy, Motherhood, & Living during a Pandemic (Includes My Helpful List of Hospital Bag Essentials)

2020 was quite a year. For everyone.

I had a difficult pregnancy with Theodore.

I had to go to all of my pregnancy related appointments alone because of Covid.

I spent days, sometimes even weekends in the hospital alone not knowing the outcome of my pregnancy. Covid made it more difficult for me mentally. The women and men working on the Labour & Delivery floor kept me so calm and positive. I will never forget the beautiful care that they gave us.

Every time I had to rush to the hospital, I had to do it alone. My husband had to stay home with our toddler.

Those drives to the hospital were probably the toughest moments in my life.

The guilt that comes with motherhood also stung me hard during these moments. I was so focused on the baby that I thought I was causing myself to disconnect from my toddler. I didn’t want him to think that I forgot about him, that he meant less to me.

My youngest is 6 months old now. Our friends and family haven’t really had a chance to get to know my sweet rainbow baby because to put it simply, we are all terrified of contracting and spreading this virus.

But I need to be a strong mother for my boys. I need to be strong for my husband, my best friend.

And just as important, I need to be strong for ME.

If you’re a new mother, pregnant, caregiver, or a mother of several children and you had to go through Covid with a similar experience, pat yourself on the back. 2020 was one of the hardest years we have ever had to face.

I’m here to tell you that you CAN do this. Mothers are built to endure, to overcome.

We are strong. We are invincible. Our children will look back at what we accomplished during this period with wonderment.

I had to be induced for several reasons with our second baby, and because of that, we needed someone to stay home with our toddler. My parents quarantined themselves for more than 14 days so they could stay as many days/nights as we needed them to. I will always be so eternally grateful for that.

I was induced, came home, and had to go back to the hospital the same day.

I’m not sure if it’s the ECE in me or not, but I am a huge fan of making lists.

If you’re expecting, writing down what you think you want/need to bring to the hospital is a MUST. Use colours, stickers, highlighters, anything creative that you want!

I have compiled a list of things that were essential to our stay in the hospital. With the kind of pregnancy that I had, Theodore had to stay for two days at the hospital. Because of that, I was prepared to stay more than just one day.

Hospital Bag Essentials (Covid Edition)

I will post some of my favourite items below.

Looking back at 2020, I realize that my fears and feelings of guilt can finally be left behind.

I spend every spare moment of my time trying to play with my toddler. We go on our own special walks/adventures when weather permits.

My rainbow baby is here, safe and sound. He brings all of us so much joy, especially to his brother who fondly refers to Theodore as “my baby”.

My advice to you: look and live for these kinds of moments. Focus on them. Cherish them. Remember them.

Plan fun activities. Spend an entire day if you can on one theme. I have a list of exciting activities that can be found here: https://thatkraftymom.ca/how-to-keep-children-busy-at-home/

Motherhood is already a tough journey. Motherhood is learning to do whatever is in our power to give our children the best experiences and outcomes.

As long as your children are happy, they will flourish and grow. As long as they are loved, they won’t remember these difficult times.

What they will remember is having a strong mother or caregiver that could overcome the worst of times, especially those difficult moments that we faced in 2020.

Let’s look to a brighter, better future in 2021.

TKM

xoxo