Welcome back to the Motherhood in Quarantine Series! This is the sixth post in a series all about being a mother in quarantine!
Click here for post 1 by Kayla Tucker from San Diego, California!
Click here for post 2 by Jenna Hammer from Baltimore, Maryland!
Click here for post 3 by Lindsay Johnson from Riverside, California!
Click here for post 4 by Bethany Wagreich from Cinninati Ohio!
Click here for post 5 by Morgan Coulter from Millville, New Jersey!
Hey there!
My name is Paige and my family and I live deep in the heart of Texas. Fort Worth, Texas that is! I’m married to my hero firefighter husband, we have two dogs Daisy and Dusty, and a 7 month old baby boy. My husband and I celebrated our 3rd year of marriage in March and I just turned 30 in April. There’s nothing quite like a quarantined birthday celebration! The Motherhood in Quarantine series spotlights that we are all in this together through the ups and downs of quarantine! Welcome to our journey!
Living Situation
We bought our house in hopes to have room for our family to grow and visit. Since my family is in Illinois and his in south Texas, we have visitors quite often. Quarantine has been especially hard on this front. Every day I wonder when our families will see our son again. My family has cancelled three flights here. Babies grow so fast and it feels like they are missing him grow up. We utilize FaceTime and Zoom to “see” our family as much as we can during this time. Our house sits in a busy suburb surrounding the city. Our town quickly turned into a ghost town whenever the quarantine began. Similar to almost every state the toilet paper vanished! There were slim pickings in the canned, frozen, and meat sections. All other sections were pretty well stocked. All businesses are closed except essential businesses, like grocery stores. Restaurants are allowed to do curbside pickup or delivery. The quarantine in Texas began later than in some states and the state has already started opening back up. The final opening phase is predicted to begin on May 18th. It is recommended to wear a face mask, but it’s not required.
Adapting to a New Work Environment
Luckily, my husband and I still have our jobs through all of this! I’m a teacher, so I went on Spring Break not expecting to never return back to school. Working from home with a baby has been more difficult than I thought it would be. I’m learning to balance being available during the day while balancing feedings and naps. Also, the grading and paperwork usually takes place once I’ve gotten our little one to bed. I have to give a shout out to all of the teachers working extremely hard to build their online classrooms so quickly! It’s been a balancing act and a learning process no matter what end you’re on – teacher, student or parent. Although this situation is not ideal, I’ve taken it as a blessing because I get extra time with our baby. I just returned from maternity leave a month and a half before this began, so this has given me bonus time with him. My husband is a firefighter, so he is an essential worker and his schedule has stayed the same. Although, he has a new routine, when he arrives home. He’s taking extra precautions to make sure he’s freshly showered and changed before he comes near our baby and me. His shift requires him to be gone 24 hours, so the days he’s gone can be harder to manage. Also, we haven’t been able to visit the fire station like we used to.
Life Changes
At my son’s 6 month checkup, reality hit me. Mother’s around the world are going to prenatal and pediatric appointments without their support systems. I caught a glimpse of this as my husband was required to wait in the car. No one to ask questions with, share the joy of our son achieving milestones, and the added pressure to relay information the doctor said. Mothers are showing even more strength during this unprecedented time – you are not alone! I’m thankful there are protocols to keep us all as safe as possible, but I think we’re all ready for mamas to have their support systems right there with them again. THANK YOU to the doctors and nurses helping parents navigate through this.
A New Routine
My heart goes out to all the mama’s whose children’s routines were impacted by this. I’m sure it can be tough when you’re child doesn’t understand why you can’t go places or visit with other people. Since our son is 7 months old, he doesn’t understand that life has changed so drastically. This has been a blessing! The beginning of quarantine it rained almost every day, so that was mentally tough being inside 24/7. As the weather cleared up, we made it a point to try and get fresh air as much as we could. We try to hike a new trail at least once a week. This has allowed us to find nature’s hidden treasures. We’ve found two small waterfalls and realized North Texas isn’t completely flat! When we aren’t exploring the outdoors or playing in the water during those 90 degree days, we can be found cooking a new recipe or working on a home project. As my 30th birthday was approaching, we knew the celebration would look a little different than originally planned. We decided on a “quarantined picnic”. We ordered pizza from a local favorite, had a bottle of wine, and cupcakes. We laid a blanket down by the lake and made lemonade out of lemons as a party of three. It turned out to be one of the best birthdays to date.
In this together
As I said before, we’re all in a time of “unknowns” together. It can be stressful learning to adapt to a new routine for yourself + your family. We’re all doing the best we can and it’s important to give yourself grace when you feel like you’re struggling. All moms have struggled at some point throughout quarantine. I’d recommend leaning on someone during this time. Leaning on a fellow mom friend whether it’s a call, text, or zoom can be helpful. It’s nice to have someone who’s going through it too and they may have a tip or trick to help adapt to this time. Also, take a moment for yourself. I know it’s easier said than done. Even if it’s just 5 minutes. Drinking coffee in a quiet space, getting fresh air, taking a bath after the kids are asleep, winding down with a glass of wine, or actually being able to take a real shower. Taking even 5 minutes can make a world of difference. Being a mom is hard work and being a mom in quarantine requires even more. Whether it’s cooking, cleaning, or tending to the baby – it’s never ending tasks, so remind yourself to give grace!
