Welcome back to the Motherhood in Quarantine Series! This is the second post in a series all about being a mother in quarantine! Click here for post 1!
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Hi!
I’m Jenna and I am so excited that Kayla asked me to share a little about my life as a quarantined mom. I am 32 years old and currently live in Baltimore, MD. I live in the heart of the city, just steps away from the Inner Harbor. My husband and I live here with our almost (can’t believe this) ONE year old, Caroline, and our Lab mix Lucy. We have now been in quarantine for 57 days, meaning Caroline has been quarantined for almost 20% of her life!
Baltimore is divided up into two distinct areas, the county and the city. I grew up in Baltimore County which is very suburban, but moved to Baltimore City 6 years ago. We live in a townhouse in a small residential neighborhood where we can get most anything we need within walking distance. While most out-of-towners that I meet automatically think of The Wire when they hear Baltimore City, there are also so many amazing things about this city especially when it comes to raising a kid here. Although we haven’t been able to enjoy most of these things since March, there are tons of parks and playgrounds, children’s events and museums all within a 10 minute walk from our house.
I keep telling people how grateful I am that this quarantine happened in the Spring. The weather here has been very mild ranging from 50s to 70s most days. It has made being quarantined much more tolerable, as we can enjoy our time outside. Winters here can be pretty brutal (a few years ago we got 3 feet of snow in one weekend) and I can’t imagine not being able to take Caroline outside to burn off some energy.
Since I am a Stay at Home Mom, the quarantine has not had a big effect on mine and Caroline’s schedule. Pre-quarantine (it’s almost getting hard to remember these days) I would wake up around 6:00 in the morning when my husband was getting ready for work. I would do a few chores around the house until Caroline woke up. After her morning nap we would usually head out to do some activity whether it be running errands, lunch with a friend or a Mommy and Me class. We would get home around 2:00 for her afternoon nap and then I would continue to do chores and pick up the morning mess. Since quarantine has started, my husband has been working from home. We were very lucky that since he works in the commercial construction industry as a Sales Manager, he is considered essential. Now that he doesn’t have to wake up so early to commute we tend to sleep in later (or as long as Caroline will let us)! We have been taking a morning walk before he starts work and it has been a really great way to start our day. Prior to quarantine we usually took a walk around the neighborhood maybe every other day. Now it’s part of our daily routine in the morning and evening.
I remember I used to think “what am I going to do with Caroline all day” on the days when we had nowhere to go. Since we’ve been quarantined, either it’s gotten easier to think of ways to entertain her or I’ve just gotten used to being stuck in the house. I usually dedicate after breakfast time to playing with toys, reading books and really interacting with Caroline. After her morning nap I usually take her along with me to do whatever needs to be done around the house and try to include her in it. This could be having her help me fold and put away laundry (haha laughing at this as I write it because all she ever does is ruin my neatly folded piles of clothes) or putting her in my LilleBaby backpack, which she loves, and picking up around the house. She then goes down for an afternoon nap around 2:30 and I have some free time from 2:30 to 4:00. Around 4:30 my husband finishes up work and we go for what we call our “happy hour” walk, which most days includes wine in a tumbler. We come home, do dinner, bath and bedtime and repeat the next day!
Grocery shopping around here has not been so bad and I can already see things improving. During the beginning of the pandemic a few staples were out of stock such as flour, toilet paper and cleaning supplies. The first week we were stuck at home, our grocery store was completely out of meat. The next time I went there was plenty of meat but no canned beans. None of this made sense to me, but hey this is my first pandemic! It’s still hard to find flour, toilet paper and cleaning supplies, but it’s not impossible. Pre quarantine I used to do a lot of curbside pick up because grocery shopping with a baby was just too stressful to me. Now it’s very hard to find any available time slots for curbside pick up or delivery, so ironically we have been going into the store to shop instead.
Overall I would say we are spending about the same amount of money since we have been quarantined, but on different things. We used to do a lot of happy hours and dinners out, but we really haven’t replaced that with take out dinners. Instead my husband and I inadvertently have picked up some new hobbies which is where we have probably been spending more money than usual. He does a lot of woodworking and I began sewing again, and even opened an Etsy store! I also find myself looking for new toys to entertain Caroline and myself while we are stuck at home.
The Governor of Maryland took very conservative measures very early during the Pandemic. We were issued a Stay at Home order on March 30th, but many businesses such as gyms, malls and movie theaters were closed down prior to this date. We are required to wear a mask in any retail establishment. If you’re out walking around the city you will notice most people wearing masks outside as well. I’ve noticed, as the weather warms up, it seems like the people here are getting restless and seem to be out more and gathering in small groups. My husband has done most of the errands although sometimes I will go out just for my own sanity and a change of scenery. The only stores that are open here are places like Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot and the grocery stores. We are not able to go to the gym, get a haircut or use playgrounds. Just this weekend they did open up state parks and boating for recreation. It’s starting to seem like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
A year ago, if someone had told me that I would be quarantined with my 1 year old for 60+ days during a pandemic, I would have pictured a post-apocalyptic world. In reality it seems like this quarantine has really brought our community together. I see neighbors socializing from their front stoops, people enjoying the outdoors, reconnecting with others via Zoom and all pitching in to help each other get through this time. Before quarantine we spent most weekends rushing back and forth to events and activities. We always talked about how we wanted to slow down and have “just one weekend” with nowhere to go so we could spend time as a family. Well we got that and more. Being quarantined is tough, being a mom is tough, being a mom during quarantine is even tougher. Caroline learned to crawl just as the quarantine started and I’d love to see her crawl around the playground or up and down the playmats in the children’s museum we went to every week, but we just cant. She will probably be walking by the time this is over. I keep thinking that family members are missing a whole chunk of her childhood, she is missing out on so many experiences. Sometimes I worry that I’m not stimulating enough for Caroline or that she is getting too attached to me (because who else is she supposed to be with during this time?). When I feel this way and stress about these thing, I try to remember to be grateful that my friends and family are healthy and that I may never have this quality time like this, just our little family of three, in the future. My biggest piece of advice is give yourself some grace. There is no handbook on parenting during a pandemic because this is uncharted territory. We are all going through this for the first time together. Do the best you can and know that your kids won’t remember how many Pinterest activities you did together (I’m preaching to myself here) but they will remember that they felt safe, happy and loved during this time!
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Please check out Jenna on her social here:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/lemonsandlu
Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/sundayjay/
Instagram for Etsy : www.instagram.com/sundayjayshop/
