Part 2 of my experience of having COVID while pregnant. Like I said before -- please know this is 100% what we went through. Everything I’ve read and researched said something different when I was searching for answers. This virus has been very different for everyone and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who have lost loved ones or who are struggling now. Again, it is such a weird virus!
Being 28 weeks pregnant and getting the virus meant I had to put my doctor visits on hold. Thankfully it was just one visit I had to reschedule but it was really upsetting not to be able to check on my unborn son during such a scary time. I’ll never forget going into the doctor's office and asking a million questions. She had no clue I had missed my last appointment because of getting COVID. I was shocked because you would think the doctor on call would have put it in my notes/chart or something to keep my doctor up to date but nope. Also the looks you get when answering those COVID questions going into the doctor's office “Have you or anyone you know tested positive for COVID?” and saying yes I just got out of quarantine. PHEW! You’d think you just said you robbed a bank.
Once I was back in my room with my doctor she went on to say that his heart rate sounds great and that she honestly had little concern that I gotten the virus. In fact she said moms who caught it while pregnant were actually giving immunity to their unborn babies. (I actually found a couple articles about it too so I am praying it’s true!) This was such a HUGE weight off my shoulders and in that moment I felt like I could finally breathe again. I asked her about getting another ultrasound to check and see for myself that he was doing okay -- because I was lucky to have a healthy and safe pregnancy that I wasn’t scheduled for anymore and I was again -- freaking out (pretty common thing for me in these stories). Thankfully my doctor was understanding and scheduled me for another ultrasound that following week. All good news! Chip even got to schedule around work to come and see his sweet little son! He was measuring on schedule, moving around like crazy and refused to let me see his sweet little face. However it was super easy to see his chunky cheeks. The tech even made the comment of how chunky his cheeks were which made me feel so so much better.
Now like I said earlier about people looking at you in fear when stating “Yes I tested positive for COVID” now I was getting the same looks from family members. This was probably the biggest challenge of the virus entirely. The isolation and emotional stress that came with being uninvited to Thanksgiving dinner, family gatherings and just having differences in opinion on the virus really took a toll on me. Plus being pregnant -- I broke down at least once a day. We had been quarantined for two weeks and I even got calls from the health department that I was good to go back out and about. Why was my family still not allowing me to come to Thanksgiving dinner? Of course we respected their wishes and didn’t go but my feelings were hurt and no one really ever apologized so again I cried -- gotta love those pregnancy hormones. Though a week or so passed and my mom had another big Thanksgiving dinner for the family and we were able to go and again I cried this time because I was so happy to just feel included again.
I understand some people are terrified of the virus -- believe me I was terrified when I was tested positive. I was terrified for my daughter who thankfully never got it (HOW?! I have no clue) at least we never saw any signs that she was sick -- just a 2 night period of really bad sleep and then she was right back on schedule. For all we know that could have been it but I decided to not get her tested because her doctor basically said “I will tell you to quarantine for two weeks no matter what the test results say” so that’s what we did. I thank God every day for her health.
But before you start judging those who caught it remember they are a person too. It’s hard enough to get looks from strangers but then to get them from family members -- try to understand their side because believe me they feel much worse than you do. They probably took all the precautions: wore a mask, washed their hands, stayed 6ft apart when in crowds or just didn’t go out -- personally like I did myself. But you can’t help what other people do. My husband brought it home not knowing and got it probably by simply touching a door knob after his co-worker, it’s just life and sometimes you can’t be lucky all the time.
Honestly, I’m glad I got it over with -- I know there is a ton of research stating people are getting it again and I hope I’m not jixing myself but I feel like it’s a one and done kind of thing until next season, just like the flu. It’s not going anywhere and I am very curious to see how the vaccine pans out. Personally I won’t be getting it just because I am in my child bearing years -- but down the road once the research is a bit more clear I will be adding it to my list of yearly vaccinations.
On the bright side because I always try to find the light at the end of the tunnel. During our quarantine we got a ton of house projects done that would have taken us years. Really bonded as a family of 3 and spent as much time together as we could before becoming a family of 4. Baked A LOT and got a puppy -- which was such a bad idea but that’s a story for another day...
XO,
Christine