Parenting in a Pandemic

Parenting is hard. But parenting in a pandemic sometimes feels impossible.

I want to start off by telling every mom and dad out there you are doing a great job. While there are a million parenting books, I have yet to find one that has a chapter on dealing with kiddos in a global pandemic. We are each taking it day by day and you are doing your best. I guess we will one day have to write those chapters ourselves…(tag not it!)

Our household is just coming out of week 6 of our daughter Nora staying home with me from daycare due to some type of Covid exposure and one week of snow days. Over these weeks I have felt a wave of so many different emotions…

Grateful for the extra time I get to snuggle her and watch her grow.

Guilty for not being able to give her my full attention as she shows me a new toy or attempts to crawl because I am on a zoom meeting or trying to get an email sent.

Scared for her health due to this virus and any possible delayed developmental progress due to her not interacting with other kids at school. (And not to mention my husband who is our hero and works in a hospital every day keeping people safe).

Dread for the next week of unknowns, will she be exposed again. If I take her to the store with me because we need groceries am I being irresponsible?

Tired, oh so tired. Between the sleepless nights from her teething and nap refusals and the late nights for me trying to get caught up on work, household chores, and finding time to squeeze in a workout for some self-care, I think we both are just plain tired.

And finally an immense amount of love. This extra time with Nora has continued to make my heart grow even more each and every day for this wonderful miracle Nick and I brought into this world. I did not know how much I could love until I had our daughter.

It seems like we are in a world of endless choices for parenting and that was before the pandemic even hit — do I sleep train or snuggle? Do I baby lead ween or do purees? Do I stay at home or send to daycare? The options are endless and I have learned there is no right choice. Just like the options in a pandemic—do I keep them home or will they fall behind? If I send them to school will they get sick? Different questions, but same endless options. And I’ve learned there is still no right answer. We all just have to do what is best for our family at the time and continue to love our babies unconditionally. While they are growing up in a very different world than we are used to I have faith they are going to preserver. I look at my baby girl and just know she is destined for something amazing—all I need to do is love and support her.

So I hope all you other parents out there who may be questioning your choices, or are struggling with the ups and downs, the intense emotions, or are just plain tired — I hope you know you are not alone. I see you and again you are doing a great job!