How are you feeling?

It’s a very common question to get when you’re pregnant. But it has a whole different layer to it when you’re pregnant and about to give birth in the middle of a global pandemic.

Giving Birth During a Pandemic

As I was recording this episode, I was in the last weeks of my second pregnancy. I had already planned to go ahead and record the rest of the episodes that would release through June so I could give myself some time with my new baby boy, my daughter, and my husband.

What Will Change About the Birth?

What I didn’t anticipate is that the Coronavirus would change so much about daily life. And of course, plans for the delivery of my son.

• My birth doula will now have to FaceTime us to support during labor and delivery since I can only have one support person with me – obviously, it will be my husband in the delivery room with me
• The last few weeks of pregnancy will be spent inside my house with my four-year-old daughter (24/7) or in an outdoor area at least 6 feet from other people
• We have to have multiple plans for who will watch my four-year-old when I go into labor in case the potential care-giver gets sick or my daughter gets sick
• Postpartum, we will be FaceTiming or Zoom calling people instead of visiting us in person
• That also means that my postpartum self-care plans will need to involve letting my husband know when I need some time to shower alone, read a book, or work on Gotcha Mama away from the kids. Most likely, there won’t be any other outside help for many more weeks so I’m preparing mentally for that as well.

I don’t know what will change in these next three weeks or after that. But I do trust my God, who is all-knowing and almighty.

Mentally Processing the Changes

I feel waves of “what if…” I’m human and worry and fear does find its way in. And then I catch myself. I don’t want fear to dictate my decisions. I refuse to let worry rob me of enjoying the wonderful things I have in my life.

My hope and prayer is that my daughter thinks back on this time with positive memories. That her mom and dad had a strong faith that no matter what scary and uncertain things are going on in the world. That she felt loved and safe.

And I want the birth of my son to be a positive experience. Not overshadowed by fear and restrictions and unmet expectations.

As I told a good friend who texted to check in on me – we’re doing what we do with parenting in general: figuring it out as we go and making it work the best we can.

So much in life is truly out of our control. The pandemic is a very large and extreme illustration of that.

I believe that God is faithful. He is in control. He is not surprised by this pandemic, by our natural fear and worry, or by what will happen in the future.

I talk about

• What I’m doing differently for my second pregnancy 
• How pregnancy the second time around at the age of 40 has really been for me mentally, emotionally, and physically
• Thoughts, feelings, and changes to plans during the Coronavirus pandemic
• And how I’m preparing differently for postpartum

Links & Resources

Here’s a special little bonus I put together for you, based on my experience as a mom so far.

The “Must-Have Items for A New Mom” checklist will help save you time and confusion on what you really need both for you as a mom postpartum and your sweet baby.

Here’s a couple of notes to keep in mind so you get the full benefit of the checklist:

• I didn’t include clothing for baby, blankets, or feeding items on this list for two main reasons-

1. Because people LOVE to buy baby clothes and blankets so you usually don’t have to worry about having enough of either of those around.
2. Feeding can look very different for each mama depending on IF she is able to breastfeed and if she WANTS to breastfeed, so I didn’t go down that road of what you “must-have” for feeding. I personally ended up doing both breastfeeding and supplementing with formula with my first baby because my supply was so low. Feeding for ME and my daughter required a lot of accessories:) That’s not everyone’s journey though.

• I’ve included my personal notes and suggestions for most of the items. You’ll see brands that I have purchased as well as brands that are highly recommended through multiple mom-focused websites.

To download the checklist, click the image.

*Please note that I have NOT tried every brand that I link to in the pdf. And none of the links are affiliate links, so I make no money if you purchase through them.

More about the Gotcha Mama Podcast:

The Gotcha Mama Podcast is where we share honest stories of the joys and struggles of mom-life with young kids.

Each week host Amanda Bennett interviews a mom about topics ranging from awkwardly making mom friends, to chasing BIG dreams and finding purpose, to managing crippling anxiety and depression. You’ll hear stories from moms like you with the purpose to inspire, encourage, and entertain you.

We understand that motherhood can be lonely and make you doubt yourself. The Gotcha Mama Podcast exists to let you know that you are not alone as a busy mom of young kiddos, no matter what you’re dealing with.

The show is all about tearing down our insecurities as moms by honestly sharing our stories and a little of what we’ve learned along the way.

We believe it’s a whole lot better riding the rollercoaster of motherhood together!

Please subscribe on Apple Podcasts. Also, please take a second and leave your honest rating and review on Apple Podcasts.  Ratings and reviews are important and greatly appreciated!  And I do personally read each and every one of them.

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