Pandemic Life

2020 – what an adventure! It has been a journey trying to navigate this year as new parents. Here’s a peek at the past 6 months of quarantine and pandemic life for our little family.

March- March 17th was the last “normal day” we had over here. I dropped Jacob off at Mimi’s to go into work. School was already closed but there was a lot to do in the building. That day ended up being our goodbye to family for about 10 weeks.

My last official day at work was March 27th, so l only did the work from home thing for 8 days and what a fun time that was! Zoom meetings were basically me bouncing my baby on my lap or just walking away to change a diaper. If I hadn’t been on my way out, I would have been absolutely losing my mind. It is actually impossible to get anything done with this baby. (Working moms handling virtual school and/or babies- I just can’t even tell you how amazing you are).

Joey started a new job right as everything shut down. He went in for 3 days and was then directed to work from home until further notice. So we have been at home together for all this time and it has truly been a blessing.

April- Honestly, this was kind of an amazing month. After the ridiculous grind we’d been through from January-March, it felt so good to just be home with my family. Jacob was 6 months old at this point and his personality was really shining through. The weather was beautiful and we were able to resume our daily stroller walks that we’d said goodbye to in December. I was able to fully focus on Jacob while Joey got accustomed to his new job. We even started to eat family dinners- something that has never happened in all our years together.

The only thing missing here was family. We took the stay at home order very seriously and stayed in our bubble. We were taking every precaution to ensure that our baby and parents were safe, but it was heartbreaking.

May– Around Mother’s Day, we decided to begin outdoor distance visits with Mimi & Papa and Grammy & Grampy. It was really hard to not give them Jacob snuggles, but we just weren’t ready yet. By the end of the month, we decided that we were ok with grandparents holding him. The reuniting was truly heartwarming.

Lucky for us, Grammy & Grampy live on the lake. We took Jacob out for his first boat ride that month.

June– This was the month we finally got out. Our families were on the same page as us- everyone was staying at home and only going out when needed. We were all being cautious and wore a mask in public. This helped us to relax a bit with family and was really refreshing after being so isolated at home.

Joey’s parents have a pool in their backyard and it was an absolute oasis for us this summer. Jacob went for his first swim, snuggled his Mimi & Papa, and even got to visit with his cousins. We felt so incredibly lucky to have the pool and lake to fill our weekends.

That month we also took Jacob to Asheville for the first time to celebrate his Aunt Heather’s 40th birthday. He was an absolute nightmare on the car ride, but it was so worth it to see all of my family in one place.

July– If I had to pick a month that made me the most stir-crazy, this would be it. Jacob was developing so much and it was starting to make me a little sad how much we still couldn’t do… like our completely unused Discovery Place Kids membership. It was too hot for our stroller walks and the outdoor options with a baby that can’t walk yet are pretty slim. But at the end of the day Jacob didn’t know the difference and being a little bored does not qualify as an actual pandemic problem.

The calendar was basically empty that month except for the surprise party we threw for my mom. My family has never pulled one off before and she was thrilled!

Another noteworthy event in July was Jacob sleeping through the night for the first time….on July 4th. Go figure.

August- FINALLY it was time to get OUT of town and go to the beach! We had seriously been talking about it every day for months. I packed our bags for a week… because you know you have to pack the whole house when you have a baby. We were scheduled to arrive at Ocean Isle on August 1st with Joey’s family. Ocean Isle had to evacuate by noon that day- 2020 struck again. Hurricane Isaias was headed straight for us.

Since everyone had taken that week off of work and we couldn’t reschedule, my in-laws found another place that we could stay in Myrtle Beach once the hurricane passed. While our annual trip was shorter this year, we were so grateful for a change of scenery and the chance to get Jacob to the beach for the first time.

Two weeks later, we headed back to North Myrtle for a 3 night stay with my mom and sisters. Honestly, I never would have imagined going to such a busy beach twice in one month during a pandemic… with a baby. But I am here to tell you it can be done safely… with some extra effort. We had such a great time together. The people watching from our balcony was enough to catch Jacob up on the social scene for at least a year.

As always, the sound of the ocean and salty air did it’s therapeutic thing. We are happy to hunker down for a while now until we can get away to the mountains.

September– We had our last boat ride and said goodbye to the pool for the summer on Labor Day weekend. Our house is covered in Fall decorations. Anyone else get those out ridiculously early this year?! I fully support doing what brings you joy.

With cooler temperatures and a very busy baby, I am excited to get Jacob out and about this month. If you have ideas about safe things to do outdoors with little ones, please send them my way!

It has been a strange year for major life changes, but we feel really lucky that we’ve been able to soak up all this time with Jacob. Joey is still working from home and it’s unreal getting to start our days without a mad dash out the door.

Who knows what the next few months will hold, but we will continue to say our thanks for our health, family, and the roof over our head. Sending much love to you as you make your way through the rest of 2020. And just for fun, here’s the Jacob edition of 2020….

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