Rebecca H. McCormick, Fairfax, Virginia

My son is as old as COVID-19. 

Born in December 2019, he was not even three months old when lockdown began. I was just coming out of the newborn fog when everything shut down. No mommy and me library time. No infant massage classes. No more La Leche League meetings.

My husband, who had returned to work, was home again. My older son had returned to school but was now back. None of this was as I had planned it. Part of the reason we waited so long between pregnancies was so that Egan and I could share that uninterrupted newborn time together like I had had with my first. Gone were my ideas of lazy days where we napped together, or he nursed while I watched daytime television or binged on streaming shows. Suddenly, my house was full and loud. 

But one thing that has been consistent and helped to make this time of uncertainty more tolerable is nursing. I’ve crossed the threshold into two years of breastfeeding with this COVID-19 baby. In the times when I didn’t know what to do, I nursed. In the times when I felt overwhelmed with the noise and the feeling of not knowing the right thing to do, I nursed. When I was scared about COVID-19, I nursed, knowing that the antibodies my body would produce if I were sick—or later, vaccinated—would pass to him, too. 

And, of course, this baby-turned-toddler will never know any different. He won’t know the before times, but he will know that he found comfort and security even during an uncomfortable and insecure time. While we struggled with joblessness and financial unknowns, his needs for closeness and nutrition were met with my milk. And for that, I’m grateful. 

Resources

• COVID-19 and Breastfeeding: lllusa.org/covid-19-and-breastfeeding/
• Parenting and Breastfeeding Through COVID-19: lllusa.org/parenting-and-breastfeeding-through-covid-19/

Please send your story ideas to Amy at [email protected].

Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always

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