She’s raising her first baby during pandemic

“When my husband and I walked into labor and delivery, I knew our lives were about to change forever. But I had no idea the world would be shut down when we left the hospital with our girl.

“Sloane Pepper was born on March 16 and has quarantined with us ever since.

“As if becoming a first-time parent isn’t scary enough, we now had to raise her during a global pandemic. Not being able to invite people to meet her, worrying about access to, and inventory of, newborn-essential items, and the fear of getting sick were all daily, emotional challenges. All of this on top of adjusting to being a mom: Is she eating enough? Why won’t she nap? Why is she napping so long? What day is it?

“The silver lining of it all was the amount of uninterrupted quality time we got to spend together as a new family. Watching Sloane grow has been the highlight of our lives. I’m selfishly glad we got to keep her to ourselves for so long.

“She has met only a handful of people, and we’re not sure what the new normal holds. But I know the sacrifices we’ve made and continue to make during this pandemic, albeit challenging, will ensure she will have a healthy, happy future when the virus is in the rear view.

“As I reflect on the last nine months of parenting in a pandemic, I feel extremely fortunate for our health and proud I provided our extended family and friends a bright spot in the year 2020.”

— Leah Linares Abbate