Things are different. What we knew and how we navigated the world has changed. At first, there was shock and disbelief. Discombobulation. With the ground pulled from under our feet, grappling with reality has really been a rollercoaster of a ride. Logistical considerations. Emotional considerations. Some have been able to settle into a new sense of “normal” and sadly, for many, that new normal is absolutely terrifying. Now we find ourselves in a place to start considering our tentative forays out into the world. With so many pieces of information out there to consume, some factual, some opinionated, it is extremely difficult to consider how much to expand, to venture out, to connect.
It is that connection that I miss most. I am so lucky to be one of the people who truly loves doing their job. One of my favorite parts of my work is sitting next to a mom and baby. Feeling the warmth, smelling the smells, gently touching in support and guidance. The camaraderie that is often built in this setting is exquisite. Early into the shelter-in-place order, I learned how important this part of my work is to me when I started seeing clients virtually. Seeing those families that I had worked with in person previously left me with a longing to be in their presence. Meeting new families virtually has been wonderful and I am so happy to get to provide guidance and support in this way, but these consults always leave me wanting more. I even miss getting pooped on! It is great that the technology is there to be able to provide all kinds of support to our society during this time, but I hope that the ease of connecting virtually will never take the place of opportunities to engage in person, especially when it comes to perinatal care. I’m longing for the time when it will be relatively safe for me to go into clients’ homes again with little risk to their health, the health of the families I see after them, and my own family, of course.
For those of us who have the privilege to do so, thinking about the positive sides of what shelter-in-place has done for our individual families and society as a whole and how we can maintain some of that is our next challenge. Each of us will have a different experience here, so I won’t venture to articulate what those changes could be for you, but in my house, there will definitely be some things we maintain that we’ve experienced while sheltering in place as we expose ourselves to the larger world.
To help us all figure out the best way to venture out, I’d like to share a post I read from a trusted pediatrician, Dr. Julia Getzelman, whom I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with over the last decade. Each of us has to now make decisions that work best for our individual situations. “Restrictions Are Easing. Yikes, Now What?” may give you some true guidance on how to make those choices.