hi friendos!! I know I haven’t been active here for a while, but just wanted to pop in and let everyone know that I reached out and got confirmation our boy is doing well <3

Dirty vs. Clean

I think these terms are constantly consuming our minds at this point. At least, they are mine! I have always been a clean person, but this pandemic has brought my thoughts of contamination to a new level. When I get home from work, I take my shoes off outside of our house in our garage. I then walk into our entryway and set my bags on the ground, set my phone and keys on a table, take my coat off and hang up. I walk to the kitchen and get some disinfectant wipes and wipe down my phone, keys, bags, hang the bags, and wipe where everything was sitting. Wipe the door handles and light switches and anything else I may have touched. Then I throw the wipe away and wash my hands. Then I change my clothes. I also wipe down all hard surfaces, cupboard handles, railings, etc. in our house on a regular basis.

Any packages or mail are left out for a day to try and kill “dirty” virus germs that may be on them. And if we handle mail or a package, we are sure to wash our hands (for at least 20 seconds) when we are done. 

Going to get groceries does not happen in person anymore as we get all groceries delivered. We put our order in ahead of time as we know it will take a few days, then we disinfect everything in our order and let it dry on the counter. Then we put it away, disinfect the counters, and wash our hands. God bless the Instacart delivery people who are in charge of shopping and bringing our groceries to us...we are sure to tip them well each time.

At work, I take even more steps to disinfect things. It’s almost distracting. Even though I am the only one who uses my office, I still wipe down my workstation with sanitizing wipes when i get in. Before eating lunch or snacks I wash my hands. I open any doors/microwave/fridge using a paper towel. As I think I’ve shared before, my office is in a small little building not attached to the main hospital and I typically only see 2-3 people when I go in, and all of whom are at least 6 feet away from me if I see them at all. I wash my hands just about every hour (as that is how often I’m having to pee now in my almost 7th month of pregnancy) and my hands are looking dry, cracked, and chapped. But at least they’re clean.

I feel like this invisible enemy is making me paranoid and I’m sure I’m not the only one! Even though I know it is the safest thing to do, I feel GUILTY assuming that any other person has the virus. It feels so abnormal. Every person I see I automatically think “Are they infected? Could they give this to myself and my baby?” It makes me feel judgy and I hate that feeling and pride myself on being the opposite! We aren’t even letting our family members come over to our house unless they have been completely isolating for at least 2 weeks, “just in case” they have been exposed to the virus. My dad has been building a crib for Bean and has been purposefully isolating himself from all other people so that he can drive it out to us safely and without exposing us - even putting off a carpentry job just so he can avoid being around others. Partway through his first attempt at isolation, he had to go into the clinic to have a procedure done, and started his isolation over. So he’s coming a week later. Because as we all know, if you are around one other person, you are essentially exposing yourself to the germs of EVERYONE they have been around, and we know people can shed/spread the virus before they are symptomatic, etc. etc. etc. 

All of this is so much and so unpleasant to think about! I know it is necessary, but it is hard. It’s hard not to be social, not to give hugs, not to sit close to others, not to let friends and family touch my ever-growing bump. But I know it is for the best and won’t be forever.

I am VERY grateful that Aaron works from home and we don’t have to deal with him being exposed to anyone at an office. I’m also glad that we enjoy spending time with each other (still, somehow! lol). If you have someone to share this time in isolation with, consider yourself very lucky! It is so much harder for those who have no one else at home. Be sure you call and check on your loved ones who are all by themselves. I promise you they will be happy for the contact. Aaron and I have been doing some new fun things to beat the quarantine blues, including me teaching him how to play Mancala (my favorite childhood game), and watching a family of jackrabbits play in the field that is across the backyard from our house. They are ENORMOUS!! I knew that they were a mascot around here but was not aware of just how big they are in real life! We at first thought it was just a mom and dad and baby and named them Jack, Jill, and JoJo. Now we see that there are actually 3 little ones, so we have 2 more to name :) It is super fun to watch them tear across the field running after each other. I just cannot get over how big they are! We thought they were dogs or baby deer at first and then realized, nope...they are MegaBunnies. Aaron brought his rifle up so we could get a good look through his scope when we watch them. I also just ordered some binoculars online so we can have a better way of viewing them instead of having to hold up that rifle :)

I had my prayers answered this week when my supervisors and senior leadership approved my work from home request! I honestly never thought it would happen as they have not allowed hardly anyone to do so, but they made an exception for me because of my pregnancy AND because I already see the majority of my caseload using video/telehealth. I will still need to be in my office on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, but am not expected to go over to the hospital for in-person visits anymore and can just hide out in my safe little office sanctuary and see patients from my computer. This will drastically reduce the number of people I see on a daily basis as well as the number of potential exposures for Bean and I. We set up an area in the spare bedroom downstairs that is a perfect, private, quiet space for my workday. I even have a cute little coworker/sidekick that keeps me company when I’m not in session (see pic at the end of this post).

I can’t believe I will be getting into my 7th month of pregnancy this weekend! Things that are getting harder for me are: putting on socks/shoes, wearing pants, shaving my legs, dealing with heartburn, getting in a comfortable position to sleep in (and sleeping in general, which is weird as I’ve never had that issue before!), sitting up from laying down, and dealing with having to go to pee about every 5 minutes. Also, not sure if other people who have gone through pregnancy have had this, but it feels like I have to pee mainly when I stand up and not when I sit down. So I stand up, run to the bathroom, sit, and then feel like I don’t have to go anymore. LOL! Like, JUST KIDDING! I know that my doc says that is normal due to the pressure that baby is putting on my bladder and gravity but, man, it’s annoying.

I have my next checkup on Monday and will be going solo as the hospital I go to is now requiring patients to come alone unless under the age of 18 to stop potential COVID spread. Aaron has been with me at nearly every appointment so this will be a change. For my 32 week ultrasound I will Facetime him in so he can see Bean - and we always get printouts of babe from those appointments, too. I only have 2 in-person appointments left, one on Monday and then my 32 week, and all other appointments will be via telehealth. Thankfully we are not in an area of the country where they have outlawed spouses from accompanying mothers during birth - both hospitals here have vowed not to do so at any point in the future, either. It is just crazy to me that some places have done that!! I can’t imagine having to go through labor without my husband there. Although things have definitely looked differently for me during this pregnancy than I ever thought they would, I am just focusing on the fact that as long as myself, family (including Bean), and loved ones make it through this pandemic OK, I will be very very happy.

I hope you are all staying happy and healthy!

xoxo - Miranda

My cute little coworker. Don’t mind the floors, we have to redo them...

Taking a 6+ foot social distance walk with my mom, complete with masks.

There’s me wearing my mask and shield that I needed to wear in the hospital before they allowed me to work from home. I wanted a pic to show Bean someday the crazy time that preceded his/her birth!

The crib my dad has made for Bean!! 

Aaron watching the MegaBunnies using his scope :)