PANDEMIC PREGNANCY

When I first learned I was pregnant,

In a city, a province, a country

Far, far away from my family…

I relied on the knowledge that

The ones I would need were only

A flight away.

And then,

Out of nowhere,

My pregnancy nausea suddenly coincided

With the start of a global pandemic…

And as I moved from bed to couch

And back again,

Flights in and out,

And across

Were halted.

Grounded.

But surely, I thought…

Surely, our family will be able to visit by the birth.

Surely, our loved ones can share

That special time with us.

Because that’s what happens

When babies are born.

Families come together,

And hug and coo

And ooo and aww…

But flights remained grounded.

So, we hired a Doula,

In the 11th hour.

Somebody to be

Our family for, and in,

That crucial moment…

Those crucial days afterward…

And in the days and weeks

And months that followed,

We were our son’s ‘bubble’.

There were

No hugs from grandparents,

No cuddles with friends,

No Mom-and-baby groups…

But we did the best we could

To fill those voids,

As we clambered up the steep learning curve

Of parenthood.

It wasn’t how we planned it,

Or how we imagined it would be.

Nobody could have ever foreseen

That ours would be a

Pandemic pregnancy.