Yesterday was my baby boy's first holiday and it was all very exciting! In addition to being his first holiday, it was also the first real holiday that my fiancé and I spent together as a unit (Fourth of July doesn't count in my book because it's not necessarily a family-oriented one).
With that being said, it was definitely a different year for me. My immediate family lives in Miami, which is currently a hot spot for coronavirus cases. Because baby Benjamin is only four weeks old and has not has been vaccinated yet, we thought it wouldn‘t be wise to expose him (or us, his caregivers) to the increased risk of contracting the virus. While it’s not the first Thanksgiving I‘ve had to spend apart from family, it was quite disappointing being that my family has not yet met my baby boy and have been dying to do so since his arrival. However, my fiancé's family has been extremely isolated throughout the majority of this pandemic (due to my future sister-in-law being high risk) and came to spend the holiday with us.
Thanksgiving with a newborn was much more hectic than I'd imagined it to be. On top of having six adults, one toddler, and a newborn crammed into one house all week (yes, it was as crazy as it sounds)... my Benjamin seemed to be going through both a growth spurt and a leap. For those of you who have not parented before, a spurt/leap basically means the following: your baby will want to be held constantly, probably will not feed/sleep well, and will be inconsolable the majority of the time. I spent the first half of Thanksgiving locked up in the bedroom with a fussy infant either laying on my chest or glued to a bottle. And the latter half of the day was a combination of me walking around constantly consoling my little one, attempting to interact with my future in-laws, and scarfing food down my throat when I finally would have a few minutes to use my hands. It was stressful and anxiety-provoking, not at all feeling like a holiday.
However, at the end of the evening I reminded myself of one thing: This was our first holiday together as a family and, while it was insane and different, it was wonderful.
I know it was probably hard for many of you to be apart from family and friends yesterday, after eight (or more) long months of already being isolated, but I hope you were able to find at least one thing to be thankful for. For me, I am most thankful for my newborn son and for the gift of being his mother. He is the best thing to ever happen to me, for so many reasons.
Happy (belated) Thanksgiving to you all. Stay safe and healthy (and sane)!
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