Reader’s Diary: Quarantining with Baby
I had big plans when I started my paternity leave on 1st March. My wife was still on maternity leave and we were to spend my initial few weeks on our first family holiday abroad, and then the baby and I would spend our remaining time together on big days out, playing in the park, adventuring in the countryside, attending baby song and dance clubs and, most importantly, preparing her for nursery. I was excited, I had every one of our days planned and had even bought a LittleLife Ranger baby backpack carrier so we could explore together properly.
Then the global lockdown came. Our holiday was cut short and, once we’d been repatriated to the UK following a nightmare midnight emergency rescue flight from America to Gatwick Airport, we returned to a different Britain than the one we had left.
We arrived home on the night of the Prime Minister’s message: stay home, protect the NHS and save lives. There were to be no days out, my wife Beth was to work from home and all nurseries were closed until further notice. We were to spend the rest of my paternity leave under quarantine. With a 10 month old baby, how hard could it be? I was determined to make the best of it. Here‘s what I’ve learned so far…
Finding food
The most important thing to consider with a baby in lockdown is food supply. Without food, there will eventually be no baby and, at first, baby food was pretty scarce in the supermarkets – especially those convenient pouches my daughter loves.
Despite our cupboards being bare after our holiday, Beth was amazing in those first few weeks, and combined what little we had in our freezer and storage to create a selection of magic meals that ensured our daughter’s diet stayed healthy and varied. Using frozen peas, spinach, lentils, tinned kidney beans and a bit of cheddar cheese for flavour, Beth blended up some fantastic baby recipes that were nutritious, balanced and tasty…though, it must be said, those were easily the most flatulent nights we have ever seen. Fortunately, the strain on food supplies appears to have eased and we can now more readily access the foods baby Saffy loves, though Beth is still cooking up her fresh foods.
Keeping boredom at bay
With family keeping their distance and all social gatherings and non-essential travel banned, ensuring the baby stays occupied, engaged and continues to develop within the confines of our small semi-detached home is a challenge.
Fortunately, the weather has been mostly warm and we are lucky enough to have a garden. Our travel cot has been repurposed as an outdoor playpen so Saffy can sit outside without the risk of hurting herself (I tried sitting her on the lawn but she kept eating the grass). This has also been a great way to get some fresh air without breaking isolation rules and Saffy has enjoyed waving to people from over the fence as they take their daily exercise.
Back indoors, my daughter has just started to pull herself up and coast along the furniture, so each day I rearrange the living room, placing different toys and items like ribbon and plastic objects from the kitchen hidden about the room at different heights, to create a new jungle gym for her to explore. We then have daily sensory time, with shakers jerry-rigged from empty bottles and dried peas, playing along to nursery rhymes we listen to on Alexa.
We then practice our reading – I’m glad we managed to buy some fun story books before lockdown – Green Eggs & Ham is the current favourite.
Admittedly, TV has also been incredibly helpful and we have now watched the squirrels in Hey Duggee earn every scout badge; from the cake badge where the gang learn all about baking to the philosophy badge, in which Duggee and the squirrels develop a new form of postmodern semiotic analysis within the context of phenomenology.
Staying connected
We have done our best to ensure that Saffy maintains regular contact with her family throughout quarantine. Skype and Zoom have proved invaluable to check-in with grandparents and mark the recent Passover and Easter holidays, both of which we celebrate.
While Saffy is unable to visit Beth’s grandmother, who is in full-time care which is closed to visitors, both my grandmas live independently and we’ve been able to organise some safely-distanced face to face visits. It’s amazing to see the smile on the baby’s face and the even bigger smiles on my grandmas’ faces when they wave at each other.
Saffy clearly misses both her family and friends and it’s sad (relatively, all things considered – I haven’t lost my sense of perspective) that we have had to self-isolate her at a time when she is just starting to become actively sociable. In spite of this, she has maintained her cheery demeanor with a constant smile and on our daily walks, if we do not see anyone, then she simply waves to the trees and plants (the spring blossom is a favourite). The people we do pass have, without exception, been fantastic, making room for our pram before smiling, waving and chatting to Saffy and me in a way you rarely see from strangers outside of a Christmas Day stroll.
Keeping our chin up
So far, it’s really not been so bad. Compared to the experiences of others, we have our health and we have each other. Plus, on the bright side, the quarantine has proved to be a real leveler – our friends without kids no longer make us jealous with their irritating tales of freedom and visits to the latest pop-up restaurant/event/concert. They’re stuck in, like us, watching Tiger King on Netflix every night and going to bed early. We no longer feel like we’re missing out, as there’s nothing to miss out on.
So keep washing those hands, stay safe and if you see my baby in Gatley village on her daily government-sanctioned outdoor exercise, please give her a wave!
Feel free to share your ideas for keeping boredom at bay using the comment box below, we’d love to hear them!
I’ve found it hard to keep us all entertained. I enjoyed reading this and will definitely be trying some of these great tips.
Enjoyed reading this
Loved reading these. We were in lockdown with a baby too! Plus two girls! ;D