A Preemie Grows Up: Pandemic Edition

Well, here we are in 2020. It's been a few years now since my family's journey through the NICU and the two years that followed of RSV isolation, specialists and interventionists. If you had asked me if I'd ever have to do the isolation thing again, I'd have given my speech about how once through the NICU was enough for me. Yet, here we are.

I hope families are coping as well as they can and enjoying the quiet moments together. There have been some beautiful moments for our family that I know wouldn't have been possible in a regular year. 

There have also been moments of great fear and loss. I lost my father in September. Not to COVID19, but the pandemic affected my family's ability to be there for my mother or visit my father during his 5 months in the hospital. 

My former preemie is navigating the virtual learning world very well. I know this won't be true for all families. He has hypotonia and sensory processing issues, so sitting still and quiet for hours in a classroom has never been one of his strengths. The ability to stand as needed and the mute button have done wonders for his interactions with his teachers this year. As an only child, he is feeling the impact of less interaction with peers. My husband and I do our best to mitigate the effects, but only time will really tell the impact of the social aspect of virtual learning.

Some of the ways our family is coping with this unusual year:

1. A detailed schedule. In the beginning, we all just fell into the barely get dressed, barely feel human mode. By the end of April, we knew something needed to give so my husband devised a very detailed family schedule including outdoor activities and indoor family and alone time. We don't always follow it to the max, but it helps us focus our time on the things that matter to our family's physical and mental health.
2. At home adventures. We purchased an inexpensive projector and hanging screen that can be used indoors or outdoors. We had movies on the porch. Campouts in the family room. Nerf gun battles and played hide and go seek. We had an outdoor family game tournament. Anything to break the monotony and come together for some family fun.
3. Nature walks. Outdoor walks at the park, fishing, hiking have been the background for some of my best pictures and favorite memories from this year. 
4. Tuning out the noise. I've taken a few social media breaks this year. I've chosen a few trusted sources for news and updates and I turn the rest off.
5. Closing the office and classroom at the end of the day. We have rearranged our home about 10 times this year in order to find the best configuration for living, working, and schooling at home. We finally settled on turning a large bedroom into a classroom/office with 3 work spaces and a reading nook. At the end of the day, those PCs go off and the door gets shut. 

Happy holidays and a safe, happy and healthy 2021 to all!