Due date in 3 weeks and feeling anxious about the current Covid situation

[MichB86]

Basically that, had a mini melt down tonight about the fact that due date is 3 weeks a way and things are looking pretty bleak Covid wise.

I’m scared that someone in our household will catch it or we will have to isolate and I will have to have the baby alone. We have a 5 year old at school where two bubbles have already been sent home to isolate because of positive tests and a 9 year old step daughter who we have half the week who is at a different school and she has a little sister who attends another childcare setting so I feel like we are sitting ducks my husband also has a job where he has to go into other peoples houses all day long.

Another worry is who will come in and look after our 5 year old and 3 year old when labour starts, my parents are in their 70s and have underlying health issues in particular COPD but are still desperate to help out but I’ve explained why this isn’t sensible (not that their listening) or there’s my mother in law who is basically mixing with whoever and going abroad next week so could well have to isolate when she gets back.

I understand that there must be loads of people in this situation and I’m lucky in that it’s not my first so I know what to expect.

I’ve just felt really overwhelmed by the whole thing tonight and don’t know if I’m being over the top by just wanting to lock myself away until after the babies born.

I have moments of panic too (I'm due twins) but then i tell myself that the number of people testing positive is actually a tiny fraction of the population and the numbers only "appear" high because we are testing 10x as many people as we were in March (200,000 per day as opposed to 20,000) and also doing targeted testing and testing anyone who has symptoms which was not the case back in March. Whilst it's right to be cautious the chance of catching it is actually really low

Csection planned for 3 weeks time so same boat and time frame. My hospital never eased lockdown restrictions so I know pretty much where I stand. I'm gutted that postnatally I won't be allowed any visitors and have requested a discharge less than 24 hours after surgery.

@MichB86 you aren't overreacting by wanting to isolate yourself, I think. If it's the one thing you can completely control in the situation so if it helps you then do it.

Do you have any family friends that are less vulnerable that could step in to watch your kids if needed or a reliable childminder? It sounds like you shouldn't be counting on your mother in law I m afraid.
Is there any possibility of one of your children staying at home for a few weeks to decrease the risk a little or changing the arrangement with your step daughter temporarily?

I m considering just leaving the house for my midwife appointments from 37 weeks onwards, it's the one thing I can control right now so if the worst does happen I know I ll feel better that I ve tried my best.

@1990shopefulftm

I have got other family who would come but I feel like my 3 year old would traumatised if he woke up to someone he wasn’t particularly familiar with and that would just be stress me out probably more than being on my own at the hospital.

Changing arrangements with step daughter is something we’ve briefly touched upon but husband makes the point it could be 3 weeks or closer to 5 so not really an option he feels comfortable with or that’s practical.

My 5 year old has done so well at settling in his first year at reception that I would feel awful to take him out at this point as I thought he would really struggle to being quite sensitive.

My husband was saying tonight based on the figures how unlikely it is we are actually going come into contact with the virus and that we just need to be careful without losing our minds about it.

I think I had naively assumed things wouldn’t start getting bad again until November time.

Good luck everyone hope things going smoothly for you all x

I'm due in 6 weeks and having similar thoughts. DH is a teacher in a huge secondary and my daughter is at the childminder... we've all got a cold now (no Covid/test criteria symptoms) which just makes me feel like a sitting duck because we've been careful and still suffering with a cold. I was hoping for a home birth and desperately don't want to give birth alone in a hospital...

I sometimes think a home birth is the answer for my situation as I’ve had two pretty straightforward births and second was very fast, but I always feel so much calmer once at hospital and that I’m in the right place if anything should go wrong.