What were your initial thoughts about how lockdown would affect you?

I found out I was pregnant a couple of weeks before the first lockdown. I had suffered a miscarriage a few months before so I was already very nervous and the thought of a pandemic was terrifying. My son has suffered from severe chest infections every winter since he was born so I was especially anxious for him before we knew how the virus would play out. 

I started working from home a week before lockdown and felt quite relieved when the rest of the country followed suit. I must be naturally paranoid as I have always bulk bought toilet roll and soap, so we were well prepared!

What was the reality of the first lockdown for you?

My husband and I were both working full time and my son, who was 3 at the time, was home with us. I would get up at 5am and try to get as much work done as I could before he got up, then we would juggle him between us during the day. I was still in early pregnancy at this point so by the afternoon I had to go and have a rest before spending the evening preparing for the next day. 

As the pregnancy progressed my physical health deteriorated as did the mental health of our son. He became quite fearful of going outside in case he got ‘the germs’ and I was unable to walk more than a few steps so we became extremely isolated. It was absolutely the most stressful time of our lives and to not be able to physically move more than a few steps really magnified those feelings. 

Have things changed over time for you as the restrictions have been eased and toughened?

I was in the later stages of pregnancy when restrictions started to ease so I was still having to shield, and when my baby had been born and I felt comfortable enough to take him out they tightened again. I found the easing of restrictions quite tough - I was very anxious about catching the virus and something happening to the baby or not being able to care for him, and seeing people meeting up made me feel more isolated. 

Things were relaxed and people started to meet each other but didn’t want to risk infecting us so we didn’t really see anyone. It felt especially strange as usually when you have a new baby you have nothing but visitors, he felt like an amazing little secret. 

Have there been easy/positive aspects of lockdown?

Having a newborn in lockdown has been very relaxed - with our first child we had lots of visitors and trips to see family. This time we just enjoyed getting to know our new person. Staying home in pyjamas was what everyone was doing so it didn’t make maternity leave seem so different from everyone else’s life.  My family live all over the country/world so regular video calls were already part of our lives, so keeping in contact with them has been easy. 

Has your work been affected?

The company I work for was taken over in January 2020 so the company has completely changed since I went on maternity leave. I’ve been grateful to have been off since August so I haven’t had to think about that side of things too much.  

What has helped you get through lockdown?

My children. You can’t take a day off from them and they force me (sometimes physically!) to get up in the morning. I’m so proud of how my son has coped with it all and although he still has meltdowns (he is 4, after all), he’s so wonderfully caring. And having a newborn has given me the purpose and focus I needed to keep going. 

Have you learnt anything, during lockdown, that you will want to carry forward as it is eased? Are there things that you might even miss?

I have some sensory issues and really struggled working in an open plan office. While working from home with a toddler is extremely stressful, when he went back to nursery it was quite serene. It’s really made me re-evaluate what I want from my job when I return and I’ll really be pushing for flexible working. 

My son has gone from a toddler to a child this past year and I think I would have missed out on a lot of that development had he not been home so much. While the lockdown really made me value my personal space I also have really loved that extra time to see my kids changing every day.