Little Liam self-isolated for a few days longer than planned
HAVING a baby at any time is stressful, even more so when it’s your first. Add in a global pandemic, a deadly virus and a nation in lockdown, and things should realistically become even more difficult.
Yet despite some initial concerns, Eryka Maguire says the arrival of her first child was not as stressful as one might imagine.
‘For other pregnant women who might be concerned about having a baby in the current situation I would say it’s not that bad really,’ she says. ‘It’s scary thinking about it but once you’re in the midst of it you don’t think about anything outside of the hospital walls.’
In Eryka’s case those hospital walls were at Wexford General Hospital (WGH) where, on April 25 at 8.13 p.m., Liam Philip Rochford arrived, a mere eight days behind schedule.
‘He’s grand now, there’s a not a bother on him,’ says Eryka of the little boy named after his great-grandfather. ‘When it all started I was more worried for him than myself. I was still working at the time, in a hotel, and I was sent home.
‘After that I’d stayed inside and my partner Stephen did all the shopping. Even though pregnant women weren’t categorised as high-risk it was safer to stay inside.’
Praising the staff at WGH for their support and care, and especially mid-wife Bernie, Eryka says one of the most difficult adjustments was attending appointments without Stephen.
‘I had to go to the hospital for a trace on my stomach and he wasn’t allowed to come with me for that, he wasn’t allowed come to any of the ante-natal classes either.
‘For the birth, Stephen was only allowed to join me when I was in active labour. They were great in the hospital though, it was fine really, Bernie came in for a chat after,’ she says.
Now safely at home, Liam has thus far received visits from grandmothers McGuire and Rochford, but only from outside the window of the house.
‘They’ve come to the window for a look but no further,’ Eryka says. ‘He has Grandad O’Grady, Great Grandad Philip, Great Great Nanny Sheila, Great Nanny and Grandad O’Grady. We’re hoping that by May 18 they’ll able to come to the back garden, we’ll still practise social distancing. And then in June, when the restrictions ease further, they’ll hopefully be able to hold him.’