Lockdown babies!
First-time mum Rachel Philip, 36, from Carmarthenshire, found a Facebook page and a new group of wonderful friends!
Back in January last year, I discovered I was pregnant with my first child. I was absolutely thrilled by the news and quickly started scanning mummy groups online. It wasn’t long before I came across a post on Mumsnet, linking to a Facebook page for babies due in September.
The group had been started by a lady in France named Emelie Valla and around 20 women had already joined.
Almost immediately, we all started sharing our symptoms and results of our initial scans.
Still in the early stages of our pregnancies, none of us had told many people, so it was nice being able to chat with other expecting mums.
For most of us, this was our first time, so it was nice knowing we were all in the same boat.
And when news of the coronavirus came flooding in, we all leaned on one another for support.
As lockdown loomed, we were all due our 20-week scan and none of us knew how it would unfold.
When the national lockdown came into force in March, we were told that not only could our partners not attend the scan, but there would be no face-toface prenatal groups or support.
As a first-time mum, I don’t know how I would have coped if it weren’t for the September Babies 2020 group.
Although Emelie had set it up, we all comforted each other in a time of confusion and distress.
Soon, we created a Whatsapp group so we could talk at all hours of the day.
As my pregnancy went on, I was so grateful for that.
None of us knew what was going to happen and as the months went by, we all started to think about our births.
With partners only allowed in once we were four centimetres dilated, I knew I wanted to hold on as long as possible before going to the hospital.
Babies tend to come when they want, so it was a stressful situation and almost
We all leaned on each other
all of us felt the same.
We all dreaded the risk of giving birth alone and our partners missing the experience.
Thankfully, on 22 September, I welcomed Summer into the world weighing a healthy 8lb 6oz.
I went into hospital once I was passed four centimetres, so my partner was able to stay with me.
However, it wasn’t the experience any of us wanted.
Thankfully, we all gave birth to happy babies, but rather than excitement, a lot of us were filled with dread in the days and weeks before.
Luckily, we all had each other for support.
And as we ventured from pregnancy into motherhood, we relied on each other even more.
At 3am, we always knew someone would be awake if we needed a chat.
Sending pictures and updates, we’ve been there for each other for the entire journey.
I’ve gained 20 new amazing friends, yet I haven’t met a single one of them.
Now we’re heading into weaning, we all help each other out on a daily basis.
I don’t know how I would have coped giving birth during a pandemic if it weren’t for them.
We’re hoping that soon, once all of this is over, we can meet up.
Other than Emelie, we’re all based in the UK, so hopefully it shouldn’t be too difficult to arrange.
When I joined the Facebook group last year, I was just looking for a bit of support and advice.
However, I’ve gained an amazing group of friends who I know will be with me through everything!
Our lockdown babies are so special.