Brittany Luvender

New mother Age: 26

Brittany and Jonathon Luvender of Middletown tried for a second child for six years.

Baby Riley Rose arrived by Cesarean section Sept. 17, 2021, three months early. By then, Brittany, 26, was in the hospital with COVID-19 and on a ventilator. She had declined to be vaccinated because she was pregnant.

The day before Brittany’s death on Oct. 1, her husband laid Riley on her chest for a final “skin to skin” snuggle.

“We think Brittany was waiting to make sure her baby was OK,” Jonathon wrote on a GoFundMe page.

Now, Jonathon is moving forward as a single dad. This March, he signed up older daughter Olivia for softball, and all three spent a weekend at an indoor waterpark. He’s looking for a new job and a smaller house.

“I’m good,” he said. “Just keeping my head up and trying to do what’s best for me and my girls.”