They say it takes a village to raise a child, but what happens when you have a child and don’t get that village? What happens when you have your baby right at the beginning of a global pandemic and have zero access to any of the support networks or communities you had expected to access? This is exactly what happened to this week’s guest, Rebecca De Ornelas.

The early days of COVID and the pandemic affected so many people in so many different ways, and Rebecca is here this week to share her incredible story of having a baby right at the beginning of the COVID pandemic in New York City. From her husband getting sick right after leaving the hospital and having to isolate, leaving Rebecca to care for her newborn baby alone, to Zoom lactation consultants unable to address her struggles with breastfeeding—Rebecca’s experience of being a new mom was nothing like she expected. In this episode, you’ll hear the very relatable struggles of two full-time remote working parents juggling a newborn without any help, what it was really like having a newborn baby in lockdown, and the one thing Rebecca wishes she had heard in the early days and thinks all of us moms need to hear a lot more often.

“You're telling me I can have it all, at the detriment of my mental and physical health for me to try and have it all. . . I was going to be a working mom and I was going to have to do everything at a hundred percent. A hundred percent committed to my job, a hundred percent committed to my motherhood and a hundred percent committed to keeping my child and my family safe in a pandemic.” - Rebecca

In This Episode:

- Zoom burnout is real. Here’s how it affected Rebecca’s experience of being a mom to a newborn…

- Rebecca shares her experience of trying to breastfeed while experiencing issues during a lockdown.

- Discover how the pandemic changed the trajectory of Rebecca’s life.

- When she was pregnant, Rebecca dreamed of having a group of mom friends around her. Instead, this was her reality…

- Learn how she and her husband maintained their marriage with a newborn during the pandemic.  

- Hear Rebecca’s experience of trying to operate as the person she was pre-motherhood and pre-pandemic and do it all.

If you want to connect with fellow moms or simply want to share your personal journey as a mom, connect with us here: https://mamaihearyou.com/

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