Pregnant Mom Fostering Preemie amid Coronavirus Is Protecting Baby in NICU from Pandemic 'Chaos'
A pregnant finance blogger who is caring for a foster child in the NICU is doing her best to shield the child from the chaos the world is currently experiencing due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Crystal Paine, who blogs under the name Money Saving Mom, shared a post to social media Thursday documenting the reality of her situation as the virus continues to rock the country.
“This is what the last 8 days of my life have looked like,” she wrote alongside a photo featuring her cradling the child while wearing a face mask. “Sitting in the rocker in the NICU rocking this tiny preemie we’re fostering and praying.”
Paine, who said she is 34 weeks pregnant with her fourth child, wrote that while she is typically incredibly busy, the virus has all but stopped her in her tracks, and provided ample time to dedicate herself to the child.
“I’m usually a go-getter, a very driven person, who will have 15 balls in the air I’m juggling at any given time,” she wrote. “But right now, this is my season to rock, hold, comfort, and speak words of life to this precious baby. And that is enough.”
She said she’s thought often of how the baby is blissfully unaware of the chaotic world they were born into, and that she’s dedicated to keeping it that way for the time being.
Money Saving Mom/Facebook
“I look down at this bundle I’m holding and realize, this sweet child doesn’t know anything about the chaos or fear going on in the world,” she wrote. “Baby just wants to eat, sleep, and be held. And as long as I’m holding this child, they are almost always completely relaxed in my arms, resting deeply and peacefully.”
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Paine wrote that many people “struggling” amid the outbreak were on her mind, including those who had reached out to her with concerns over financial setbacks, possible job losses and fears over loved ones.
“This virus is personally affecting each of us in big ways,” she wrote. “There are a lot of unknowns in my future right now — as I am positive there are in yours. If I let myself start dwelling on them, I can begin to feel scared and stressed. But God hasn’t given me grace for tomorrow or next month. He is giving me grace for today and I can rest in that.”
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She wrapped her note by writing that she would continue to lean on her religion in the uncertain times to ensure that her future, the future of her NICU baby, of her unborn child, of her three kids and of her husband and business would emerge okay.
“I rest in that and rock on,” she wrote.
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Paine previously wrote that because of the virus, she was the only one from her family allowed to visit the child in the NICU.
She said that the foster placement was “likely a long term placement,” and that the family was “completely smitten” by the child.
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