Being in lockdown has been hard on everyone. Everything is different: Grocery stores have changed, how we work has changed, and hospital visiting policies are not the same. For pregnant people, these new policies are changing their plans for enjoying their pregnancy (you can’t run out to get a craving at any time) and how labor and birth go. For many families who have older children, hospital policies prevent older kids from entering the hospital to meet their new baby brother or sister — a ritual many parents and thrilled older siblings look forward to.
One family came up with a creative idea to introduce their children to their new bundle of joy, and it’s adorable.
Justin and Amy Craig were expecting their fourth child, a boy named Brock, and their older three girls were excited at the chance to meet their new family member, according to the Facebook page for WAFB News. Amy was planning to deliver the baby at Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Because of the virus, the hospital has limited access for guests and children, so the family’s plan to gather and meet the latest member of the family had to change.
Sometimes, the best ideas come out of needing to find a creative solution, and this family is just one example of that.
Instead of waiting until mom and the new baby were released from the hospital to meet their new little brother, they went a different route. Big sisters Addison, Kennedy and Cora, with the help of their grandparents, decided they wanted to everyone at the hospital to enjoy this moment. And that’s what they did, without entering the hospital and breaking the strict visitation rules in place.
The girls made a giant “We love you” sign for their little brother and went to the hospital.
The three girls and their grandparents went to the parking lot of the hospital, which the hospital room for their mom, dad, and new brother overlooked. They coordinated with the parents for the cutest moment. The girls and grandparents held up the sign with balloons, while their dad, holding newborn Brock, went to the window to show off their new brother.
WAFB News shared the photo the family took, and the joy can be seen in everyone’s faces.
Mom Amy wrote a quick note under the photo thanking everyone for their sweet comments.
“Thanks, everyone! We are all so happy!,” she wrote on Facebook. “My parents are too sweet to make this happen for the girls and us…then of course having it posted here is the icing on the cake! Thanks for making this time so special for us!”
Many parents are getting creative during this time to introduce their new babies to family members.
Because visits of any kind, even at home, are being very strongly discouraged right now, many parents are turning to video calls or window meetings to make these memories. In the comment section of Amy’s photo on WAFB, another proud grandma shared a photo of her grandson meeting his new sister through the window too.
Although all of these restrictions make us change our plans, it’s been fun to see the creative ways people are working around these important rules and forming great bonds in doing so.
