March COVID?

[sifl]

Even though our governments and most other organizations are “moving on,” many of us still need to worry about COVID-19 in our daily life. Let’s talk about it here?

[AmyG]

I'm still wearing my mask and so is dh but we go out and do most anything we want to. I will be the only person wearing a mask and it's mostly not weird to me anymore.

Money cost limits us more from crowded restaurants and movies more than covid worries.

[piratecat]

By some miracle, we're 5 days out from Disney and I think we might be in the clear for COVID *KNOCK ON WOOD* despite 7 out of 14 of us that went getting it and sharing a suite with two of them.

[nelzie]

My biggest concern recently was making it to and through our Disney trip last month and thankfully we somehow managed to do that with none of us catching it. We hadn't been on a vacation in years so I desperately wanted that to go well.

Now we are coming up on our first dance competition season and I'm a little worried not just about covid but every illness because I know those people are crazy and will come even if they are sick.

The hospital has dropped masks again and I'll admit I went without one my last shift. Our patients are generally healthy but if I had someone with any symptoms I would mask.

I do not personally know a single person beyond my immediate family who masks anymore. Even the holdouts seem to have given up. I still do in stores and public transportation and doctor offices. And anywhere stuck inside in a big crowd like my dd2's music concert coming up. I also still limit eating out but sometimes it's the only option.

[sewf]

I still mask at work (retail), the bus, Uber, and the grocery store. Also at DDs school, but it’s a preschool with kids with special meeds, so besides the preschool factor, I also don’t want to get any kids sick who have weaked immune systems.

So I guess pretty much everywhere, since that is pretty much eveywhere I go.

I wish I could go without one, but my anxiety still isn’t there, and I want to find out more about DDs syndrome before I breathe easier.

But also, we have had other illnesses go through the house this winter, and if I can avoid more, I will!

[sewf]

Oh, and everyone I work with still wears a mask at work. Granted, it’s not required for us or customers anymore, but we all do since we are around so many people at work. I think we have all pretty much just gotten used to it. I have coworkers I may not recognize on the street because I haven’t seen their faces much since they started here!

[byjove]

I am the only person that masks at my work. My office mate is coming in more now and doesn’t mask and keeps our office door completely open, and typically I haven’t masked while at my desk, so I’m feeling extra what is the point. I personally mask just about everywhere (the Y is one place I typically don’t- I’ve been swimming most weekends and then shower, though usually there is only one or two other people in the locker room) even if my family doesn’t.

[goldenbird]

I'm still masking at work and when I go into stores by myself and to any appointments. If I'm out on Saturdays with my parents and DS and we're going into Target or something I don't usually wear one. I don't wear one when going into a restaurant since I'm going to be eating and drinking anyway.
I don't wear one to daycare since no one else is wearing one but I have seen a parent here and there wearing one.

I'm hoping to fly to WA in August to visit my friend who is having a baby in June and I plan to mask on the plane and in the airport. I'm aware I might get COVID from the trip but it seems 'worth it' in a way. I'll be going with my bestie who won't be wearing one and so I could get it from her if she picks it up on our way there. But we haven't had it yet that we know of. Like next year we want to do Disney and if we get it we get it. There are some things that we can't just wait forever to do and I'm realizing that.

[mathrun]

My kiddos don’t mask at school anymore mostly because I got tired of fighting them on it. NE pretty much decided COVID was over back in 2021 and never looked back.

MH and I still mask at stores and when we go to indoor events. We haven’t eaten at a restaurant yet. I mostly WFH but when I do go into the office I mask it I’m around people but it’s usually quiet enough I can reserve and office and be on my own unmasked.

I was at University of Iowa hospital a lot back in early Feb and pretty much everyone in their clinics and hospital was masked. In fact the surgery center required a mask for entry. The rest of Iowa, not so much.

[enchanted]

We still get weekly numbers and I keep an eye on those. When they're low, like now, I tend to not mask unless some place is super crowded (or I hear someone hacking up a lung). When they start creeping up again, I mask. I keep a pack of KN-95's in my purse, just in case.

ETA: If some place requires a mask, on one goes. I'll even wear one if they have a sign about not required, but recommended.

[sifl]

Ok I like how this has turned into a masking habits report 😁 I also still wear one everywhere. I let DC not mask at school and I usually don’t wear one when I meet with the teachers, since I figure if it’s going around there we’ll know and DC will have brought it home anyway (it’s a very small school). I’m comfortable meeting friends for lunch if there’s outdoor seating. We work from home so that’s not an issue, although H has traveled for work a couple times and he’s been masking whenever he’s around people on those trips. Still COVID free over here *knocks on all the wood*
Eta oh yeah masking rates are very low around here, but I’m usually not the only one in a mask.

[mrsweasley]

I think we're likely in the clear from our DC wedding trip 🤞🤞🤞 It was the first people-y thing we've done without masks, and frankly probably the first people-y thing we've done at all. We wore them while traveling and other indoor stuff. We saw more people masking in public than we do at home, but it was still the minority

We still wear them when we go in stores and stuff. It was affecting the kid's mental health at school (being bullied 😒), so we let them stop after we all got vaxxed. DS2 asked to put on a mask when we ran into the police station today to dispose of some unused meds, but we literally saw nobody. I'm glad he does well when we do ask him to wear one though

[carmensandiego]

The pictures from March 2020 came up on my memories today. Hoo boy. I had pictures of things we stocked up on at work, the absolute decimation of our grocery store, and the outdoor school we set up for our girls. Looking forward to the books written about this time 15 years from now.

[piratecat]

I can't believe we're coming up on 3 years of when everything shut down.

[elle]

Mar 2, 2023 20:01:10 GMT -6 piratecat said:

I can't believe we're coming up on 3 years of when everything shut down.

Yeah it's really weird to see old pictures - my now 6 year old was 3 and her now 3 year old sister was 4 months when lockdowns hit. And I remember thinking at the time that it was going to last at least until late August/early September (and feeling bad for the poor sods who expected it to last only 6 weeks or so). 😭

[athn64]

Mar 2, 2023 20:19:14 GMT -6 elle said:

Mar 2, 2023 20:01:10 GMT -6 piratecat said:

I can't believe we're coming up on 3 years of when everything shut down.

Yeah it's really weird to see old pictures - my now 6 year old was 3 and her now 3 year old sister was 4 months when lockdowns hit. And I remember thinking at the time that it was going to last at least until late August/early September (and feeling bad for the poor sods who expected it to last only 6 weeks or so). 😭

It could have been over in August/September if we had all stayed strong on lockdown. But alas... 

[nelzie]

I remember thinking it would last a year or two and thinking I was being generous with that 😭

[nelzie]

Mar 2, 2023 20:36:53 GMT -6 athn64 said:

Mar 2, 2023 20:19:14 GMT -6 elle said:

Yeah it's really weird to see old pictures - my now 6 year old was 3 and her now 3 year old sister was 4 months when lockdowns hit. And I remember thinking at the time that it was going to last at least until late August/early September (and feeling bad for the poor sods who expected it to last only 6 weeks or so). 😭

It could have been over in August/September if we had all stayed strong on lockdown. But alas... 

I will never get over this. I have so much anger about how this was handled and how people acted. It didn't fucking have to be like this.

[cakewench]

Mar 2, 2023 21:31:18 GMT -6 nelzie said:

I remember thinking it would last a year or two and thinking I was being generous with that 😭

I remember thinking my husband was being ridiculous when he said I wouldn't be going back to the office until at least 2021, if ever. Like told him not to speak of it because I couldn't fathom it going on that long.

Oh you sweet summer child...

[leahcar]

I am masking for flights and in medical facilities. That's largely it unless I feel ill or am around someone clearly unwell.

We got COVID in our house- twice- while wearing KN95s and skipping most indoor activities because Texas. School is our gap; we have three different public schools' worth of germs coming into our house daily. Even if they mask- we have band and lunch. We've seen little difference since we started loosening things up. We will still be taking all the vaccines offered and choose to skip some indoor, optional activities if case counts are super high.

[cakewench]

I mask at the store, still. I put N in a mask for daycare (at least right now because allergies are making him cough/runny nose - and yes testing him regularly, no other symptoms present; this happens every time we get fake spring in February), but it's 50-50 if he's still wearing it by day's end. Most kids there don't mask anymore.

H works in hospitality and both of his positives in the past year came after not masking at major events (Easter weekend brunches and brunch with Santa). So I told him he's masking at Easter this year, this job is not worth the potential health effects of a third infection in one year. Nope.

[goldenbird]

It's so crazy that it's been 3 Years now. MH went on his fun work trip and I was off for five days and by the time I was back everyone was panic buying. Just absolutely bananas at work. Empty shelves everywhere. No toilet paper and paper towels for weeks. Lines into the aisles every day all day. Then reduced hours and limited people in the store so people had to line up outside and wait.

[klw]

We don’t mask anymore except at medical appointments where it is mandatory. I did a target trip to pick up a few things for DDs birthday wearing a mask because she had tested positive. The few other people wearing masks were elderly and I did notice people looking at me probably wondering why I was wearing. I wanted to say “to keep you people safe from me!”

Ugh as far as timing, I remember my H’s aunt telling me that she wasn’t coming to Easter and probably wouldn’t be there for our Mother’s Day brunch. I was thinking it crazy of her to think this would still be an issue in 6 weeks. Jokes on me. Of course, she still hasn’t come to any family parties since then. She and the uncle barely leave their house. I would be insane.

[addymac]

Man I am so annoyed. N brought home another cold, so I’m back to making him mask, using his cough / snot as the reason but also bc omfg stop bringing home colds. BabyO got this one but luckily it’s just snot and sneezing for him, no coughing, no fever, no worry like when RSV hit. DH caught Ns cold earlier in the week and has been man colding it up 🙄 and I finally crashed on Thursday and I just feel awful.

Ever since I had covid and the post covid cough, anytime I get a cold and cough it goes straight to my chest and I constantly feel like I’m wheezing and struggling harder than DH or N. It reignites my irritation over having gotten covid in the first place and how I was the most affected one out of the 3 of us.

And there’s debate on whether Sudafed / phenylephrine is safe for BFing so feeding BabyO is like a whole thing. I either hold off on meds so I feel extra crappy. Or I med and pump and then dump? But I didn’t dump and I put it separate and then DH lumped all the bottles together so now I’m like- do I dump 2 bottles of milk or just say F it and feed it? My lactation expert coworker isn’t answering my texts 😩

[mrsweasley]

addymac if it's any consolation, phenylephrine has been shown to be basically useless. They only put it in cold meds because it can be sold OTC

www.science.org/content/blog-post/uselessness-phenylephrine

I always avoided decongestants while nursing so I understand your struggle, but I believe the biggest risk is it could dry up your milk ducts and effect supply, not that it's dangerous to the baby. It's hard to decide what's safe though, I get it

[AmyG]

Mar 4, 2023 10:25:55 GMT -6 addymac said:

Man I am so annoyed. N brought home another cold, so I’m back to making him mask, using his cough / snot as the reason but also bc omfg stop bringing home colds. BabyO got this one but luckily it’s just snot and sneezing for him, no coughing, no fever, no worry like when RSV hit. DH caught Ns cold earlier in the week and has been man colding it up 🙄 and I finally crashed on Thursday and I just feel awful.

Ever since I had covid and the post covid cough, anytime I get a cold and cough it goes straight to my chest and I constantly feel like I’m wheezing and struggling harder than DH or N. It reignites my irritation over having gotten covid in the first place and how I was the most affected one out of the 3 of us.

And there’s debate on whether Sudafed / phenylephrine is safe for BFing so feeding BabyO is like a whole thing. I either hold off on meds so I feel extra crappy. Or I med and pump and then dump? But I didn’t dump and I put it separate and then DH lumped all the bottles together so now I’m like- do I dump 2 bottles of milk or just say F it and feed it? My lactation expert coworker isn’t answering my texts 😩

Feed the baby

The worry with Sudafed is more that moms milk dries up some more than any issue with baby.
Occassionally baby gets a bit fussy or sleeps less but you'd probably have notices some of that from the mixed bottles

[AmyG]

Well and yeah phynelephrine is not so helpful for most.
Real life Sudafed is where it's at.

[addymac]

Yeah every time I’ve taken cough medicine my milk supply tanks so I’m very hesitant to take it. And of course I have the worst cough ever that keeps waking him up. I may have to sleep in his room tonight on the futon so my hacking doesn’t wake him up 🤦🏻‍♀️

[klw]

Mar 4, 2023 23:27:16 GMT -6 addymac said:

Yeah every time I’ve taken cough medicine my milk supply tanks so I’m very hesitant to take it. And of course I have the worst cough ever that keeps waking him up. I may have to sleep in his room tonight on the futon so my hacking doesn’t wake him up 🤦🏻‍♀️

I hope that you are feeling better soon!

[trueblue]

addymac, I have experienced the same thing with colds moving right into my chest following a bad bout of bronchitis/pneumonia in 2019. My current treatment regime is generic mucinex for 7 days usually followed by an inhaler for a few days. It really sucks.

I also get Tessalon pearls to help with the hacking cough, IDK if they are safe for nursing but it may help provide some relief (if your medical care provider agrees, I know there are some coughs that you shouldn’t use them with).