In this heartbreaking period when thousands of people have died from the coronavirus in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, it’s important to remember that life goes on.
Here, The Post celebrates 12 infants who entered this altered world since the outbreak began, revealing incredible stories of their parents’ fortitude and joy.
“I had my baby and was immediately put on a ventilator.”
Alicia Anderson, born March 22, 2020, at Jack D. Weiler Hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, The Bronx
At 33 weeks pregnant, Octobeya Scott was hospitalized for COVID-19-related pneumonia.
After five days, she was discharged from Albert Einstein Hospital in The Bronx — only to return four hours later in an ambulance. The special education teacher’s lungs were filled with fluid, and she was gasping for air. And it wasn’t just her life on the line.
“It was scary and I was panicking,” says Scott, 30. “My husband, Kevin, and I were told my only option was to have the baby early by C-section and then be intubated and put on a ventilator, possibly for as long as two weeks … Later, my mom told me that the doctors said they couldn’t guarantee I’d pull through.”
The stricken woman received a general anesthetic while 5-pound, 7-ounce Alicia was safely delivered and sent to the NICU. Then the mom was intubated.
Fortunately, her condition stabilized enough for her to be taken off the ventilator after five hours — much earlier than originally feared.
“I guess I improved because the baby had been in a position where she had been pressing against my lungs,” says Scott.
Mom and baby were kept apart for five days, until Scott had recovered enough to meet her premature but healthy daughter for the first time.
“It was very emotional when her little incubator was wheeled into my hospital room,” Scott says.
The duo returned to the family’s Bronx home on March 28, when Alicia finally met her relieved FedEx worker dad and big sisters, Alana, 9, and 5-year-old Arianna.
“It’s been a very traumatic six weeks,” adds Scott. “But we got through it.”
“My husband watched our daughter’s birth over FaceTime.”
Olivia Rose Wilson, born on March 26, 2020, at Mount Sinai West hospital, Manhattan.
In the operating theater, as a doctor pressed a scalpel into her abdomen, Melanie Prudhomme clutched her iPhone.
The 40-year-old mom from East Harlem gave birth during the five days when most hospitals in New York prohibited women’s partners from entering the delivery room because of COVID-19. So she filmed her cesarean section for husband Eric Wilson, 46, so he could see every stage of baby Olivia’s birth from their apartment.
“I could hear Eric gasp when the baby emerged,” says Prudhomme, an employee of the United Nations whose husband works with the city’s homeless. “It wasn’t the same as him being there physically, but it was the next best thing.”
The couple’s 2-year-old, Alice, met the new addition on FaceTime a few minutes later, after she woke up from a nap.
“She said, ‘I love you, baby sister,’ and everyone in the operating theater teared up,” says Prudhomme.
The ban on maternity ward support was lifted by Governor Andrew Cuomo two days after Olivia’s arrival. But Prudhomme says her birth was still “moving” and “special” — just like her baby girl.
“It takes a special soul to greet this chaotic world under really crazy circumstances and be an instant beacon of light and peace,” says Prudhomme.
“I tested positive for COVID-19 the day my son was born.”
Isaac Hai Kruman, born March 31, 2020 at Mount Sinai West Hospital, Manhattan.
When Jennifer Kruman, 33, of Crown Heights, Brooklyn, suffered a stuffed-up nose and loss of smell around 10 days before her third child was due, she put it down to sinusitis.
The mom, an executive director at Estee Lauder, only discovered she had the coronavirus 12 hours after giving birth to baby Isaac, after a mandatory test administered on her arrival at the labor and delivery ward.
“My neighborhood is a huge COVID hub, and I think my two older kids might have brought it back home right before the schools closed,” Kruman says.
Thankfully, it was a mild case and the mom was discharged with Isaac — who tested negative — after 24 hours.
“I wear a mask around him as a precaution, and can’t wait to be able to take it off and kiss him soon,” says Kruman.
“My husband was turned away and missed the birth.”
Luca Kuehnen, born March 27, 2020, at Mount Sinai West, Manhattan.
Sasha Arguelles, 35, bade farewell to husband, Dean Kuehnen, 45, in the hospital lobby when he was turned away by staff.
Like Prudhomme, her labor happened within the short window of time during which women’s partners were barred from the delivery room.
“We waved goodbye and Dean said, ‘You will do great,’ ” says Arguelles, a Johnson & Johnson product developer who lives in Jersey City, NJ. “But I knew my experience was going to be very different than the birth 18 months earlier of our daughter, Arianna, when Dean was obviously present.”
Mercifully, Luca arrived safe and sound with the help of attentive doctors and nurses, who all wore masks.
“Dean met his son for the first time the day after, in the lobby, when he came to pick us up,” says Arguelles. But celebrating would have to wait: “It wasn’t a particularly romantic moment because we needed to get the baby away from the hospital as quickly as possible.”
“My daughter’s name means ‘mighty in battle.’”
Matilda Haswell, born March 20, 2020, at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, Conn.
Telehealth worker Hayley Haswell, 31, was very anxious in the week leading up her second daughter’s birth.
“I was terrified that either my husband, Ashton, would show symptoms and not be allowed to be there for the birth, or that I would get sick and be separated from the baby,” the Middletown, Conn., resident tells The Post.
They got lucky. Neither of those scenarios occurred and the birth went smoothly.
“There was definitely an odd atmosphere, but the staff made me feel safe and in the moment during and after my labor and delivery,” says Haswell.
She named her baby Matilda, meaning “mighty in battle” — appropriate, given the unusual circumstances of her arrival.
“The coronavirus broke up my birth team.”
Nova Lorraine Hayes, born March 20, 2020, at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers, NY.
Allison Bodack had the perfect plan in place for her March birth: Her partner, Dante Hayes, 36, would be there, as he had been for the birth of her sons Dante, now 14, and Jayden, 11. But so would her best friend, Jennifer Lang — a little extra girl-power for the arrival of Lang’s longed-for first daughter.
So the mom of two was disappointed when new coronavirus procedures meant that Lang couldn’t be there on the big day.
“But we soon made the best of it, and Dante was a huge support,” says the 35-year-old mom of three of Yonkers, NY.
The proud parents, both of whom work for Costco, were delighted to welcome Nova — meaning “new” — to their family.
“We called her Nova because it’s a new start for us, considering the big age gap between her and her big brothers,” says Bodack.
“We did our newborn photo shoot over FaceTime.”
Ryder Greenberg, born March 30, 2020, at NewYork Presbyterian – Weill Cornell in Manhattan.
Hallie Greenberg had set her heart on a professional newborn shoot for her baby boy, Ryder.
She’d booked New York City photographer Steph Mann well in advance — but the shoot was canceled due to social distancing rules and potential health risks.
Determined not to miss out, Greenberg, 33, and husband, Sean, 34, did a virtual photography session via FaceTime with Mann at their Upper East Side apartment.
“Stephanie talked us through making the best of the natural light, using backgrounds like earth-toned blankets and supporting Ryder’s head and tushie with hidden washcloths,” says public relations worker Greenberg, who took the pictures on her iPhone and sent them to Mann for edits. “We are delighted with the results.”
“The baby’s grandparents jetted in from Guam, but couldn’t see him for 14 days.”
Charley Theodore Lei Lorenzen, born March 13, 2020, at Mount Sinai West Hospital, Manhattan.
First-time mom Pinsi Lei, 29, was concerned her parents would be twiddling their thumbs arriving in Manhattan from their home 8,000 miles away in Guam, two weeks before her due date.
“I thought the baby was going to come late,” says the digital marketing worker, who lives on the Upper West Side and is married to public relations CEO Richard Lorenzen, 28.
Wrong! Lei went into labor the day after they arrived, and son Charley was born 30 hours later. But despite their prescient arrival time, Wanda Wang and Jan Lei weren’t allowed to meet their new grandson just yet.
“They self-quarantined for 14 days and would bring us food and groceries, dropping them off at our door,” says Lei. “They would catch glimpses of Charley in the distance.”
But the little boy was worth waiting for.
“It was very emotional when they finally got to hold him,” says Lei, whose in-laws on Long Island have yet to meet Charley.
“My baby was born just seven minutes after I arrived at the hospital.”
Macy Halpern, born March 24, 2020, at NYU Langone Hospital, Manhattan.
The moment Christina Lewis, 40, entered the hospital lobby, she was ready to push.
But she had to count down the minutes while her husband, Daniel, 47, went through a temperature check — part of pandemic protocol at the Manhattan medical center.
“I was thinking I needed to get to a delivery room as quickly as possible,” says Lewis, who’s the founder of a non-profit coding organization. “I could feel the baby coming.”
Her contractions started around 1 a.m., she was formally admitted at 2:24 a.m. — and her newborn, Macy, entered the world at 2:31 a.m.
Siblings Calvin, 8, and Sasha, 5, met Olivia on a video chat before excitedly greeting her at their Greenwich Village home the next morning.
That day, posting an adorable photo of Macy on her Instagram, Lewis wrote: “What a world, that perfection can come in the midst of a disaster.”
“I gave birth to premature twins.”
Eva Thomasina Devlin and Julia Margaret Devlin, born March 27, 2020 at NYU Langone Hospital, Manhattan.
Amanda Devlin was scheduled for a C-section at 38 weeks. But her impatient twin girls made their debut a little early.
Ten days before her scheduled delivery, “I went into labor naturally, so my doctor decided to do the C-section immediately,” says Devlin, who works in procurement and who was considered high risk at the age of 37.
Thankfully, Devlin’s husband, James, 37, was able to attend the birth — despite other hospitals banning support people at the time.
“He had to be monitored every eight hours to make sure he was fever-free during our three-day stay,” says Devlin, whose husband is a lawyer. “I am just incredibly grateful that he was around for the surgery and recovery process.”
Despite being premature, the fraternal twins were healthy and discharged to the family home in Astoria, Queens, where their sisters, 3-year-old Reina and 18-month-old Leah, were waiting to meet them. At birth, Julia weighed just 1 ounce more than Eva at 6 pounds, 6 ounces.
“Their big sisters simply adore them,” says Devlin. “They keep bringing blankets and fussing over them.”
“I set up a support group for other moms.”
Justin Shikarides, born March 15, 2020 at Greenwich Hospital, Conn.
Maria Shikarides and her husband, Gus, come from big Italian and Greek families. They had hoped for at least 10 people to be waiting at the hospital for her first baby’s arrival.
But when the day came, only Gus, a 33-year-old insurance worker, was allowed to accompany Maria to her planned C-section.
Although they had a “positive experience” overall, “it was a scary time,” says Shikarides, a speech pathologist from Valhalla, NY.
When she returned home with Justin, she felt overwhelmed and emotional. In an effort to help herself and others, she set up a supportive Facebook group called “Bringing a Newborn Into This Pandemic – Westchester County.”
The page now has more than 100 members, consisting of expectant and new moms.
“We swap information and keep each other informed,” says Shikarides. “It’s acted as succor during these uncertain times.”