So much goes into social distancing and coronavirus prevention.
So much goes into having a baby.
And if doing both, sometimes there are crossovers and contradictions. You've got to interact with strangers, go to a hospital filled with the ill, and then bring a baby into a world, which is unlike the world you've known for all your years.
Just imagine having a baby in April 2020.
"Everything leading up to it, and after it, is very different," said Blues defenseman Carl Gunnarsson, whose wife, Josefin, gave birth to a boy on April 4. "We were careful and cautious, a little bit scared of what could happen to a pregnant woman and a newborn baby, so we were just reading about it, (looking) if there had been any cases of coronavirus. We just really didn't leave the house at all before (the birth), and not even after. And that's the tough part _ family members and friends can't come over and say 'hi' and look at the baby. It's a big difference. It is what it is."
For many who have experienced it, having a baby can create emotions you didn't even know you could emote. Thoughts you've never thought suddenly seize your brain. You wonder how something so sweet and beautiful and little can be so terrifying. And that's all in normal life circumstances. We are now all embedded in the abnormal.
Otis Gunnarsson was born the day that Blues would've played their final regular-season game. Of course, the season has stopped _ the Blues are frozen in first place in the Western Conference. Carl and Josefin are still in St. Louis _ "She's feeling great, as great as you can feel, five days here after," Carl said by phone on Thursday. With the baby born on 4/4, the Blues' No. 4 now has a family of four. Elise, 2{, is now an older sister.
"We had our first here in St. Louis," said Gunnarsson who is from Sweden, as is his wife. "And the service and the help we got was outstanding. The hospital _ we went to Missouri Baptist _ was unbelievable, so we did the same thing again. It was great, but a little different this time.
"First of all, you see all the nurses and doctors wearing masks. You're not allowed to even roam around in the hallway. Last time, we got in and were getting ready for everything, you wanted to walk around, grab a coffee down in the cafeteria, but now you have to stay in your room. Same thing with postpartum _ we just stayed in the room for 24 hours right after the birth. It was kind of weird. ... But the nurses and doctors were great. We talked to them about how crazy it is for them to be working right now during all of this commotion. They're heroes right now. We were super-happy to be helped like that. ... That should be recognized more. I think that should be more on a daily basis."
In a room with a woman who just gave birth, and doctors and nurses working during coronavirus times, the hero was humbled by these heroes.
"What we do is a game, it's for fun, it's entertainment," said Gunnarsson, who famously scored the overtime goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. "These guys, they're doing the big stuff. The real stuff. Anytime you see them and they help you out _ or help out someone close to you _ you really realize how important they are. It was nice to tell them to their faces."
Or these days, to their face masks.
The Gunnarssons also made gift baskets with some snacks for their doctors and nurses. But then Carl worried and wondered if they should've done that, "with the germs and everything going around." Then it dawned on him that if there was anyone who would be careful and disinfect a packaging, it would be a health care worker. But we all seem to do a lot of overthinking these days.
Josefin's parents had planned to visit after Otis' birth. With the borders closed, they remained in Sweden. Being on FaceTime can be heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. One Swede did make it over to the house. Blues forward Alexander Steen stopped by with his wife and child.
"They kept their distance," Gunnarsson said. "You kind of give them a wave even though you want to give them a big hug and say 'hi.' But that's the way things are right now. Health and safety first. ... So it's just the four of us at the house. We're staying put, just like everyone else, getting bored and hanging out. But that's what we do."
Daddy and daughter will sometimes play in the pool. Inside the house, Elise is often running around and dancing around, and dad keeps up with her like he's chasing a speedy winger. Overnight, Josefin is doing regular feedings _ Carl knows that when Otis switches to bottles, dad won't get as many hours of sleep.
If the hockey season was happening, the Blues would've been in the first round of the playoffs now. In the past 20 years, only once has a team won consecutive Stanley Cups. The boys seemed poised to defend their championship.
"As bad as it is not playing and not doing normal life stuff," Gunnarsson said, "the kind of silver lining is I can be home and help out a ton _ we're two sharing the load right now instead of me being on the road and playing games. So for me, it's fun to be home with the family. For her, it's a little relief with some help around the house."
