Update from Shawna in Texas

Nothing hugely new to report from Texas, besides the fact that we're under a shelter-in-place until April 9th (unless extended). So far San Antonio, Austin, Dallas, Waco and some other smaller municipalities have done it too but the list of 'essential services' has me shaking my head sometimes. Apparently the car wash place down the road is considered essential? That being said, I feel a lot better about how our mayor and county judge are handling the crisis, slightly less so about our governor but I'm so pleased that Texas is handling it better than the federal government or even some other states. According to the national news, Trump believes this will all be over and we can 'go back to normal' by Easter - April 12 - and he wants to see everyone in church. I think this is ridiculous and irresponsible to encourage that because there will always be some people who listen and that lack of social distancing is only going to prolong the crisis. As of a few days ago, it was reported that the US now has the largest number of infected people in the entire world...

Tomorrow marks 30 weeks along in my pregnancy and every day I grow less and less optimistic that this will clear up in time for our baby to be born under 'normal' circumstances. I will see my doctor tomorrow for a check up (in person) but hopefully all that changes about my appointments is that they take my temperature and ask how I'm feeling. I've heard of other expectant mothers being moved to phone check ups, which takes out a lot of aspects of a check up and that makes me uneasy.
I did hear about an executive order from the governor of NY state (some hospitals weren't allowing birthing partners in) that all hospitals in the state were going to be required to allow one support person in with each mother, assuming the support person didn't exhibit symptoms. This provides a lot of relief because it sets the precedent for other states (like mine) to allow one support person on compassionate grounds.

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