ST. LOUIS — Taylor DeClue has many of the same health worries as the rest of the country. But her situation is compounded, because she's quarantining for two.
She's closing out her third trimester, pregnant for her first time with a baby boy.
She came to her hometown of St. Louis on March 12 for a baby shower in her honor, but while she was her celebrating, her new home of New Orleans started closing schools and businesses.
"We just weren't sure what was safe and what wasn't. And we decided it would be safer to keep me here at the time," DeClue said of the choice to ride out the pandemic in Missouri.
DeClue stayed in St. Louis while her fiance flew back for a few days to take care of their home in Louisiana. But the situation was changing so quickly that he didn't waste time returning to DeClue's side.
"The same night, I think within an hour of him getting back into New Orleans, he said 'nope.' He got in his truck and drove right back up 10 hours to get here," DeClue said.
Together, the couple faced a new reality with new choices. Who would be their doctor? What hospital could they use?
"The hospital situation was crazy. It was uncomfortable," DeClue said of her initial visit, in which she was escorted from one location to another while her fiance waited at a distance. "I don't want to say it was sketchy... but it was scary."
DeClue said she was told her family wouldn't be allowed in the delivery room, so they changed course, opting for a home birth with a doula.
As they approach her May 8th due date, their chosen baby name, River, seems more and more appropriate.
"We picked it out beforehand, but it kind of goes with everything. That name is just a reminder for us to go with the flow, so it's perfect," she said.
A perfect name for these imperfect days.
Contact reporter Sara Machi on Facebook and Twitter.