New mom shares occupational therapy for other moms during pandemic

BOSTON — Victoria Cronin gave birth to her baby boy Cullen Thomas on March 30, right as everything closed down in Massachusetts for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“So it’s been just Cullen, me and our dog most days and it can get lonely and overwhelming for sure,” said Cronin.

As if having a newborn wasn’t enough of a challenge, she says it’s been difficult not being able to see her family for support, especially after her husband went back to work.

“It’s definitely not what we pictured, you know, we pictured my mother-in-law, my mom, my sisters coming over and helping out, everyone had a weekend they were coming if they were from out of town and then it sort of all got halted,” said Cronin.

Many new moms can agree, having a baby during this pandemic hasn’t been easy.

“I think having a new baby, especially your first child can be overwhelming and isolating anyway, and the fact that we’re all in quarantine, we’re kind of cut off from our support system,” said Nasson.

Anne Nasson is a pediatric occupational therapist, and she also just had her first baby two months ago.

While isolated at home with her own newborn, Nasson decided to share her skills with other new moms and created a Facebook page called OT Skills 4 Kids.

“Typically I’m posting about tummy time or motor skill development, visual tracking, things like that, just different ways to help kids achieve those motor milestones,” said Nasson, who would usually visit new moms in person to help them with motor skill development for their newborns.

Nasson doesn’t just post tips for babies on her new page, she’s also sharing mental health advice for moms.

“Especially during this pandemic, I think anxiety can be really high because we’re so isolated and because we’re going through so many hormone fluctuations,” said Nasson.

Cronin agrees that it’s been emotional so far, but she’s thankful for the resources available online for new moms, and of course, the virtual support from family and friends.

“Cullen doesn’t know any different, but everyone else feels the pain of not being able to hold him or give him kisses, and so that’s been like really hard emotionally I think,” said Cronin.

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