The pandemic brought life to a standstill in many respects, as residents all over followed stay-at-home orders and isolated with their families, but there’s some things not even a pandemic can stop. All of these beautiful little miracles were welcomed into the world in the midst of the COVID pandemic by families in our community, and their smiling little faces and joy was a great light in a dark time. So here’s a celebration of all the littleones born into quarantine!
Little Leilani Lynn Alderete, was born on the very day that the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus outbreak as a PANDEMIC –March 11, 2020. Weighing in at 6lbs 11oz and 19 3/4 long, her mother Corinna talked about the experience.
“It was interesting!” said mother Corinna Alderette of Devine. “Of course I had heard all about what was going on, but wasn’t thinking about it. I had Leilani at 10:23am and had been in labor since 3:30am that morning. So it wasn’t until I got settled in my room I saw it all over the news. I had no idea what to think of it–being a first time mom. My husband Albert is in the Army and was in another state doing advanced individual training too. I had my family with me, but it was scary. Then to come home and quarantine with no visitors which in a way was a good thing for both me and my newborn. A crazy, best day ever.”
Then, due to a ban on travel, Army Private Albert Alderette wasn’t able to come home as planned in April, so he held his newborn baby girl in his arms this May for the first time.
“My husband actually got to come home on May 6th and met her for the first time!” Corinna adds. “The whole experience nerve wracking….With everything going on and they had a stop movement order going on so we had no idea when he was coming or going so FaceTime was our best friend…It killed him to not be here to see his first child being born.”
“Albert graduated AIT in April and that’s when he was supposed to come home, but due to Covid, and the stop order, he couldn’t. Then we found out on May 5th he was coming home for 3 weeks. It was such a blessing, we will take any time together that we can get!”
For more pictures of new babies, pick up a copy of the June 10 edition of The Devine News!
