‘This Is Us’ Actress Caitlin Thompson On Difficulties Raising Her First Child During the Pandemic

Caitlin Thompson, who plays Madison on This is Us, opened up to SheKnows about her life raising her son, Ben. with her husband This is Us creator Dan Fogelman.

When asked how her pregnancy went, the actress responded, “I was fortunate to have a really easy pregnancy. I was eating like a toddler; I was very into, like, mac and cheese and peanut butter and jelly!”

The couple spent their time trying to prepare for the baby, especially coming up with names. “That was our Christmas homework. Like, okay, we have three weeks of not working, like, let’s come up with a name. And Ben was kind of the only name that we both agreed on. I think Dan was leaning toward more of the classical names and I was like, oh, can we do something a little unique? But we both loved Ben and we like that it had nicknames — we call him Benny a lot — so we didn’t have to go any further than that.”

As a first time mom during the pandemic, Caitlin Thompson was just glad for the extra time she got with Ben.

When asked about her experience as a mom in the pandemic, she explained “I mean, I’m a first-time mom, so I don’t know what to expect! I don’t know any different, and I guess my baby doesn’t know any different. But it’s been interesting. In some ways, it’s been amazing because the world kind of slowed down and we’ve all been hunkering at home.” But Caitlin Thompson acknowledeges the surprising benefits that came with raising Ben during such difficult times. “I’ve had that time to be there, be present, hang out with him, and just fully dive into being a mom.”

She also explained how, “in other ways, it’s kind of isolating. I’m missing out on all those mommy and me classes! I have my group of friends and we text each other for advice and questions and whatnot. But as far as having that actual community… Hopefully soon.”

Caitlin Thompson’s expectations for her life with her family had to be put on hold. “we had some socially distanced, outside, masked visits with friends — I almost feel like Ben knows people better with a mask than without — but it definitely wasn’t what you expect when you’re pregnant.”

Her experience postpartum however, will feel familiar to any and every mother.

As far as postpartum, I’ve realized that I can function on a lot less sleep than I ever thought I could. I was one of those people that was like, ‘If I don’t get eight hours and I get seven and a half, I can’t function the next day.’ And then all of a sudden, I don’t know what kicked in, if it’s hormones or adrenaline, but I was getting four to five hours, broken up into chunks, and somehow still functioning. So, that was a surprise. And I feel like I’ve toughened up a little bit, which is nice and probably very helpful for the next 18 years.

As a new mom, Caitlin Thompson said that she “was fortunate to have my mom be able to come out when he was born, which was huge because, I mean, I had never changed a diaper before. My husband was in the same boat; we just didn’t know how to do anything with a baby. She kept me fed and made sure that I knew how to give him a bath, and just kind of walk us through and reassured us that we were doing the right thing. So that was amazing.

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Thompson also revealed the reason behind the secrecy of her pregnancy and baby news.

Caitlin Thompson explained to SheKnows that it really just wasn’t on her mind! “It’s not that exciting. I’m just horrible on social media! It’s not my main way of communicating with people. So I like to throw things up when it’s natural and fun and organic and instead of making it something I have to do. But it’s a big life event; it’s fun to share with people and it’s nice to read the comments and everyone wishing me well.”

Caitlin Thompson continued, “It wasn’t calculated by any means. It’s kind of just more, I wanted it to be when it’s the right moment, and then I’ll wait for some milestones… maybe for his one year [birthday] I’ll do another one.”