69 results for tag: Infant Loss
2016 began with great joy as my husband and I celebrated our first pregnancy—one that quickly ended in miscarriage on January 14, around 7-8 weeks. I had never felt devastation, disappointment, and pain like I experienced over that next several weeks as I grieved a child I had never known.
A few months later, we were again expecting. At 12 weeks, we learned that we were having a son and that he likely had Down Syndrome. We were overwhelmed by fear of the unknown and sadness for what we thought would be a difficult life for our son. As we waited for additional scans to confirm whether or not he did have DS, we felt that we were living in a sort of ...
Our lives were forever changed when our twin girls, Anna and Ella, were born the morning of July 19, 2015 at 27 weeks. Anna was born at 3:31 am and weighed 1 lb. 15.9 ounces and Ella was born at 3:32 am and weighed 1 lb. 15.8 ounces. They were both immediately taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) and we were told to expect them to remain in the hospital for at least 13 weeks (until their due date).
We knew we had a long road ahead of us but we were hopeful they would both come home with us. I am a pediatric nurse practitioner so I made it my full-time job to know every detail of their care. After they were born, Anna seemed to ...
A year after Nate and I married, we found out that I was pregnant with our first precious life. Twelve weeks into that pregnancy, we learned that our baby no longer had a heartbeat, and my heart felt like its own pulse was forever altered.
Two and a half months after our miscarriage, I found out I was pregnant again. There was an excitement and renewed hope I hadn’t tasted in months, and yet a crouching, nagging hesitation left me anxious to grasp onto any certainty that this little one’s life would not end in another miscarriage. My desire to have certainty clouded any ability to see and handle the brutal reality that I have never been, nor ...
Going down this journey opened up a whole new community that I did not know existed. You grow up thinking, Okay I’ll find the right guy, get married and then have children. It never even crosses your mind that you could lose a child. But there are so many mothers out there who do and it needs to be talked about. I find just sharing your story can make all the difference in the world.
I am lucky to call my soulmate my middle school sweetheart. We met in our sixth grade math class and have been together ever since. I know now looking back, God had destined for us to meet so early because of the bond we would need to face the road ahead.
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May 13, 2014 started out like any other day…I dropped off my oldest at school and the two younger boys at daycare. At the time, my daughter Lilly was 7, David was 3, and Matthew was almost 4 months old, he was born on January 14, 2014. My family felt complete. I was the happiest I had ever been, content with life. Later that morning I was told I was needed in the conference room at work; there I met two police officers who told me my son Mathew had passed away at daycare. Shock immediately set in. I didn’t know what to think, what to feel, or what to do. The next few days and weeks were a blur; devastation, hopelessness, sorrow, ...
My husband, Matt, and I are high school sweethearts. We've been together since I was 15 and he was 16. We dated four years, married a year after we graduated high school, put each other through college, and had a relatively easy first eight years of marriage.
Since I was a little girl, all I ever wanted was to be a wife and mother. In the spring of 2003, we decided it was time to start our little family. On August 9 of that same year, we found out I was pregnant for the first time. We were elated and anxious to tell our families, as this would be the first grandchild on both sides. But, sadly, four days later, I miscarried. It was heartbreaking. ...
Two Octobers ago we were living in Colorado when I had my first positive pregnancy test. My husband Ryan and I had been praying for a child. While we were both so excited, I could not shake the feeling that something might not have been right. Ryan had to leave for military training for the early months of my pregnancy, and that didn’t help. I struggled with antepartum depression and had only just come out of the woods when Ryan was finally able to come back, just in time for us to learn that our first baby was a little girl! We named her Eden Olivia. A few weeks later at Eden’s anatomy scan, the technician had to step away to get the doctor ...
After just 6 months of marriage my husband and I were overjoyed to find out we were pregnant with our first child only to discover 3 months later that our little girl, Sophia Kyla, had a fatal neural tube condition called anencephaly and would not live once born. When 95% of babies diagnosed with a fatal condition are terminated, we were determined to carry her to term and celebrate every moment of her life no matter the cost. As Sophie’s story began to unfold, our community rallied around us to help us celebrate Sophie’s short life. Unbeknownst to Kevin and I, a secret Facebook page had been created for our friends to help us celebrate each ...
After almost a year of trying, we finally got pregnant with our second baby and were able to surprise my Dad on Father’s Day with the news. Just six short weeks later on July 26, our family got the worst blow we have ever experienced when we lost my Dad (only 52) unexpectedly in an electrical accident while working under my parent’s farmhouse. A week to the day following his accident I started experiencing complications and was immediately sent to my doctor’s office for an ultrasound. Much to my relief there was still a strong heartbeat, everything seemed fine and I was instructed to rest.
The complications continued though and I spent ...
Memories can be triggered by sights, sounds, or smells. Every time I see a Hershey's bar, I think of my dad. He loved them! A good memory – along with the pain of the loss.
We never know when a memory will be brought to mind. A recent memory was triggered by a place. This memory goes back 33 years.
A friend had been on bed rest due to bleeding and early contractions at 24.5 weeks. We got the news (amazing how with social media and texting you hear about things as they are happening!) that her water broke and she would deliver that day – at 27 weeks. We were still at a church ministry event when my friend's Oma (German for grandmother) ...
