“I pegged it as her being annoyed I had my kids with me at the hospital. I later realized she was just trying to keep it together. Smiles quickly faded as doctors, nurses, and specialists crowded in the room. I called my mom in the middle of her workday. ‘What’s going on? Is everyone okay?’ For the first time ever, I answered, ‘No.’ It was soul-crushing. My baby and I were both at risk.”
‘May your children please step out?’ The ultrasound tech seemed irritated. I was congratulated and given a death sentence all in one.’: Grieving mom knits miniature crochet hats for angel babies
‘Sweet dreams baby boy, mummy loves you.’ The tiniest coffin lowered into the ground. That’s when it really hits you.’: Woman loses son to Edward’s Syndrome, ‘We gave him the most love we possibly could’
“We sat down that night with our oldest two. We explained we were so truly lucky because instead of a baby to bring home, we were given the rarest of gifts: an angel baby. They sobbed, ‘But we want him to come home.’ We purchased his plot where he would soon be laid to rest. At 32 weeks, we met with the funeral director – all as he kicked playfully inside my belly.”
‘Is there something wrong with her head?’ Matt insisted on an answer. He bowed his head in prayer. I held his hand tight.’: Mom loses daughter to anencephaly, ‘Rachel made me a better person. She is safe and I will see her again.’
“‘She’s going to live, right?’ The doctor looked at me and said words I will never forget… ‘These babies don’t live.’ She handed me a box of rough, thin tissues and left the room. I completely lost all composure and thrashed around that room like I myself was being killed. ‘Not my girl… not my girl…’ I asked Matt, ‘What are we going to do?’ Without a pause, my brave husband said, ‘We’re going to give her a name.’”
‘Why did you have another baby?’ I try to not bury myself with my son, but to live better because he had lived.’: Mom finds ‘gratitude’ in grief after losing son, ‘goodness is all around, if I just take a moment to see it’
“My new daughter sleeping should be a scene of total peace, and yet it’s terrifying. The ugly, hateful words swirl in my mind. ‘Life can’t really be good again, can it?’ ‘If something happens to her, then everyone will know what an awful mother you are.’ Child loss leads you to a crossroads—a choice between becoming bitter or becoming better.”
‘I IMMEDIATELY saw a second form. In tears, I texted my boyfriend. A little guardian angel was giving our rainbow baby a kiss!’: Couple in tears after ‘guardian angel’ shows up on ultrasound in wake of miscarriage
“My boyfriend went into a depression for months. I texted him the photos. I knew that after all the pain Troy went through, this miracle would give him a type of closure he needed to heal. We smiled through tears.”
‘WHAT am I going to do with a sick baby?’ I was 18. Her heart began to give out, her little belly filled with blood.’: Teen loses daughter to congenital heart disease, donates 455 oz. of breast milk to save sick babies in NICU
“In 73 days, I never got to hear her cry. I never got to feed her or take her home. I spent the next couple of weeks in a dark hole. ‘We can’t do anything else for you, I’m sorry.’ I couldn’t save my baby, so I decided I would save others. I turned my pain into something beautiful.”
‘You’re my mom,’ he said. WHAT? I gave birth to a GIRL, and my daughter died at birth. ‘Could it be?!’: Mom reunites with son 29 years after being told he ‘died at birth’
“As soon as I gave birth, my mother told the doctor, ‘Get the baby out of here! We’re not keeping it.’ That crushed my soul. I was 16 and never allowed to see my daughter. I overheard the nurse say ‘severe infection.’ I cried even more. ‘She didn’t make it.’ 29 years later, after the birth and death of my daughter, I received an email on Ancestry.com. Deep in my heart, I knew. My mind was racing.”
‘I don’t mean to stir up drama, but this woman says your baby is ‘fake’ and you’re stealing yogurts.’: Mom gets ‘good laugh’ at supermarket after stranger’s false accusations
“To the lady who told the cashier at Aldi I had a fake baby and was trying to smuggle yogurts out of the store: 1) My baby is 100% real. 2) Yogurts are like 25 cents. 3) I’m lactose intolerant and don’t consume dairy. Thank you for the laugh, though. I really needed it because I was up all night tending to my again, 100% real, baby. Parenting is hard enough; the judgement of strangers is not needed.”
‘The doctor kept saying ‘your daughter’ in his last moments. Through gritted teeth I said, ‘He is a boy.’: Dad silent for 10 years after losing twin, urges ‘ask your sad friend about the sad thing you never talked about’
“10 years ago, my son died. I’ve never talked about it with anyone but my wife. It’s taken 10 years to realize I want to talk about it all the time. Public talk of grief is very, very weird. It’s all ‘sorry for your loss’ and tilted heads, cards with calligraphy and whispering. We’re on tiptoes all the time. But grief is not one thing. It’s not just sadness. It’s a galaxy of emotions put in orbit by the loss of someone you loved.”
‘Is she your only one?’ Awkward silence. ‘Nope. She has an older brother. He died.’: Mother of stillborn son’s candid response to strangers’ prying questions, ‘He should be here’
“My daughter and I went to the mall. She was waving at everyone. It prompted an older couple to strike up a conversation. ‘She’s so cute and friendly,’ they told me. ‘How old is she? She’s big for her age!’ Then the inevitable question was asked. I just thought, ‘How do I get myself out of this conversation?’ I wonder what would happen if I just said, ‘My son died,’ then walked away.”
