My husband and I got married on National Superhero Day, and we had superhero elements in our wedding. We were drawn to each other, in part, through our love of stories that spur the imagination. So, I’m sure it’s no surprise that Halloween is one of our favorite holidays. And even before I met him, [...]
Before we tried to get pregnant, I consulted with a perinatal psychiatrist to go over my medications, their risks, and changes that needed to be made to take care of baby and me through pregnancy and postpartum. See, I have stubborn depression and anxiety. After years and years of struggling, my psychiatrist and I found [...]
The evening before my daughter’s 15-month well baby visit, I sat down at the computer to fill out an online questionnaire that her pediatrician’s office requested. As I worked through the form evaluating her developmental milestones, I started to worry. I hadn’t been worried. In fact, I was excited for this appointment. I felt she [...]
When Lindsey Henke founded Pregnancy After Loss Support (PALS) almost three years ago, there were few resources for women who were pregnant after a pregnancy, infant, or child loss (PAL). In those three years, PALS has contributed to newfound awareness of the unique nature of the PAL experience and more resources are available. Just last [...]
This morning, a memory popped up on Facebook of my husband holding our five-week-old baby girl. I remember when it was taken. He had been back at work for a week, and she had just graduated into newborn clothes rather than the preemies she’d been wearing for weeks. She was snuggled on his chest, like [...]
A few days before my son, Patrick’s, first birthday, I sat in my office chair talking on the phone with a fellow loss mom and friend. I had become paralyzed with indecision. I didn’t know if I should make him a birthday crown, a tradition I’d hoped to start for each of my children. Was [...]
Last Saturday Lindsey Goodwin interviewed me about my work with Pregnancy After Loss Support for her podcast, Tiny Giant Losses. When she asked me how I held onto hope while trying to conceive and then pregnant after loss, I remembered the onesies that my husband and I collected while trying to conceive our subsequent pregnancy. [...]
I have a love/hate relationship with each New Year’s celebration, especially since our son Patrick was born still in 2014. Three years ago (2013), we announced our first pregnancy to my side of the family in the middle of Epcot Center in Disney World on New Year’s Eve. I think the entire park heard the [...]
After our first “bad ultrasound” with our son, Patrick, who was born still in April 2014, my husband and I walked to another building in the hospital to see if my therapist was available. As we walked, I took in deep breaths and blew raspberries out to release the tension. Blowing raspberries became one of [...]
Managing Safety Recommendations while Parenting After Loss Keeping our babies and children safe is one of our biggest jobs as parents, as well as one of our biggest anxieties. When parents have had a loss, these anxieties increase substantially. I knew pregnancy and parenting came with many risks, but they didn’t fully sink in until [...]
