Photo by Jazmin Quaynor on Unsplash My daughter is turning two in a month, and recently I’ve been thinking a lot about her birth. I’m finally removed enough from the experience that I think I can actually process the details surrounding her birth. I’ve also given myself permission to have a little freak-out about how scary [...]
Photo by Juja Han on Unsplash What a year it's been at PALS (Pregnancy After Loss Support)! We became a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization this summer and launched the new PALS MeetUps, all while continuing all of our other support services. We look forward to reaching even more Courageous Mamas in 2018! One of the ways we support [...]
Dear Courageous Mama, The snow is falling steadily out my window right now, this Christmas morning. The time between Thanksgiving and New Years was always my favorite time of year, and a White Christmas signified the most magical of Christmases. Even when we didn't have a white Christmas outside, we always watched White Christmas at some [...]
I was reading through some of my past articles at Pregnancy After Loss Support last night to remind myself what I’ve already written about the holiday season. I thought I wanted to write about getting through the holidays while pregnant after loss or the first holiday season with our subsequent baby. But, as I read [...]
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 [...]
