October 15th

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Day.

“When a child loses his parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse loses her or his partner, they are called a widow or widower. When parents lose their child, there isn’t a word to describe them.” ~Ronald Reagan

 

I will be back later to add more. Please light a candle at 7 p.m. your time and leave it burning for one hour to create a constant wave of light in remembrance of all the babies lost.

I lost 4 babies in various stages of pregnancy. I have grieved them all and they are always in my heart and some days they are very much on my mind. Somedays it seems forever ago and other days I can feel the emotions like it just happened yesterday. I have a sweet friend who just lost her sweet baby girl at 36 weeks. She was one week from delivering her baby. I cannot even begin to imagine how she felt that horrible day. My losses were early on and while I had hopes and dreams and I loved my babies oh so much I still can't imagine how my friend is making it through each day without her girl. I would never compare the loss of a full term baby to an early miscarriage. I know the pain must be excruciating to carry your child to full term and then lose them. The losses are different but each painful in their own way.
I know one day she will get to hold her baby once again and that I will also be able to meet those sweet babies of mine. What a great day that will be.

My thoughts, prayers, and my heart really goes out to everyone who has experienced the loss of a child no matter what age of gestation, no matter how many days, no matter how many weeks, months, or years. No parent should ever have to feel that kind of anguish. I hope that anyone who has lost a child realizes that they are never alone...it's a sad group to belong to but we are here.

This poem says it all...


"A Pair of Shoes"
author unknown

I am wearing a pair of shoes.
They are ugly shoes.
Uncomfortable shoes.
I hate my shoes.
Each day I wear them, and each day I wish I had another pair.
Some days my shoes hurt so bad that I do not think I can take another step.
Yet, I continue to wear them.
I get funny looks wearing these shoes. They are looks of sympathy.
I can tell in others eyes that they are glad they are my shoes and not theirs.
They never talk about my shoes.
To learn how awful my shoes are might make them uncomfortable.
To truly understand these shoes you must walk in them.
But, once you put them on, you can never take them off.
I now realize that I am not the only one who wears these shoes.
There are many pairs in this world.
Some women are like me and ache daily as they try and walk in them.
Some have learned how to walk in them so they don’t hurt quite as much.
Some have worn the shoes so long that days will go by before they think
about how much they hurt.
No woman deserves to wear these shoes.
Yet, because of these shoes I am a stronger woman.
These shoes have given me the strength to face anything.
They have made me who I am.
I will forever walk in the shoes of a woman who has lost a child.