One year…I can’t believe it’s been a whole year.

One year ago today we said hello and goodbye to the sweetest boy. Our lives were forever changed that day. One year later, I sit here staring at another miracle and can’t believe that I am lucky enough to be a momma to an angel as well as my earthly little man. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think about Dougie and wish that I could go back and change things. However, I am learning to be grateful for what the last year has brought…Doug and I have grown so much stronger bc of Dougie, the support from friends and family have been amazing and of course we have this new sweet baby boy who reminds me daily how special it is to be a mom.

In the early days of my grief I would listen to music to help me. I would listen to one song called “Beauty from Pain” by Superchick. I would listen to this song and wonder when I would ever see beauty again. I eventually started to be hopeful that I would someday. One year later, I am finally seeing some beauty. I beautiful baby boy that is Dougie’s little brother. Declan is not only our rainbow baby but he has given us the chance to hope again. We will never forget Dougie and we will raise Declan to know his older brother. After all, Dougie is as big of a part of our story as Declan is and we will not forget that.

Dougie, we love you, Happy first Birthday in Heaven sweet baby boy!

Dougie is all around us. We think about him everyday!

 

 

 

 

 

 

10 months and a few pennies from Heaven

Dougie would be 10 months old today. I found myself daydreaming the other day about what I would be doing if he would have lived. Not sure what that would have looked like and I don’t let myself think about that too regularly. It often makes me too sad. But there are some days when I allow myself to. Days when I go visit Dougie’s grave and all I can think about is what could have been. I used to wonder if that will go away with time but I don’t think that it will. Dougie will always be on our minds and in our hearts…no matter what.

I sit here, almost 9 months pregnant with Dougie’s sweet babybrother, writing, thinking about Dougie while feeling this little boy kick and move about. This baby boy is truly a miracle and we are getting so anxious as to what God has in store for us with this journey. As Doug and I have learned, it’s not always our ideal plan but we are trying to trust that this time it will be different. We will bring this baby boy home happy and healthy.
I have been confident lately that Dougie has been visiting and watching over us as we navigate this pregnancy as well as moving into our new home. I have a friend who’s mother passed away a few years ago and ever since she passed away, she visits in the form of pennies. I know, it sounds crazy but it’s totally true. Well I am pretty confident that Dougie took a lesson from Momma Pesce on this one because for the last month, I have found pennies EVERYWHERE. And I’m not talking just on the street randomly. For 4 days straight, I found pennies strategically placed throughout our new home. And get this…one of them was placed on the windowsill of what will soon be this baby boy’s nursery. *chills* This is no joke…for all you skeptics…they really do visit us from the other side! You just have to figure out how they are visiting. I wonder if this is how Dougie will continue to visit?

Leaning in at 25 weeks

Wrote about our first 25 weeks over on Pregnancy after Loss Support page.

Go check it out!

 

8 month angelversary

8 month angelversary

Yesterday we returned home from spending a week with our family at the beach on Lake Michigan. We had a great time, we were able to relax, lay on the beach, play a few games, spend time with everyone and play with our nieces and nephew which was a blast. However, when we returned home, the reality hit me like a ton of bricks. Little Dougie was supposed to be with us on that trip. There was supposed to be one more little grandkid pestering Grandpa for lap time, one more baby crawling around the house amidst the other kids play time, one more baby crawling through the sand darting for the water. We were supposed to have OUR little baby with us to enjoy his first of many family vacations.

This time last year when planning this vacation, emails shot back and forth about locations, houses, bedrooms etc and everything in between. In one email, my sister-in-law wrote happily that she couldn’t wait for family vacation next year with a new little one in the mix. The reality that he is not here is a sobering one.

We went to visit Dougie on our way back into town. I sat at his grave and cried. I told him we missed him and we all wished he was here.

I was asked the other day if I ever wake up and think “Did this really happen to us, did we really lose our baby?” The response was immediate…

“Everyday”

 

7 months

Dear sweet baby boy,

It’s been 7 months now since we held you. We miss you terribly but things are getting better. I don’t visit you as often. Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t feel the need to. I talk to you every day…can you hear me? Your dad and I still visit you weekly. Our visits are much lighter lately, sometimes we can even make it out of the cemetery without shedding a tear. We noticed that you gained a beautiful angel friend last month placed right next to you. Were you there to greet them and show them around? We sure hope so.

Your dad and I talk to you all the time. We imagine you talking to us but we haven’t had any signs in a while. Can you visit soon? We added a blue footprint pinwheel to your grave. Now you have 2 pinwheels. Is that cliché? But even if it is…we love them! We went to visit you a couple weeks ago on a very windy day. All the pinwheels in the cemetery were blowing about. As soon as we pulled up to your grave, parked and got out of the car, both of your pinwheels stood still. I know that was you! Your dad and I looked at each other and laughed. Without saying a word, we both knew that right in that moment you were there. That’s been one of the only times I’ve actually felt you. I want that again soon, so can you please work on this? 🙂

Your dad and I love you so much, we miss you more than you can imagine and would give anything to know you today. But for now, we will trust that you are the lucky one waiting for us. We hope you are listening to all the fun stuff we tell you and more importantly know how much we love you and wish that you were here.

We love you infinity times baby boy,

❤ your mom and dad.

6 month Angelversary

What a perfect gift to receive on Dougie’s 6 month Angelversary. A friend gave this to me with his name engraved on one of the chimes. Dougie’s nursery was a travel theme and the very first thing I bought for him was a big hot air balloon to hang from the ceiling.

This is how his nursery still sits today!

We miss you Dougie!!

 

 

I still mother my son.

The harsh reality has really hit me this week. My son truly is dead. He’s not coming back. I will never know his smile, his personality, hear his sweet giggles, or listen to him tell me he loves me. I will not get to “mother” my son in the same sense that most of you will. But I will still mother my son.

I go to his grave, sit beside him and brush off the leaves. I am mothering my son.

I pray to him at night, tell him stories and talk to him. I am mothering my son.

I hang his picture proudly in our living room. I am mothering my son.

I walk in his memory, raise money for research in hopes that no other family has to endure the loss we have. I am mothering my son.

I will not let people forget about our sweet boy, I say his name often and talk about our experience. I am not afraid of what people might think or say behind my back. It might be weird to some people, some people might be thinking “Get over it already” and most people just don’t understand. I will never “get over it”. I will never forget him. He will always be our firstborn son. And I will continue to be his mother for the rest of my life.

 

Even though my son is not here on this earth…

I am still a mother.

Sentiments about this year’s Easter

We are 3 days away from Easter and to be honest, I have dreaded Easter for a couple weeks. Last Easter is when we told Doug’s family that we were expecting. I made Easter baskets for both my nieces and nephew and made them a special shirt to let them know that they would have a new cousin. It was pure joy that day. We were so excited for what was coming. We wanted a baby more than anyone. We thought at that time that this year’s Easter would be very different. But here we sit…3 days away from Easter and visiting our sweet boy’s grave to place a bunny on it. Certainly not something I would have ever anticipated.

I always loved Easter growing up. There were Easter egg hunts galore and plenty of Easter baskets coming my way. I looked forward to the day that I could do that with my child/children. I undoubtedly still look forward to that (if one day Doug and I are blessed with an earthly baby) but a part of all holidays will always be different now. Dougie will always be missed particularly on these special days. Even if we have 5 more children, we vow to never forget our first born precious son. We will celebrate him just like we will any of our kids.

As we stood over Dougie’s grave last night, we couldn’t help but to cry. All we could bring ourselves to say was “Happy Easter little buddy”. We placed a bunny and 2 Easter eggs at his head, I patted the ground and we left. Our hearts heavy, tears flowing, we were silent. Doug eventually took my hand, squeezed it tight and told me he loved me. And in that moment, that was all I needed to hear.

Dougie’s grave is right underneath a beautiful magnolia tree. When we visited it was blooming the prettiest purple flowers. Purple is my favorite color. I know this was no accident.

A portrait of our son

A couple months back, I commissioned a lady that I was connected to on Facebook to draw a pencil drawing of Dougie. I wanted to surprise Doug. We have plenty of pictures that we took at the time of Dougie’s birth but there is something about these pictures that still induces profound sadness. The pictures tend to take me right back to that day and they often put me back deep into the throes of my grief. I look at them often even though they evoke sadness, because I need to. I need to see him, remember what he looks like, what his tiny little hands were like and be reminded that he is still my son.

I thought a drawing would be nice and possibly something we could display without holding such heaviness in one little frame. I received the drawing today and boy was I right. It is the sweetest and most precious thing I have ever seen. Dana, at Portraits by Dana, did an amazing job at capturing Dougie. It looks just like him! So much so, when I pulled it out of the envelope and had not said one word to Doug, he immediately said, “Hey, That’s Dougie!” We were amazed. We stared at the drawing and saw our sweet boy shining through. It was absolutely perfect.

If anyone were contemplating doing this, I would highly recommend Dana, from Portraits by Dana. She not only captured our sweet son but the essence of what Dougie looked like to us.

I cannot thank her enough for what she has given Doug and I. Our first portrait of our son…and that is priceless.

Grief never ends…

Grief never ends…but it changes.
It’s a passage, not a place to stay.
Grief is not a sign of weakness, nor a lack of faith…
It is the price of love.
-author unknown