Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance

"When a child looses his or her parent, they are called an orphan. When a spouse looses his or her partner, they are called a widow. When are parent looses a child, there isn't a word to describe them."

October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month. It  was declared in 1988 by President Reagan.

This month is dedicated throughout the world to raising awareness of infant and pregnancy loss and to honouring and remembering babies and infants who died due to miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death, SIDS and all infant deaths. It's a month when we talk. Too many times a loss is pushed under the rug, forgotten by others.

October 15th is a day of remembrance. A day when women and couples across the nation, the world remember what was lost. A day when no one has to suffer in silence or alone. We honor our angels. We remember that they are always with us, watching from above.

Prior to my losses, I had no idea that a day like this existed. No idea that there was a month dedicated to educating people and raising awareness. I never imagined that anything could go wrong. I didn't know of anyone who had been through a loss, until I had mine. Then it became okay for others to talk to me and share. It's not something that anyone wants to go through. It's not something that you just forget.

If you know someone who has experienced a loss, hug them. Tell them know you remember. Cry with them, talk with them.

I am blessed. I am blessed to now have 2 healthy children. I am blessed to have been there for other friends who experienced a loss after I did. I may not know why God needed my babies back, but I am blessed to know that I have two special angels up in heaven watching over me and my family.

Sprinkle for Baby Mott

A few weeks ago my sister and friend threw me a sprinkle for Baby Mott (okay, mom helped too). I love the idea of having a get together to celebrate baby. We celebrated David and I had secretly hoped someone would offer to have a party to celebrate our daughter. It wasn't about getting presents, it was just about feeling the love that is already there for our baby girl.

The decorations and food were amazing. Our friend, Nicole, made her cookies, which of course were amazing. Baby did get some wonderful surprises from friends and family. I look forward to trying to do what I did with David and take pictures of her using the things she received to send to the givers. They did a wonderful job. One day I will show all of these pictures to our baby girl to show her how loved she was before she even came into the world.

Yes, that is a chocolate fountain - yum-o!

 

 

 

The cookies Nicole made!

 

 

Nicole and her mom

 

 

Grandma Knight

 

 

The wishes and advice for baby

 

 

The proud older cousin, baby Lyla.

 

 

David came by towards the end to sample food and help open presents.

 

 

My mom and sister. Missing one though :(

 

 

David helping.

 

 

It's for baby sister!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mott Women

 

 

4 generations, looking forward to getting a picture of my own soon.

 

 

 

It was a beautiful day and I loved every minute of it. Not much longer and I'll be introducing our daughter to the world!

 

 

 

Pink or Blue?

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !"

What are little girls made of?
"Sugar and spice and all things nice
That's what little girls are made of!"

We are so excited to announce the gender of baby Mott!

What will baby be?

 

To announce to our families, we had them over for dinner. Nate and I put a balloon in a bag and had David open it in front of everyone. He was resistant at first, I mean, who could deny trains with your cousins, but he finally decided that he would help. Here is what came out of the bag...

 

 

 

We could not be happier! Neither Nate and I had a preference one way or another. We have been through so much to get here, that all we wanted was to know that we had a healthy baby growing in there. We do, a sweet baby girl! the latest stats are here.

Here are the cupcakes that I made for dessert. They were very yummy, and I'll do another post on how I made them. :)
 

David decided that he wanted to hold baby Lyla. He did such a good job. I know he will make a great big brother!

We are so excited and know how blessed we are to be here. Thank you, friends and family, for all of your prayers and well wishes. Before we know it, we will be introducing you all to our newest addition.

...and he changed his mind.

For weeks, David had said he wanted a sister. Yesterday he tells me in the car on the way home that he now wants a "brudder". He told me again today, so I captured it on video. Now, either way I have a video to show him that he did indeed want a sibling.

David wants a...

Next week is our big ultrasound. We did not find out with David,  but this time we will. We are so excited to know if David will have a brother or a sister. He is going with us to the ultrasound to see baby and hopefully make everything more real for him.

Since we are so excited, we asked David what he wanted. Here is his response:

We'll see in a week if he gets what he wants!

(Check out the Pregnancy Journal for weekly updates.)

Heartbeat

David is convinced that there is a baby in his belly. I posted here about David trying to use the doppler to find his baby like mommy does. I didn't get a picture that day, but I walked in on him trying again today.

Mom, this is far to serious for me to smile and pay attention to you while you take pictures. He told me to stop and help. 

We had more success looking for David's heartbeat. Of course, he thinks it's his baby's heartbeat. I'm sure he'll figure out the truth sooner or later. 

I love my little guy and his curiosity. I think he'll be in total shock when we take him to our next ultrasound and he sees that there really is something in my belly. Of course, then he will want an ultrasound too. That's a battle for another day.

2 Feet

After nearly two years of trying, and two devastating losses, we are so happy to share our joyful news! We are praying for a safe arrival in July 2012.

You can read all about this pregnancy, and my pregnancy with David using this link, or click on Pregnancy Journal at the top of the blog.