Getting by with a Little Help From Your Friends…

Friends. They’re what keep us together, what keep us sane. Good friends are the ones who encourage, love, support  and sometimes prop us up. Really special friends are the ones who know how to cry with you, because they’ve walked much the same path you’ve walked. They know your heart, even when you don’t have the strength to speak it.

I’d like to introduce you to one such friend of mine, a special, godly woman who suffered the loss of her child in her first pregnancy years ago and then struggled for years with infertility. After those years of struggle, she and her husband adopted two sons.

If you’ve ever experienced that kind of heartache, know someone who has, or just want to hear the heart of someone who has walked that path, then you’ll want to read her January 26 blog post: 

http://heartfilledmoments.com/2015/01/meeting-heaven-bound-baby/

Until next week,

Thanks for joining me!

Blessings,

Andrea

Surviving a Stillbirth

What does it mean to “survive: a stillbirth?

Everyone who has walked through the nightmarish valley of the stillbirth of her baby “survives” that walk in a different way. Mothers survive it differently than fathers.  Some recover emotionally more quickly than others. Some suffer not only the emotional effects but the physical, especially if there has been an emergency procedure involved. Medical personnel don’t always communicate the news of the death of a baby in utero well to their horrified, unbelieving patients straining to hear a silenced heartbeat. Some parents never adequately navigate the grief obstacle course and suffer immeasurably, years later.

My sister’s stillbirth occurred in 1947, and I would say my mother still struggles with the pain of not knowing, not seeing. The pain of loss she was left to suffer through alone because it wasn’t something people talked about back then. Even with my dad, who thought he was protecting her by not discussing the loss.

This is one woman’s story.

You may relate.

Surviving a Stillbirth at 36 weeks – Guest Post by Taylor Arthur at Red Vine Spirituality

Until next week,

Thanks for joining me!

Blessings,

Andrea

Walking the Path of Grief Together

            We can walk the path of grief together. It really is better if we don’t try to walk it alone.

            It was surprising to me just how many people had experienced the loss of a baby in pregnancy, delivery or soon after. I didn’t know there were so many of us in the same fraternity until I experienced my own loss. It seemed that no one really talked about; but maybe I just wasn’t paying any attention. It certainly seemed that as soon as I lost Victoria, every other woman I saw was pregnant, or all mothers seemed to be birthing girls. I probably hadn’t been paying too much attention to that before, either.

            For those of you who would like to connect with more mothers (and fathers) walking the path of grief, I highly recommend Sara Nelson’s “Pathways” blog on her Sunshine for the Journey website.

You can access it at: http://www.sunshine-journey.com/pathways

Sara writes about her grief journey after losing her adult daughter a year ago. Although she does not specifically address the loss of babies, she speaks eloquently about dealing with parental grief. I’d recommend a look.

It’s a reminder that we are not alone in our pain…

Until next week!

Blessings,

Andrea

Have a Preemie Baby? You NEED This Book!

Do you have a preemie baby? Preemies are special, but they can try your patience, your nerves and your family. Heck, they can even be trying to themselves!



Greetings to everyone!

As I announced last week, I am on hiatus for the month of February while I consider what direction I will take this blog; to see where the Lord is leading me.

It's a big month, too. My birthday and my preemie son Cory's 20th, two days following mine. 20 is a BIG deal in our house, for reasons I will explain as we get closer to the date. Hint: It's biblical!

I do want to give you a great reference book, though. It's for parents with kids in the age range of 0-3, and if you have a preemie, you MUST have this book in your library.

It's Touchpoints-Birth to Three by T. Berry Brazelton, M.S. This is part of what Amazon.com has to say about it:

"All over the U.S. and in over twenty countries around the world, Touchpoints has become required reading for anxious parents of babies and small children. T. Berry Brazelton's great empathy for the universal concerns of parenthood, and honesty about the complex feelings it engenders, as well as his uncanny insight into the predictable leaps and regressions of early childhood, have comforted and supported families since its publication in 1992."

I guarantee you won't go wrong with this one!

I don't get any payback for suggesting this book, so no worries about why I'm suggesting it.

And while I'm on the topic, do any of you have some must-reads you can suggest to other readers? Any preemie books that helped you migrate through that difficult period of raising your special, too-early child?

If you do, please share them with the group by leaving a comment!

Until next week!

Blessings,

Andrea