1.05.2011

Once Upon a Time: A (Not So) Fairy Tale Ending

Once upon a time there was a happily expectant family. Already blessed with a child, they were thrilled to be pregnant with their second child. They told all of their friends and family, purchased crib bedding and nursery decor, and the pregnant woman went to bed every night with her hand on her belly and What to Expect When You're Expecting on her nightstand.

And then something completely unexpected happened. Towards the end of her first trimester, the woman went in for an ultrasound, and with no warning whatsoever, was told that her baby had died.

We are that family.
I am that woman.
That was our reality just over five years ago.

A procedure was done and I went home no longer pregnant.

And then, perhaps because I was doing such a good job of keeping it together emotionally, my body fell apart.

Four surgeries happened: in January 2006, again in January 2006, January 2008, and March 2008.

And in between the surgeries, we were given the gift of joy: another baby. Born healthy.

And in between the surgeries and the pregnancy and the delivery and the raising of two beautiful girls, my body continued to throw a fit, this time in the form of chronic pelvic pain, often severe.

So here we are today, five years later, and our daughters are healthy and happy. Our youngest recently turned 4 and we are gearing up to celebrate our firstborn's 7th birthday, later this month.

And we are still one child short of what we expected.

So just after the 5th anniversary of losing our middle child, whom we named and loved and miss, we decided to pay tribute, somehow, to the memory of that sweet baby we wanted so badly.

Allow me to introduce to you a little boy who has stolen our hearts. This is Cristian:


Cristian is a little boy from South America, about to celebrate his 5th birthday. It is our privilege to sponsor him through Compassion International*. Cristian was born just a couple months before our baby's due date.

Sometimes Happily-Ever-After doesn't happen, but in this case, we found a way to make some good from bad.


*If you have never heard of Compassion, please take a moment to visit their website and learn more about them, 'Like them' on Facebook, or even consider sponsoring a child

10 comments:

  1. I have tears in my eyes. What a touching and beautiful tribute.

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  2. We thought of doing the same thing since we also lost our first baby, but we decided to adopt one from my country instead. We will wait after I graduate from nursing school. We are also one child short and want to change one child's life while we are here on this terrible earth. We are thankful to God for our healthy daughter. Congratulation on your boy... God bless.

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  3. What a great way to help heal your heart and be a blessing.

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  4. So touching. you are a true inspiration

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  5. Thanks for sharing Jenn, what a lovely way to honor your little one. E walked over and asked what I was reading and we got to have a nice talk.

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  6. I love that you're doing this! I started sponsoring a little boy in Zimbabwe with the same birthdate as our stillborn son, Bryston. Giving in honor of him does my heart more good than I'll ever be able to describe to anyone. (((HUGS)))

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  7. i think you mentioned that you had read my posts, caleb's story. on the loss of our son at 14 weeks.

    i didn't share that i had extreme pelvic pain. i too had a couple of surgeries. in 2003 i had a hysterectomy.

    we also have compassion children. our first was born the day before caleb was born into heaven. it is so like God to lavish His love on us in the details. i think about her, our c.c. daughter, i think about the day she was born, i remember it, the last day i had baby in my belly. and i know God wrote her for our family. i hope to meet her...someday.

    may God continue to live in the love already lavished on you in Christ!

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  8. I'm so sorry that you've experience such loss and pain of so many kinds. I think it's beautiful that you're able to honor your baby and share your love with Cristian. May God richly bless you and your family!

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