Thursday, March 31, 2011


Sylvia
Mom to Angel Garcia
Born and Passed on April 30th, 2010

On October 28th 2009 I took a home pregnancy test because I was a couple days late and knew pregnancy was highly possible.  I had my Mirena removed in July as Tim and I decided we would like to have another baby.  In November I had my first prenatal appointment and Tim and I were SHOCKED when the ultra-sound technician told us there were three heartbeats.  This was supposed to be number four, now we were learning it would be number five and six as well!

Laura
Mother to Angel
Born into Summerland on March 4th, 2011
San Antonio, Texas

My fiancĂ© and had been living together for three months and hadn't even told our parents about our engagement yet when my period was late. Not late. Absent. I was on birth control, so I thought it was no big deal, that I was just overreacting. Finally, after a week of waiting for at least some spotting and none showing, I broke down and bought a pregnancy test. I got a three pack of electronic tests - the ones that clearly state "pregnant" or "not pregnant" after peeing on them. The first one I did in a McDonald's bathroom. I was so nervous that I peed on it too much (I didn't even know it was possible) and it came out with an error. The second one, I did in an Arby's bathroom the next day. It said “pregnant” but I didn’t believe it so I used the last one and the results matched. At 20 years old, I was pregnant with an unplanned child.

Sarah
Mom to Avery, Lost at 4 weeks in August 2008
Lex, Lost at 8-9 weeks on January 25th, 2009
and Ryan, Lost at 5 weeks on November 16th, 2009
Louisville, Kentucky

I got married Sept 10th, 2005 to a wonderful man named Matt.  Three months later after being off birth control for only 3 weeks we found out we were pregnant. I had a wonderful pregnancy..loved everything about it actually. Didn't have any problems what-so-ever. On Aug. 27th, 2006 we were blessed with my wonderful son Noah. Life was great. When Noah was 1 1/2 we decided that we wanted to add to our happy family. So we started trying.

Gretchen
Mom to "Star" Baby
Lost on Mother's Day, May 9th, 2010
Folsom, California

I became an expectant mother on March 13th, 2010.  It was the happiest and most thrilling day of my life.  I lost my baby on Mother's Day, May 9th, 2010.  It was the saddest and most painful day of my life.

Sunday, March 27, 2011


Stephanie
"Junebug" 
Lost to Early Miscarriage
Toronto, Canada

Do you remember high school health class? I remember a cheerless woman issuing dire warnings about the dangers of unprotected sex, the scariest one of which was getting pregnant. We all knew that if you had unprotected sex once, you'd get pregnant and then nine months later you'd have a baby.

Jennifer
Mom to Ryan James
September 17th, 2010
Fort Worth, Texas

March 25, 2010, there were two pink lines and then on another test the word “pregnant”. After taking 3 different tests, I allowed myself to be excited! My husband and I had struggled to get pregnant with our oldest child, so I was shocked to be pregnant within 3 months. The plan was for this pregnancy to complete our family of four. 

Sarah
Mom to Noah Robert Wilkerson
June 26th, 2009 - June 30th, 2009
Colorado Springs, Colorado

The story of our family began on my 30th birthday. It was about that time, that after six years of marriage, my husband Chris and I finally began to feel baby fever. We threw a huge birthday party to celebrate this new decade of life for me with all our family and friends. Meanwhile, we secretly celebrated an end to life being only about just the two of us, and the beginning of an exciting new chapter of parenthood. What felt like two seconds later, I was pregnant.

Thursday, March 24, 2011


Heather
Mom to Hope 
March 19th, 2008
Vorhees, New Jersey

I am telling my story cause it gives me peace.   

I am the Mom of a little girl who I had for 18 weeks.  She was my 4th pregnancy and the furthest I have gone.   Hope died inside of me and I had to let her go on March 19th 2008 she is now a little piece of blue sky.   

Rachel
Mom to Mina Kathryn
February 18th, 2009 - February 24th, 2009
Tacoma, Washington

The story of our baby girl, Mina, everything that happened leading up to her birth and then, her passing. Just a warning though, that I do talk about girl parts for obvious reasons, so if that's too much information for you stop reading here. : )

Marissa
Miscarriage at 6 weeks on November 24th, 2009
Miscarriage at 9 weeks on February 12th, 2010
Miscarriage at 9 weeks on June 23rd, 2010
San Angelo, Texas

I found out I was pregnant with baby #3 the weekend before Thanksgiving 2009. We were so excited. We had been trying for 3 months. 2 days later I started spotting, then bleeding outright. We lost our baby 2 days before Thanksgiving. I was absolutely devastated. After a couple of weeks I managed to convince myself maybe I hadn't really been pregnant. That maybe the test was wrong.

Wednesday, March 23, 2011


Kerry
Mom to Evan Tyler
September 12th, 2010
Sarnia, Ontario, Canada

I was almost 36 weeks pregnant and had started my maternity leave a bit early to get the house ready for baby #2.  I had noticed a bit of lightening and a decrease in movement for a couple of days, but that's normal in the final months of pregnancy because the baby has less space to move, and I still felt the baby rolling and turning and at times it felt like he was stretching out in there so I just brushed it off as being normal. The Friday before he was born I went to Toys R Us to buy him an infant rocker and I remember while I was sitting on the floor at home putting it together that it seemed a bit easier to move around, I just figured it was the lightening you hear about as the baby begins to drop...

Rebecca
Mom to Liam Maximilian
January 3rd, 2011
Anchorage, Alaska

My husband and I had been trying for 2 years and finally after our second IUI we were pregnant. We were so excited that finally the stress of fighting infertility was gone. I am a worrier though so when asked about getting the prescreen done, to check for birth defects, I had to do it. This resulted in more worrying then since the results showed us that our baby had a 1 in 30 chance of having a neural tube defect. I tried to stay optimistic, that there was still a chance my baby was perfectly healthy. 

Lexie
Missed Miscarriage May 11th, 2009
Missed Miscarriage February 14th, 2011
British Columbia, Canada

In late March of 2009, my then fiance and I discovered we were expecting our first child together. For the last week I had thought that something was different, but I didn't want to give myself over to the thought of being pregnant until I could know for sure since my periods had a history of being late. After we found out we were both so excited and went to the doctor the next day. When we heard all of my blood work was fine we began to tell people. At this time my biggest worry was that my wedding dress would not fit when I was three and a half months pregnant.

Shelbie
Mom to Kamberlyn Nicole
Born Still on December 27th, 2010
Abbeville, Alabama

I had a perfect pregnancy, never had any blood pressure problems or any problems really. I was due on February 1, 2011. 

Mirenda
Mom to Baby Miscarried June 12th, 2009
and Jada Sophia
Stillborn July 21st, 2010
Hillsboro, Ohio

Me and my Husband have been married for 8 years and we had been trying to have a child for 9 years. After a year of trying on our own I knew something was wrong so I went to my OBGYN and was told I was still young and that it will happen. I was 21 at the time. So I figured it was all in my head and for years I never went back to a doctor. 

Friday, March 18, 2011


Lindy
Mom to Grace June
February 25th, 2010
Angel Baby
October 5th, 2010
and Angel Baby
January 10th, 2011
Cartersville,  Georgia

My daughter Grace was loved from the moment my husband and I saw her little gray shadow on ultrasound #1.  She was our first- first pregnancy, first daughter, and first perfect thing we’d created.  When I started bleeding around 9 weeks, I rested as much as any first grade teacher can, thought of the life my little one would have, and prayed that everything would turn out okay.  The pregnancy was rough, but I could handle the exhaustion, the nausea, the stomach discomfort, the back pain- it was a small price for the final payoff! For a while, things went my way.  Then my luck ran out. 


Becki
Mom to Kayla LeAnne
December 1, 2009
and David Joseph
September 20th, 2010 - January 20th, 2011
Parma Heights, Ohio

Having a baby was never easy for me.  I had my first miscarriage at 12 weeks in September 2001.  My second miscarriage at 5 weeks was in March of 2005.  My third and last miscarriage at 7 weeks was march of 2007.  In January of 2008 I was pregnant again and I thought for sure I would miscarry again.

Wednesday, March 16, 2011


Morgan
Mother to Ella, lost to miscarriage January 3rd, 2009
and Angel Baby #2, lost to miscarriage April, 2009
Olathe, Kansas

Ever since I was a little girl I have wanted to have children.  I think that is what most little girls want.  That is why we love dolls so much.  So it is no surprise that shortly after I got married, I started thinking more seriously about starting a family.  This is the story of my journey to becoming a mother.  It is a deeply painful and personal story.  I have chosen to share it for two reasons.  One is because it brings meaning to my struggle.  My pain will not have been in vain and it keeps the memory of those loved and lost alive.  The second reason, of equal importance, is so I might offer help and hope to other women experiencing the same loss.  Here is my story.

Kassandra
Mom to Joshua Michael
Born and Died November 16th, 2010

My name is Kassandra Travis and I am 27 years old. My husband, Michael and I were married secretly in February 2010 and shortly afterwards found out we were expecting in December 2010. A Christmas Day baby at that! 

Rian
Miscarriage on March 4th, 2011 at 10 weeks
Lexington, South Carolina

January 24th, 2011: Surprise! We found out we were expecting our second child. My husband and I were both very excited and we called our parents right away to share our news. I then called my doctor to schedule my first baby appointment. We were scheduled for February 22nd.

Thursday, March 10, 2011


Maggie
Mom to Caris AnnaBelle Tate
January 30th, 2011 - February 5th, 2011
Newport News, Virginia

I had the best pregnancy of anyone I have ever met. I never had any morning sickness, I didn't gain a lot of weight, I always took my vitamins, I saw my doctor a couple times a month... the only issue my husband and I thought we may be facing is possible Down Syndrome, which was mentioned at our 20-week ultrasound. While that came as a huge blow to us (I cried every night for Caris, praying that if she did have Down Syndrome, that the Lord would bless her with the ability to still enjoy life to the fullest).

Erica
Mom to Kylie Joy
June 11th, 2007
Belleville, Illinois

For most people, June 11th, 2007 came and went without any special notice. It was just another Monday with its normal daily commutes; people soaking up the sun’s rays on the California beaches, while cab drivers honked ferociously at jay walkers in New York City. However for me, it was the day that time stood still as I had to make the decision of whether or not to allow my daughter to die. At nearly twenty-three weeks pregnant and my third time in labor, little Kylie was coming into the world, ready or not.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011


Natasha
Mom to Aiden William
November 2nd, 2010
Sugar Land, Texas


In the words of my niece Kayla Marie...."my whole life!" My whole life all I've ever wanted to be is a wife and a mother. I have the best husband in the world. I was so so close to having my perfect baby boy here with me. Here is his story......


Tarri
Mom to Gracie Lynn 
July 2008
and Zechariah Jacob
October 2010
Stowe, Vermont

My husband and I were married in August of 2002. We wanted to start a family right away, so I never even started taking birth control. We ended up struggling with unexplained infertility for two years we finally became pregnant. Sadie was born in July 2005. We were elated! She was perfect and everything we had hoped for. When she was 10 months old, I discovered that I was pregnant with her sister, Evie. I was shocked that it had happened so fast this time. I guess our fertility issues had resolved themselves! Evie was born in February 2007. Another perfect pregnancy and another perfect little girl. 

Jessica
Mom to Raelyn Susann
February 22nd, 2011
Kansas City, Missouri

On February 8, 2011 we went in for our routine anatomy ultrasound. It was the happiest day of our lives and we were so excited to find out that we were going to be expecting a BABY GIRL!!! Brett and I looked over at the ultrasound screen and watched as our precious baby girl moved about my tummy. I don't think that Brett ever stopped smiling. Our doctors appointment followed the ultrasound and we set in the exam room waiting, talking about what we were going to start buying...we were just overwhelmed with excitement. 

Yaneri
Mom to Arianna Naomi Foster
December 14th, 2010
Baltimore, Maryland

Arianna had Turner Syndrome. Not full blown Turner Syndrome, but Mosaic Turner Syndrome (45x 47xxx). Doctors called it sporadic. Doctors said it’s rare. Called it an “error” in cell division. Happens in 1 out of 2500 births. That’s a .0004% chance of happening…and it happened to me. I am the statistic. I will never look at probability the same ever again.

Jessica
Mother to Liam Ellis
Born and Died February 16th, 2011 at 7:35PM
Arlington, Virginia

Our story begins in October of 2010 when my fiance Jordan and I found out we were pregnant. We were excited, but also scared. This was our first pregnancy and we had no idea the amount of love we would experience for our baby. I had nausea a lot early in pregnancy and as we reached 15 weeks, my nausea subsided and I started to enjoy all aspects of my pregnancy. I felt so happy and full of life (literally). At around 16-17 weeks I started having some pain in my lower abdomen area but when I told my doctor and researched online, I was told it was round ligament pain and dismissed. It subsided slowly until it was gone.

Katie
Mom to Jason 'JJ' Garrick Dial, Jr
October 29th, 2009
Mesa, Arizona

 I selected my OB based strictly on geography.  When I asked my general doctor for a referral, she knew of only one doctor in the area near my work.  I called the office and scheduled an appointment for infertility.  We had been trying for a year and a half with no success and I was ready to talk to someone who might be able to help.  Since I’m a teacher, I called at the beginning of my summer and they didn’t have any openings until the end of my summer.  However, one week before my appointment I took a pregnancy test and found out I was pregnant.  We were so excited, we’d been married almost five years and now we were going to be parents!  I called the office and changed my infertility appointment to a pregnancy confirmation appointment.

Story of HOPE

Story of HOPE



Tegan ~ Hiring for Hope
Mother of Melannah - 11/05/2005
and Acree Twins - 05/28/10

My husband and I have lost our 3 children to miscarriage during our third month.  In addition to our losses, I was a birth coach to my sister during my Nephew's stillbirth at 38 weeks gestation.  As a result of these experiences my husband and I created a national tax exempt public charity called Hiring for Hope.  We would have been lost without building our charity. It has had such an impact on so many lives and helped my sister and I to save our own.  

My inspiration for creating Hiring for Hope came from losing our three children, the loss of my Nephew, and receiving a grant from a pharmaceutical company when we were awarded a grant during our own family building journey.  We spent the last year building our organization along with 60 other volunteers.  I abandoned a high paying corporate job and exchanged it for no paycheck in order to build Hiring for Hope. I knew in an instant that building something to help other couples was what I wanted to do.

I never would have believed it possible, but after five years of fertility treatments and enduring the roller coaster ride of financial and pregnancy loss that goes along with building a family for some, my husband and I built this organization while parenting our two small children under the age of two.  We didn't get any sleep. There have been so many times when I thought I could not possibly go on.

While building Hiring for Hope, we were bombarded with roadblocks.  We endured a flood when our neighborhood was declared a "national disaster area" by FEMA, lost our precious twins, lost my 94 year old Grandmother, watched helplessly at my sister's side as my Nephew was stillborn at 38 weeks, survived a heart attack, and had our baby sitter "invade" our home and our finances while we were away.

All of our effort and dedication resulted in the creation of Hiring for Hope.  Our organization provides financial assistance, resources, and support for couples that have lost a child and/or are experiencing obstacles to building their families. We provide free services for job seekers in career transition. We fund all of our services by placing job seekers with employers. The following services are completely complimentary to all members:

1) Brave Little Soul Grant Program
2) Safe, secure, online support community for couples (Voice of Hope)
3) Brave Little Souls Memorial Beach Playground
4) Incentive Program - A way to use your networking skills and contacts to earn the money that you need to overcome your obstacles to building your family 

You can view more about Tegan's organization on You Tube  

Monday, March 7, 2011


Jennifer
Mom to Avery Michael Davis
February 10th, 2010
And Multiple Miscarriages
Pasadena, Maryland

My story began about 5 years ago, my husband and I were blessed with a beautiful baby girl, Abby and in hopes to have another baby one day.  Our hopes were to have 3 children.  When my daughter was around 1, we found out I was pregnant.  We are overjoyed, happy, and excited.  Then on February 14th I had my 1st miscarriage at 8 weeks pregnant.  

Thursday, March 3, 2011


Megan
Mother to Isaiah 
August 4th  - August 10th, 2004
and Stacey Jr.
Born and Died July 19th, 2005
Capitol Heights, Maryland

I never realized how delicate life was until I lost my two infant sons.

I am a mother to a little boy, who is eleven, going on fifty, and I am also the mother to two other little boys who never got to see the sun rise or the sun set. When strangers saw my round belly two years later (while I was then-pregnant with my little one, who is now three), they used to ask me, “Oh, is this your first?” And I didn’t know if I should tell them, “No, this is my fourth, but I lost two,” or keep them out of my business and simply smile and tell them, “No, this is my second.” But if I had told them the latter, I would have ended up feeling guilty, as if I were denying my two little boys’ existence.

Heidi
Mom to Jocelyn Cristeen
January 16th, 2010
Herriman, Utah

Friday January 15th,2010, 2 days from Jocelyn's due date and four days from her scheduled delivery, started as any other day for John and I. Get up feed the kids, get dressed, John off to work and  I was to meet my mom at noon. But during that time I was having contractions, not too painful or concerned. 
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