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.

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Brooke

Mom to Maddox

September 14th, 2010 - January 14th, 2011

Dixon, Illinois

I got pregnant in December 2009. I am a teen so at first it seemed like a bad situation but I knew I was made to be a mother. Abortion or Adoption never crossed my mind. I knew I wanted to love and be with my child, and my entire pregnancy I studied, researched, and prepared for my beautiful son. I put my whole self into every decision I made for him and when he finally entered this world on September, 14th, 2010, my whole life changed. I was so ready to be a parent. I loved my son so much already. 

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Brandy

Mom to Andrew

Born Still on December 5, 2010

Naperville, Illinois
 

What can I say? I've experienced more heartbreak than I thought was ever conceivable. Ever.

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Karen

Mom to Simon Maurice

August 16, 2010

O'Fallon, Illinois

My husband Shane and I decided to start trying for our first baby January 1, 2010. I found out I was pregnant at the end of February, much to our surprise and excitement. Everything was going great, and I was due on Halloween 2010 with a baby boy.

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Melissa

Mom to a Little Guardian Angel

October 20th, 2009

Plainfield, Illinois

First, I would like to share with you briefly my history. I am originally from CT and moved out to IL about 4 ½ years ago because of my husband’s job transfer. All of my family and friends are back in CT. Needless to say it was a major adjustment to be so far away from my biggest supporters especially when you have a loss such as this. My husband and I were living the American Dream. We bought a house and both have jobs so what comes next, the family. Back in 2009 we started on our journey of making our dream even bigger.

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Gina

Mom to Identical Twin Boys, Michael & Brendan, Stillborn May 2005

7 week loss September 1998
9 week loss July 1999
4 week loss January 2000
Complete Molar Pregnancy April 2000

Plainfield, Illinois

Where do I begin? First of all, as you read this you may think “right, no way all of this can happen to one person.” Well, I wish it hadn’t, but it did. Also, it takes a lot to explain all of this loss so you may need to read in segments. I swear, I could write a book.

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Rochelle

Mom to "Teddy" Theodore Joseph Luaders

June 20th, 2010

Quincy, IL

Teddy’s birthday and death day was on Father’s Day this year.  I was almost 35 weeks pregnant with Teddy.  I hadn’t felt Teddy move that morning, and I worried all morning, thinking he would start moving soon, but called the on-call doctor after lunch.

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Lindsay

Mother to Sophia

Born still at 28 weeks on April 3rd, 2010

Central Illinois

In one day your whole world can change. October 12th, 2009, we found out that we were expecting our first child. On April 2nd, 2010, we found out that our precious daughter's heart had stopped beating. In one day we went from a thrilled, exhilarated expecting couple to a couple that had everything swept out from underneath them. In one day, I became a Mother and lost a Daughter.

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Brandi

Baby #1 miscarried on August 6, 2006

Baby "Daisy" missed miscarriage discovered on November 19, 2009

Leni Grace born sleeping on May 18, 2010

Herrin, Illinois

Please take a minute to learn about our angels.

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Jen

Mom to Harper Elizabeth

Born Still on August 10, 2010

Lena, Illinois

I was always the little girl whose response to the question "what do you want to be when you grow up?" was a mommy.

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Heather

Mom to Thomas Nathan Jr.

May 10th, 2010- May 15th, 2010

Chicago, IL

Monday May 10th, 2010. Thomas Nathan Guillen Jr was born at 24 weeks and 5 days. I went into preterm labor and delivered Baby Tommy via C-Section. It was so scary and so shocking that if you saw a movie about the day you would think it was incredibly unrealistic. But Tom Sr was there by my side the whole time, assuring me that soon we would have our beautiful son and we’d make it. Baby Tommy weighed 1 pound 14 ounces and was 13 inches long. A big boy for less than 25 weeks! Tom Sr sneaked out to get a peek at him and came back to report: “He’s very cute, he looks like me”.

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Katie

Mommy to Blayze Gabriel

January 23rd, 2010-January 25th, 2010

Mt. Auburn, IL

In mid-June, Wyatt, my husband, decided he wanted to quit smoking. Well, Iwasn't going to keep smoking cigarettes around him so I quit too. About five weeks later, I was four weeks pregnant. I had been told by a previous OB/GYN that I would probably have to have intervention to conceive. Miraculously, I got a Big Fat Positive, or BFP, in July 2009. Talk about a surprise. I took two more pregnancy tests just to be sure. I had horrid morning sickness up until I was a little over 21 weeks. Otherwise, things were fairly normal. I had had slight spotting at 6.5 weeks but I'd been pulled in for an ultrasound (u/s), and it was determined that nothing was wrong except for a cyst on my ovary.

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Michelle

Mom to Sawyer Erik Williams

June 1st, 2010-June 3rd, 2010

Channahon, IL

I've been putting off writing about Sawyer's birth for a while now, waiting for the right moment to come. I guess today's the day...

There is a LOT of background to this story, but I really don't think a lot of it matters at this point. All I know is that I had an instinct that something was really wrong with my baby. I had it for almost five days leading up to his birth. I was in L&D triage at University of Chicago Hospital twice within that period of time. Once because I just didn't "feel right" and the second time because I woke up the morning of his birth around 4 a.m. soaked in blood.

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Kristina

Christian - 11/2008 at 9 weeks

Faith Christina - 7/22/2010 at 23 weeks (birth and death)

Chicago, IL

Most of our story started in July of 2008. My husband of almost 2 years at that time and I decided we wanted to start our family. I saw my first positive pregnancy test on October 15th, 2008. We were thrilled, and it only took us 3 months of trying. Our due date was June 18th, a perfect time of year to be off for 3 months with a brand new baby.

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Laura
Mom to Cara Angel
Born at 30 weeks due to severe Preeclamsia and Hellp Syndrome
November 17th, 2009
Chicago, IL

No one ever talks about what could happen, or tells you about diseases to look out for during pregnancy. I bet 90% of women don't know what Severe Pre-eclampsia or HELLP disease is. These diseases took my daughter's life and almost my own. This is Cara's story...

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