Support for birth. Support for bereavement. Support for you.
Told by: Kristin
I found out I was going to be a mommy when I was 16. The first four months went as expected then a week after I found out I was going to have a boy I miscarried my son. I have birth to my son Jonathan Wayne on September 9th 2005. He weighed less than a pound and barely looked like a baby. Now eight years later I have a husband and stepdaughter that I love dearly but I still feel like something’s missing. I hope by sharing my story I can find peace with his death.
In my earliest days, in my darkest days of grief, I remember distinctly, the bitter feeling that swept over me when we sat, my husband and I, at the little cold table in the funeral home, looking at the prices of caskets.
Somehow, inherently, the feeling become present. Almost tangible.
That feeling, that the amount of money you happen to have in your pocket on the day your baby dies, determines the worth of your baby.
Bereaved parents, you know what I’m talking about.
So in my earliest days, in my darkest days, I was feeling pretty defensive about finances, and maybe even, dare I say, entitled. What can I say? My feelings were raw. I was in the chasm.
But since then, I am here. Two years later.
I would have spent $1,000 in diapers to cover his sweet little bum by now.
And I realize, I didn’t save money by not rearing him.
I realize, I want to give.
And, where we invest our money, we invest our hearts. Our care and attention.
We have a doula program here at stillbirthday.
It is a program that prepares those individuals willing to step into the space where birth & bereavement meet, and with academic knowledge and emotional strength, provide options, information and tools necessary to offer the strongest foundation for that family to begin their grief journey.
But oftentimes, those who have the hearts to be in that place, don’t always have the finances to do so.
I don’t want those willing, loving individuals to be held back because of finances, so for every prospective doula student who comes to stillbirthday with that willing heart but without the finances to support it, those individuals can list their names in our Student Sponsorship program. And for doing so, their tuition is automatically reduced 50%. That’s right, by 50%. Because if they are willing to ask for help, I will do what I can to help.
Click the jar to be taken to our Student Sponsorship page and give.
And I know I’m not alone.
I know that there are many others, just like me, who are feeling that stirring in their heart, that prompting in their mind that says
“It is a privilege to give.”
These students on our sponsorship waiting list, they need your financial contribution. From as little as $25, you can see your name and your contribution added to our sponsorship page – directly impacting the experiences of the newest families entering the darkness of bereavement.
For as little as $25, you can dramatically and directly make a difference. You can bring light into the chasm.
And because I am so committed to equip these waiting students and the families they will serve, I will announce a great giveaway for every sponsor who gives the total sponsorship tuition ($125) for one student or more at the end of each month. Not to confuse your sponsoring a student with your joining into any kind of a raffle, the details regarding the giveaway are included in this separate link.
Please, if you feel so led, come celebrate the privilege to give.
Giving of your finances will grow the investment of your love.
Click the jar to be taken to our Student Sponsorship page and give.
What will happen to your finances?
Not only will it cover the cost of equipping the student with academic supplies such as the student accounts in SBD University, but every dollar is immediately invested back into tangible service to families: M0M Center costs, toward the cost of our upcoming Android and iPhone application SBD Connect, and lowering the cost of other stillbirthday events including Love Wildly.
When mothers learn that they are pregnant, if we own a smartphone device, we might install a pregnancy application, such as one that tells us about the newest developments in the baby, or healthy food suggestions.
Imagine with me, the mother who has the ultrasound, where she discovers, entirely unexpectedly, that her baby is not alive.
Oftentimes, that mother is not only alone, but that mother is so upset that she may need to wait and have a loved one come to the doctor’s office to drive her home.
With no one there with her.
But she might have her phone.
She might have that app.
And when she goes to uninstall that pregnancy app – stillbirthday wants to be there.
We are already working with an app developer, and having an app of our own sets the platform for exponential opportunities to reach the newest bereaved mothers and families.
We are doing this, and more.
So when I ask you to give of your finances, to equip a student,
and when I tell you that your investment of love will grow exponentially,
I mean it with all of my heart.
Please, give.
Click the jar to be taken to our Student Sponsorship page and give.
Shared by: Jessica
Facing the Mirror: Gaining back my Sexuality after loss
I wanted to share with you a subject not covered very often, but a reality for many women after loss, in my own words. Warning the subject matter is of Adult content.
In the beginning of our relationship we had sex all the time; to be honest we couldn’t keep our hands off of each other. I would stand in front of the mirror for hours getting ready each day. I would carefully lotion every inch of my skin, brush my teeth and hair, carefully apply my makeup just right. I would slowly put on my lip gloss so not to smudge it (even though I knew it wouldn’t stay on long) and curl my eyelashes. I would place shimmer on my collar bone and pose in every way known to man in front of the mirror to make sure everything was just as it should be. I would stuff my breasts into my perfect bra, slip on my cutest undies to match, and act as though it was effortless for me to look this way. He was in love with my body; I was in love with my body.
With all that loving going on it should not have been the surprise it was when we found out we were pregnant. As my body changed, he changed to. He started putting the lotion on my belly (yes even the parts covered in stretch marks) and on my feet as it wasn’t long before I became winded trying to reach them myself. My breasts grew and although they hurt I was so excited that they were so perfectly round. I felt like a hippo sometimes but he seemed to be more in love with my body than ever before. I would catch him staring and he couldn’t keep his hands off of me. His touch was more frequent but gentler. He held me like the most precious stone and we would lie for hours with our hands on my belly waiting to feel the flutters of our baby. It was magical.
Then, the unthinkable happened.
I did not give birth to a bouncing happy baby; I gave birth to a tiny sleeping angel. My whole world uprooted in an instant. My heart broke, but so did my body image, and my ideas on sex. I would stand in front of the mirror and think no more shimmer on my collar bone, which is where my baby should be. No more lip gloss, my lips should be kissing my baby. No more lotion or attention to detail. To me there was no point I was no longer his sexy lady, I was the lady that gave birth to a dead baby. How was that ever going to be attractive?
After things calmed down, and I had completed my six weeks physical healing time I thought I would love to just curl up in his arms again, but that wasn’t the case. The first time he tried to kiss me (in a more than just a peck way) I froze. I felt my body tense, my heart pound in fear…why would he try to kiss me? Did he not understand that our baby had died inside of me? That I was broken and unworthy? I forced myself to snuggle up into that sexy little curve of his armpit and lay there as he softly tickled my shoulder. It lasted a whole five minutes before I made an excuse to get up.
For months I would look in the mirror and critique every inch of me. I hated my body and sex was the last thing on my mind.
So many things I would degrade myself about. It’s one thing to have a “Mommy Body” but it was another to have it without a baby.
My breasts leaked for weeks and all I could do was hate it, hate my body, did my body not understand that my baby had died inside of it? Who the hell was going to get rid of these stretch marks (or proof I tried and failed as I saw them)? I finally just stopped, I stopped looking in the mirror, I stopped brushing my hair, I stopped putting on makeup, and I stopped wearing cute undies and went for granny panties and sports bras…let’s see him find that sexy.
He was respectful, and never forceful, but he also never gave up. He would tell me he loved me and that I was beautiful to him. He would still smack my butt when I walked by him and I was constantly catching him staring down my shirt with every opportunity he had.
Then one day, as I dried off after my shower, I looked over and saw my lotion bottle all dusty. I reached up and slowly lotioned every inch of my skin. I walked out of the bathroom happy and feeling a bit like a woman again. As the days went by I continued to lotion, and one day I just stood there naked in front of my mirror staring at my new bereaved mother’s body. I first looked at my eyes, and I thought they looked so hallow and sad. So, I put some shadow on them, stuck my eyeliner pencil in and drug it across, I then topped it off with a bit of mascara. It felt good.
The days turned into weeks and I slowly got back into my routine of primping, but I still could not let him touch me.
Then, a breakthrough! I looked in the mirror, again naked, and I found myself speaking out loud (thankfully no one was home but me). The words just rolled out of my mouth “I am sexy”.
My lips were not just meant to kiss my baby that was gone, they also helped create him, they were a way to show my lover I still loved him, that I still found him sexy, and that it was good he still found me sexy. That the shoulders that were supposed to hold my baby could also hold kisses from my man. That my skin was a bit lose in spots but it was feminine and beautiful. That I was beautiful. Yes, my baby had died inside me but that was just a part of it. My body also created him through love and sex with my man. That we as a couple had made love to create him, that we had made love before him, while he was growing, and that we could make love again. We were a power couple and we could get through anything together. I spent the next couple of hours getting back into the bathtub, shaving my legs, lotioning every inch of my skin, brushing my teeth and hair, carefully applying my makeup just right, slowly putting on my lip gloss so not to smudge it, curling my eyelashes. I placed shimmer on my collar bone, made a few poses in the mirror to make sure I still had it. I stuffed my breasts into that perfect bra with undies to match.
I made it again look effortless,
and then I let him love my body again,
I loved my body again.
Shared by: Your Son’s MotherSee More
Dear Cae’s Daddy,
International Bereaved Father’s Day, wow, just wow. Twelve years ago neither one of us would have ever imagined that such a day could exist. In fact as naïve as it sounds, I am not sure that either one of us ever imagined that babies died. Not that we lacked the intelligence to know it was untrue, but such things happened to others, to those making poor choices, to …those without proper medical care, certainly such a horrific thing could never happen to us. And then, in an instant everything we ever thought we knew about life, death, love, and longing changed forever.
Do you remember that day? That weekend? That moment when everything changed? We had we just moved into our new home and had spent the entire weekend dreaming of how we were to decorate the nursery. We had learned just weeks before that the child I carried was a son, and we were eager to see him once again as we made our way to the doctor’s office the following Monday morning. The tech helped me onto the table as I answered her questions, yes I felt him often I assured her with a smile as I exposed my already round belly. You took my hand as she spread the icy cold goo and we all turned our attention to the small, still screen. After several minutes of silence you ask what would be the first of many questions. “Doesn’t the heartbeat flicker?” The nurse moved the wand upward placing it on my own chest, “Yes, the heartbeat does flicker. Do you see that? Do you see your wife’s heartbeat there?” We both silently shook our heads as she moved the wand back to my belly and continued, “See this? This is your baby. This is your baby’s heart. No flicker. I am sorry…the doctor is on his way…I really have no answers for you…I am so, so, sorry…” She continued on and on and as promised, we were meet by doctors, and nurses, and counselors but I didn’t hear anything that they said. Did you?
Later the same evening we arrived at the hospital. The lady at the check in desk smiled and ask if I was in labor. No, I answered, I was here for an induction. “Oh you must be so excited to meet your new little one! Do you know if it is a boy or a girl?” And that is when, for the first time I would have to allow myself to speak the words that would become our reality, “He is a boy, he is a dead little boy. He died inside me. I am having a dead baby boy.”
I must admit that I remember very little of the next three days as we waited for the arrival of the child that had already left our world for the next. This was the only thing that brought me any comfort and yet you were so angry with God that you did not want me or anyone else to speak His name. I do remember demanding another ultrasound just to ensure that my faith alone was not enough to have made what we had been told to be untrue. I know you must have gotten tired of me pleading with God as I struggled to accept what you could not. I knew even then that it was too much for you. I knew that your heart was broken and that what little faith you had carried was now gone.
While I was confined to the bed you spent countless hours wondering the halls, running out side for “fresh air”, or maybe you were just trying to hide how much you too were hurting. In case I have never told, I forgive you for not being there with me the moment in which our son slipped into this world. I say slipped because it was nothing at all like my fist full term delivery in which I had felt wave after wave of intense pain and then had to push with all my might, no, this was not at all like that. One minute our sweet little baby boy was within me and the next he was there before me. I had delivered his still, quite body all alone in that still, quite room.
I am not sure how much time had passed since the moment of his arrival and when you walked in and found us there. I remember the room was no longer still nor quite. As the doctors and nurses stirred about us, we were finally introduced to our son. He was so perfect. Together we counted his ten tiny fingers and ten tiny toes. The skin on his upper lip and just below his teeny nose was wrinkled and pruney as was his thumb. We were told this was because he had sucked his thumb in the womb. All of your strong, dominant features were there and everyone remarked at how much he looked like you. After covering his body in tears and kisses, we wrapped him in a blanket and took turns passing his tiny, lifeless, body between us. Both of our parents came to say their goodbyes yet you and I both selfishly clung to our son. Did you think it was as special as I did that it was only our embrace that he knew?
The days, the weeks, and the months that followed are much of a blur to me. I am sorry if I never thanked you for taking care of all of the arrangements for me. I am also not sure if I ever told you how sorry I was that I was too ill to attend the service with you. I can only imagine how awful it must have been to bury our child alone. I promise it was equally as difficult to know such was happening without me. I will always be grateful that your parents were there for you when I could not be.
In the weeks that followed parents returned home, our first child was entertained by my parents, friends and family who did not know what to say neglected to call or visit, new neighbors kept their distance, you returned to work, and I was all alone in our lovely new home. All I could think about, all I could talk about, all that consumed my very existence was my desire for the child I lost. I apologize as I know realize this was the last thing you wanted to hear.
Your inability to discuss our son, the son which meant every bit as much to me as our other children, is a big part of what I believe finally pushed us apart. As the years passed I submerged myself in my faith, in it I found the peace and assurance that someday I would reunite with our son in heaven. You however allowed yourself to become more and more bitter with God claiming that you could never understand a God that would take our child from us. I prayed you would one day see things as I saw them but instead, you decided to turn your anger on me.
I am so sorry that I could not help you grieve. I am so sorry that you could not express your pain and your confusion. I am sorry that your anger escalated to violence and fearing for my safety and the safety of our other children, I fled. My sister said you told her that you knew I was gone and that I had no plans to return because I had cleared all of our son’s things for his shadow box and his memory box and teddy bear were missing along with me and the other children. You never tried to make it right. You never admitted you had a problem or that you needed help. You know I would have helped you. You knew I loved you more than you ever allowed me to show you.
So, twelve years ago we would have never known of Bereaved Father’s Day, we would have never known of being bereaved. We would have never known the pain of losing not only our son, but each other. Both loses have taught me so many things. They have taught me to embrace every moment both good and bad, to treasure every soul that dances into and out of your life, no matter how brief the visit. These losses have also taught me to believe, to hope, and to trust in something bigger than myself.
Yes, that is right, I am still a faithful servant to a God that I myself will admit to not understanding. Because of you I had to put all the more faith in the One who promised to “work all things for my good”, the One who’s “ways are above my ways and thoughts are above my thoughts”. The One who promises that His plans “are for good and not for evil”, the One who promises me a “future full of hope”. And above all, the One who has shown me that all though our son will never return to us here in this life, we can “go to him” when our time here is through.
I received a vision some time ago in which you, I, and our son were together once again. We were all hand in hand, him in between us. I believe this vision was our son’s way of reminding me to pray for you each and every day, to thank you for giving him life, however short, as his life was for a purpose. I have found that purpose in all that I do. I have answered a call to minster to other families is their own times of loss. Again I have to thank you, much of what I have learned in our parting has taught me to feel as others feel, as I imagine you must have felt. I say felt again because of faith. I believe what I saw in that vision to be truth. I believe that one day you and I and our son will be together in the ever after. I do not know how, I do not know when, or who may lead you there, but I know it will be so.
So, until such a time as we are all together once more, Happy Bereaved Father’s Day. For everything you have given me in your presence, in your absence, and in the hope of what is to come, I thank you.
Until together forever,
Your Son’s MotherSee More
Shared by: MeSee More
To the love of my life,
You looked over my shoulder as I typed the words to my previous letter. You did not know what I was doing, but you knew I was in deep thought and hard at work. You chased our daughter, my rainbow baby and you’re first born, as I bared my soul to another man. You saw the tears building in my eyes as I recalled precious, painful memories. You placed your hand on my back assuring me that whatever the reason for my current state, you were by my side. You have however, not always been at my side. There is a time in my life that you only know though what I have shared. Deep, gapping, painfully raw wounds exposed to one who was not present when they were inflected.
Why you, you are a bereaved father as well. The same way you chose to be a father to the two children I was solely parenting here on earth, you were aware from the beginning that there was another child in which I parented in heaven. Like so many other things in which we share differing beliefs on, you never lacked an understanding of how important it is to me to parent all three of my children. So, while you may argue that you are not a bereaved father, in your love for me, you are.
I say this not because you knew the pain of anticipation meet with devastation. Not because you were the one at my side when I learned the truth that would forever change who I was. Not because you held my son’s tiny, lifeless, still body. Not because you were there in the weeks, the months, and even the immediate years that followed. I say this because you chose a me the was devastated. You accepted that I was a different person because I had suffered the loss of a child. You cradled me in your arms as I longed for just a moment or two more to cradle the son you never meet. Although you were not a part of my life in the weeks, months, and years immediately following my loss, you are a part of my life now and you are committed to forever.
Where life, loss, and love have let me down, you have elevated me to a place of peace which I never knew existed. You have encouraged me to embrace those things in life which have made me who I am, to love who I am, and to be the best me I can be. You have taught me to see obstacles as opportunities, to dream big, and to know that whatever ever path I felt lead to follow, you would be there cheering me on. It is because of you that I was able to return to school, to obtain the degree in which will allow me to minister to others, to answer a call to do what I do.
You have cheeked book bags, cleaned up vomit, attended school functions, kissed boo boos, repaired broken toys and nursed broken hearts. All the while helping to keep house as well as supporting our family financially. Long before you ever knew the love of a child of your own, you had made mine your own. No one has ever loved my children or me the way that you love us.
Here we are a little better than five years into marriage and I have the father I always dreamed of for my children, the love I always hoped of for myself, the education I had long since given up hope for, and the most beautiful, perfect, stunning rainbow baby girl that anyone has ever been blessed with. You have given me all of this and so much more. And you have not only given to me and to our children, but you have given to others. In your support of me and my passion for other bereaved parents, you have allowed me to give as well.
In my studies I was taught that there are five stages of grief. The first is denial, followed by anger, then bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. I believe what separates the grief of losing a child from that of other losses is that it is impossible to accept the loss of a child. Not that one lacks the understanding that their child is gone and that nothing will ever bring them back, but accepting that such a thing could happen. How does one accept the death of their child? Not many are able, but you, you accept that I will grieve forever more.
I thank God each and every day that you have never known the pain of loss, yet I also thank him that you understand what such pain does to a person. I thank you so much for all that you are to me, and to our children, both the children here with us as well as those who are not. While you may never consider yourself a bereaved parent by blood, you are by circumstance. Today and every day I celebrate you.
Happy Bereaved (Step)Father’s Day,
All of my Love now and forever,
~ MeSee More
Shared by: Karen
Doug,
My heart is breaking yet again. I don’t even know what to say to you. Losing Rebekah all those years ago was so terribly hard. You saw how I suffered her loss. You were there for me no matter how low I got. You stayed with me in the delivery room and supported me through the whole process. You worried about me and suffered with me, but never made me feel I shouldn’t be so sad.
I was still mourning her loss when you became ill a year later. Going through the two years of illness with you before you joined her in heaven was so hard. It took me years, and I don’t think I ever truly recovered. It did help in some small measure to think of the two of you being together. And now, Doug, our oldest son has joined you in heaven. His loss was so sudden, I’m still reeling. It still doesn’t seem quite real. I so wish you were here to help me through this.
Derrick missed you so much. I am sure he was very excited to see you and his sister. I have always felt you and Rebekah up there watching over us. Now Derrick will too. We need your help to take care of the children. I got ours raised, but now Derrick’s children will be growing up without their dad. It doesn’t seem right for this to be happening again, but I know you are with up. While I wish you were still here to comfort me, at least I know you are with my lost babies. I’m glad to know you continue to be there for me and to keep taking care of the babies you have with you.
Your loving wife,
Karen
Told by: Giselle
JOB 5:8
Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® serving Adelaide, Australia
email: RebeccaKubenk.SBD@stillbirthday.info
Rebecca Kubenk IBCLC CD SBD CPES
I am a mother of five, three singletons and twins.
My Angel Baby, my second child, was miscarried at twenty weeks gestation.
After the loss of my baby, it took a long time to conceive again both physically and emotionally, with the help of IVF I conceived twins, followed by a naturally conceived singleton.
I began working as a Breastfeeding Counsellor in 2004, with the ABA, after the birth of my fifth child. I went on to become an IBCLC in 2009, assisting mothers in the fourth trimester with breastfeeding and guiding them through decisions after a perinatal loss.
In 2011, I completed a Certificate IV in Doula Services working as a Certified Doula. Meeting several mothers who had also endured a perinatal loss led me to Stillbirthday.
Stillbirthday has provided me with the opportunity to make caring for families more official, and furthered my education on the needs of bereaved families.
I welcome the opportunity to donate my time to support families who are expecting a loss or who have experienced an unexpected loss at any point in their pregnancy.
Certified Birth & Bereavement Doula® serving Wyoming
email: JessicaDube.SBD@stillbirthday.info
Certified in Psychological First Aid
Jessica is located in Sheridan Wyoming and is a married Mother of four. She has three living children, and one angel baby born at 20 weeks gestation. It is because of her own experiences that she is drawn to Doula work. She became a mother at the tender age of 17 and suffered her loss at age 20. She grew up in a broken family and has worked hard to build a good foundation for her own family.
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The SBD® Doula provides support to families experiencing birth in any trimester and in any outcome.
Here at stillbirthday.info, you can learn about the SBD® Doula.
