- L
- K
As we get closer to December 17, what would have been Ella’s 1st birthday, I am overwhelmed with emotion. This is a time we would have been planning a party, a huge milestone, a happy occasion. But instead I am left looking back on the day we went into the hospital only to leave without our daughter in our arms.
I have met so many wonderful parents in my process of grief who I can share my emotions and experience with, and unfortunately they completely understand as they have gone through it themselves. Stillbirth occurs in 1 out of every 160 births in the U.S., and that doesn’t take into account those families who lose their precious babies shortly after birth. What we all have in common, though, is that we wish we would have had more time.
Nothing can prepare a parent for all of the decisions that have to be made once they’ve found out that their baby died. It all happens incredibly quickly, and on top of that, the time you spend with your child is the only time you have. Forever. Once the nurse takes your baby out of the room you know you will never see or hold them again. That’s all you get. And it’s never enough.
So, in honor of Ella’s 1st birthday, with your help, we would like to give other families the gift of time. We are raising money to donate a cuddle cot to Kaiser San Leandro, where I gave birth.
That moment when I watched Ella be taken out of my hospital room is burned into my memory. Yes, we got to hold her, and swaddle her, but the human body is simply not equipped to allow much else before time takes it’s toll. So we had to say goodbye. A cuddle cot slows everything down so that families are allowed more time with their babies. Time to bathe and clothe them. Time to take lots of pictures and time for family members to come and visit. Time that we didn’t have.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this, and if you have a moment please watch the video as well. It is so close to our experience, and I’m so glad that this family got the benefit of a cuddle cot. As it stands now, there is nothing we can do to prevent stillbirth from occurring. I hope, with research, this will change in the future, but for now this is something we can do to help someone going through one of the worst experiences a parent can have. Losing their child.
I have met so many wonderful parents in my process of grief who I can share my emotions and experience with, and unfortunately they completely understand as they have gone through it themselves. Stillbirth occurs in 1 out of every 160 births in the U.S., and that doesn’t take into account those families who lose their precious babies shortly after birth. What we all have in common, though, is that we wish we would have had more time.
Nothing can prepare a parent for all of the decisions that have to be made once they’ve found out that their baby died. It all happens incredibly quickly, and on top of that, the time you spend with your child is the only time you have. Forever. Once the nurse takes your baby out of the room you know you will never see or hold them again. That’s all you get. And it’s never enough.
So, in honor of Ella’s 1st birthday, with your help, we would like to give other families the gift of time. We are raising money to donate a cuddle cot to Kaiser San Leandro, where I gave birth.
That moment when I watched Ella be taken out of my hospital room is burned into my memory. Yes, we got to hold her, and swaddle her, but the human body is simply not equipped to allow much else before time takes it’s toll. So we had to say goodbye. A cuddle cot slows everything down so that families are allowed more time with their babies. Time to bathe and clothe them. Time to take lots of pictures and time for family members to come and visit. Time that we didn’t have.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this, and if you have a moment please watch the video as well. It is so close to our experience, and I’m so glad that this family got the benefit of a cuddle cot. As it stands now, there is nothing we can do to prevent stillbirth from occurring. I hope, with research, this will change in the future, but for now this is something we can do to help someone going through one of the worst experiences a parent can have. Losing their child.