In Memory of Magnolia Mae: Funeral Fund

Magnolia Mae, everything about you has been a surprise. From finding out we were pregnant, to you being a girl, to the almost perfect pregnancy, to the unexpected early birth, to your entire Nicu stay. You have done what you want, when you want & progressed how you want. Your sisters have been begging for you since the day Arlo was born, “we need 1 more girl mom” is all I’d hear. They spoke you into existence before we even knew about you. Your brothers on the other hand were shocked about you, slowly but surely they grew to prepare for another sister & love you. Now, Daddy knew you were a girl from the start. Driving to the ultrasound he just absolutely was certain you were our last little girl. Mom wasn’t so sure, your pregnancy was absolutely perfect. While your sisters had me absolutely sick the entire time, you did not. I was positive you were a boy. I was terrified what I’d do with 2 babies, everyone who knows me knew this. As time came closer I began to get excited about the thought of you & Arlo being basically twins. Y’all would be so close, do everything together, learn together, hit milestones together, & be best friends. You are the absolutely perfect ending to our family. November 20th, I go to the hospital thinking everything’s fine & I’ll be back home later tonight. Within 15 minutes of being there I’m told my cervix is completely gone & your coming NOW & I have to have an emergency C-section because your breeched. Obviously scared to death, I call dad crying that he needs to come NOW. 10:03pm you’re born, anxious, terrified, worried were just some of the emotions I felt. I hear “80%, 50%, 20%” coming from the pediatricians NP & I just knew that was your oxygen levels. Seconds later she tells me your doing great, your intubated & their taking you to the NICU but you will probably be flown out to a larger hospital. I thought the hardest part was done. I get to the room where dad is & I cannot stop the tears, “will you be okay, what’s next”.

2am they come in to tell me your doing fine but they are flying you out to a bigger NICU. 3am comes & they are wheeling you into my room on the stretcher to say goodbye before you leave. Little did we know we’d have to wait 5 days to see you again bc I’d get a really bad infection from the C-section. We finally see you again & your TINY, our teny tiny Magnolia Mae. Swaddled in a blanket, you’re smaller than a baby doll. 1 lb 7.3 oz but we knew in our hearts you’d grow big & strong. So many scares in the Hospital for the next month. You’d have an issue, then a few good days, then the next issue. But we still had the biggest dreams & hopes that this was just going to be roller coaster ride & then you’d be home. We were so excited to see you moving around, blinking, & thriving to breathe almost completely on your own. Then a week of absolute chaos, stress, & complete fear started. Absolutely no medication was working, even though it worked before. So many prayers, tears, & just completely fear that week. You fought so hard my sweet girl.

Monday, December 23rd you were able to meet your siblings. Oh how your siblings had been begging for the moment to be able to come.

Then later that night Mom & Dad surrounded you with all the love we had as you gained your wings & flew

As a mother & father of this big family, we’ve never been more heartbroken in our life’s. We love you so much, our sweet Magnolia Mae. A love so strong it kills us this is where we’re at. We may never have gotten you home, heard your first cry, been able to hold you all day long, but we will always cherish the month we did get with you. You’re so loved & will forever be the baby to our family. Thank you for the time we got, thank you for fighting so hard, & thank you for being the perfect baby girl see you later baby girl I love you baby

We are fundraising to cover the funeral expenses for our sweet girl.