Month: August 2016

released. 

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Today we had an appointment with our RE. We were almost late (thanks Shane), and when we got there we waited for 40 minutes. Not in the waiting room…in the exam room…No pants, draped in a piece of paper, feet in stirrups. I was SO cold by the time the doctor came in, and when I got up to leave, the paper stuck to my ass. It wasn’t a pretty sight, I’m sure. 

Everything looked good, and her growth has caught up; she was measuring a week behind at all scans until today. It had me worried and Shane confessed today he had been worried but was keeping a strong face for me. I told him while I appreciated that, he needs to tell me when he’s freaking the fuck out, because chances are we’re both feeling the same way. 

We are officially “released” from the RE.  I have mixed feelings about this. I want to be monitored 24/7 to make sure things are progressing well because I’m paranoid. On the other hand, I know from here on out I will be seeing the MFM’s and I know they’re going to take me seriously, give me the best care, and pretty much keep my crazy in check. At least I hope. 

When they release you, you get a spoon that says congrats blah blah blah. I now have 2 spoons, and no babies. Let’s hope that this changes this March. 

photos.

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Earlier this morning Landon handed me a seashell, and said he got it for me. This seashell sits on my buffet next to his baby picture. I said thank you, and acted like I was super impressed for a few, then asked him to put it back on the buffet because I love it there. He walked over and set it down and said ” I’m going to put it next to my baby picture”.

I love his baby picture. I love Kenley’s baby picture too, but in a different way. I got to thinking about the photos we have of Kenley, and realized we don’t have a picture of just Shane holding her. There are photos from NILMDTS of me holding her with him over my shoulder etc, but none of just him holding her. This has been weighing so heavy on me this evening. I will never have a photo of him holding her. Somedays I’m able to look at these things and think “Ok, don’t be so hard on yourself because who the hell thinks of these things in the moment when you’re shocked because your child died”, but other times I think “God…how could I have forgotten to take that photo?!”.

I’ve been missing her really badly lately. Wanting to hold her more than anything in the world. Feeling extremely sad, and beat down about everything. She’s forever going to be baby; as Landon grows she will remain the same in my mind. I will never know what she would look like as a little toddler, or a 5 year old starting Kindergarten. I mean, in a way I do because she looked just like Landon. And honestly? That makes it harder on my heart sometimes. Landon is such perfection in my eyes, he is so beautiful and perfect that it gives my heart a painful jab when I see him being adorable. She will never be here.

The bad days are still here- still very much present. They aren’t as heavy, I guess? I don’t know how to explain it. Friday night was bad, though. I cried for probably 2 hours after I put Landon to bed, and I don’t even know what triggered it. I just got sad. This sucks. This is unfair. This is not how my life should be. This is not how I should be spending my days- very much alone. I should have my girl with me and I should be taking care of her while her big brother is at school.

Monday she will be gone for 8 months. Eight months. 243 days. I have been on this earth, without my beautiful daughter, for far too long. And the worst part?… I have to continue to be without her until the day I die.

A good friend had messaged me the other day asking if we were still planning to walk in Lydie’s Loop (www.lydiesloop.org) 5k that a loss mom is putting on here in my town for her daughter, Lydie. I was seriously considering going, and I had asked my parents, my sister, and Shane’s parents to go with us- all who said yes. But…the more that I thought about it, the more intimidated I became. I didn’t feel that I was ready to be around that stuff yet. I’m not ready to be around other loss moms right now. Online, it’s different. I can just leave or close my phone or whatever, whenever I need to.

She told me that she was still interested in it, and she wanted to register in honor of Kenley and our family. I cried. Her and her sister (and I’m not sure who else, if anyone) are planning to register in Kenley’s honor, and it just makes my heart burst with love. Knowing that someone is going to be there for the walk in honor of my sweet girl is so amazing. A huge thank you to Nicky and Jessica. It means the world to me, you will never know.

Today has been one of those days where I just want to lay in bed all day. I’m so thankful for my amazing Husband. He came home from another long day of work, at one of the most stressful jobs in the entire world, and let me nap. Then, he ordered pizza for dinner so I didn’t have to cook anything.

I love you Shane. I know you don’t read this, understandably, but I just love you more than I could ever put into words.

Thank you for being my rock.

Today, well, today can suck it.

PAL.

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This whole being pregnant after a loss thing is…weird? I’ve been PAL before, but this is much different. I know my grief is still very strong and pretty much overshadowing everything else going on. 

Once again, I want to be happy about being pregnant- we worked really hard to get here again- but I just don’t feel it. And honestly it makes me sad. I want to be excited. 

I don’t know how to change these feelings. 

Ugh. Big ol’ F you to life. 

song.

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Every once in a while Shane and I will be listening to something and a few of the lyrics hit me like a truck.

This song is one of those. The lyrics just spoke to me.

 

I took a little journey to the unknown,
And I come back changed. I can feel it in my bones.
I fucked with forces that our eyes can’t see.
Now the darkness got a hold on me.
Oh, the darkness got a hold on me.

How long, baby, have I been away?
Oh, it feels like ages though you say it’s only days.
There ain’t language for the things I’ve seen.
And the truth is stranger than my own worst dreams.
The truth is stranger than all my dreams.
Oh, the darkness got a hold on me.

I have seen what the darkness does.
Say goodbye to who I was.
I ain’t never been away so long.
Don’t look back them days are gone.
Follow me into the endless night.
I can bring your fears to life.
Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.
Meet me in the woods tonight.

The truth is stranger than my own worst dreams.
Now the darkness got a hold on me.

I have seen what the darkness does.
Say goodbye to who I was.
I ain’t never been away so long.
Don’t look back them days are gone.
Follow me into the endless night.
I can bring your fears to life.
Show me yours and I’ll show you mine.
Meet me in the woods tonight.

MFM.

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Today we had our dating ultrasound at the MFM office. I was so anxious, and nervous; I puked for the first time this morning, so I was going into the appointment with high hopes. When we arrived at the office, I was immediately impressed by how new it all looked. We walked in and the building was AMAZING. It was just finished in June of this year, and the whole decoration theme is that of Ohio State. Everything was just so clean and sparkly which somehow made me feel more confident in the Doctors. So lame, I know, but it’s true!

When we went back, we were put into an ultrasound room that was HUGE with a giant monitor. Once we started the scan, the tech (who was like, 23 years old MAX) was so sweet to us, and showed us everything. She told us exactly what we were looking at, and showed us the little flicker on the screen that was our girl’s heart beating away- 176 BPM. She looks like a gummy bear, and had arms and legs (although they are super tiny). The tech held the probe in one position long enough for us to see our girl dancing around. I pretty much lost it immediately. I was crying for most of the scan. It was so wonderful to see another baby with a heartbeat inside of me, growing like she should – but at the same time, it was so sad. We were given some great pictures, and told to wait for the Doctor to come in to discuss with us.

We waited for a long time, but it was totally worth it.

The Doctor came in, and I immediately fell in love with him. He answered all of our questions, and spent some serious time with us. He pulled records from Landon’s delivery and went over them with us. He informed us of all the tests he wanted to run, and that he would allow us to come back in 2 weeks for another scan. We have that scan set for 9/8. The new patient appointment is set for 9/22, at which I will meet with one of the Doctors to discuss our plan of action. At this appointment we will also have our NT scan (Nuchal Translucency Screening) as I will be 12 weeks. They also set us up for our 18 week detailed anatomy scan on 11/3. This made me extremely happy to hear- DETAILED. If you recall in one of my previous posts I discussed how our anatomy scan with Kenley was 9 minutes. I truly hope that I am at my anatomy scan with the MFM for an hour. I don’t care how long I have to be there, please just make sure my baby is ok.

Then, on 12/13 I will go in for a Fetal Echocardiogram. Can I tell you how fucking happy I am to be given all this monitoring? I mean… I’m just beyond thrilled. I know that my baby will be given THE BEST care that I can provide for her. It does hurt my heart to know that Kenley could have been given this care, and she wasn’t. That was pretty hard to deal with today, I won’t lie. I know that I did everything for Kenley that I could, but it just cuts like a knife to know that there was someone out there who could have been able to save her, maybe. I don’t know. It’s just sad.

So, bottom line is we LOVE the MFM team at Ohio State. I am throughly looking forward to going through a pregnancy with them. I know that they will take my concerns seriously, and do everything they can to bring this baby into the world screaming.

On another note, A GIANT THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the Molly Bear fundraiser. We exceeded our goal, and I have officially placed my order for my Kenley Bear!!! The bear should ship out to us within 4 weeks! This makes my heart so happy. They asked for a few specific design requests for the bear, so Shane and I thought about that for a while today. We decided to go with foxes (obviously) and her nursery colors- Coral, Yellow, and Teal. No matter what the Kenley Bear looks like, I will be so thankful for her. I’m so excited. I’m also pretty sure that when it comes I will cry pretty hard.

All in all…today was a pretty good day.

 

 

fundraiser pt2.

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Wow, thank you to anyone who has donated to the Molly Bear fundraiser. We are at $350/500! It’s looking like donating these bears is going to be a real possibility for us. I cannot wait to hold my Kenley bear in my arms. 

I was so medicated the night she was born, and so incredibly sad the following day that I just don’t remember how she felt. I hate that. I hate it SO much. It’s unfair and cruel; every mother should remember how her child felt in her arms. 

Thank you so much for donating! It is so very appreciated 🙂 

fundraiser.

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Today, Kenley has been gone for 34 weeks. I don’t know how time keeps going without her here in my arms…

I don’t usually do things like this, but I feel like I need to.

I started a fundraiser from the Molly Bears website to raise $450- enough to cover the cost of 1 bear for my family, and 9 other bears for women who cannot afford to purchase one of their own.

Incase you don’t know what a Molly Bear is, it’s a stuffed teddy bear that is weighted to the exact weight of the child you lost. Our bear would be 7lbs 5oz, and give me the opportunity to feel Kenley in my arms again, so to speak.

Here is the link, and if you choose to donate please know that it is greatly appreciated- not only from my family, but from the 9 other families who will be able to feel the weight of their lost child in their arms again.

https://rally.org/mollybears/7OpApHXxys5/randihayes

toe. 

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Today was the nicest day we’ve had weather wise for a long time. I sat outside today, listening to the crickets and enjoying the cool breeze. 

I walked to the back of my car to pick up a toy Landon left there before school this morning. When I got there, a small orange butterfly was flying around the toy. I figured it would fly away, but it didn’t…it landed on my toe. 

And sat there for an extended moment. 

I’m so thankful for these small moments with my beautiful daughters spirit. 

Today was hard, Kenley. I missed you very badly.