gloom.

Posted by Randi

The entire “Holiday” season last year was so weird and warm. When I had Kenley, it was in the 70s- it was December. Today it’s mid May, low 50s, and rainy. Days like today are hard. It reminds me of what I will never have with her.

She will never be here dressed in one of the super warm sleepers that I spent hours shopping for. She will never get to use the blanket her grandma crocheted for her. She will never roll around on one of the quilts her great grandmas made for her. I never have to worry about her being cold because I know that all she knew was the warmth I provided her for 38 weeks and 4 days. The only way I was able to keep my baby warm; the only way I will ever be able to provide for her.

When your child dies, in my case my daughter, you lose not only that child, but the future. You lose the first tooth, the first skinned knee or broken bone. You lose holidays, birthdays, first crushes and subsequently first broken hearts. You lose dress shopping for prom. You lose watching them fall in love and meeting the boy who is never good enough for your daughter. You lose the good choices and the mistakes. You lose engagment, dress shopping, and the wedding.

You just lose it all.

Life after loss is…Weird? Confusing? Awful and Beautiful all at the same time? Time seems to stand still, but then you realize in 3 days that your daughter will be dead for 5 months. FIVE MONTHS. Wait, what? I’m still grieving; I’m still living this fucked up nightmare. How is time continuing without me…without her? It is impossibly hard to watch the seasons change and realize that she will never hear the birds chirp, or feel the warmth of the sun on her face.

It’s even harder to realize that life has to go on. People move forward with their life and what has happened to us becomes a sad memory. I don’t expect people to keep Kenley front and center in their brain, not at all. I realize that I do. She is my all day every day. I can’t change that; I don’t want to change that. There are times where she isn’t the forefront of it all (thank you Landon), but she’s there.

She has become me. I am her. I’m living my life for my dead child. She has changed me and shaped me in ways that I never thought possible; ways I never wanted to imagine in my deepest darkest fears. She gave me stretch marks on my ass and a weird new freckle near my belly button; Physical reminders. When she died, part of me, part of my soul, went with her. I am forever changed because of her.

She made me the mother I am today; The grieving mother. The mother of a stillborn. The mother that often hears “I cannot imagine what you’re going through/how you’re feeling”–Please try to. The mother who is learning how to function again. The mother trying to pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

She made me realize how much I could truly love another child. I loved her in a way I never thought possible; not more than Landon- but differently.

I love her as my daughter.

the process.

Posted by Randi

When Landon was born, he was incredibly difficult to handle. He never slept…ever. He was colicky, had a dairy allergy so he needed the most expensive formula available (of course!) and he was just all around “rough”. Being our first child, I’m sure that we handled things a lot differently than we had planned to handle them with K. I know for a fact we did.

Landon stressed me out beyond belief. It was so bad at a point around 4-6 months that Shane and I seriously considered never having more children. If all my children were going to be this hard, nope. Not going to happen. I went from working since I was 14, to being a stay at home mom. One of the most difficult things I’ve ever done, but the hands down most rewarding job I’ve ever had. I would never trade my choice to stay home for ANYTHING. Eventually things eased up as we become more stable in our life. We lived in our house longer, Shane got settled in his job, etc.

When Landon was two, we decided that we were ready to try again. I had my IUD removed, and we were both a little intimidated by the possibility of getting pregnant immediately like we had with Landon. So, we decided to just “see what happens” from February 2013-August 2013. It seemed like our timing was always perfect. What was happening? Why was I not pregnant yet? At the 6-7 month mark, I had my annual exam with a new OBGYN here in Columbus.

I met with her and told her we had been trying, and I just had a feeling that something was wrong. It had been nearly 7 months of perfect timing and nothing was happening. She told me that until it had been a year, she refused to run any testing on either of us. That didn’t sit well with me, so I went looking for someone else who would take me seriously. I found a woman who agreed to test me. She ran the normal work up, and also ran a test called “Anti-Mullerian Hormone”. When I went in to discuss the results I expected to hear everything was fine; I was wrong.

My AMH level was .58- Normal ranges for a 27 year old woman are 3.20 for the 50% percentile. I was SO far below that. I felt like someone punched me in the gut. I cried and asked what the hell it meant for my fertility. My doctor explained to me that low AMH levels are related to the amount of eggs left in your body. Some doctors say that you need to examine the other pieces of the puzzle to come up with a real conclusion. My other labs came back within normal range, so that was a plus. My doctor said we could try Clomid for a month and see how my body responded. As I had never heard of this infertility DX, or Clomid, I agreed. Ahead we went.

I became pregnant, and miscarried at 5w6d. The pregnancy was ectopic. I ended up in the ER with nurses dressed in full “radioactive” suits (for lack of better words) giving me two shots to kill all living things in my uterus/fallopian tubes. I was terrified. Shane was terrified. This was one of the most painful things I had experienced. This is the time that I found out about my TCF friends. People who had been through what I had, and were continuing to try for a child after a loss/multiple losses. I was given INCREDIBLE information in my early days after our first loss. I will forever be thankful for the women who helped me through the darkness.

We tried again and again…and again and again…Clomid failed me. Letrozole failed me. I was sent to a Reproductive Endocrinologist (RE). It was so intimidating. I was now educated on what the RE would do for us. When we had our first appointment, the RE told me he suggested that we go straight to IVF because my AMH levels were so low. Punch to the Gut. Thousands of dollars to have another child? How is this happening to us? He told us that he would be willing to try one more cycle of Clomid (6 cycles lifetime max due to increased risk of Cancer after that time frame) with an IUI (Intrauterine Insemination). I decided that we needed a mental break, and we benched ourselves until January 2015.

This was my last cycle on Clomid. My body responded too well. I went in to be monitored and I had a 26mm follicle (they want them 18-20mm). My doctor told me that it would be useless to do the IUI because the follicle was too big, and probably bad. We canceled the IUI. We were instructed to try on our own, and just see what happened. I ended up pregnant again. My pregnancy tests were very light; They never got darker. I went in for an ultrasound and blood work. A chemical pregnancy was confirmed- another miscarriage. We were heartbroken. Again? How is this happening to us AGAIN. I once again leaned on the women from my board for support and help.

In March I returned to the RE to discuss our plan. He pushed for IVF; I pushed for an injectable medicine cycle with IUI. He told me that he would do 3 for me. He warned me they were expensive (meds+$500 for a cycle). Somehow my insurance covered my Follistim @ $60 copay, instead of the full price. It was an error somewhere; my insurance does not cover fertility medication to be used in any Assisted reproductive technology procedures. My body responded very well to this protocol. I had a 23mm follicle. We triggered my body, and the IUI was set for 36 hrs after the shot. IUI’s are supposed to be “simple”. The catheter is inserted, and the sperm is deposited at the top of your uterus near the fallopian tubes. Piece of cake. Nope.

My cervix was angry, I guess. It took my doctor, and 3 nurses to get the procedure done. 5 minutes turned into 20, and a lot of pain. But finally we were done. Shew. I went home, and had to wait for 2 weeks to take a pregnancy test. The dreaded two week wait. The time where your body and mind play tricks on you and you feel completely insane dissecting every single twinge and pain hoping for a “sign” that you’re pregnant finally. I took a pregnancy test every day after my procedure to test and make sure my trigger shot left my system in a timely manner. It was gone at 7 days past IUI. 8 days past IUI was negative, or so I thought.

My test sat on the counter all day. I came home after like 8 hours and noticed there was a line. Evap line I thought (but hoped I was wrong). I threw it away, and waited for the next morning. I tested. There it was. A real line. Not a squinter, it was there. I was pregnant! That was the first day I knew about my beautiful little girl. That was April 26th, 2015. Things from there were perfect; the entire pregnancy was uneventful. We watched my hcg levels rise appropriately. We heard her heartbeat. We watched as she turned from a blob, to a shrimp, to a gummy bear, to a little human with arms and legs. At 10 weeks we had blood work to test for genetic abnormalities and gender.

When I got the call, the nurse asked “ok, I have the results, are you ready?”. I was so freakin ready. “It’s a girl. Congratulations!”

The most beautiful words I had ever heard. The most beautiful words I will ever hear.

I was having a daughter. I knew at that moment her name would be Kenley. I knew that I would love her forever. I knew I would be her best friend until the day I died. I knew I would do everything and anything for her. Even though she’s the one who died, that will never change.

1 lb.

Posted by Randi

Since Kenley died, I have lost 49 lbs. I cannot seem to get the last pound to officially fall off to make -50. The majority of it fell off in the early days after her death. I just couldn’t eat. Like, food was the least of my worries. I had days where I didn’t eat anything. People reminded me that I had to eat. How could I eat something when my daughter just died? How do you expect me to sit down and enjoy a meal when I just lost a child?

During the week we returned home from the Hospital, multiple people offered to bring us dinners/food. People from Shane’s work brought us food, friends brought us food, and the ladies from my board sent us things. In my head it was like we’re getting food because our daughter died; because these people know that there is a really good chance we won’t be able to take care of ourselves for a little while after this. They were right. They were so right.

I remember at Landon’s birthday party (about a month and a half after we lost K), someone told me I “looked good” because I lost weight. I know this person didn’t mean anything except exactly what they said, you know? But in my head I was screaming “ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? OF COURSE I LOST WEIGHT. I LOST MY DAUGHTER. I WANT TO DIE SO EATING IS THE LAST THING ON MY MIND. THANKS”. I find myself thinking things in my head like this quiet often now. The early days were so. incredibly. hard.

It has gotten better now, as time is passing, but sometimes it’s still hard. Sometimes I will look at what I’m eating and just think “yeah, I have no desire to eat that/anything”. There are day’s where I literally forget to eat; those are the bad days. Those are the day’s where I can’t get my head above water. The day’s where I literally just can’t with life. Those days are scary; those are the days I am thankful I’m on medication. The thoughts that accompany loss are not your own.

I’m a happy person. Meeting Shane changed my outlook on life a lot. I have a great life, an amazing, hard working Husband, a wonderful Son, a loving dog and crazy cat. We have financial stability, cars that we love, our home is furnished and decorated exactly how I want it to be, and we have pretty much everything we could want…except our daughter. It’s so fucked up. It’s the ONE thing I would trade everything I own for. The one thing I would sell my soul for; give MY life for…and we can’t have her. How unfair is that? It makes me sound like a toddler throwing a tantrum when I say it out loud, but seriously.

We went for a hike today- 3.75 miles. We took Wilbert, and stopped half way for a picnic. Landon’s poor little legs probably felt like mush. During the walk, I didn’t really think of much. I find that being out on trails and doing things like that keeps my mind occupied but completely empty if that makes any sense. On the way back from our picnic we walked a different trail. After a little while there was a bench to sit on. We took a seat and I read the memorial plaque. It was for Aiden Mckee. A child born on 12/8/04, who passed away on 12/10/04. I just knew that was Kenley telling me she was with us. I cried for a minute or two. If by some chance you know Aiden’s parents, tell them we sat with their boy today.

As we kept walking, we stopped at a tree sign (as we had been doing the whole hike without seeing this tree) and saw a flowering dogwood- The exact tree we planted for Kenley in our yard. Another sign? Sure. The final sign was as we were close to exiting the trail, a Cardinal flew across our path. Whenever I see a cardinal I think of her (along with my Grandpa Ron, thanks to my Grandma’s love of them). Metro parks are very wooded and usually we never see birds on the trails. Well, Kenley made sure we knew she was with us today. I would have given anything to have her wrapped up on me, carrying her the entire way.

I miss her so incredibly much.

Nothing will ever be the same.

19 weeks.

Posted by Randi

A friend from my support board sent this to me the other day. We had been discussing moving through grief. I’ve notice myself feeling in a bad fog on some days, and absolutely terrible on others lately. This picture just really hit home to me. I think I’m looking at my grief trying to find a way to “walk through it”, but in all reality I’m never going to be “through” my grief. Our daughter died. Landon’s sister died. There will always be a shadow of grief over me, over our little family.

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I can see myself in certain stages of grief. Sometimes I feel in the loneliness/isolation/depression area. I will want to be alone just to cry. Just to feel sad. It’s not like I’m wanting to be alone so that someone will say “oh, what’s wrong?” or give me pity, I literally just need to be alone. At that time I have zero desire to be around another human being. I’m beyond thankful Shane understands that.

Today Kenley has been gone for 19 weeks. It does not seem possible. How have that many weeks passed by without her here in our arms? She should be here in a baby swing while I’m struggling to get laundry done or something. I just can’t believe I will never have her. I will never hold her again. I will never get to kiss her sweet head again, or smell her baby smell.

I know it sounds so fucked up- like I only want her. Shane and I are planning to try for another baby, but that baby will never be Kenley. The baby will bring us happiness, and we will love that child more than our own lives…but it will not be Kenley. The harsh reality is that everything I did to prepare for Kenley is now for nothing. She didn’t get to use her bedroom, she will never use it. She won’t grow up here. She won’t beg me to paint her walls a different color “because pink is for little kids”, or ask me to buy her some outrageously expensive comforter that shows off her personality. I don’t get that with her, ever.

Instead, I wear a necklace to remember her. I wear a bracelet that says “mom of an angel”. I have the fox that she was cremated with tattooed on my arm. It’s just so hard to wrap my head around.

I’m extremely close with my Mom, and Sister; They are my best friends. We talk all day, every day. Growing up I just always thought being close to them was normal, but as I got older I realized that some people aren’t fortunate enough to have a great relationship with their mother/sisters. When I found out Kenley was a girl I was SO excited– This is it! I finally have her. My forever best friend. When I found out she died, I lost more than just my child. I lost an entire future filled with “my forever best friend”. I didn’t get to braid her hair, or paint her nails. Seeing Landon cuddle up with Shane, and seeing the look of pure joy in Shane’s eyes when that happens, makes my heart ache for her a little extra.

Life will continue to go on. The weeks keep passing, and I feel like nothing has changed…except everything has.

As expected.

Posted by Randi

Yesterday was really hard. I knew it was going to be, but I think it was harder than I expected. It was only Landon and I until about 3 when Shane got home from work. He went against my wishes and bought me a card for our anniversary anyway (how dare him lol). I tried really hard to keep it together but the minute he walked in the door I realized how not ok I really was. He hugged and kissed me, and asked if I had been holding it in all day. Answer? Yup.

His card was so amazing; He always knows exactly what to say. The card really made me feel better. He spoke about Kenley and Landon, and about me being their Mother. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I’m so thankful for him, and how well he understands me. I never feel like I have to hide my feelings from him. I feel like he actually cares how I feel and what I have to say. He gets it. He (unfortunately) understands 100% how the loss is affecting our family. He’s living it too.

As we were going to bed last night, I checked my phone like I normally do. I had a text from a friend about her Mother and Kenley being together in Heaven. It said she thinks her mom is up there with my baby girl dressing her in cute outfits, and big giant sun hats. I’m not religious by any stretch of the imagination, but the thought of Kenley being with someone who would dress her up, and treat her how I would treat her was comforting. It made me happy and sad all at the same time. That’s how most things make me feel- Happy & Sad all at the same time. Shane hugged me and I just felt myself release all the stress of the day. I ugly cried for a few minutes while he rubbed my back.

I went for a walk with Wilbert (our dog) last night after dinner. I needed time alone. I didn’t think about anything really, but it was nice to be alone. I don’t know…Sometimes I just feel like I need a time out from my life. Everyones life is just going on normally, and it’s painful to see. Sometimes I’m fine with it, because what other choice do I have? Life is going to go on. Spring is here, things are blooming, the weather is changing, but I still feel like I’m stuck in that unseasonably warm December day. I’ll never forget it. It’s burned into my memory.

It was in the 70’s when we went to the hospital. Usually we couldn’t find a parking spot because they were doing construction. We found a perfect spot on that day, though. I feel so stupid looking back on it now. I should have known something was wrong. I am her mother. How did I not know? I shouldn’t have taken my time all day cleaning, just casually packing up her diaper bag, wasting time getting things together like I had all the time in the world. It’s part of the process, I know, but I feel so guilty about those things. I should have gone in sooner, maybe they would have seen something on the NST test. Maybe they could have saved her. Don’t worry- my rational brain knows these things aren’t true. My loss mom brain however…

I had a dream last night that I was helping a friend move. During the entire dream there was a woman chasing everyone that I knew, and she was shooting everyone. She literally killed like 10 people I knew. She would shoot them through windows while they were watching tv, while they were driving, or at the grocery store. It was just so weird. I remember she chased me and found me in my house hiding below a window and she walked up to me with her gun pointed at my head. That’s all I remember. Dreams are so weird.

Today was Landon’s picture day at school. I completely forgot. Not a good way to start the day. Lately, I feel like the worst mom to him. I’m trying kid, I promise.