Stillbirth One Year On

bonnets for bebes stillbirth

Sharon’s son Wyatt was stillborn at 21 weeks and 6 days. She shares her feelings as she broaches one year on from the stillbirth without her son.

I don’t know how I made it a year without him.

I don’t know how I made it a month.

I can’t even tell you how I made it the first day.

But somehow I am still here. I am standing, breathing and learning to live again. I say learning, because that’s exactly what it is. Learning that it’s OK to smile. Learning it’s OK to cry. Learning that not everyone will understand or respect your choices. Learning to walk away. Learning to hold on.

Bonnets For Bebes

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bonnet

Paige-Alexis Cunningham shares the story behind Bonnets For Bebes.

I’m a wife and mum to two kids, Jarne and Piper, and I own a handmade business that is named after them – Jarnipers. In September 2015 our son Franklin was stillborn. While we found plenty of gowns and blankets to dress our baby boy in, there were no hats or bonnets. This is when I decided to start my Bonnets for Bebes project, so I could give back to other parents, to let them know they weren’t alone in the loss of their babies, and that somehow they would make it through too.

Baby Blur

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baby blur

Terry Cornick shares the story of his son’s birth as he welcomes his first baby.

It’s funny how this game of life works. On Monday 7 March we discovered at work the homeless guy Jeff that lived in the car park had passed away (you can read my 2015 blog called Jeff here). Some of the guys in the office had a real soft spot for him. Thankfully his children were tracked down and were there when he passed, despite not seeing each other for ten years.

First Days With A Newborn

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first days with a newborn

Emily shares the attachment issues she experiences when she is separated from her daughter after birth and her first days with a newborn.

I got to cuddle my daughter for about 30 minutes after the birth before they had to take her from me. I had to go to the cardiology wing and she had to go to NICU due to her being so small and considered premature. This was where my issues started.

Pregnancy With A Heart Condition

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Emily’s story continues as she shares how her pregnancy with a heart condition affected her daughter’s birth.

We went to our dating scan and saw a heartbeat at seven weeks, but we were still worried about the risks and took every day as it came. I never got any morning sickness or other pregnancy symptoms, which added to my concerns.

At nine weeks on the dot, I woke up at 4am and woke my partner and told him, “It’s a girl”. He didn’t believe me and thought I was crazy. We decided to wait until birth to find out, but I had never been more sure about anything in my life.

“You Will Never Have Kids”

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never have kids

Emily shares her story about trying to conceive after being told she would never have kids.

I remember the day my parents and I were told I would never have kids. I was about 12 years old.

I suffered terrible depression, so those years of my life are still very clouded, and I can’t remember many details apart from doctors’ appointments, tests, scans and open heart surgeries. I do, however, remember where I was and who I was with when they discussed my future life without children.