October 15, Infant and Pregnancy Loss Awareness Day

2 years ago this past Saturday, Nick and I lost our first child. I was 12 weeks along in my pregnancy when I miscarried and the doctor said the baby didn't live much past 7 weeks old. We were devastated. We both were so excited to be expecting a child that this event really crushed us. We have a very supportive family and they all were there for us as we worked through this tragedy. That day was a Wednesday and I went in on Thursday afternoon for surgery.

The Monroe Clinic hosts a wonderful event to honor all of the lost children. On the first Saturday of October, they hold a memorial service at our local cemetery. Unfortunately for us, that year it was the weekend before. So, last year we attended the service which was very helpful for us. We were able to say goodbye to our angel with great respect. During the time between our miscarriage and the next service, the cemetery sexton contacted Nick and his dad to sandblast and paint some grave markers. They didn't know until he actually came with them what they were for. They were for the next 10 years of lost babies. Nick was so stunned that this came to him. He comes from a very generous family and he and his dad donated their time and supplies. This was so personal to us and Nick felt so honored that he was able to do this for our child.

I decided to write this today because not many people know we went through this. I want people to know so that if we can help anyone who has gone through this, they have someone to talk to. We had people in our life that experienced the same thing and it helped us to have people to talk to and lean on. I still think of that baby often and wonder what he or she would have been like. We have yet to name our sweet angel, but are working on it. God had other plans for our baby and us. If this had not happened to us, we would not have our sweet boy Landon.

Please say a prayer for all of the lost infants and pregnancies.

Landon and I visited his older sibling last night and left a small stem of mums.