Life after loss with autism, preemies and a rainbow baby
I had planned to write a post soon after the New Year to give all of my “what to read next” recommendations but here we are two months in to 2016 and I’m finally getting my list together. At least I’ve read even more books so there’s more to chose from. Last year I set […]
Eight years, three months and 27 days ago our NICU doctor and his assistant gave us a report on the babies. It was a jumble of foreign terms mingled with Baby A, B and C ending with information I still don’t fully remember. What I remember is what came next, a few minutes in time I […]
It took a decent amount of bribery and half of December but I talked Ashlyn into making another excellent gift guide for people with autism. Her first one was a hit and I’ve been trying to get her to do another ever since. Two years later we’ve got a new list that’s just as great […]
I had to dig through boxes in our crawl space to find our gravy dish because this is how I do things. The kids were “helping” me make Thanksgiving dinner, covering the table with all the tacky everything I try to hide behind the dishes that match. As they uncovered penguin salt and pepper shakers […]
A funny thing happens when I get ready to meet a new group of moms. I psyche myself out by assuming no one will “get” me. It’s rare to find a mom with exactly the same circumstances as you right? Like maybe we should all wear shirts with a summary of our situation. “Loss mom, […]
The story will always begin something like this: I was sitting in a chair by myself, no one squeezed between my hip and the armrest or perched over my head. My phone was in my hand because no one had taken it to watch adults talk in children’s voices while they review toys on YouTube […]
There is a space in our family that cannot be filled. At one time it was tiny, 18 inches long, yet to reach three pounds, long and lean but tucked into a bundle dripping with my tears. That space inserted itself into every day. She was milestones unmet, crib sheets unused, car seats returned. The […]
It was long and more than you expected, I’m sure. But what you don’t know, what you must not have considered despite your career, is that special needs moms prepare for this type of encounter from the time our children exhibit their first behavior that sets them apart from the crowd. You see I know. I […]
She wore the type of smile put on with morning lipstick. Something in a perky shade of red, rubbed off of glossy teeth and reapplied after coffee and lunch. Her questions began and I knew we were headed for trouble because my safely vague answers weren’t enough. If my conversations with strangers had a soundtrack, somewhere during the […]
When my preemies were in the NICU there were days we could barely touch them. Their daily condition dictated how much holding we could do, how often I could sneak a hand inside their incubators and whether they were up for a sponge bath or an increase in tube feedings. Parker was my tiniest, yet healthiest. […]
