Mar 21, 2012

they were here

When Naava and Aminadav were born, I was scared that they might look fetus and alien-like or somehow grotesque. I was afraid that when I looked down, what they actually looked like could never match up to my vision of them, what I dreamed they might look like.

Instead it was the other way around – they were so exquisitely and perfectly formed, my son and daughter, so beautiful and so human, beyond my wildest imagination. They were just miniature. I will never forget those tiny ears. Those tiny ears and their perfect intricate folds.

I remembered them from months before as embryos - blastocysts that looked like the surface of the moon magnified on a microscope screen. "Hey, I remember you!" I wanted to tell them, in awe of how much they had grown. The nurse placed them in a little box side-by-side, so that Naava was curled behind her brother. Yoel filled out the cards with their names for the chevra kadisha, the ritual burial committee, to pick up with their bodies.

I was wheeled down to the operating room for an emergency D&C since Aminadav's placenta didn't come out, and Yoel followed behind the gurney. That was the first and only time we spent with our babies.

14 comments:

  1. They were definitely here. They had a lot of love too.

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  2. They were here, and you are right, people IRL don't want to hear about this because they get too uncomfortable. But going through IF changes people, even the people who have never experienced pregnancy loss at any stage, have that empathy. I remember all the lost angels, and there is a lot of love coming their way. They WILL be remembered,by people all over the world.

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  3. They were here, and they were loved so much. Your precious babies made their mark on this world in so many ways.

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  4. They most certainly exist. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise. You hit the nail on the head about people not wanting to talk about the children we've lost. I understand that they are uncomfortable, but it doesn't help us heal if we're trying to accomodate everyone else. I hope you are able to talk about Aminadav and Naava IRL. And if not, please share their story here. They will be remembered.

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  5. the were definitely here and they touched the hearts of everyone that knew them

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  6. I found it so hard that no-one ever asked about them or about the night Gabrille was delivered... you're so right no-one wants to talk about dead babies. I also shared your fear of how she would look and whether I could bear to have a bad memory of seeing her... but the beauty of her little face is still vivid in my mind 2 years later... you will have that memory to cherish always xoxo

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  7. They were here. I hope you got to hold them. You will never forget them. You're the mother of angels. You can talk about them with us ANY time.

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  8. Your babies were here, and they mattered.

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  9. Hon, I feel you so deeply. I felt all these things and still do a little. After my twins passed, I just want to remember them with people and talk about them...say their names. No one brought it up. In fact, I have a couple of posts myself on this topic.
    It's so so hard to protect the memory of your children when everyone else just wants to forget.

    Come visit when you get a chance. There is a lot of comfort in sharing stories with people who have been through not just a 20 week loss, but the loss of boy/girl twins.
    http://missconception-ads.blogspot.com/

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  10. I am sorry that I took a leave of absence from blogging and then when I got here on your page I read this awful news, my breath stopped in my chest. How tragic, I feel like crying. I am so very sorry for you and your babies and your husband. I am so sorry. I have lived your kind of hell and I am so sorry that you have to go through it.
    Don't worry about other people not wanting to talk about the babies, they don't know. My own parents felt very uncomfortable and my dad refused to look at pictures of Adrian because he felt it was too much for him, excuse me, too much for him, how fragile. ANyway, I am a bit bitter that there is so much tragedy in our lives that we have to cope with, tragedy that others can't even bear to look at from afar. Let alone live it, like we did.
    Please write about your babies, it is lovely to hear you talk about how perfect and pink and miniature cuteness they were. Mine was too, I love to remember through your words. If you want, that is.

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  11. They were here and we are here for when you need to talk about them. They were beautiful.

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  12. They were. They are. They always will be. It certainly isn't the physical time they are with us that creates the love, is it? You really do become a momma long before they are ever born. I'm glad you have this space where you can talk about your beautiful babies.

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  13. I wish there were something I could say that would be really eloquent and express how I feel about your journey and this post. But I'm totally tongue tied, and I just feel like everything I want to say comes out wrong, so I'll keep it simple. I'm thinking of you and your babies, and they'll never be forgotten. Your story has brought me to tears again and again. I hope that the future holds better days, and I'm so sorry that you weren't able to spend more time with your beautiful children.

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    1. Ladies, thank you so much for validating the existence of my babies. I am so lucky to be able to come here and share them with you.

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