Pregnancy

With no surprise, the death of my son changed my life in so many ways. The overflow of stolen moments immediately consumed my mind when I heard he was gone. I'll never hold his hand on the first day of school or kiss a scraped knee during playtime. I'll never see him get married or have a family of his own. He will never go fishing with his brother or hunting with his daddy. Those moments I knew were taken from us. But, one thing I did not realize was also stolen was my innocence to tragedy. There are times I find myself physically consumed with envy of an eager new mom, so full of excitement. I watch her as...

Is there a better time to reflect on the seasons of your life than when you are cleaning out your closet? I found so many "seasons" in my closet, surprisingly, since I live in Louisiana. With each "season" I found different memories. Memories that made me happy and sad. Memories of events, people, love, laughter, heartache, and blessings. High School... A box full of high school formals that no longer fit me because I’ve had four kids and don’t have the same hips as I did in high school, which makes me sad. On the other hand, that box made me happy because I have fond memories of those dances and those friends. They even made new memories by putting stars...

After spending our first year of marriage as newly-weds, my husband and I were ready to have a baby. We decided that we should just “see what happens” when it came to starting our family. We wouldn’t prevent, yet we wouldn’t be trying. This continued for a year with no success. After a visit to my OBGYN, being put on Clomid for 4 months, we still had no positive test. No pregnancy. It didn’t make sense. Was it my body failing us? My husband? None of my friends were having any complications. My mother and sisters all had children of their own with zero issues, why couldn’t I? We spent the next few years as regulars at our fertility center.  We were...

Postpartum care for mothers in the United States is under scrutiny yet again as maternal mortality rates in the US rise, all while declining in other countries. How?! How can our wonderful, developed country with amazing medical advances have such staggering statistics? Some of the reasons given by the healthcare industry: hospitals are cutting costs, cutting staff to meet ever-shrinking budgets, and there are nurse shortages across the country. This does not excuse the fact that women who give birth are being marginalized, and in some cases, ignored and forgotten. I know what I would have done differently for both my children’s births in the days, weeks, and months that followed. But I was curious about what other moms would have...

Two years ago, this month, we were in the midst of a medication cycle to prepare my body for our second and final frozen embryo transfer. That period in time was filled with anxiety and hope. I can’t imagine what I would have done or how I would have felt if my doctors had called to tell me I couldn’t finish my cycle, we would have to delay the embryo transfer and they weren’t sure how long it would be before I could start another medication cycle again. I can’t imagine what it feels like to have to delay your deepest desires to build your family. Six years ago, we were longing for a child, longing for a successful pregnancy...