Monday, September 29, 2014

Dear Holden- August 1, 2014

Dear Holden,

This Sunday, August 3rd, marks your due date and four weeks since we learned you would not be coming home with us. My whole world stopped in that moment and I have been trying to find a way to move forward. I have found that writing to you helps especially on my bad days. Today, I was thinking about how I should be holding you in my... arms and how you would be 3 weeks old on Monday if everything had gone as planned. Instead, I sit here and type through blurry, tear filled eyes and wonder why, how and what if.

Ever since I knew of your existence, I have dreamed about you. I dreamed about what you would look like and what your personality would be like. I imagined how you and your brother would have so much fun together going to Daddy’s shop and working on cars. I was excited to see how your sisters and brother would react to you, especially Lydon. I couldn’t wait to feed you, dress you, bathe you, kiss you, snuggle you. You were going to be my forever baby.

Now, all I have is those dreams and wishes for you. I bet you would have been a Momma’s boy with a gentle soul. I bet you would have followed Lydon around mimicking his every move. I bet you would have loved hugs and kisses from your big sisters. I bet you would have loved movie nights and popcorn. I wish I could have seen these things as you grew into a young man. I wish I could have held you longer. I wish I could touch your hair one more time. I wish I could kiss your sweet face again and whisper ‘I love you’ in your ear. I wish I was tired from having a newborn at home and not from trouble sleeping knowing the weight of our new reality. I wish things were the way they should have been.

Our time in the hospital is such a blur. I was living in a sea of emotions, medication and exhaustion. The anesthetist said a quiet prayer with Mommy before Daddy came into the operating room. I then silently prayed that the nurses and doctor were wrong and we would hear you cry when you were born, that you would be a miracle baby, my miracle. My prayers went unanswered. Instead, the room was silent except for the sound of the doctors working. I remember looking at you for the first time and seeing how perfect you were, how alive you looked. Yet, no cries came from your mouth and I knew then my life would never be the same.

I am no longer the woman I was before. A piece of my heart now resides in Heaven and the hole is replaced with the heavy feeling that something will always be missing. Brynly told me the other day that I was the saddest person in the house because I cry all the time. I try to be strong but in the quiet moments of the day, I feel the weight of our new life and my emotions overflow. However, I know it will get better. I have seen other Mommas who have been to the same Hell and back. I have seen them use their loss as a way to help others and bring awareness to something that has been silent for too long. I have seen them hold you in their arms and relive their nightmares. I have had them reach out with their heart breaking stories after 5, 10, even 20+ years of keeping quiet. I have seen the pain in their eyes that only other Angel Mommas would recognize. It is a group that you do not want to be a part of but I am so thankful for each and every one of them. They have reminded me that it is okay to not be okay and that healing is very different for everyone.
I am trying to embrace this new normal as I know you would want us to move forward and find happiness again but it sure is hard. I know we are blessed and have so much love surrounding us but it would be a lot better if you were here. I made a promise to myself that I will speak of you often and keep your memory alive. If I can help just one person by speaking of you then I know I am doing the right thing. I know you are watching and I want to make you proud because I am so very proud to be your Mommy.

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