Every baby is special, every life is important, and every Mom wants to show off her baby. For those of us who lose our babies too soon, we don’t ever get to show them off and we rarely get to say their names or tell people about them. In our country, thousands of babies are stillborn every year, roughly one every twenty minutes. There are even more miscarriages. Here on my blog, I want to remember all of the lost babies and give their parents an opportunity to show them off. These Mamas are so proud of their babies and are going to share them with us here. Since Lucy died on a Friday, I will share a new baby’s story every Friday. We honor these little lives by acknowledging their presence with us, even if it was a very short time. Do you know how these babies are loved? Do you know that each baby was cherished by their families, even if they left only after a few weeks? Do you know how these babies are missed every single day? Please pray for these families, who have to live every day without their precious children.

JUDE WEATHERSBY

I know it might seem silly to write about a baby that I know absolutely nothing about and only developed for a few weeks, but Jude is my baby and I want to honor his or her life. Jude is my fourth child, my second child to skip earth and go straight from my womb to heaven. Jude is Liam, Asher and Lucy’s baby brother or sister. Jude was due on March 19th, 2014 and was lost in an early miscarriage.

Our baby Jude was such a miracle and answer to prayer, even though we never got to meet him/her. After losing Lucy we were told we shouldn’t ever try again naturally for a baby. We never thought we would be able to try again. I never thought I would be able to watch that second line slowly appear and feel my heart drop right out of my chest. What a blessing that we got to do that again and that we now have another sweet baby to look forward to meeting in heaven.

I found out I was pregnant on Lucy’s due date and I wept because I loved my new baby so much already. I thought that maybe I could just hold back the love for my next baby until I knew if I would get to meet him or her, but when I saw those two pink lines I knew it would be impossible. It felt great to let go and just love my new baby with all my heart. Josh warned me to be careful because we might not get to keep the baby. We both agreed that we were terrified, but then decided to just soak in the moment. At that moment I was pregnant and there was a brand new life growing and that’s what we could celebrate, and we did. I’m glad I did now, and I’m glad I loved my new baby with all my heart because I had Jude with me for such a short time. I don’t regret anything. Baby Jude was our rainbow baby, the joy after the storm. For the short time I knew I was pregnant I felt hope and joy and I laughed and food tasted good again. It was beautiful, just like a rainbow; gorgeous and mesmerizing and fleeting.

I have no pictures of Jude, not even an ultrasound picture, but I have pictures of me while I was pregnant so here are a couple (aren’t my boys SO good at taking pictures?)

“A person’s a person, no matter how small.” -Dr. Seuss

If you would like to share your baby’s story, just e-mail me at bethanysk55@yahoo.com  You can share whatever you want about your baby, and you don’t have to include your name if you don’t want to. Also, I think your baby is just as important if you lost him/her at 6 weeks or at 40 weeks. Even if you never knew the sex of your baby, you might have had names picked out, a due date and lots of hopes and dreams for that child. All of that is important and is welcome here.