It’s been a while, again, since I wrote – and as I write this, we’ve officially made it through our second month of Brady. January is all about Brady John. It’s the month he was born and the month he passed away. The latter being a date that we don’t like to acknowledge. I’ll share more on that later.
Tag: memorial
5 Things I’ve Learned
I’ve spent a year in the trenches as a loss mom. In that year, I’ve learned a lot about how to navigate this difficult course, as I’ve had successful (and not so successful) interactions with others. I started this list a while ago, and slowly added on to it throughout the year. Some of them are for loss parents, some are for the general public that interacts with loss parents, and some are for both.
Anyway, here’s my collection of 5 things I’ve learned in my first year as a loss mom:
Happy 1st Birthday, Brady John!
Up until the morning of Sunday, January 14th, I had every intention of celebrating Brady’s first birthday that day. Though he was born on the 15th, I figured that had he lived to see his first birthday, Sunday would’ve been the day we had people over to celebrate. I doubt we would have had great turnout for a party on a Monday night. However, when we woke up that day, we decided we’d rather visit and celebrate on his actual birthday.
Remembering in Special Ways
I remember Brady John every day (and pretty much all day). We all have ways to carve out time for the ones we love each day, whether those people are with us or not. I visit Brady’s grave most days. I look at photos of him (my phone’s lock screen and background are all Brady). I think about him. A lot. These things have become a part of my routine. Sometimes, it’s really nice to do something special in Brady’s memory, something out of the ordinary.
Brady John Bear
October is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness month, so it seems fitting that we’d get a very special memory of Brady this month. Brady John Bear (finally!) arrived! I placed an order with Molly Bears back in April, knowing that the wait would be 6-8 months. I found myself consistently checking their website, hoping I would see the status of our bear change from “ordered” to “in production”. That finally happened in September, and I couldn’t wait to see what our little bear would look like.
The Perfect Memorial
I’ve been really good about going to the gym and getting back into a good routine, and tonight I just don’t feel like going. To make myself feel less guilty about not going, I am going to do something productive and share something long overdue. Brady’s memorial stone arrived just after Brady’s half birthday, and since his 8 month just passed, it’s about time that I share a little more about it.