Carrying The Weight of a Miscarriage

As posted in Hello Giggles on 2/19/2014

I started the lucky #9 blog many moons ago because I felt there was not enough word on the street about the difficulties - and often muted truths - of parenting, specifically mommying.  Everyone spoke about the joys of being a new mom, but the exhaustion, stress, loneliness, post-partum, (and did i mention exhaustion?) was rarely talked about. And so I did what I've been doing since I was a little girl... I started spreading the word.  This word was not a warning to unsuspecting soon-to-be moms to stop in their tracks and run far away from children.  It was simply a warning from an educational point of view. Just a "heads up soon to be parents you may have some really shitty days but don't worry we have all been there or are still there and we feel you." I sincerely hope that my blogs accomplish this goal.

So in true lucky #9 form I want to broach another subject that is not really talked about...miscarriages.

Having just had one quite recently the pain and sadness of it was difficult for me.  I was early, yet my excitement at growing my family was huge. My husband and I were so joyful to be adding another soul into our family, a sibling for our son Kol.  I was bursting with happiness and couldn't control myself so I told some family members and shared the happy news with our parents.  After all,  I felt that if anything bad were to happen I would probably tell them anyway, of course thinking in my head that is just something you say because nothing is really going to happen.  I already have one beautiful, healthy boy with no complications so I believed that of course this go around will just follow suit.  But it didn't.

I went for an ultrasound and there was just no heartbeat, no movement on screen, the emptiness of the picture on the monitor stared back at me. I went into crisis mode. I didn't cry, I simply asked the doctor what this meant, what should I do, how do i move forward.   He gave me all the right medical answers, we made schedules and booked procedures and moved forward.

Finally I got home and could hear my thoughts. All my thoughts, my visions of pregnancy, labor, early motherhood, siblings, it all seemed to empty out like the picture on the monitor. And left behind was nothing but an ache, a sadness for what could have been, a sense of loss for this soul inside of me that was no more.

What do you do with this kind of loss. It is understandably private for most people. Most women I have talked to have had one or more miscarriages. Only several weeks pregnant, one might not have even shared the news yet. But people were telling me I was glowing, my skin, my hair was sparkling. And now, I have broken out, my hair is shedding as it did after I gave birth to Kol, and once again I am reminded about loss. Move Forward. Move Forward.

This is what I hear in my head.  Move Forward.  Take the time the doctor says to take and then try again. Move Forward.

I believe strongly in the mantra "dust yourself off and try again" but I have never just moved forward. I have always taken time to acknowledge where I am emotionally and how I feel internally.  I dissect things until i am comfortable with them.  So I thought about my loss, the week I found out about it, I bought myself a couple of bouquets of my favorite flowers in honor of the soul that was not to be ours, in honor of the soul that I was lucky to house for a couple of weeks, in honor of the soul that brought a glow to my skin and a sparkle to my hair.  I set the flowers around the house in every room and as I passed them over the next couple of days I smiled and greatly enjoyed the scent of them.  After the week was done and my blood finally started flowing, I placed the flowers in the bin.

I am starting on a vitamin regimen my doctors are suggesting for me. I have learned that a good way to go about taking care of yourself after a miscarriage is to make sure you are sufficient in your vitamins.  You need plenty of Iron since you lose a lot of blood (recommended is 2 to 3 25mg of Iron capsules) Take a pre-natal vitamin so you make sure to get all the good stuff that comes in that little bottle (speak to your doctor to find out which brand is good for you). Eat healthy food, exercise when you are ready and the best advice I received so far was from none other than my mother, who suggested to do something nice for myself.  I am thinking a day at the Spa is in order.  I will do all the things I am supposed to while I wait a couple of months for my body to heal.  And then,  I plan to move forward.