This is a place for sharing. This is a place for families. This is a place inspired by a mother's love.
I had preeclampsia. Often, when I say this, people think that I just had high blood pressure during pregnancy. When they first told me I had preeclampsia, that's what I thought too. I had no idea what lay in store for me. I wish high blood pressure was all I had to deal with. Because…
Continue reading ➞ I Had Preeclampsia And It’s Not Just High Blood Pressure
When I got sick with preeclampsia, it was the doctors who saved my life. It was the nurses who cared for me. But, I'm here because of my midwives. While I was pregnant with my daughter, Dorothy, I was under the care of a midwifery team. At my 28 week appointment, one of the midwives…
Continue reading ➞ My Doctors Saved Me, My Nurses Cared For Me, But I’m Here Because Of My Midwife
I had been in the hospital for a week after being diagnosed with severe preeclampsia and after an initial scare, it had been a rather uneventful stay. They were ready to send me home and have me visit the hospital daily for monitoring. I was on board with the plan. I felt fine and Dorothy…
Continue reading ➞ Dorothy’s Birth Story–A Story Of Preeclampsia, Stillbirth, And A Mother’s Love
The purple blanket isn't yours. Even though it's the blanket that covered your car seat when you left the hospital. Even though it lay in the background of so many of your baby photos, Even though you sleep with it every night now that you're old enough. It's not yours. The purple blanket is your…
Continue reading ➞ The Purple Blanket Isn’t Yours–A Letter To My Baby Born After Stillbirth
My daughter, Dorothy, was stillborn on February 22, 2016 due to complications from preeclampsia. I have written a lot about her death and the life I’ve lived after, but I have written little about the events and moments leading up to her death. This series is dedicated to remembering my last week with her before…
My daughter, Dorothy, was stillborn on February 22, 2016 due to complications from preeclampsia. I have written a lot about her death and the life I've lived after, but I have written little about the events and moments leading up to her death. This series is dedicated to remembering my last week with her before…
On February 22, 2016 our daughter, Dorothy Grace Helena Whalen was stillborn. This is a continuation of her story. When I transferred to the Intensive Care Unit, everything came with me--large plastic bags stuffed with clothing, haphazardly stacked books and magazines, a jumble of flower arrangements. All of this traveled on a large, noisy cart as I was rushed from labor…
Continue reading ➞ My Stillborn Baby Still Has A Birth Story
On February 22, 2016 our daughter, Dorothy Grace Helena Whalen was stillborn. This is the continuation of her story. The shock and devastation of losing Dorothy had numbed me. No longer was I aware of the experience of my own body. I knew Dorothy was gone, that she had died, but I was not yet aware of how sick…
Continue reading ➞ My Baby Died, Please Don’t Let Me Die Too