Babies! Snuggly, squishy, sweet little babies. Who doesn't love babies? I know I always have. So when my husband and I first became pregnant in 2011, I was floating on cloud nine. But just a few short weeks into the pregnancy, I was crushed when I learned that my bloodwork levels weren't rising the way they expected them to, and I was told that I would have a miscarriage within a week. I don't even know how I drove myself home from the doctor's office that day. Cue several months of depression, darkness and a lot of resentment towards everyone around me who had a baby.
As soon as we were given the green light, we started trying to conceive again. A couple months later, I got pregnant with Isaac. I hardly knew what a rainbow baby was back then (this was in 2012), and I definitely didn't feel comfortable`sharing my story with anyone outside of my innermost circle.
Fast forward to 2018, where miscarriage awareness has increased and most people know what a rainbow baby is (for those who don't: A “rainbow baby” is a baby that is born following a miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death or infant loss. In the real world, a beautiful and bright rainbow follows a storm and gives hope of things getting better. A rainbow baby brings light but by no means replaces the angel baby.)
As with most things, this story can come in many different shapes and sizes. I worked with one family to create the signage for their maternity photoshoot. Her story: "We have tried for 5 years and I had to have a hysterectomy due to 12 tumors. My best friend is carrying our baby!!!! What a blessing this baby will be and what a good friend huh?"
Photos by Lindsey Hinkley Photography
For those who conceived after years of trying:
Kim Max Photography
From miscarriage to trouble conceiving, surrogacy and adoption, what's your story? Did you get your rainbow baby?
And when you do get pregnant with your rainbow baby, how great is this simple, understated announcement?