The Breastfeeding Mum's Guide to Family Life!

Miscarriage Poems: To Our Baby Aiden by Nicholas Hise

We received this very moving miscarriage poem from Nicholas who told us:

My wife miscarried with our son Aiden 2 months ago. I help out as much as I can. When she cries at night I wipe her tears and hold her tight. I tell her that we are in this together and we will make it through this. 

My body is alive but I feel empty inside. 

The son I was supposed to have.

Aiden is his name, my son I can not have.

He is with God now, engraved in my mind.

It was amazing to finally see your face,

but saddened deeply that you weren’t alive.

I prayed to God several times before I knew you had died.

To keep you safe I cried with hopeful eyes.

 

After you were born, looking so peaceful.

I cried, I didn’t want to say goodbye.

I prayed to God and asked to keep you safe with Him.

As I paced back and forth all night to make sure you were still there

I finally said goodbye in despair. 

 

Our baby Aiden, we wanted you to survive.

Two years we had tried, we were so excited when you had arrived.

We picked out so many things for you; you would have had a happy life.

We are sad to know that we won’t watch you grow up to be a man,

but we are happy to know you are safe with God alive within. 

 

We Will Never Forget You Aiden and We Will Always Love You!

With Tons and Tons of Love, 

Your Daddy, Nicholas Hise      

 

Read more Miscarriage Poems

If you would like to recommend a miscarriage poem or story, or contribute one of your own, please contact us and we'll add it to the site. Thanks.

If you would like to contribute a pregnancy or breastfeeding poem, story or photos, again just email us.

Miscarriage Poems: Softly by Jackie Morgan

This miscarriage poem was written by Jackie who told us, "My sister-in-law has just lost her second baby and it inspired me to write this simple poem."

Softly
by Jackie Morgan

Softly, softly
I knew you were there
Softly, softly
You grew – I swear

Miscarriage Poems: Born Sleeping by Emily Waters

This lovely miscarriage poem was written by Emily who told us "I wrote this poem for my baby sister, who was stillborn at 20 weeks on the 10th April 2012. I still can't believe how much it hurts to lose someone you never even got to know."

Born Sleeping
by Emily Waters

Daughter, sister, little pearl,
We waited for you, baby girl.
Unexpected, treasured still,
We loved you then and always will,

Ahead of time, too soon you came,
We didn’t take you home again.
Tiny hands and eyes closed tight,
Were taken from us, out of sight.

5 Different Shots for Your Pregnancy Photos (Guest Post)

Whether this is your first born or your third, you want to capture that special time during your pregnancy. Instead of your typical mother and father shots, here are a few other ideas to consider before you get in front of that camera:

Silhouette: A pregnant woman’s silhouette can be one of the most beautiful images. It’s a soft image that evokes a lot of emotion. Wearing a solid, soft color and somewhat fitted outfit, stand in front of natural light, like the light coming from a bedroom window. Pull your hair back off of your face and neck for a more serene shot. Your photographer will know how to shoot this shot.

Cravings: A very cute and fun idea is to take a photograph with a white board or chalk board beside you. In fun handwriting and colors, write how far along you are and what your current food cravings are. This will be a great shot for when the years pass; you can look back and remember the little things like your love for pickles and ice cream.

Gum Disease and Pregnancy (Guest Post)

As if pregnant mothers don't have enough to worry about, they can now add oral hygiene to the list of potential concerns. Periodontal disease can affect women at any stage of life, but the effects can be more pronounced during pregnancy. Pregnancy hormones themselves can cause additional swelling and bleeding of the gums in an otherwise healthy mouth. While annoying, this isn't a problem for most women as long as they continue regular dental care. However, for a woman with gum disease this additional swelling and bleeding can exacerbate symptoms. The potential risk is that ongoing and untreated gum infections can pose a risk to the developing foetus.

In a perfect world good oral hygiene would be taken care of before a woman becomes pregnant. But let's assume routine cleaning appointments have been missed. In that case, a trip to the dentist is in order once a pregnancy is confirmed. New research indicates that untreated periodontal disease can lead to premature birth and low birth weight in an otherwise healthy infant. A dentist can identify the signs of periodontal disease and devise a treatment plan for the mother.

Morning Sickness: When Nausea Rears its Ugly Heave (Guest Post)

10 stomach-easing home remedies for expectant moms

Why is it that some women never have the slightest touch of morning sickness during pregnancy—while others are doomed to vomit the entire time? It doesn’t seem fair, does it? Well, you’re not alone. According to the March of Dimes you’re in the company of half of America’s pregnant women. That’s right, 50% of expectant moms suffer from morning sickness.

Laser Eye Surgery During Pregnancy (Guest Article)

Is it safe to get laser eye surgery if I am pregnant?

Laser eye surgery is performed on approximately 100,000 people in the UK each year and its popularity continues to grow. There are 2 main types of laser eye surgery and they are Lasik and Lasek, both of which produce similar results but Lasik has a much quicker and more comfortable recovery period. There are many things that pregnant women have to avoid and is laser eye surgery another one to add to list?

Whilst there is no danger performing laser eye surgery on a pregnant woman, it is generally not advised to do so and the reasons are as follows:

Change in prescription: This is most important reason why you should not have laser eye surgery if you are pregnant. During pregnancy and in the first few months after giving birth, there are considerable changes to the hormones levels in your body. These hormonal changes can lead to a change in your prescription that could mean that your laser eye surgery is not long lasting. If you imagine that before you got pregnant your prescription in your glasses was -3.00 Dioptres and then during pregnancy your prescription changed to -2.00 Dioptres. If your eyes were lasered whilst pregnant, your laser eye surgeon would correct your -2.00 prescription. After your eyes had settled down following giving birth, your eyes normally revert back to what they were prior to being pregnant which would mean you were still -1.00 prescription and would therefore need glasses! It is for this reason that you should wait at least 3 months after giving birth before you consider laser eye surgery.

5 Tips for Dealing with Unplanned Pregnancies (Guest Post)

When you think of pregnancy, you probably think of a vibrant young woman glowing with the anticipation of her first child. You probably imagine happy couples planning every last detail of their to-be infant’s new room, friends gathering for baby showers, and grandparents basking in their new-found titles in life. What you probably don’t think of are those couples who didn’t plan on having a child. You probably don’t think of those women that suddenly found themselves unprepared for their new role in life, unsure of what to do and how to act. Whether the unplanned pregnancy is a happy surprise or not, you still have to figure out what to do next. Here are five tips for dealing with unplanned pregnancies:

1. Get Educated

Since you weren’t planning on getting pregnant, it’s likely that you haven’t spent any time learning about pregnancy and what to expect. Now is the time to break out the baby books and soak in as much information as possible.

2. Start Saving

Having a child is an expensive adventure, so you will want to start saving some money to lessen the blow of all of the unforeseen costs you’ll soon be encountering. Any money you can put away in anticipation of the birth is better than no money!

What is a Midwife? (Guest Post)

This post is written by Erica Moss. Erica is the social media outreach coordinator for the online Masters in Nursing program at Georgetown University, which has one of the nation’s leading nursing education programs. Outside of work, Erica is an avid dog lover who loves photography and meeting new people.

One of the most common misconceptions about midwives is that they only handle childbirth. In fact, midwives are part of the entire birthing process, from pre-natal care and counseling, through the delivery to post partum care. Midwives work to identify the individual and family needs of each patient, and counsel and support mothers, not only physically, but also emotionally and socially. In addition to involvement with pregnancies, midwives also perform annual gynecological exams, care during menopause and other normal obstetrical functions.

Midwives come in different forms depending on education and practice. They fall into two larger groups: nurse-midwives and direct-entry midwives, and the differences between them are important.

Fear of Childbirth Increases Likelihood of C-Section (Press Release)

A new study published in the international journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica (AOGS) reveals that fear of childbirth is a predisposing factor for emergency and elective cesarean sections, even after psychological counseling. This may mean a negative experience that lasts a lifetime among the approximately 3% of women who in this study were estimated to suffer from excessive fear of childbirth.

Led by Professor Gunilla Sydsjo of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University Hospital in Linköping, Central Sweden, researchers analyzed the antenatal and delivery records of 353 women who were referred to a unit for psychosocial obstetrics and gynecology because of fear of childbirth, and 579 women without fear of childbirth.