A Lament for My Baby

I never got to hear you laugh you never saw me cry

didn't get a chance to say "Hello"you never said "Goodbye"

I didn't think that I could feel so sad, lost and forlorn.

I never knew God chose his Angels before some of them were born.

Your life was short yet special I shared it all exclusively

I felt you breathe, I felt you kick. You were alive inside of me.

Every baby is an Angel and every angel is divine

God needed one in heaven He came down and took mine

And although we are not together we're not really apart

for you'll always occupy a space deep within my heart.

Time has begun to ease my pain It's only some days now I cry.

When I wish I could have said "Hello"and heard you say "Goodbye"

~Author Unknown

This Valentine is not of the ordinary kind,It’s still filled with love...and blessings inside;But mine has to be sent on the wings of love...You see its destination is the Heavens above.

It’s not being sent to my parents so dear,For they are still with me each day of the year;Its being sent to my baby...who left earth so soon,Who's now in the Heavens with the stars and the moon.

The message is the same as your valentine,"I love you...my sweet precious child of mine;My love is still deeper than the ocean is blue,And it’s sent with hugs and kisses...from me to you."

"I know you are with me each and every day,You listen as I talk to you...and hear what I say;For that is one thing that I will always do......you'll always be a part of me...and me a part of you."

I know you are in the best of care,But it's so hard for us left on earth to bear;Could you put in a request from us left behind...For God to send the knowledge, so a cure we can find."

"So that no other family has to go through this pain,Our lives without you will never be the same;When I get lonely I will look to the sky at night...And see you shining down your big bright light."

Happy Valentine’s day sunshine...I miss you so much,I know you know how many lives you have touched;You'll always be mine...I love you with all my heart,I know we be together again...and then we'll never part."

A bill was introduced on 1/14/2009. H.R. 521 http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:1:./temp/~bdplZv:@@@L&summ2=m&/bss/111search.html This bill is “to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for the national collection of data on stillbirth in a standardized manner, and for other purposes.”
Currently there are more than 25,000 stillbirths a year in the United States this is 10 times greater than the amounts of SIDS deaths, however research up to this point has been limited. Due to a lack of autopsy/investigation and inconsistencies in diagnosing these deaths, more than 50% of all stillbirths remain unexplained.

With standardized investigation and reporting of these deaths, researchers would be better able to determine the risk factors. H.R. 521 would both standardize the definition of stillbirth and the method in which data is collected, in order to create a national repository of stillbirth data to assist researchers in conducting comprehensive studies in to the causes of, and possible preventive strategies for, stillbirth. The bill also authorizes a public awareness campaign promoting good prenatal practices, including monitoring movements during the last trimester of pregnancy, to reduce the risk of stillbirth.

This is an extremely important bill me since I lost my daughter, Brianna Elizabeth to stillbirth on September 8, 2008. It was completely unexpected at 38 weeks after a normal pregnancy. The autopsy came back inconclusive stating that it was possibly a cord accident or a virus. This has been a devastating event in our lives. On September 3, 2008 Brianna had a heart rate of 150 and when I went to the hospital on the 6th due to not feeling her move she was gone. I now have a few pictures, foot prints and memories of the hours we got to spend with her letting her know how much we love her. No mother should come home from the hospital with a box of mementoes instead of a baby. No mother should give birth and have the hospital room be complete quiet. No family should have an empty crib awaiting a child that will never be home. I pray every day that no one will ever have to feel that pain that myself, my husband and our 6 year old son has gone through with this loss.

I will be traveling to Washington, DC to a Symposium on SIDS and Stillbirth through First Candle (www.firstcandle.org) March 23-25. The symposium will conclude with visits to Capitol Hill to encourage our nation’s lawmakers to support critical legislation and programming that will help us reach our goal of a future where all babies survive and thrive.

We cannot judge a biography by it's length, we must judge it by the richness of it's contents. Sometimes the "unfinished" are among the most beautiful of symphonies. ~~Victor Frankl