I want to thank
@PinkCamino for her thread where she gave everyone an opportunity to share their loss stories. It's so hard to do, but I find it therapeutic to be able to type/talk it all out. And to really learn where everyone is coming from beyond the generic siggy info has been great.
I've read through all of the stories so far, and it has really made me re-realize how shitty this is for EVERYONE. Losing a child, at no matter what gestation, is the worst pain I can think of. I want to make that 100% clear before anyone responds, that a loss, at any gestational age, is just as hurtful and traumatic as any other loss at any other gestational age. I do NOT want to make this a pain Olympics. We all lost a child along with the futures attached to them and it all sucks.
Since I've been here, there's only been one other person that I've been able to remember that had a 3rd tri loss, and she's graduated. And I think there is some unique fuckery that we have to deal with at each stage. I really want to emphasize that each stages fuckery is not better or worse than another stages fuckery. We all lost. I just wish there were more people that understood the unique 3rd tri fuckery. And I wish I felt more comfortable talking about that fuckery without feeling like I'm rubbing my ability to make it to 3rd tri in the faces of ladies who are dealing with the special kind of fuckery that comes with sooner losses. For example, I have no idea what its like to have several 1st or 2nd tri losses and go through IF treatments. But I feel alone and that I can't fully vent here about my phantom kicks and having a perfectly complete nursery and toys and clothing that I walk by every single day. I feel like the majority response might not be said out loud, but I feel like people would in their mind say "Well, at least you got to feel your baby kick, at least you saw that he was healthy before he died, at least you got to hold his full term body" And they'd be right. And I'd feel like I offended people here.
And I by no means want to create a segregation among the group. But, here's my call out for any other ladies with 3rd tri losses to come forth so we can not be so alone in our special fuckery?
Ugh, I've sat here for an hour trinyg to figure out how to type this without hurting anyone. Please please please know I'm not trying to create an us vs. them. I'm not trying to start pain olympics. I just want to know if someone else out there knows the 3rd tri fuckery. Yes, I could stay over at the loss group, but most there are not TTCAL. I consider here my home. So? Any takers?
BFP #1 12/19/13 We lost our Fenix 7/31/14 at 36 weeks due to torn umbilical cord
~*ALL AL WELCOME*~
Re: 3rd tri losses? (no pain olympics allowed!)
DX: Adenomyosis, Compounded MTHFR, PAI-1 4G variant
DH: 34
MFI due to Testicular Cancer
Married March 2012
IVF w/ICSI #1
10 little polar bears
FET #1 with 2 polar bears ~Nov 6, 2013 BFN
FET # 2 with 2 more polar bears ~March 19, 2014 BFP!!!
Beta 1= 276
Beta 2= 662
4/19/14 ~ baby A became an angel
5/02/14 ~ baby B became an angel
5/3/14 ~ D&C
FET #3 with 1 male polar bear ~October 3, 2014
October 13, 2014 ~ BFN
Fur Children: Memphis 3y, Dutch 3y, Marcel 2y, Meadow 1y
January 2015 Siggy Challenge TTCAL
Animals Interacting with Snow
Dx: Me: Recurrent Pregnancy Loss; DH: Low Morphology (2%)
BFP#1: MC 3/1/11 at 6w1d - EDD 10/21/11
BFP#3: MC 2/8/14 at 4w5d - EDD 10/13/14
BFP#6: CP 11/6/14 at 4w2d - EDD 7/14/15
IVF #1 with ICSI & PGS: May/June 2015, ER 6/3/15, 17R/17M/15F
IVF #2 with ICSI & PGS: July 2015, ER 7/16/15, 16R/11M/9F
PGS results = 6 normal embryos (4 boys, 2 girls)
FET 9/23/15 = BFFN
Shit situation all around. I have a family friend who experienced a 3rd Tri loss. It was rough for her. I wish we had more to offer you in terms of feeling like you aren't alone in your experience. Know we are here for you and that just like you said... we have all had losses, so remember that when you are looking for understanding and support. We can support you in your loss even if we haven't walked the same path you are on! Love and Light to you!
!*All Welcome**!
Me 28 The Tower Climber 27
NTNP Since January 2014
BFP #1- Nov 10, 2014 EDD July 19, 2015 MC Nov 20, 2014 (5wk 4d)
I'm so sorry for your loss, I could never imagine what you are going through.
((Hugs))
My girls only made it 21 weeks but I lived through all the experiences you mentioned too. I had to deal with all the "fuckery" that was a late loss too but by this description I don't belong because I didn't make it to the 3rd tri.
ETA: it really bothers me that all the ladies who aren't excluded from this type of post are confirming that it's not offensive. You know it's not offensive how exactly? Don't speak for everyone.
But regardless of that, I am sorry you felt excluded. I should have changed the term and from that pool of ladies pm the ladies that had the most similar experiences when I felt that no one could relate to my specifically 3rd tri fuckery.
I lost Zachary at 20 weeks. I was fortunate in that I had felt him rolling for over 3 weeks. I was fortunate in that I felt him punching and kicking and that my husband also felt those punches and kicks.
I did not have to deal with a nursery only because we planned on buying the crib, stroller, and a bunch of other stuff the weekend he ended up being born. I still have the shopping list in my phone.
Pink and I are in a pretty exclusive club of having children who were born alive, to small for NICU. That fucks you up in a special way - but we also recognize that our pain is no less nor is it any greater than any other woman on this board. We also have both been told by a 3rd tri loss mom that we did not belong on the Loss board because our losses were too soon.
I know you were not trying to offend and I know the club you belong to is very small but you can also post on the loss board - there are third tri loss moms there that can relate to your unique situation. I'm not saying that to be mean or spiteful. It's a great place for support and they have a TTCAL checkin (at least they used to). Late losses bread a different type of fear that no woman should ever have to know. Reach out to them if you have not already.
The day the Bump died - Jasper is wise
We had actually ordered our nursery furniture, 2 cribs, 2 changing tables, 2 of everything basically. We had all the supplies we needed including clothes, diapers and bottles. I even had a beautiful double stroller. We had to return it all - returning it was a fucking nightmare because the people at these stores wanted to know why. Telling them why is honestly scarred into my brain forever. I just cried and I think they understood.
I just hate how we're always fucking excluded. It makes me so angry.
We had actually ordered our nursery furniture, 2 cribs, 2 changing tables, 2 of everything basically. We had all the supplies we needed including clothes, diapers and bottles. I even had a beautiful double stroller. We had to return it all - returning it was a fucking nightmare because the people at these stores wanted to know why. Telling them why is honestly scarred into my brain forever. I just cried and I think they understood.
I just hate how we're always fucking excluded. It makes me so angry.
@PinkCamino, so many ((((hugs)))) back to you. Returning things was awful. I still have the beginning of my cloth diaper supply. They were supposed to be on his cute little butt and I still imagine holding him with those on him.
The day the Bump died - Jasper is wise
We had to return all of the cute baby stuff that we had purchased just the week before. I made DH do it because I was still bleeding and couldn't deal with it. The lady at BRU just needed to look at DH to know why he was returning it.
It was a couple days from the time we found out she had passed to the D&E and I kept thinking I felt her kick and move. I made them double and triple check before the D&E because I still felt her. So, yes, I can sympathize with you on those "phantom kicks" @forevermyfenix. Even though it wasn't a 3rd Tri loss, I still went through most of what you mentioned above. Please know that you are not alone.
DX Endometriosis 2/2002 (lost left tube due to a cyst), PCOS 6/2010
BFP - 10/18/2012, EDD - 6/26/2013, Baby Girl lost at 22 weeks (T21), D&E 2/15/2013
BFP - 4/23/2014, EDD - 1/2/2015 Twin Boys lost at 12 weeks, M/C 6/25/2014
My chart here All ALers welcome!
I just wish our later loss moms in the 3rd tri didn't feel as if they had to stay quiet for fear of coming off as excluding others.
All of this. I've been on the loss board for 2 years now and I have always felt safe and welcome there. So sorry others had bad experiences. It took me forever to lose my pooch...complete with getting asked if I was pregnant by strangers. Ugh. Felt phantom kicks for weeks...had to dry up my milk supply...had to watch my baby die on an ultrasound every few days for a week. Had to have an awful procedure done because her head was measuring way bigger than how old she was...all of it a nightmare. I get that you have a different experience so I don't take offense but I do think I get a lot of what you went through. I have just found it helpful to straddle this board and the loss board. They are really different in so many ways....the loss board is a lot slower and definitely more fragile and gentle....this one is more upbeat and fun while still being supportive.
8/12-Suprise BFP- Sweet Bunny Born Sleeping 11/21/12 (19 weeks)
-5/7/13- MMC (8 Weeks)
11/6/13- BO discovered at 7 weeks- natural MC 11/25/13
8/14- Surpise IF dx...low AMH (.24)- moving on to IVF
IVF #1- 11/14- 6R5M4F=2 perfect frosties
12/19/14- FET of 2 embabies = BFP!!! One Little Bean EDD: 9/3/15
Everyone Welcome.
I get the purpose of your post and while both of my losses were 2nd tri, I got to experience some of the same mind fucks that you did but certainly not all of them. I am one of those that thanks whoever it is that's up there that I had my losses when I did rather than later. The thought of having to return all of the baby things, come home to a full blown nursery or handle all of the terrible details of burying your child may have kept me from being able to try again.
I'm so sorry for those that had bad experiences on the Loss board. It was the first place I was referred to with my 20 week loss and those ladies were such a huge help to me. It did get very tough for me to stay there though once we started trying again- it became too much of a constant reminder of the terrible things that can happen.
Big hugs to all who need them. Everyone's got their shit - I hope the post has helped you find a few more support resources when you need them!
BFP #1- 4/2011; DD Brynn born 12/2011
BFP #2- 7/13; EDD- 4/2/14; Lost DS at 20 weeks (11/16/13) due to cord accident
BFP #3- 3/14; EDD- 11/28/14; Lost DD at 15 weeks (6/7/14)- cause unknown
To my angels- I held you every second of your lives and I'll love you every second of mine.
You are absolutely correct when you say that all losses are equally devastating; you are also correct when you say that different stages of loss each have their own particular mindfuckery. Not more or less by any means, as you made perfectly clear, just different.
With that being said, I don't think your post warrants a "side-eye" at all. @PinkCamino I think I understand what you were saying, but I just disagree with the side-eye. I cannot understand the uniqueness of a second tri loss anymore than I can a third tri loss, but I think the OP made it very clear that she was not minimizing or disregarding anyone's pain. In fact, it seems as if you both have experienced loneliness in your pain and my heart aches for you. You have a unique experience with a second tri loss that others cannot understand unless they have been there themselves. OP simply experienced a third tri loss and wanted to connect with other ladies that had as well. Thats just my two cents and I don't mean to stir up anything. We are all grieving together and I hate it. But I am very thankful for this board and the freedom to grieve with other loss moms.
Those comments are what pushed me straight to TTCAL. I spent very little time on the loss board because I was made to feel like my loss wasn't late enough to qualify while for the miscarriage board my loss was too late.
Having to consider EVERY person's individual experience on this board every time we post and reframe every question in that light is what brings us to the point we appear to be at. It makes it very scary to post anything lest we be side eyed for not including someone in the way they expect to be included.
Are you seriously trying to lay blame?ETA: the more I think about this the more upset I'm getting. You essentially blamed me for the board tension.
=D>
Thank you ladies who support me, and see my intentions were not to be exclusionary.
@PinkCamino ,that apology still stands and I'm not backing down from it. I don't want this to keep digging at your wound.
@ktlovess i wasn't trying to be malicious or act like I knew you. I'm sorry you seem to have taken it that way. I agree we can't walk on eggshells all the time for fear of hurting someone, but I think you may agree that some care needs to be taken on this board to avoid circumstances like this thread. I hurt @PinkCamino in the wording of my thread despite my best intentions. And I was corrected for it. I'm glad we have this board where we can discuss difficult things and I wish more people felt comfortable doing so.
Obviously we have people of differing Opinions on whether a side eye was warranted. We have people who think the intention behind the thread was pure and therefore no side eye was needed, and we have people who think that one was because my wording came off as exclusionary. Either way, can we let this rest so we don't hurt pink any further by keeping this up?
Eta:stupid autocorrect
I appreciate your apology and know that you did not mean to hurt me intentionally. But, i'm not okay with being told that my feelings of being excluded are invalid because the intention wasn't to exclude me in the first place.