Monthly Archives: December 2009

Two in Heaven

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A part of me wonders if I should have guarded my heart against loving my Rainbow. Could it have dulled the deep sting of this second loss in any way? But then, it seems kind of ridiculous. What milestone is there to say it’s okay to start loving your baby when I have seen parents lose their children at all stages of life?

Statistics say the chance of miscarriage drops to 5% after you see the heartbeat. Statistics say that after the first trimester, you are “safe.” But those rules did not apply to Calvin. And all of our losses did not save our next baby, because there is no “loss quota.” Or maybe that rule doesn’t apply to us either. And I know too many people who have lost their babies after they reached viability outside of the womb and even after birth and in the days, weeks, months, and even years that followed.

If anything, I am glad for the hope and happiness I felt in the few weeks of my pregnancy with Rainbow. One of my fears was that I would have nothing of my heart to give after Calvin went to be with God. But that fear melted away. I can love as fiercely and as wholly as I loved my first child. There is no capacity to limit the love I can have for any of my children – living or dead. I am comforted by that.

As Louie said, if we can’t have happiness, we’ll take a beautiful sadness. I’d rather miss my babies than have nothing.

Thank you, my two little ones, for giving us that. I know happiness will come, but I don’t mind the wait. I love you, Calvin and Rainbow, and I can’t wait to have you in my arms.

<3, Crystal Theresa

Clinging to Hope

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Calvin and Rainbow

First, I want to say thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers, virtual hugs, positive vibes, on Facebook, my blog, Twitter, BBC, texts, and emails. During a time that is so isolating, we know we are not alone.

The photo is from the day we found out we were expecting again. It was the Sunday before Thanksgiving (our positive home pregnancy test with Calvin was on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving last year). I call this picture Calvin and Rainbow. I will speak to the terms Rainbow and Rainbow Baby in a later post.

I had my ultrasound, and they found a sac in my left uterus with only fluid inside. Based on my dates, there should have been at least a yolk sac, if not a fetal pole and beating heart. The biggest concern is that it could be an ectopic pregnancy (which means implantation happened outside of the uterus); this can lead to a sac in the uterus. Other possibilities include an early loss, or, because I am irregular, conception could have occurred later, and it’s just really early.

According to my initial hcg level test, it is high enough to indicate pregnancy, but not necessarily enough to show anything on an ultrasound. This would be the best case scenario. It’s what we are hoping and praying for. However, the spotting has turned into bleeding and the bleeding has been increasing. In my researching, I have read of women who had heavy bleeding and still went on to have healthy babies. I also read of women who did not have a yolk sac at 6 weeks, but were okay later on. I want to be one of them. But Louie and I are preparing for the worst.

If my hcg numbers go up and there is no change or growth in the ultrasound, it would be most likely that I have an ectopic pregnancy. In this case, I would be given a medication that would kill the cells. This type of pregnancy is not viable. It can cause a rupture. A certain percentage of women end up needing to have their fallopian tube removed (where the egg implanted). A certain percentage become infertile afterwards. I really, really pray this is not an ectopic pregnancy.

If this is a miscarriage, I will continue to cramp, and the bleeding will continue and increase. I will have a few days of really heavy bleeding. My hcg levels should show a drop. If I am losing this baby, I prefer for it to happen naturally, without needing medical intervention — be it tablets (which they used for my induction with Calvin) or a D & C (which they used to remove the remnants of Calvin’s placenta), I would really prefer not to go through that again this year…. or ever.

Please continue praying for us, keeping us in your thoughts, and sending positive energy our way.

I know that with God, anything is possible. As Grandma Floring would say, God can move mountains. But, I also know, that sometimes, His will is different from what we are seeking. Regardless, of the outcome (though we all know which one Louie and I desperately desire), He is still faithful.

<3, Crystal Theresa

Pray for My Rainbow

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We weren’t ready to tell people that I am pregnant again, that our rainbow baby is forming in my belly. We were planning to wait. But today, we desperately covet your prayers.

I started spotting while I was at work yesterday afternoon. It came with cramps and back pain. The spotting was brown yesterday. This morning it was dark red. I called the hospital, and they scheduled me to come in for an ultrasound. I have to go to the same place I had my last ultrasound with Calvin. After the ultrasound, I have to check into the OB clinic. The same place I went for my prenatal appointments with Calvin.

I am asking you to please cover us in your prayers. I am asking you to pray for me as I go back to the places where I went during my pregnancy with Calvin. I am asking you to pray for Louie because he cannot come with me. And most especially, I am asking you to pray for this baby I am carrying, that this little one be safe and continue to form in my womb, that our rainbow may live with us on Earth as we all wait to rejoin Calvin in heaven.

<3, Crystal Theresa

The 5th Belongs to Calvin: The Space Between Us

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The Calvin Phoenix Photo Project
Photo of the Month: CalvinE and Crystal Hill

Calvin and Crystal will meet on a hill when the chains reconnect.


These photos were taken by Louie’s cousins, Abby, Irene, and Alyssa. There is a street called Calvine in Sacramento, and they kept driving around until they could find an intersection at which they could take a picture. They ended up at Calvine and Crystal Hill. :) . Thanks so much for these pictures, cousins!

If you would like to contribute a picture for Calvin Phoenix, please read about the Calvin Phoenix Photo Project.


The Space Between Us

In this The 5th Belong to Calvin post, I want to speak of what it’s like for me to be Mommy to a child who lives in Heaven. One of the most painful things about losing Calvin is losing the chance to parent him, to change his diapers, to help him take his first steps, to rock him to sleep, and blow raspberries on his tummy. What some don’t realize is that losing Calvin includes losing part of myself, losing part of Louie; it includes the loss of our hopes and dreams for him; it includes the loss of the future we had planned; and it also includes the loss of parenthood in a way that leaves my arms empty and aching.

In those first nights after coming home from the hospital with a memory box instead of my baby in my arms, the only way I could find peace enough to sleep through the tears was by leaving a space between me and Louie. That space belonged to Calvin. It was our way of letting him know that even though he was free to view the wonders of God’s creation, that his home is in Heaven, he still had a place here on earth. I’m sure it was more for us than for him, to feel like we could do something for our son, even when we couldn’t physically touch him. And in those moments between crying and sleep, I felt his presence and was able to find comfort and rest.

It may seem weird, at first, to hear that Calvin has created a space between me and Louie. But he is the perfect expression of our love. He is both a part of me and a part of Louie and connects us in the most powerful of ways. I feel so blessed by this.

Happy 9 months in Heaven, my sweet Calvin Phoenix! Mommy and Daddy miss you so much, and we love you more than ever.

<3, Crystal Theresa

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