Thursday, June 3, 2010

Did this really happen?


There are moments where I sit here and think "Did this really happen to me?" It did, it did happen to me, to us. It is so hard to accept that. My little girl is gone forever. When I want to visit her, I get to go sit at a grave. A precious perfect little gravestone, but its little and it shouldn't be needed. It breaks my heart to know her little body rest below it.

There are times where I wonder if I'm really here, If I'm sane. Sometimes I clench my eyes shut and pray and hope that when I open them that I will find this all to be a bad dream. It doesn't work though. It happened. My toddler, my 18 month old daughter is gone. Sometimes I get so angry and I lose my temper and I act like my 5 year old. Sometimes I can't breathe because it feels like a 500lb weight is laying on my chest. Sometimes the memory of that day will not leave no matter how hard I try to shake it off. You try your hardest to remember the good things but her face, face down, parts of her skin purplish, the noise her little body made when I moved her, when i touched her, it haunts me. The frantic phone call, carrying around her absolute dead weight, knowing that it wasn't good that she was purple. But I kept telling myself she was warm and maybe those noises was her trying to breathe. I can remember her on the table and attempting the cpr and being so utterly calm. I just did what i had to do even though In my head I knew without a doubt that every single damn fear I had ever had about her dying on me had came true.

I couldnt' cry, it was hours later when I started to cry. I know it was shock but all I could think of was how everyone must have thought I was horrid for not throwing myself on the floor and having hysterics.
How do you come back from this? It haunts me every day. I want a new mattress so badly but then I don't know that i can part with it. I lay my head where she died every night. I want to kiss her head so much.

I hate putting laundry away, I've always hated it but now every time I do it I think of how I happily put my laundry away while she laid there. While I sat in that damn room and I talked to her and I shook the damn bed and tried to jostle her awake. How I never gave it one moments notice that her face was head down into the bed, that her little arms were under her. I just went about my business in the same room while she lay there. Sitting down on the floor and putting her clothes away, talking to her and having that same old fear I've always had come rushing in. The frantic "is she breathing" and then pushing it away and putting her favorite monkey pajamas away. Then turning my head back and looking and looking and the fear it took hold and i reached and touched her back. I shook her slightly, calling her name. I grabbed her arm and once i saw the color i knew. The dread that goes through your body you can't even imagine. I've done this before, I was nurses aide for 5 years, yo udon't forget what mottling looks like on a dead/dying person. That doesn't leave you. It was the sounds she made that gave me hope. I just couldn't believe that the sounds I heard when i moved her meant she was gone.

I can't sit at the spot on the table where her head was. I see her lying there all the time when i walk by. I hate that she never even got the chance to go to the hospital. Not that it would have made a difference. She was gone when I found her and there was no bringing her back. I hate that i was so calm, that i didnt' have the hysterics I still wish I could have. Why do I want to be hysterical I don't know, it makes me almost laugh.

Holding her after they had done all they could. I couldn't look at her face because it was so hard. I just looked down at her like i would if she had been sleeping on me. I wanted to hold her forever but there were moments where i just wanted her gone because I knew she was gone and holding her reminded me that she was gone but I knew that once I let go of her that was it. No more kissing her head, running my fingers through her hair. My sleeping beauty.

I had girls once. 2 girls that were supposed to grow old together, to be playmates forever. To be close and to have each other through thick and thin. My girls. I had that once and now I'm just an empty shell of that person.
Life is so unfair, you are always told how life is so unfair but every little thing in my life seems so trivial compared to this. Shes being erased. I look around my house and there are a couple pictures here and there, I still have a toy drawer but thats it. There is nothing here that screams out 'hey i had a baby' Its all being put away. Shes just a lovely memory. Its inevitable.

I feel like a monster sometimes with the thoughts that go through my head. The jealousy is bad but not nearly as bad as you would expect. Mostly its just pain. I'm doing well. Really. I write here because Its a way for me to release what I'm holding inside. But Im' doing well. I'm moving forward. I smile and I laugh every single day. My memories cause me pain but they also give me immense joy. I cry every day but some days its just a light eye watering where others its heart breaking sobs. I don't want to reach out to everyone that wants me to reach out to them. Im content in my own little world right now.

I want another baby, but I don't. I do but going through everything you have to go through again sounds like work. I want my baby back, i want my toddler. I want to be thinking about potty training not getting pregnant. I didn't deserve to have her robbed from me like this. How can you ever be normal after something like this happens? How am i supposed to have another baby and act normal? Im going to be petrified but I also cannot imagine my life without another baby. I know it would never take her place thats not what I'm trying to do at all but babies are so healing. I need to be needed again. Can you imagine having someone who needs you 24/7, who counts on you for everything. Someone who is always right under your feet and then just rip them away. To be alone during the day even when your 5 year old is here. She doesn't need me like I was needed by Megan. Emily is bright and intelligent and independent. I would give anything to change Megans diaper again, to clean up a mess she made at a meal time or to have her dump out all of the cereal in the cuboard again. To have her plop her butt in my face to wake me up and tell me to change her. To hear her sweet voice say Mama.

I'm so scared of moving forward without her but I have no choice. IT is so unfair to not let someone have a choice in this matter. I can be a worthless mother/wife/friend or i can move forward. I can't sit in sadness all the time. I get it. But it doesnt make it any easier.

I miss my daughter so much. My life will forever be changed because of her. Because of this, so many of you have told me you think of us daily and that you remember, that you take that extra time and that really makes me happy. It wasn't long enough but I would have been lost without her, to never have known her. She made a impression on me that will never be forgotten. Shes my angel and my heart and my arms will always ache for her. Oh the ache in my arms is so hard. She was such a new walker that I still carried her more than she walked and walking into a store or wherever without her weight is so hard sometimes.
Its all hard what am i saying.

I love you sweet baby girl.

Friday, May 21, 2010

Thinking




"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.”

~Washington Irving

I'm sitting here wondering what to write. I'm at a loss, I want to write about my sadness but I also want to write about my happiness. I have a wonderful family, I am incredibly blessed. My husband is my best friend, he still makes my heart go pitter patter and he can still make me laugh like a school girl. Emily is almost 6 and she is turning into such a kind caring little person. Very opinionated and the drama never stops. Everything has to be perfect all the way down to her toes. She's a funny girl and likes to talk and talk and talk.

I have married into the best family I could have ever imagined. Without a moments glance they accepted me, loved me and supported me. There has never been a time where I have wondered if I was where I belonged because I know I belong. Im here and I'm blessed. We are all blessed to have had such a sweet beautiful angel in our lives. It was much to short of a time but she left her footprints on all of our hearts. She left a legacy, a smile and laugh, she showed us love and patience. A childs love is so forgiving, so overwhelming it literally wraps you tight and lets you know all is right with the world.

The moment Megan entered this world I loved her with all of my heart. Megan was so special, she was such a easy baby, a easy toddler. Seeing Emily hold her sister, love her sister , play with her sister, and share her dreams with her sister has forever changed me. How does a parent go on, when all of your hopes and dreams have been robbed. When an entire childhood, adulthood, parenthood has been taken away. Things like this aren't supposed to happen. Emily is supposed to have her little buddy with her, she had so many things she wanted to teach her. I had so many things to teach her.

Oh i love her so much, I get so mad each and every time i talk about her in past tense. My baby girl shoudln't be past tense, she should be in the present and its just not fair.
Waiting for answers that may never come. Such a cruel thing, you want there to be something wrong even though the guilt of why wasn't this caught will happen, but the alternative of SUDC and not knowing, not having any answer is just as awful. SUDC, sudden unexplained death in childhood. Death after age 12 months, SIDS the one everyone knows of is classified 12months and under. Why are our children dying? Why are there so many similiarites that I and other ladies have talked about. Why our angels? Why?

I'm supposed to accept that God won't give you more than you can handle. I'm supposed to accept that she was just to perfect for this world so she had to go to heaven. I'm supposed to accept that this was God's will. I'm supposed to accept that I will eventually be ok. I'm supposed to accept that this is fate, that was in the grand plan, that she is no longer suffereing, that she is with me always even if she isn't here in person. These are things I'm suposed to blindly accept. I'm supposed to have faith that everything will be ok.

What I know is that my heart hurts, that at times i can barely breathe. I know these tears that are running down my face burn, I know people think I'm strong but Im' weak and scared. I know that she was perfect and that I miss her so much. I know this pain will lessen with time but I don't believe it.
Everything is a memory.

I wanted her so much, my little miracle baby. She grew in me for 9 months, she made me so sick for at least 5 of them. She slept when i slept, what more could a parent wish for. She was supposed to be a boy lol. She was something special from the moment she was concieved. She was always so happy, so engaging, so loving. Would go to stranges and just love on them, how special that is, to make someones day by just a little smile and laugh. She kissed on command, literally gave so many kisses to anyone who asked. Perfect little close mouthed kisses.

She was always happy. She would fall asleep the moment she got in the car, everytime it seemed like. She hated anything on her feet, I was that mom who would have a sockless/shoeless baby out and about in the middle of winter. She was such a good eater. She hated to sit in restaurant high chairs but in my own she loved it. It was also a great place for her to fall asleep.
I never got to see her run, but dad never got to see her crawl, walk, pull up to standing, first tooth. She liked to help put the dishes away, she would happily hand sister a dish/silverware over and over and over until every dish in the dishwasher was put away. They loved it and what mom doesn't love to get out of a chore?
She loved water. So many times I would take her out of the tub while sister stayed in, Id get her dressed and id go to get something and I'd hear MOM and splash. Fully clothed Megan back in the tub with sister.
I have wonderful friends and I have a wonderful family. I can't thank you all for all the love and support you have shown me.

My princess Megan Olivia McPhee.


Thursday, May 6, 2010

Sadness

I just spent 20 minutes sitting on the bathroom floor quietly sobbing. Hoping I didn't wake up Michael. Finally smarted up and came out here and decided to get on the computer. Its been a couple of days since I had a good sob i guess.
I really don't know what I am doing anymore. I feel so alone even though I have family and so many friends around me. My little girl is gone. She is gone and the grief is overwhelming me. I cannot even begin to describe how it feels, how much it hurts. No parent should ever ever have to go through this. She was such a joy, she brought me so much joy to me and to everyone around her. She was my ray of sunshine on my darkest days. How does something like this happen? I wanted her so badly, it almost feels like a punishment. Is it karma? Boy I really messed up somewhere. How does this happen, why does this happen to people? It just isn't fair. I should have her in my arms right now, I should be giving her kisses and running my fingers through her hair. The little she had anyways lol. My pretty baldie baby princess.

I keep getting this frantic feeling that people are going to see pictures of Megan and just automatically assume they are pictures of Emily when she was little. I know it sounds silly. She's my Mego, my Megs, my sweet angel. My only brown eyed baby girl.
Aren't you supposed to find comfort somewhere in the whole knowing shes with God? Its not very forthcoming I can tell you that. Lately this prayer just keeps going through my head. If I had known I would never ever put her down for a nap. Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep; Or if I die before I wake, I pray for God my soul to take.

I've found lots of people who are grieving, I've even found a couple of ladies who are going through exactly what I'm going through, all of us three days apart. One lost her 20 month old on March 4, One lost her 19month old on March 7th and me with my 18 month old March 10th. Our babies one months apart and died 3 days apart respectively. All baby girls. What a coincidence right?
I know we all grieve differently and I know so many people around the world are grieving with me/us but I still feel so absolutley selfish when I think that nobody nobody knows what im going through, nobody can understand this pain, this heartache. But they do and I'm not alone.

Is it destiny that we all find each other? Are our baby girls playing together in heaven? What a pleasant thought right.

I hate belonging the dead child club. I would give anything to have her back. Anybody know where the pet semetary graveyard is? lol. I have tears running down my face, snot all over and I had to put in the pet semetary bit. It made me laugh. I'm lucky that I have my husband with me now, it makes things easier for me, he keeps me grounded and moving forward. But if I could change places, if i could have him gone finishing his tour and have her back with me, there woudl be no question.
I miss her so much. I know missing her will get easier as time goes by, I know nothing will ever fill the voild, the emptiness, the hole that she left but I do know it will get easier.

I'm not needed like i was and its so hard to accept that. Sure people need me but not like she needed me. The house is so empty without her. Staying up late and getting all the cuddles she used to give me. Taking a bath, oh baths are so hard. She was always there with me at bath time, she would always throw herself in with me, she loved baths so much. My water baby.

I have to go through her clothes and her toys and I don't want to but I don't want anyone else to touch her stuff. I have till May 17th to get it done. Just thinking about doing this makes my heart race. ITs going to be so hard.
In my mind I can see her face so clear, I can almost reach out and touch her. I think I've gotten to the point to where I don't need answers as much as I did before. Like my husband says nothing is going to change what happened, shes gone. I think I realize how gone she is a little every day. You know they are gone but its not till all the little things hit you one by one that you really truly understand.

Something as simple as being able to have a candle on my coffee table. I keep wanting to move it because I know its not safe there but it doesn't really matter now because there are no little fingers to bang it on the table. I put some cleaners under the kitchen sink and went to lock the cupboard up and stopped myself because there is no need. Every single time I am in the car I want to put her in her carseat or take her out. But its not there anymore, because she is not here anymore. So many times I've hopped out of the car and turned and for that quick second I'm so happy and content and then I remember.

The guilt, the overwhelming guilt that I feel every single day. I have guilt from not holding her for that nap, for walking away, and I have guilt for smiling and moving on. Every day I move farther and farther away from her. She is destined to become nothing but a memory. A wonderful blessing but just a memory that so many of us share. I keep asking myself if maybe i just wanted her to much. Did I somehow do this with this thoughts of something like this happening? I had the thoughts, the fears but you never really ever expect those to come true.
I'm scared. There are so many things I should be doing right now but im so scared to move forward, im not sure if i can take the steps I should be talking. Shes gone and as awful as it sounds it makes certain things easier right now. Things I should do. I havent' worked since 2003. The big bad world is scary and the mamabear inside me is in hiding. I don't want to lose her but I've already lost her. I can't explain it, i just feel like it will take me farther and farther away. Some of you know what I want to happen by the end of the year and that scares me to. I go back and forth with the doubts. You can tell me all day long that I'm a good mother but the fact is, my kid died on my watch, I don't really feel overly capable right now.
I feel like I need to spread the word about SUDC but what
good is it going to do? Besides make everyone worry.. Its not like SIDS, there is no lay them on their back, there is no have a fan in their room blah blah blah. This happens after they turn one, after they are deemed 'safe'. There isn't a 18 month old around that can't lift up their head so they don't suffocate, there isn't a 18 month old that isn't a pro at ripping the covers off, or moving around. But this happens, it happens more often than you think. Why does it happen? Why are there so many simlilarites between the cases but they can't find any solid concrete answers? Megan hasn't even been diagnosed with this, but the fact is its very likely. Its what I'm expecting even though I would probably get the most comfort out of some kind of undiagnosed congential defect or something. Something that would make it ok for me to have worried like I worried her whole life. Nobody knows about SUDC, its all SIDS SIDS. And advocating for it isn't going to relieve me, it isn't going to make another parent feel better, its going to scare the crap out of them.

I just hate this, hate moving on without her. My cuddle bug is gone. I didn't get to give her a million kisses, I don't get to see her grow up. I never got a drawing from her, I dont' get to see her learn to ride a bike, or even to run. It is so hard to have all your dreams and hopes for your child to just end.
I get sad and i get moody and I lose my patience entirely to quick. I'm going forward whether or not i like it. I'm so thankful for my family and my friends. I'm thankful to have found the ladies I found, to have someone to talk to about everything. To know they are feeling and dealing with the same things, walking in my shoes and I am not alone.

You can ask me all day long how im doing and I will always tell you fine, or alive. To them though I can let it all out because they know. I feel like such a downer sometimes and I'm trying to not be but its hard. You have to wonder why some people get to have kids, why they get to keep their kids when they are abusive and mean and neglectful and etc yet we are the ones who lost our kids. It doesn't make sense.
I looked into her eyes and I told her I would always keep her safe. That I would always love her with all my heart. I feel like I failed. My one job was to keep the kids safe and healthy and happy while daddy was gone and I failed. I falied in the worst way. You can't just walk away from the guilt, I can't share the gult with anyone else it my cross to bare. 2 measly weeks, thats all. I'm a big fat failure.

I'm a strong person. I know I'm doing well under these circumstances. I konw I have to write like this and let my feelings out and have others read it because I have to be held accountable. I have to have other people know what I'm thinking. I do know I am strong because I have had my moments of weakness. Who woudn't? I'm still neeeded, I'm still loved. I can still be happy, I can still make others happy and feel loved. I can find joy and happiness in the little things still and i know thats good. It lets me know I haven't let the grief consume me. Even when I want to let it, I can't fall that far. I'm here. The tears don't come as easily as they used to. I"m slowly being able to look at pictures again. I still feel like someones crushing my chest though most of the time. What I wouldnt give to be able to smell her smell again, to breathe in that baby scent. She was such a good girl. I love her so much.
I hate talking about her in past tense and I find myself doing it more and more. It feels so wrong. It all feels so wrong.

more sadness

I guess nobody can really blame me for saying I'm sad. I am so sad. I miss Megan so much. My baby girl, missing her walk and play and watching her interact with Emily, with the dog. All the things she doesn't get to learn now, all the firsts we don't get to see. I stare at a picture and just wonder if there was clue, something I should have known or did. Just to hold her in my arms again, to feel her heart thumping against mine. To be able to kiss the top of her head just one more time. To properly say good bye.
I feel like I'm losing all of her memories. I know i should start writing them all down I just can't seem to make myself so the fear of losing them is even stronger. She made me smile and she made me laugh every single day. Even when i was at my wits end she would make me laugh. She always knew when you needed a hug and was always ready for a good cuddle and kiss.

I feel like asking everyone to start writing down their memories of Megan but I can't even do it myself. I want to remmeber the good, the bad everything. My heart is just hurting tonight. I'd do anything to change the way things happened.

Thats all i feel like writing i guess.

Regrets

Today, I have regrets. I'm looking at pictures from a lady who does excellent work in my hometown. I talked to her a few times and she was always in the back of my mind. How I really wanted her to do my girls pictures. I just kept putting it off and off and off. Now its to late.

Today I have regrets, I never took her to the zoo, I never took her to the ocean, so many things that are going through my mind right now. I'm a procrastinator, always have been. I always put things off and now i feel robbed because I don't get to do those things with her anymore. I don't get to make new memories with her anymore. How do I know that the memories I do have won't fade? How do I make sure that I will never forget?

Today I have regrets and It hurts so much. I don't have regrets in the way I took care of her, just in the things we missed out, will miss out on. All my life my biggest desire was just to be a mom. Its all ive ever wanted. I know some people don't understand that, but for me that was the biggestt most important step in my life.

I hate feeling like I've been robbed, I hate feeling jealous of others. I'm not comforted that shes with the lord, shes my baby and she should be with me. I looked at her grave the other day, its so small. Nobody should ever have to lay flowers on such a small grave. It isn't fair.

I feel sometimes like i'm healing to fast, like im moving on to fast. I feel guilty when I'm having fun and then i get mad at myself when i cry and I can't stop. When the pressure on my chest feels like a thousand pounds and I can't take in a deep breath and my heart starts pounding. I hate that my family is broken, that a part of me died with her. I hate that we must move on and that we can't stay here in this utter sadness.

I did everything right, but maybe i didn't adovate strong enough for her. I look back and think of all my fears and the things ive told people and I still dont know if what i did was enough. I think it was, it feels like it was. How do you differentiate between a mothers paranoia and actual sickness. Especailly when she never seemed that sick.

I didn't get a chance to say goodbye like I woudl've wanted to. How my arms ache for her every day. How do you go on after something like this? My heart feels so empty but its not enitrely because I have him, and i have em. I have such good friends and I have such a wonderful family. Yet my arms are still empty and i hate it. What i woudlnt' give for just one more kiss, for one more hug. To hold her close, kiss the top of her head, nuzzle the back of her neck. Make her laugh and giggle. To hear her say mama.

I feel like I'm supposed to be lost in the sadness but my family and my friends won't let me. I'm thankful for that to a point but sometimes i still feel that overwhelming despair and I want to be lost in it and its so hard. The memories aren't always comforting. Walking into a place and knowing the last time you were there, you were happy and you were whole and then walking in there again now. Its different and wrong. I know I'm rambling but oh well, i cant remember my password/email for my blog lol.

A wife who loses a husband is called a widow. A husband who loses a wife is called a widower. A child who loses his parents is called an orphan. But...there is no word for a parent who loses a child, that's how awful the loss is! - Neugeboren 1976, 154

Functional

Someone asked me how I do it, How I survive each day. I'm not strong at all. I'm functioning. No one could ever comprehend what this is like till you've walked in my shoes. Its just not possible.

Many of you know that I've always felt like I just knew this would happen, that it had always been such a huge fear of mine. I used to think about it, how would I do this? Back then there was no hope, you saw no way to function, that there would be no sunshine in your life anymore. You can't even come close to imagining it because when you have them in your arms you aren't supposed to imagine things like that.
Now that I've been there I realize that life does move on no matter how often I wish it would stand still. I have another child that needs me, I have a husband that needs me. It gives me someone else to think about, someone else to make me happy. The pain hasn't lessened at all, its so sobering. walking into Walmart or other stores.... it is so painful. There are always little girls her age and oh so cute around. I find myself just staring longingly at them, jealous of them. I walk into a store and everyone is so happy and I find myself just wanting to shout "HEY my kid died" so maybe they wouldn't be as happy. I find myself wanting to go up to perfect strangers and tell them to hug their little ones close, to find that extra time to give them love. Life changes so fast, in a instant all your dreams and your hopes for the future can be gone. It doesn't mean they are all gone forever, you will climb out of that hole and realize you can make new hopes and dreams but it will never ever be the same.
I coudlnt' do this without my family, I can't even imagine it. I love them so much. The support I've received from them is wonderful. Having my husband home again its such a relief and he is such a help, without him I'd probably be a blubbering mess all day.

Its been over 3 weeks since i got to kiss/hold love on my baby girl. I'm scared to death for my husband to go back to work because I can't stand being alone. I want to start going back to the gym and I need to start it up soon but the thought of going to the daycare is like a stab in my heart. Not only will i have to see all the other kids Megan played with but I'm sure some of them will ask where she is. I could wait till Emily is back in school but that is just that much longer i have to wait to get myself onto some kind of routine. I hate it all. I hate that I don't have the patience i had with Megan with Emily, that she can drive me so insane.

She brings laughter but she brings pain to, they are so honest and straightforward and when I imagine the future of us without Megan it kills me. Parenthood is not for the weak lol. I'm not strong, I'm functional.
I miss my baby girl so much. Life will never be the same without her.

The worst day of my life


Awesome antibiotic has baby girl feeling great!


Rambles

RAMBLES
I'm so tired, yet can't sleep. I thought it would be so hard to sleep on the bed but it really hasn't been. Helps that he is here. I feel like im becoming number, like im pushing away the pain and i feel guilty. I love that baby girl of mine with all my heart. She was the happiest litltle thing all the time, ive never met a child happier than she was. Socks were such a hassle and now she never has to wear them again. Hold your babies mamas, you will always regret that last time yoou didn't. To hear mamama or have her just sit so contentdly in my lap, her kisses, her happiness. gone to soon Megan you were gone to soon and it isnt fair
SHe was so perfect, she was stubborn but that just added to her charm. Boy she had charm I dont think there is one person she didnt' win over. Mommy loves you so much my sweet girl things, things wil never be the same. I just want to nuzzle the back o f your head, i want to never forget that smell, in my arms again giving kisses. You were the sweetest baby how my heart aches for you.