Monday, July 23, 2012

Hopes not a crime

   Last Thursday I got an awesome opportunity to share my story live and on the record for anyone to hear on a blog radio show, and it felt great! I constantly reflect on both of my pregnancies, births, losses, and faith, all three of my boys blessed me with experiencing, and sometimes I go crazy needing to get these thoughts out. I felt such a weight lifted off my shoulders when I got to do just that with a woman I now adore and look up to, Shellie Nichol Chander :) She started a ministry called "Hopes not a crime" after hearing the news that her son Cody has a terminal illness and has been given so many years to live; which he keeps proving them wrong with each year he's alive. Shellie has found hope knowing God knows no statistics, no matter what the world or doctors may say. She now spreads the word or hope and what it means to find it through our savior Jesus Christ.
  It was my first time really speaking, and as you can see, I'm much better at writing my thoughts out, but I hope one day to get to publicly speak in an inspirational and natural way. If there's any one message I would want others to take from my story it's this: Jayden and Tucker were no accident, "miss hearings" from God, or even tragedies. They were meant to be apart of this world, my world, if even for a short-lived 9 months in my womb. No they never got to speak a world, never got to breathe our air, or even get to look into our eyes, but they taught me more than anyone living ever could. They took me through a journey and made me live on faith only to get to my dream of motherhood with every ounce I had left. Without having had Jayden and Tucker before Noah, Noah would of just looked like another birth into this world that happens everyday. Instead Noah was a miracle in the flesh for us to all see, for everyone involved to believe, and know that God does hear and answer our prayers. That with God anything is possible and He can defy all odds. That He can get us through anything and walk in our daily lives if we let Him. I've never felt so close to Him than I did that summer getting pregnant with Noah. It's a humbling and awing experience that I otherwise would of never got to experience and I thank God that He choose me to get to live that and share it with others. Thank you God for believing in me and making me feel your undivided attention and love even though you're also taking care of this entire world we live in. I hope I made you proud and continue to fulfill your will for me in my life, spreading hope for others. You are amazing and I will praise you through storm and shine!

To listen to my show with Shellie, go here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hopes-not-a-crime-shellie-nichol/2012/07/20/when-lightening-strikes-twice-a-journey-to-motherhood    
Shellie's ministry: www.hopesnotacrime.org
 Or join the group "hopes not a crime" on FB

Thank you all and as Shellie says, " keep hope in your heart, and two thumbs in the air!"

-Magen <3

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

I am a mother

    I wanted to talk about the biggest and one of the hardest parts of being angel mom. Even though I have one living son today, I still struggle with this recognition of being seen as a mother. One of the hardest parts of burying each one of my babies was going back into the world seen as the same woman I was before I became pregnant. After carrying each one of my babies for nine months and enduring and feeling all the things each woman feels while carrying their children do; it was hard to see all those women now being able to live out their days with their babies and getting to be a mom. I grieved each moment I was supposed to be doing "mom" things with my baby, especially when I was out in public. Any time I went to the store I imagined myself pushing my baby around in my cart, or while eating out at a restaurant, I pictured my baby sitting in his highchair while other's smiled in awe at his cuteness. Every single day I pictured and grieved at the moments I dreamed of fulfilling with my baby, and carrying on with my previously lived day to day life alone was agonizing. I ached to still be seen as their mom, and for others to know, hey I have a baby too! The joy you want to express to others, after an anxiously anticipated nine months, doesn't go away even though you know the heartache you actually endured when you left the hospital empty armed.
   As I carried my second son Tucker this anticipation was even stronger, and I remember crying at the thought of getting to finally fulfill each one of those moments with him... only to live out those gut-wrenching empty moments again. And when I carried my third son Noah, I remember being more afraid of having to grieve those moments a third time even more so then the act of leaving the hospital empty-armed, because the truth is in the hospital you were still seem as a mother to this sweet baby boy you just delivered. Even though the room was silent and filled with tears, I couldn't help but smile while I got to hold my sweet angel in my arms. I knew the reality was when I left that hospital I was only left with pictures of my silent baby boy who would never grow to be more than his little 8lb 2oz newborn self. In the hospital I was still seen as his mom, where as soon as I went back into the day to day world, I was seen alone. They sometimes felt like a dream, a dream I never wanted to forget.
   Now the title of "Noah's mom" means more to me than you could ever know. He was the answer to all those moments I wanted to fulfill. And every moment I was in front of anyone, I wanted to physically been seen as his mom. It was a struggle because I felt so much anxiety when others were giving him care, especially in public, because if for a moment I felt once again like that lonely girl, I would feel that pit in the bottom of my stomach, so I would hog him to myself...
  Sometimes just knowing you are a mom to three precious boys isn't enough, and I want the whole world to know it. I'm still healing everyday and I know that one day when I get to Heaven there's no doubt that I'll will finally get to be a mother to them all :) Can't wait for my family to one day get to be complete. And I thank Jesus for giving me that hope of eternal life with them. I am a mother to three beautiful boys :)
   

Monday, July 2, 2012

The beginning

Ok so I know it's been forever since I last posted and I often get mad at myself for not continuing in this blog like I would of liked to, but during my last pregnancy with Noah my mind was so overloaded with emotions and feelings that I just couldn't keep up. With all of that being said I want to pick back up now that my sweet Noah is a year old and my feelings and emotions are in a whole new place that I'd love to share again.

My mind really goes into deep thought mode when I'm laying in bed "trying" to go to sleep, as I'm sure that's when most people get to really thinking. During this time I come to alot of realizations and made myself get up this time (its 15:54am I mind you) out of bed and write them down. Tonight I started thinking about how I felt after I lost my first son Jayden vs. the way I felt after loosing my second son Tucker... just where I was in my life and how they affected me in different ways, this one just happens to be about my relationship with JD.

Now with Jayden I was only 18 years old and only dating JD, not married, not on my own, and not out of school. I still had my WHOLE future ahead of me and I think it's ironic almost that I was right at the edge of leaving childhood and entering into adulthood that I went through my first loss. I started thinking about me and JD and how the moment we found out Jayden was coming, we were connected for life. No we were not married and may of never even got married after his birth but no matter what we would be connected though our son forever. Now of course no life is ever guarenteed, but just like any other couple, we were naive and believed with everybit that those things would take course, and that certaintity only gets stronger with every month you get closer and closer to the birth. So when Jayden died it was like that connection was gone, and we were just, physically, two different people again. At any moment JD or myself could of left and we would never "have" to see eachother again. This may be hard to explain (which is only one of many many feelings that are so hard to grasp after a loss before a chance to even live is) but it sadden me so much to know we were just some highschool couple again, at least to anybody else's eyes in the world, and I think that's why that moment in our relationship was so cruical to our relationship even today. It was the moment we both knew we wanted to be together forever. I'll never forget the words that came out of JD's mouth when he turned and looked at me and said, "I don't ever want to have a baby with anybody else but you." It was in that moment we knew we were "meant" to be together. But it was hard b/c at the same time I couldn't help but see the other side of it, was it a sign from God saying hey your free to go, ya'll really weren't meant to be together and now you don't even have to... What a hard position for just an eighteen year old girl to have to decifer, while all at the same time I was grieving the death of my son and trying to make some sense of why he died just a mere day before I was going to be induced.
I always tell people that Jayden brought me and JD together, and you know what he did. He gave us the oppurtunity to choose to be together and to take that commitment of marriage at such a young age without the actual physical bond we would of had, that can blur, so to speak, the true reason of marriage if he would of been born alive on this earth. Not to say I wanted that oppurtunity for a second but it's the little things you see later as beautiful from such a little soul that never even got to say a word, but he impacted our lives more than words ever possibly could.
Now just passing our 5 year wedding anniversary, I look back on the beauty of our love and even though our marriage was going to face more and more trials, and even more, another tragic death of yet another baby boy, our love was strong and we have Jayden to thank for that :)


pregnant with Jayden, life was simple back then :)