The term "Rainbow Baby" is becoming a beautiful new phrase to celebrate those babies born after a miscarriage, stillbirth, or neonatal death. A healthy baby reaching full term after loss is a beautiful rainbow after a dark storm.

Stillborn pregnancy and infant loss can bring feelings of turmoil, loss of hope and weigh heavily on our mental health. Like a rainbow, pregnancy after loss is the sign of hope and peace that there is joy and happiness up ahead. The rainbow doesn't make us forget the storm or the little beam of light that was lost but brings a renewed hope of the great and beautiful light that is still ahead.

 HELP, SUPPORT, AND RELIEF FROM LOSS

If you are pregnant with a rainbow baby or may have just experienced a loss, there is support and resources to help you begin to heal. Social media is full of support groups and loss community groups filled with women who have been there. Reach out, be embraced and embrace others. Our Facebook community is full of mamas from all walks of life and are united in celebrating every child. Being able to weather the storm with others who know how you feel can help you feel a sense of relief and enjoy the incredible miracle of your rainbow baby.

Read these heartfelt rainbow baby journeys from moms who have experienced loss, growth and renewed hope.

CELEBRATING YOUR RAINBOW BABY 

  At Audrey & Bear, we love celebrating life! Which is why I am so excited to share the release of our rainbow baby designs that are available in our shop now! Created to honor pregnancy loss and the various routes to motherhood, we’ve just launched two new Rainbow designs!!! First up is Watercolor Rainbow. SWOON!!! Feel excitement during pregnancy and baby cuddles after with our rainbow swaddles. There is something about experiencing pregnancy that makes us yearn for the individuality for our children. We want to celebrate them every day. Personalized swaddle blankets provide the perfect special gift to that sweet angel who helped you see light during a storm. Doesn’t it make for the most incredible reminder of all the beauty that comes after the darkness?!! Next up is Rainbow Arrow. This darling design is the perfect way to celebrate your little rainbow!!! 

“What does it mean to be the mother of a miracle? It means knowing that every day is a blessing and a gift. It means knowing that you are the luckiest person in the world, just to be a parent. It means cherishing every moment, every breath with such intensity that you feel tears come to your eyes for no apparent reason.” – K. Lena

THE JOURNEY AFTER LOSS

The loss of a child during pregnancy affects a massive number of mamas. As well as the emotional effects that last long after her loss. It is suggested that 15-25% of pregnancies will end in miscarriage. For those mamas, those losses can be devastating. And while most women go on to mother again, speaking from personal experience, it is an incredibly emotional journey. A journey that gives us lifetime membership to a sisterhood of other mamas who know… Who understand. Our journeys are different. Our experiences are not understood by regular mom circles. We don’t fit into first time mom groups, as this is not the first time we were mamas. Yet our rainbow baby’s firsts will take our breath away just like any other first-time moms. The first laughs. The first steps. The first words. Every bit of it magical. Every bit of it a gift. And none of it do we take for granted. 

We are mamas to rainbow babies. 

We are strong and courageous mamas. 

We are mamas who found hope and LIFE. AFTER. LOSS.

MY JOURNEY.

I’ve wanted to be a mom for as long as I can remember. But for Daniel and me, our journey to parenthood didn’t come easily. We experienced three miscarriages before the birth of our rainbow baby, Audrey. 

Three difficult miscarriages.

When I miscarried the first time, it broke me in a way that I didn’t think was possible. The overwhelming emotions took over every inch of me. The second one was even worse. And the third, worse still. 

The sadness and physical emptiness are incomprehensible unless you’ve lived it.

Just as I recovered from the emotional toll of my final miscarriage, Daniel and I discovered we were pregnant once again. 

I still remember the joy. The excitement. But despite it being exactly what I had hoped for, I worried about everything. Every cramp. Every kick. Every lack thereof. 

Those nine months of waiting to meet our baby girl were hard. 

But nine emotional months after we learned we were pregnant for the fourth time, our beautiful Audrey arrived!!! Our baby girl! Our rainbow after our dark storm!

Audrey is proof that there IS life after loss. She made me a mom. She came into our lives and changed them for the better.

I still remember seeing this quote shortly after we discovered we were pregnant with Audrey, and it has always stuck with me…

“It is understood that the beauty of a rainbow doesn’t negate the ravages of any storm. When a rainbow appears, it does not mean that the storm never happened, or that we’re not dealing with its aftermath. It means that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover, but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy, and hope.”

After every storm, there is a rainbow of hope.

And Audrey is our rainbow. 

CELEBRATE YOUR RAINBOW

As with all of our other designs, both Rainbow Designs can be customized to fit you and your baby perfectly! Work with your designer to create a personalized gift especially for your Rainbow Baby.  

And remember, for every swaddle purchased, we will donate a swaddle to a baby in a NICU or pediatric cancer center. Find both new designs in our shop here and here! 

xxxxx

Rachel

Adelynn & Everleigh Photo Credit: Alaska Photography & Design.