Lovely Links

I have a bunch of posts brewing in my head and my blog drafts, but in the meantime I want to share some great articles and blog posts from around the internet. Enjoy!

This post about Meditations on the Rosary and Miscarriage is from May but I just stumbled across it the other day. It's beautiful. 

I just saw that lovely blogger Dwija just announced a new pregnancy. Which reminded me that during her last pregnancy, I sent her an email asking her how she discerned a pregnancy after the loss of her son, Nicholas, at 21 weeks gestation. She wrote a beautiful reply and then later posted on her blog. I don't think I've ever shared it here and it's really worth a read. You can find it here.

I found this article on The Strange New World of 'Miscarriage Cards' to be an interesting read. I'm not sure really where I stand on this. On one hand I agree with the author that "There are already sympathy and congratulations cards out there - there are blank cards, vehicles for truly personal and targeted messages thought out by the sender. The whole prospect of sending a card is surely to connect and relate; with these cards, I worry this is already done for you." On the other hand, I think the fact that those cards exist and will be sitting in the greeting card aisle may help people think more deeply about sending a card, or even just acknowledging a loss in a first place, than if they never saw a card specifically for miscarriage. If there is a greeting card for it, then it must be important, right? What do you think?

I loved the honesty in this post about When Pregnancy Feels Underwhelming. Feeling less than thrilled about a pregnancy does not mean you're a bad mother or that you don't love your child or value life. Pregnancy is complicated. There is no one right way to act or think as a pregnant woman. Period.

A reader sent me a link to this beautiful family photo along with the comment: "I saw this and thought of you and your post about the penumbra pregnancy. I love that term!" It's an image I'll never forget.

Most engaged couples probably don't think about the possibilities of infertility and miscarriage in their future, but they would be wise to acknowledge that there will be suffering of some sort or another. And, as this post points out, perhaps the most important question you should ask as you discern marriage is "Can I suffer with this person?"


P.S. My "due date" is exactly a month from today and I'd love some prayers as labor and birth approach. David will be out of town for work next week so prayers that the baby doesn't come then would be especially appreciated since I don't have an alternative labor support person if David can't be there. Thanks!