When we found out we were pregnant in August 2018 we were so excited - and so relieved after going through a complicated miscarriage in March of that year.
When we found out it was a boy, I wasn’t surprised. From the beginning of our pregnancy I just knew our little guy was in there. We had a perfectly uneventful pregnancy filled with sweet wiggles, kicks, and baby rolls. He loved listening to loud music with me every day at work and he loved his dad’s macaroni and cheese. We learned towards the end of our pregnancy that I had grown a super healthy boy, estimating he’d be around 9 pounds at birth (maybe it was all the macaroni?).
We spent months planning the hats he’d wear to match his dad, buying them coordinating button up shirts, and envisioning our summer vacation on the Cape we’d get to take to finally introduce him to all of our family and friends back east. Our baby shower was beautiful and we made so many memories with Camden before he was even here. Car seats were installed and his nursery was ready to go.
On Tuesday, April 2nd I knew something was wrong. I wasn’t greeted by his usual kicks as we both woke up to say bye to his dad in the morning. I brushed it off and spent an hour or so trying to get him to move around. When we decided to go to the hospital we were greeted by nurses telling us we were surely worried first time parents but ultimately our worst fears were confirmed. At 37 weeks and 1 day our absolutely perfect son’s heart was no longer beating. He was an 8lb 1oz perfectly healthy baby boy. We later learned that a very common, typically normal bacteria called GBS had managed to infect him in utero (which is incredibly rare) and led to his death. Brian and I have spent the months since his birth rebuilding our lives and have spent countless hours trying to navigate through the very small amount of research and knowledge on GBS infections and stillbirth in order to figure out how we move forward.
We’re walking with our son in our hearts so that hopefully someday soon other parents don’t have to feel our pain. And so those who do, know they’re not alone. So many babies could be saved with proper research and resources from the medical community, including our son Camden.
Star Legacy foundation has already connected us to wonderful families who share similar stories as ours and we would be honored if you could join us in fundraising to enable them in their mission to raise stillbirth awareness and devote much needed attention to research and education.