I found out I was finally going to have a baby on February 20, 2022. On March 13th, we found out she was a little girl and named her Millie Rae. On March 21, we saw her for the first time. We saw her again on April 29th and got to see her in 3D. She looked just like her Daddy. She was already sassy as can be and was posing for the camera.
On May 18th, we heard her heartbeat for the very first time instead of just seeing it. Then on May 29th, I went to the hospital and found out I was already dilating and there wasn't a lot we could do. We tried to just hold on until she was viable to be born but she came into the world on June 11, 2022, at 20 weeks and 6 days gestation. She was with us for an hour and a half.
She opened her eyes for us twice while we held her. The first time she opened her eyes was when her Daddy had just cut her cord and was telling her how beautiful she was and that she looked just like me. She later opened her eyes again to see me.
She was absolutely beautiful with all of her Daddy's features. In the little amount of time we got with her, she was moving and active. I hope she got to feel how much we loved her in that time.
After we lost Millie Rae our sweet nurse brought us a yellow cradle to wrap her in for pictures. It helped so much to have something to put Millie Rae in and just hold her like that. Plus to have it for the pictures so that she was comfortable and wrapped up in something was so comforting.
The nurse even found us a yellow one because it was going to be the main color of her nursery. So that helped, even more, to get to cuddle her in a cradle that was one of the colors we wanted for her.
We decided to keep our cradle for a shadow box to have it close to us. It helped us to know that we have the beautiful little cradle that held her and we can still hold it close and think of the time we held her in it.
Written by Dani Bradbury, mother of Millie Rae, born into Heaven 6/11/22 at 20 weeks 6 days
Please leave some love and encouragement for Dani in the comments below. We appreciate your prayers for their family.
To read more stories, visit here.
For more information about Bridget's Cradles, visit here.
For hospital staff looking for bereavement resources, you can request a free donation of Bridget's Cradles here.
Follow Bridget’s Cradles:
#miscarriagematters #infantlosssupport #grievingprocess #stillbirthawareness #miscarriagesurvivor #pregnancylossawareness #grievingmother #infantlossawareness #angelmom #miscarriagesupport #iam1in4 #stillbornstillloved #pregnancyandinfantlossawareness #bereavement #childloss #1in4 #stillborn #stillbirth #griefjourney #miscarriageawareness #lifeafterloss #infantloss #babyloss #pregnancyloss #miscarriage #bridgetscradles