Well, I faced it again. 17th June wasn’t baby boy3’s birthday and I made it through.
No toddler joyfully screaming, running amok, smearing cake everywhere, overtired and spoiled by their family and friends.
No midnight wake ups or relief at sleeping through.
No teething drool, no funny ways of saying new words.
No adjustments to new rooms at nursery.
No battle trying to think of new gifts for a third boy with 2 older brothers who have almost everything already. No recycling of books and toys.
No surveillance of my vegetables to prevent premature consumption.
No saying goodbye to the end of breast feeding.
No long walks with a heavy kiddo in the sling.
No drowsy snuggly cuddles.
No wars over what foods are edible and which are clearly poisonous.
No brotherly adoration and frustration, no sibling fights or obsessions.
One day, earlier this year, the boys were talking about their brother who wasn’t there. In an effort to prevent them from feeling too much loss, I reminding them of all the hard parts that we didn’t have to face after all – the screaming, the lack of sleep, the poo, the squashed car seats, the difficultly sharing. Large boy’s repost was “but mum, there would have been lots of good things too”. He was absolutely right. As with all things, there would have been positives and negatives. While grieving we no more need to dwell on the negatives associated with the thing we’ve lost, than we should idolise and imagine a missed opportunity for perfection. Boy3 would have been frustrating and adorable, beloved and awkward. That’s the honest truth.
Smelly Socks and Garden Peas 
No words to describe the loss of a loved one. Sending you my hugs.
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Beautifully written heartfelt words 💕.
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Sometimes the not knowing of how things would have been is the hardest. Many have to face this everyday. Thank you for putting these feelings to words. And comforting so many.
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I’m so sorry for your loss. This is truly heart-breaking. Thank you for sharing your story. I wish you and your family the best.
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Still sending prayers, that’s one tough I’ll never know. I am truly sorry.
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This is a beautiful post. The positives would always outweigh the negatives, but no matter how you look at it the pain of the loss and the what-might-have-beens must be incredibly heavy. I’m not sure what to say as it’s really not my place and I can only imagine how you and your family must be feeling, but I wanted to send lots of love your way 💜💙💚
Caz xxxx
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Thank you lovely. We’re OK because there’s not really another option and things could have been much much worse.
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This must be a difficult day to navigate — sending love.
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Sending up prayers for you!
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I can’t imagine how hard this day must be for you. But this is a beautifully written post to remember him xx
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Big hugs today. “Dates” can be so hard. As always this is beautifully, beautifully written.
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What lovely, heartfelt words. He would have been very lucky to have a family like yours. 🤗
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Sending all my love and hugs today and always. It is easy to go with the negatives, we do this to protect ourselves from grief with the positives are too hard to bear. Always thinking of you and your family and always here for you xx
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