Charlie

After we lost Hannah, it was really important to me to wait until after her due date (March 1) to think about trying to get pregnant again. So we got to March and both Dan and I felt like it was the right time. We got pregnant right away and had a due date of December 10th. 

On June 9, 2012, at almost 14 weeks pregnant with our rainbow baby, I ended up in the ER with some bleeding. They couldn't find a heartbeat, and an ultrasound showed that the baby had stopped growing at about 11 1/2 weeks. Thankfully, I miscarried naturally at home the next day.

We named the baby Charlie while we were waiting in the ER. It had been our boy name when I was pregnant with Hannah, and it kind of carried over into this pregnancy. At the time, we didn't know for sure if it was Charles or Charlotte, but we figured it was appropriate either way. A few weeks after the miscarriage, I got a call from one of my midwives. They had been able to test the baby itself, and in addition to finding nothing wrong, they were able to see that Charlie was a boy. And that knowledge has been just amazing to have. Especially for the kids, it made a very intangible loss feel more real.