Abby (Baby)

How did I, a mother, cope with the loss of my only daughter? Though that daughter was only a mere babe, she was a person who touched many, many lives. To answer the initial question, I began writing it all down, to my daughter, a month after her passing.
Before the writing began, I wanted to read all I could get my hands on about the loss of an infant. There are so many emotional layers and opinions thrown out there to that type of loss: It's a short life, I already had children. I was still young enough to have another. I should be able to "get over it" quickly. Those were a few of the opinions given to me by well-meaning people, but a lot of them ended up hurting rather than lending aid to the healing.
I yearned to read stories similar to mine which validated my loss, validated her life. And so, to help with my healing, I began to write.
Now it's time to share my story more widely, to hopefully be one of those stories which will land in the hands of those who, like me, need to be validated. Maybe you're a parent, a grandparent, a sibling, or you want to better understand the pain so that you can reach someone who's hurting, and be a listener for them. Maybe by reading my story you will write your own, and if you do, I would love to read it.
Even though a number of years have now passed, my Abby remains my first daughter, and will always be in my heart, until we meet again.