Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Letters to Soleil





May 5, 2008


My Sunshine,
Only about a week till your arrival, your entrance into the world, your much anticipated debut. I am excited, nervous, and scared. I’m not going to lie to you baby girl, I would keep you in my stomach forever if I could, there I know your safe. I love feeling your little kicks, stretches, and hiccups! Even though you tire me out, and maybe I’m not as fast as I used to be, it would all be worth feeling your liveliness. You being so active gives me strength, the doctors made me feel like you should have stopped moving a long time ago, you weren’t expected to make it this far. And look at you, you are my little fighter, I feel you, you are not a quitter. You help me find the strength to be positive, you are truly my little sunshine.
The doctors of course are preparing me for the worse; I guess that’s their job. But they don’t know you, they are just going off statistics, they have no idea what capabilities you have already. There have been more positive days for me when I think of you, but there have been some days where I tend to give into the thought of losing you. I don’t like to think that way, but it’s hard when everyone is telling me to be prepared. It kills me to think I can’t have you; I can’t spend time with you. I can tell you that I couldn’t see myself with a little girl, but when they told me that you were a girl, I did get excited. I have thoughts and hopes of us going shopping together, buying dresses, being girly. I have been a tomboy, and it’s exciting to know I am going to have a little girl to be girly with! Hahaha, sounds funny, but I guess now I’m ready to wear pink, wear high heels, and all that girl stuff with you!

May 6, 2008

Hello beautiful, well, today brings us another day closer to finally seeing each other. I can’t wait to hold you in my arms, to hold your tiny little hand and have your fingers wrap around mine, I’ll never let you go. Can’t wait to smell your stinky little piggy’s, or run my hand through your hair, which the sonogram shows is long already. I want to smell your sweet baby breath. I’m in awe just thinking of you, you are my little girl.
The past couple of nights, I haven’t been able to sleep. I keep waking up, thinking of you. I hold you, and you always seem to respond with a slight movement, or a kick or stretch. You always know when I’m there. I want to hear your tiny little cry, I want to be able to comfort you, make you feel everything is ok. I want to protect you, and do anything I can to have you with me for as long as possible. Of course it’s hard not to worry about the possibilities, but I am doing a good job so far of just enjoying you day by day now. I have experienced time after time with each pregnancy that the love I have for my kids is unconditional, never ends, I will always have enough love to go around, no questions asked. I didn’t think I could ever love another child as much as I love Tristen, then Ayden came and showed me different. And when I got pregnant with you, I thought there could not possibly be enough love inside me for another one! I love you so much; there are no words to even begin to describe what I feel for you my sunshine.
This past weekend, me, your nana, Tia ness, and your cousin Alexa went looking for your first dress. After no luck at Babies R Us, Dillard’s, JC Penney, we found ourselves looking at Build a Bear. Your nana said she used to dress me in doll clothes when I was a baby. Not expecting to find anything there, we went just to humor nana. And of course she was right, I guess it doesn’t matter how old you get, your mom is always right (well, most of the time) so that is where you got your first dress!
Now I’m just rambling and throwing out random things, but I don’t think you mind!! I never got stretch marks with your brothers, but I wouldn’t mind having stretch marks with you. It wouldn’t be a negative outcome if they did pop up, I would look at them as my little rays of sunshine! With your brothers, I did not want stretch marks at all! You are a different story, I have to admit I took my other two pregnancies for granted, and yours I did at first. But when I found out about the Trisomy 13, I began to appreciate you more, to appreciate pregnancy more. I never want to take you for granted. Because of that, I really wouldn’t mind having those marks on my stomach to remind me of you, of my little miracle.

May 7, 2008

Good morning sleeping beauty. You slept in a little later than usual this morning. I’m still waiting for you to really wake up and give me a kick! I’ve been thinking about the last sonogram we got. Oh my gosh, you are so beautiful! I can’t stop thinking about watching you in my tummy. At first you weren’t moving much, you were probably sleeping or just comfortable in there. Then the doctor tried pushing on my tummy to get you to move, your little face was resting on my hip bone and you wouldn’t move. She wanted to get a profile shot of your little face, but to no avail! We did see your chubby little cheeks though, can’t wait to kiss them! You have your brother, Ayden’s, cheeks! Your Dad and I were excited to see that! We also got to see your hair! I didn’t know it, but you can actually see your hair on the sonogram. Everyone was amazed at how much hair you have already! The doctor was saying that your hair is about 6 centimeters long, that is long enough to put barrettes in your hair! How cute you’ll be. The two most exciting things for your Dad and I to see was when you looked around, we actually saw your eyes moving, that was so amazing. We also got to see you drink fluid, I remember your little mouth opening up, with your chubby little cheeks stretching open and you took in fluid and swallowed! That made me laugh, that was the cutest thing ever. Who would know something that may seem so minute, is something so incredible to see! Then, you would not take your little hands off of your tiny little toes, you were holding on to them, seeing that’s the only thing you have to play with in there! I could have laid and watched you all day!
A couple of other things that got us excited and hopeful was that the doctor doing the sonogram was saying that your little brain has two hemispheres. That was great news because she said most babies with Trisomy 13 have only one hemisphere so it looks like a blob. But we clearly saw two hemispheres in your little head. The other thing was that she said babies with Trisomy have clenched fists; they have no muscle to open up their hands. And of course, my little angel, your hands were wide open; you were showing us your little palm!



Monday, June 6, 2016

Soleil's Playlist

I still have days when I feel life is so unfair,
Losing a child is something no parent should have to bear.
As school children sing holiday songs and have a Merry Christmas,
I lay down listening to my baby's memorial playlist.
Diamond Rio starts singing it best, "I simply wished, for one more day with you"
I would set my plans aside and ask what you would want to do.
Whether playing with dolls, cars, laughing, or having tea with pies,
Martina McBride is playing next and "I see who I want to be in my daughter's eyes".
Just then, Tristen walks through the door and hands you a beautiful little ring,
You two dance as Garth Brooks sings, "Holding you I held everything, For a moment wasn't I a King".
As your big brother picks you up and hugs you in his arms, enjoying this moment oh sublime,
Alicia Keys so softly sings, "Every time you hold me, hold me like this is the last time".
Setting you back down, your brothers and Sade promise, "When you're low, I'll be there by your side baby",
Not only on this day, but this is something they let you know daily.
As I look at you, I am in awe and amazed at who I see,
In the background Ray Charles sings, "You are so beautiful to me".
As day turns to night, I enjoy the twirls, your laughs, your beautiful hair curled,
Louis Armstrong comes in with perfect timing, "And I think to myself, what a wonderful world".
What tomorrow may bring, "I can only imagine" sings Mercy Me,
I'm thankful for spending the day with my little sweet pea.
"Good night my angel now it's time to dream, and dream how wonderful your life will be"
Together with Billy Joel we continue, "In your heart there will always be a part of me".
As you fall asleep, Sara Hickman and Mommy are quietly there to finish the day,
"You'll never know dear how much I love you, please don't take my Sunshine away...."
I realize it was all a daydream, while Eric Clapton ends the playlist at song eleven,
"I must be strong and carry on, cause I know I don't belong Here in Heaven......."

May 9, 2016

Today I'm not asking for sympathy or sorrow,
But hope this one request you're able to follow.
Today my little girl, my sunshine would be 8,
She'll be celebrating behind Heaven’s gates…
Today I will be honoring her memory on Earth you see,
And hope to make someone smile, as she did me.
Today I plan to make someone's day a little brighter,
And at the same time, share the story of my little fighter.
Today I will practice random acts of kindness and invite you to do the same,
And when you give from your heart please whisper her name.
I hope she's inspired you, as she continues to inspire me.
I hope you are able to celebrate the life of Soleil Jolie….

In a heartbeat

I remember hearing the soothing, swooshing sound,
At that moment, an in-explainable love was found.

The first time I heard your heart beat in my tummy,
I was overwhelmed with excitement to be picked as your mommy.

A miracle of life, you were already perfection,
As a smile formed upon my face upon that instant connection.

Nothing else matters in that moment of time,
All I can think of is that beating heart- that baby, is mine.

Every month looking forward to hearing that beautiful song,
A strong beat, with no indication that something was wrong.

When you came into this world you were perfect to me,
Even though the doctors said your heart was weak, I had to disagree.

I placed my hand day upon day on your little chest, 
Everyday your heart continued to beat, we were beyond blessed.

There were a few scares, a few times you had stopped breathing,
But laying our head upon your little body to listen- your heart was still beating.

Your heart was growing weaker as days went by,
The beating growing more shallow, I can no longer deny.

It's been 7 1/2 days and our song has slowly come to fade,
The beating of your heart, that soothing, swooshing sound, in my head is replayed.

I would give my life for you...in a heartbeat. <3

I am not

I am not strong.
Strong is the infant who is fighting to stay alive with all odds stacked up against him.

I am not courageous.
Courageous is the newborn who lived when the doctors said she wouldn't.

I am not brave.
Brave is the baby who came into this world knowing they wouldn't be here long.

I am a mother.
Here to bring love, comfort, and a gentle touch to that child who can not stay.

I am human.
I will cry as I see you struggle and take your last breath, wishing you could stay one more day. 

I am heartbroken.
A piece of my heart will always be missing, until we are together again.

I promise to do everything possible to make you proud of who I am, of who I've grown to become.

I promise to not let your memory fade, everyone will know how deeply you've touched my heart.

I promise to not give up, there is nothing else that will be as hard as it was to let you go.

You are my inspiration, my baby, my angel, my Sunshine!

Remembering my Sushine

Many write about losing their baby so precious and sweet,
About the sorrow it brings, their heart no longer complete.

I hear songs about those who didn’t get to say goodbye,
Leaving many still confused, continually asking God, why?

Some parents never got the chance to hold their child,
Never experiencing a cry, a late night feeding, or when they first smiled.

Although my heart will never be whole,
I know you are still with me in soul.

I was fortunate enough to hear you cry,
“Incompatible with life” were the words you would defy.

If that were the case, you could not have breathed in a breath of air,
To not give you the gift of life would have been so unfair.

I enjoyed getting up to feed you at night,
Now, my memories of you I’m enticed to write.

It was when you were sleeping I saw your first smile,
Every little moment spent, proved all worthwhile.

I feel blessed to have spent your last moments with you,
Even though I knew, I was hoping you’d still pull through.

You looked me in the eyes after I kissed your little head,
It was a Saturday morning, about 6 am, we were lying in bed.

It was then I told you I loved you and it was ok for you to go,
You were waiting for the right moment, this I know.

You tried your best, you wanted to hold on,
You are my little hero, you showed me the meaning of being strong.

I remember rocking your lifeless little body in my arms that day,
Singing you our song….Please don’t take my Sunshine away….

Your memory is engraved forever in my heart,
Everything about you, my priceless piece of art.

Your name is tattooed forever on my wrist,
I’m sure you know, you will be eternally missed.

There’s not a day that goes by that you are not in thought,
More importantly are the lessons that you taught.

I really learned everything happens for a reason,
No matter the time, the rhyme, or the season.

I’ve learned not to judge a person by their cover,
If you take the time, their lives not so easy, you can discover.

I know God sent down a little angel to me,
The only rule: her stay was no guarantee.

I understand everyone’s loss is not the same,
Our feelings, lost in tears, sometimes hard to contain.

In the end, there are one of two choices to make,
We can choose to be depressed and be overcome by heartache

Or another option, different than the one above,
I chose to tell the story about my daughter, who I am so proud of.

So to my precious angel, my sunshine in the sky,
I hope you know Momma loves you, and will always be nearby.


-Written with love by Selina Perez