The Empty Arms Podcast -- real stories of miscarriage, stillbirth, and infant loss.

This week, for a special Father's Day episode, I chat with Rob, Chris & Jay. These guys are the founders and the heart and soul of The Sad Dad's Club. The Sad Dad's club is a non-profit based out of Southern Maine that helps fellow bereaved fathers navigate life after loss by nurturing a supportive community and providing access to mental health services.

We talk about each of these guys' respective losses, gain insight as to the father's perspective through the grieving process as well as talk about the importance of access to mens mental health services through and after the loss of a child.

If you are a dad that has experienced loss at any point in your journey and wish to connect with Sad Dad's club, you can visit them on the web at https://saddadsclub.com or send them an email at [email protected].

This epsisode is in loving memory of Bella, Lila & Izzy. You girls are deeply loved and greatly missed. While you cannot be here in your families arms, your legacy continues to create profound ripples throughout the loss community.

From the beginning of her career, Elise has been drawn to families experiencing pregnancy and infant loss. Her innate ability to nurture and comfort others in their grief has guided Elise through many different positions in the nursing field, including postpartum labor and delivery as well as working in the NICU. On this episode, Elise opens up about her experience with helping families navigate loss. She also talks about the sacredness and connection she feels when sharing the loss experience with bereaved parents. While always making sure her patients physical needs are met, Elise hones in on the emotional needs that arise when meeting families who have had to say goodbye too soon. With professionalism and a tender heart, Elise details beautifully her love for loss families and gives our listeners hope that healthcare for bereaved parents is improving because of loving and compassionate nurses like herself.

Loss mom, it has been an honor and privilege reading these letters to you this week. I am so profoundly touched at the love and hope so many loss moms wrote in with. I am so touched by the kindness and healing written from the hearts of moms who at one point in their journey didn't think they could take another breath. Loss mom, if nothing else sticks from this series, please let this stick. You are not alone.

I finish this episode with my letter to each of you. You are loved. Your baby is loved. You are not alone.

One of the letters read on this episode was taken from a beautiful book that we hold dear at the non-profit. The book is called "From Mother to Mother: On the loss of a child" and is written by Emily R. Long. The book can be purchased here https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Loss-Child/dp/0996555676/ref=asc_df_0996555676/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693685197992&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6685245597402821148&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002695&hvtargid=pla-559221771581&psc=1&mcid=4871186681b43199b10b9f97e07ed7a8&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwouexBhAuEiwAtW_Zx2aa--RFlU08FSj2Wuf7SJDnZU0vxElb2Jl1lDFjFedA5SYqbekhERoCYXMQAvD_BwE.

Today, we think about and hold tight the mothers who might be experiencing Mother's Day for the first time without her precious baby in her arms. I want to share with you some comfort that I have found along the way as you prepare to face your first mothers day without your baby. No matter how long or short you carried your baby in your womb or in your arms, you are that Childs mothers. Tune in as I continue sharing ways in which you can gently celebrate Mother's Day this year, followed by several love letters.

One of the letters read on this episode was taken from a beautiful book that we hold dear at the non-profit. The book is called "From Mother to Mother: On the loss of a child" and is written by Emily R. Long. The book can be purchased here https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Loss-Child/dp/0996555676/ref=asc_df_0996555676/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693685197992&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6685245597402821148&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002695&hvtargid=pla-559221771581&psc=1&mcid=4871186681b43199b10b9f97e07ed7a8&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwouexBhAuEiwAtW_Zx2aa--RFlU08FSj2Wuf7SJDnZU0vxElb2Jl1lDFjFedA5SYqbekhERoCYXMQAvD_BwE.

One thing that struck me about the letters that I received was how many I got from loss moms making special mention or thanking the loss moms who came before us. Today's episode is dedicated to the mothers who paved the way, the grandmothers who pioneered what it meant to be 1 in 4.

One of the letters read on this episode was taken from a beautiful book that we hold dear at the non-profit. The book is called "From Mother to Mother: On the loss of a child" and is written by Emily R. Long. The book can be purchased here https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Loss-Child/dp/0996555676/ref=asc_df_0996555676/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693685197992&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6685245597402821148&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002695&hvtargid=pla-559221771581&psc=1&mcid=4871186681b43199b10b9f97e07ed7a8&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwouexBhAuEiwAtW_Zx2aa--RFlU08FSj2Wuf7SJDnZU0vxElb2Jl1lDFjFedA5SYqbekhERoCYXMQAvD_BwE.

Be sure not to miss this 6 part series as we lead up to Mother's Day. Surviving the loss of your child is a pain unlike most that people experience in their life. It is not only the tangible loss of your child but the dreams and hopes that you have for your life and that baby, gone too. Not many understand what it feels like to mourn the loss of a future but you do. You know what it feels like to measure milestones based on how many moments have been missed. You keep track of birthdays, anniversaries and holidays. You are acutely aware of how much time has passed since the last time you held your baby in your arms or in your womb. Loss changes us.

One of the letters read on this episode was taken from a beautiful book that we hold dear at the non-profit. The book is called "From Mother to Mother: On the loss of a child" and is written by Emily R. Long. The book can be purchased here https://www.amazon.com/Mother-Loss-Child/dp/0996555676/ref=asc_df_0996555676/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=693685197992&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=6685245597402821148&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9002695&hvtargid=pla-559221771581&psc=1&mcid=4871186681b43199b10b9f97e07ed7a8&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwouexBhAuEiwAtW_Zx2aa--RFlU08FSj2Wuf7SJDnZU0vxElb2Jl1lDFjFedA5SYqbekhERoCYXMQAvD_BwE. Thank you, Emily, for your beautiful letter.

Be sure not to miss this 6 part series as we lead up to Mother's Day. I know this deep pain leading up to Mother's Day because my own arms ache in the absence of our babies that were taken from us too soon. For three years, mothers day has represented emptiness on a day in which the fullness of motherhood is intended to be celebrated. Instead of immeasurable joy, I wake feeling insurmountable pain. The tears that stream down my face on the days that lead up to motherhood represent a grief unlike anything I've experienced. The letters I read on this epsiode are filled with love and hope as you, loss mom, prepare your heart for Sunday.

Be sure not to miss this 6 part series as we lead up to Mother's Day. Loss is a thread that ties generations of women together. Our mothers before us, our friends and sisters beside us and our daughters ahead of us - none immune from loss. And because of this beautiful bond we share as loss mothers, I have asked our sisters and mothers and grandmothers amongst us to write us love letters. The letters I will read this week are filled with hope, with love, with heartache and healing. I hope these letters meet you exactly where you are at in your motherhood journey as you prepare your heart for Mother's Day.

Join us as I - the host of the Empty Arms Podcast - share my story. Erin Hatch joins me and we switch seats as she interviews me and asks me deep questions about loss, about grief and about purpose.

After TWO heartbreaking back to back losses, I found myself in a place where I could either drown from the pain or use it to bring forth light and healing into the lives of others like me who hold a baby in their heart and not their arms. I spend time with Erin talking about my experience through both of my losses, regrets that I have as well as the direction my life has taken after my losses, including serving on the board as well as launching this podcast.

This episode is generously sponsored by Tiller & Rye.

Taryn's daughter June was diagnosed with Stage IV HR MYCN amplified neuroblastoma when she was just 8 months old after many months of sleepless nights and a mother's instinctual worry. Taryn recounts the early days of the diagnosis, the rollercoaster of emotions she felt along the journey and then openly discusses the depths of grief she experienced after her daughters passing as well as the tumultuous healing journey she began when her daugther died and continues to walk.

And while her story is filled with heartache and loss - its also filled with tremendous hope, beautiful healing and a passion that has been ignited within her soul along her own healing journey. Her words are tender, her voice is soft, her openness is admirable.

Taryn has used written word to heal. And healing it has done. She shares her blog that she often updates that can be found here. https://carryingjune.com Her writing shows us that are seeking hope that it's possible to dance with grief and hope and to carry on to live a meaningful life after such devastating loss.

While pregnancy and infant loss is the primary focus of the non-profit, a mother's grief is the commonality amongst us all. It's the invisible string that ties us together. And while Taryn's story falls a little bit outside of the "norm" of content we typically stick to - her story is too beautiful and moving to not be told. Her story is too full of hope and encouragement not to share with all of you! I hope you leave this conversation as touched as I was.

This episode is generously sponsored by Rett's Roost. https://rettsroost.org