Work Hard Mom Harder

Our Hudson Month read-through of the Meet Baby Dub book continues, this time with a short detour into the heavy world of 'what if.'

What if I hadn't gotten the epidural?

What if I had accepted the suggestion of a C-section sooner?

What if I hadn't let people in the labor room while I was having contractions?

What if is dangerous territory, territory I don't like to hang out in too long. So we kept today short, and we'll be back and perhaps a bit lengthier tomorrow.

Until then - work hard mom harder love HARDEST. We are changing the world, bit by bit.

Buy the book on Amazon if you want to see pictures of Hudson!

Run a 5K ANY TIME in July and use the #hudsonsheroesrunners + tag me @workhardmomharder! I'm running one every weekend and donating the 'race fees' to the Forget-Me-Not Program.

Speaking of which, you can also donate directly by clicking here.

Today I finish reading the descriptions I captured of Hudson and the memories that were just a few slivers of her 3 short days on earth. I also share where I am today, 14 years later... reading the Book of Job on the anniversary of the worst day of my life, and finding it anything but a coincidence.

If you're in a season where you don't understand, this one's for you. Look for your miracle today.

Work hard, mom harder, love hardest.

Buy the book on Amazon if you want to see pictures of Hudson!

Run a 5K ANY TIME in July and use the #hudsonsheroesrunners + tag me @workhardmomharder! I'm running one every weekend and donating the 'race fees' to the Forget-Me-Not Program.

Speaking of which, you can also donate directly by clicking here.

I wrote a better description but alas. Libsyn ate it. And I'm not going back. Here's what you should know.

Hudson dying is the worst thing that has happened in my life. And yet even in this devastating loss, there is beauty. And in this short episode I'm reminded of so many things that I had written about in the moment so I wouldn't forget. So I'm grateful that even in the devastation writing was an escape, that has blessed me with little nuggets I'd let fade over time. Until tomorrow, which was maybe a better day 14 years ago, maybe not...

work hard, mom harder, love hardest.

Buy the book on Amazon if you want to see pictures of Hudson!

Run a 5K ANY TIME in July and use the #hudsonsheroesrunners + tag me @workhardmomharder! I'm running one every weekend and donating the 'race fees' to the Forget-Me-Not Program.

Speaking of which, you can also donate directly by clicking here.

Choking up a little closing today, so I'm keeping this bad boy short. More amazing memories, ones I'd forgotten... ones you'll love to hear.

Hudson's feet. Her hands. The Red Sox socks. This episode captures some of my favorite little parts of our sweet girl, first impressions, first texts from my husband during the agonizing wait to get to her in the NICU.

As Hudson Month continues, grab your hankies and prepare to contribute in whatever way makes sense to you:

Support the Forget Me Not Program: A portion of every book sale goes directly to the Forget Me Not Foundation. You can also make a tax-deductible donation directly here: Donate to the Forget Me Not Program

Buy the Meet Baby Dub Book: Want to follow along and see all the pictures? Grab your copy on Amazon: Buy Meet Baby Dub on Amazon

Work hard, mom harder, love hardest. See you tomorrow.

Oh friends. It has been a day. I'm not overdoing the production value here, it's just going to be real.

The words I spoke at Hudson's memorial. And a very real, raw, long pause, choked up voice riff on miracles, the ones we ask for, the ones we get, the ones we ask for and don't get, the ones we get that we don't even realize.

Thank you so much for the continued support and love. We're so blessed.

Hey friends, it's Day 10 of Hudson Month, and we're wrapping up the last of the lighter entries from the Meet Baby Dub book; the pregnancy waiting game, the failed labor induction attempts, and all the very relatable impatience of those final overdue days.

Tomorrow is Hudson's fourteenth birthday, and we shift into harder territory. I'm not going to sugarcoat it... it's heavy. But it's true, and it's hers, and it's worth telling.

As always: work hard, mom harder, love hardest, let's go out and change the world.

It's Day 9 of my read-through of Meet Baby Dub, the book I wrote fourteen years ago, a compilation of blog posts from before and after our daughter Hudson's birth and death.

In today's episode, I'm reading the final lighthearted chapters from the "Before" section — the ones I wrote in those anticipatory, achingly ordinary last days of pregnancy. We're almost to the hard part.

In this episode:

• Countdown to the Fourth — 11 days out, the waiting game, and what a 38.5-week pregnant woman does with a free day (hint: slutty brownies)
• The Waning Days: What to Expect — vivid dreams, wildly unpredictable emotions, nesting gone sideways, and gratitude for the people who showed up
• Awkward Convos with the Doc — a fist pound that did not land, an unexpected discussion about semen, and a husband who somehow makes it worse by mentioning nipple stimulation

Fair warning: next episode we go dark. Prepare your tinkies.

It's Day 8 of my read-aloud of Meet Baby Dub, the book I wrote 14 years ago while I was pregnant with my daughter, Hudson. These vignettes are a window into who I was before I knew what was coming, and I love getting to share them with you.

In today's episode:

• On Groping Yourself in a Room Full of Strangers — aka our birthing class breastfeeding session, which was exactly as awkward as it sounds.
• The Hubs' First Almost-a-Dad Father's Day — including a sweet (and slightly chaotic) Gymboree story and a six-year-old niece who gave us the confidence boost we didn't know we needed.
• Keeping the Name a Secret — why we called her Baby Dub right up until she was born, and where Hudson's name actually came from (spoiler: it's a Bruce Willis movie, and I'm not sorry).

I also share an aside about God's timing — specifically how grateful I am that Zeb knew we were pregnant with Anson before that first Father's Day without Hudson. Even in the hardest chapters of this story, there are moments of grace.

More links I made sure to include:

Buy the book on Amazon - 100% of the 4 reviews are 5 Stars!

Run a 5K ANY TIME in July and use the #hudsonsheroesrunners + tag me @workhardmomharder! I'm running one every weekend and donating the 'race fees' to the Forget-Me-Not Program.

Speaking of which, you can also donate directly by clicking here.

We're back for Day 7 of Hudson Month. It's a quickie, cuz life.

Support the Forget Me Not Program: A portion of every book sale goes directly to the Forget Me Not Foundation. You can also make a tax-deductible donation directly here: 👉 Donate to the Forget Me Not Program

Buy the Meet Baby Dub Book: Want to follow along and see all the pictures? Grab your copy on Amazon: 👉 Buy Meet Baby Dub on Amazon

Work hard, mom harder, love hardest. See you tomorrow.