Loss is loss

Prenatal appointments are delightful.  They are filled with expectation, excitement, hope.

But not for all mamas.

What do you tell a new mama who's been trying and trying to conceive that the 3 positive pregnancy tests she's taken are mistaken?  How do you explain that you cannot hear fetal heart tones?  How do you soften the blow of no baby showing up on the ultrasound?  How do you help her to understand terminology like blighted ovum?

And when the reality does sink in...when she finally gets it, that there is NO baby... then what do you do?

You sit beside her.  You wrap your arms around her and you cry WITH her.  Because loss is loss, no matter how "far along" you are.

My heart aches.