Rainbow Baby

       Sometimes you feel called to things and don't know why.  I saw something on Pinterest about a Rainbow birthday, and I immediately wanted to do it.  It was a wonderful day spent with loved ones celebrating our little miracle.  We wrote on her invitation: Love is like a rainbow: the more you see it, the more you realize what a MIRACLE it really is.  We have always seen Kate as our little miracle, and it seemed so appropriate! 
       After posting Kate's party pictures, my dear friend, Janna, told me something that gave me chills to my core.  "Did you know that a baby after a loss is called a "rainbow baby?" What a perfect birthday party idea for a miracle baby!" Janna and I both have had losses that have rocked us to the core.  Knowing that people actually call the babies that follow a loss (such as miscarriage, stillbirth, neonatal death) Rainbow babies makes that birthday even more special.  I looked it up on a baby community board I'm on and one mom of a rainbow baby described them perfectly:
 

"Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope. 

    I remembered every moment of bringing Kate to this world last year (including her tough entrance - if you're bored, you can read about our journey to bring a baby home and Kate's birth story), and told her the story (not the gory details ;)).  My wonderful professor let me out of class early tonight so I could be home to put her to bed on her birthday.  Happy birthday, my gorgeous Rainbow Baby.