What is the significance of Day 6?

 Before Kinsley was born I was afraid that I was going to just sit and cry.  I was afraid that having a baby in my arms again would make Hailey's death and all those emotions come to the surface.  Thankfully I think we were just too busy worrying about making sure that Kinsley was ok.  There were so many tests and small things that we focused on that our minds didn't really have time to wonder.  Things like washing all of the pump equipment with a fresh paper towel and soap so that we weren't reusing a bottle brush or anything that could possibly become contaminated in the hospital....  Using our special body washes....making sure that each nurse that came into the room actually washed her hands with soap and water and didn't just use the antibacterial liquid....

 

It's not that we didn't think about Hailey and try to figure out who exactly Kinsley looked like, but we didn't have time to dwell on the sadness.

When you lose a child there are three dates that are forever in your mind.  The first of course, is your child's birthday.  The second one is their Angel day or the day they passed.  The third day is not necessarily a date, but an age....how old your child was when they passed.  I know for many Angel mom's this last date or age is one of the hardest things to deal with and brings much anxiety when a new child is born after a loss.

I guess I am thankful that we didn't have to wait too long before we hit that mark with Kinsley.  Hailey passed when she was 6 days old.  I didn't realized that the 6-day mark was so important to the kids until Nathan brought it up after Kinsley was born.  In his little precious and innocent mind Kinsley just had to make it past day 6.  It was one of the first things he said on her 7th day of life - "Mom, Kinsley is still alive and it has been 7 days!  She isn't going to die!"  As my heart breaks and I say a prayer to myself that these sweet words from my 7-year old will be truth, I agree with him, we celebrate, and put his little mind at ease.  "Yes, sweet boy, your sister is going to be just fine."  This is not something that children should have to worry about, so I am grateful that he was able to let that worry go at that moment.

These pictures were taken on day 6.  Aaron and I also needed to celebrate a little by taking a moment to record our sweet baby with pictures.  So grateful to have made it to....and past...this day.