All posts by Gem Camille : BLACKBIRD

On dealing with loss of two babies, and how you can be a better friend to those who’ve lost theirs.

IMG_0229

PHOTO : Me in the first trimester with Coco.

May. Initially its significance to Nathan and I was it is the month of our wedding anniversary, but now, it’s also the month of the death and birth of our first child, and was the due date of our second.

I wasn’t going to publicly share this part of our lives, after sharing so much about Coco Darling, I didn’t know if I could pour my heart out all over again. But my friend, the woman who interviewed me for my first ever feature in Homestyle Magazine back in 2013, and one very talented writer, Debbie Harrison persuaded me to. Contacting me in September of 2015, asking if I would share my story on Coco Darling with the readers of NEXT magazine as a feature they were doing on resilient woman. I obliged, happy to once again share that story with the world. Partly because I had always felt to share Coco’s story, to try to make the loss of our children a little less lonely. But also because I was in-fact pregnant once again, in my first trimester and due around the same date as our Coco had been, the end of May. I thought I perhaps share more of a happy ending to my story. So we set a date for Debbie to interview me over the phone and went about life until then.

But that’s when a few things changed. First off, I began spotting, which any woman who has been in that position knows is un-nerving to say the least. But being assured by people around me ( and google, seriously, why do we google. ) that it was perfectly normal to spot and that I should not worry. Which I tried to, and tried to ignore the gnawing feeling that I could possibly lose another baby. But week passed, all seemed to be okay, and just like that I had hit the magical 12 week date. Sweet relief. And then, I miscarried. Ending up in hospital with a lot of blood loss and a broken heart. We were devastated to say the least, and really, we still are. But soon after, Debbie contacted me about the piece, and I had to tell her that shitty shitty news, but that I was even though I felt destroyed, I still wanted to share, about Coco, and about our other babe.

The last six months have been a hard slog of down days and a few up. Watching friends and strangers get pregnant and give birth, watching babies turn two like our Coco would have, and others counting down the weeks like I would have for our second child. But I am thankful everyday for an amazing, caring and supportive husband. Incredible family and some really great friends.

But after loosing our second child, I thought, if I am going to share something about it, it needs to be more than a sob story, it need to practically help people. So, if I can leave you with one thing, it is this.

If you have lost a child, whether in miscarriage, still-born or later in their life, whether you have struggled to get pregnant, or simple cannot. Lets talk about this. With each other, and with those around us, know that you are not alone, that it is okay to be sad, angry or anything else you may feel and although we will not understand your story completely, as it is yours alone, but we can relate, and grieve with you. Surround yourself with good people, people who love you and care for you. Be kind to yourself, let yourself  take some time out, feel what you need to, write it down, keep writing. Also, maybe take a break from social media for a while.  It’s constant reminder that people ( most of whom you don’t  actually know, or would never hear about without social media ) are getting pregnant and having babies. And treat.yo.self. Sometimes it’s nice to go get your hair done, buy a new dress, or hand cream, take a bath. You deserve a little pampering girlfriend. And lastly, I can tell you, it does get better, it does not fade completely, it will never be the same as it was before, you will not forget your children ( and why would you want to ) but you will be okay. I promise.

And for those around us. Please don’t be afraid to talk to us. Acknowledge our loss, and pain. But not just the feeling, but our child, if they have a name, say their name. They are so real to us. It hurts us more when you ignore it. We know you don’t know what to say, neither do we. But you don’t have try to understand or even act like you do. Don’t try to fix it, it’s unfixable. Yes, we won’t always feel this shit, but we will always feel pain. Also, don’t forget about the men in the scenario, they have lost children too and most likely are doing a stand up job looking after the mother of said child, they could probably do with a beer and someone to talk to too. Next, please don’t ask if we are going to try again, or if we are trying, we probably are, and if we aren’t, it’s none of your business unless we make it yours ( that goes for asking people in general, if someones not talking about having babies, don’t ask them, you don’t know their journey ). Also, please don’t say there will be more children, that it will happen in the right time or that you are young and have our whole lives ahead of us. We know all of this, but it hurts and makes us want to punch you in the face when you do, even if you mean well. Remember we are dealing with the hormones and changes of somebody post baby, it’s not a fun place. Please don’t invite us to your kids party’s or ask us to hold your babies ( unless we ask to ). We really do love them, but it’s just kinda hard, at least for a while. And of course all of these is may vary from person, so when in doubt, just ask.

But what you can do is listen, bring some food, bring some wine, bring a shitty movie, do some gardening, stack the dishwasher, anything. And don’t wait for us to ask ( Well at least ask if it’s okay to come around ) as most of us a true proud to say yes, so just do it. We need it. But mostly just continue to be our friend, love us, we will come right eventually.

If you would like to read more of mine and two other incredible woman talk about  resilience through hardship, you can do so in the July issue NEXT magazine, out now.

Special thanks to the lovely Debbie Harrison
for helping me share this.

 

Adventures at Dawn

_MG_3948one_MG_3955_MG_4002_MG_4007_MG_4019_MG_4025two_MG_4071_MG_4045

One of the objectives for this year was to dedicate time to exploring Hawkes Bay and all it’s goodness. So we have started doing a mid week, overnight excursion, once a month. This time we headed southeast, to Kairakau Beach. We kept it simple, packing a few clothes, the camera, a few good books for those early nights with no tv or cellphone service plus a little food and the fishing rods. 

When the alarm goes off in the morning, there is always a moment where I want to just roll over and go back to sleep, but I love waking up early and seeing the sunrise. There is something grounding and refreshing about it. This crisp autumn morning, we woke up, grabbed our gear and a thermos of hot coffee and walked down to the beach. The light at that time of day is out of control beautiful, and I spent the whole time running around like a mad woman taking snaps and declaring ” how amazing is this light!?” while Nathan attempted to catch breakfast ( unfortunately the small throw back kahawai and crab didnt quite make the cut. )

One of the best ways to start the day. Here’s to many more overnight excursions and dawn fishing trips.

Thailand | Krabi & Koh Lanta

_MG_3220Untitled-1_MG_3235 _MG_3242Untitled-2_MG_3289 Untitled-3_MG_3267
_MG_3314 _MG_3289_MG_3323 _MG_3352_MG_3306 _MG_3357 _MG_3368 _MG_3381 Untitled-4 _MG_3448

It’s almost torture editing and posting these photos, seems like a lifetime ago!

After the hustle and bustle of the great city that is Bangkok, we headed to the Islands. Koh Lanta to be exact. And although it was short but sweet, boy was it just the change of pace we needed. 

Before heading across to Koh Lanta we had a day in Krabi town, taking the chance to get up at the break of dawn, scale the 1,237 steps of Tiger Cave Temple mountain and overcome ( not really ) my fear of monkeys. But the view was well worth it. Standing at the top, looking out of the jungle and sea to the sound of the monks morning call was one of my favourite moments of the trip. I would happily do that each morning! Minus the creepy monkeys.

We then took the ferry to Koh Lanta, deciding to stay near the bottom of the island, opting for a little more peaceful than party. And of course island life equals scooter life so each day we wound our way up and down the one sleepy road between eateries and our little beach bungalow. There is nothing quite like whizzing past the palm trees and cruising down the shoreline on the back of a scooter with the one you love. Other than that, most of our time was spent pool side or seaside, with a bit of island hopping, snorkeling and a lot of cocktail drinking thrown in for good measure.

Thailand | Bangkok

_MG_3195 _MG_3466 _MG_3470 _MG_3472 _MG_3480 _MG_3487 _MG_3493 _MG_3495 _MG_3512 _MG_3516 _MG_3520

Hi!

I have been a little MIA as of late, Blackbird Goods has been sucking up most of my extra time, But I am back! And thought I would share a few snaps from our trip to Thailand. 

We embarked and ended our journey in Bangkok, beautiful, crazy Bangkok. With The Monocle Guide to Bangkok in hand, we were insanely excited to eat and experience all Bangkok had to offer, while of course chucking some work in there. Well it may have been a bit the opposite, there were far too many great things to be found ( that will soon grace the shelves of Blackbird Goods ) and we seemed to run out of luck with establishments, arriving too late or on the wrong day. Note to self, always check before you venture across the city. Nevertheless, Bangkok is an incredible city, always bustling with people, smells, plants and delicious food. And it’s always a bonus when it’s Chinese new year.

Next stop, Krabi and Koh Lanta.

More soon

x