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What is a Rainbow Baby?

Sarah Bertola February 2, 2018

I was first introduced to the term rainbow baby after my sister Natalie’s first child, Margot passed away due to complications from Trisomy 18. People told Natalie her next child would be a “rainbow baby”. I learned that after you lose a child in infancy, through miscarriage or stillbirth, your next baby is called a rainbow baby.

Almost two years after Margot’s passing, my own daughter passed away from SIDS. My husband and I decided together that we wanted to have another baby, our rainbow baby, quickly. We were blessed to get pregnant right away and now we are loving every minute with our rainbow baby, Rosie.

I love the term rainbow baby. I think it is lovely, sweet, and illustrates the beauty and variety that comes with a child after a loss. Just as each color on the spectrum is shown on a rainbow, every possible feeling is felt. It brings a sweetness after the storm that does not overpower the hardship, but invites a certain warmth and calmness.

Some people are not as fond of the term because of the implication that their other child was a “storm”. I would submit to them that their child was not the storm. Alice’s life contained the brightest, sunniest days of my life. I will always reflect on her memory as the happiest days I ever experienced, but the days following her death were the darkest. I would not describe them as a storm, but an all-out cataclysm. Because of how much joy she brought me and the depth of my love for her, her death was as devastating and disruptive as anything could have been.

I love how rainbows come when the storm is still near. Not everything is put back together yet. The world is still recovering from the aftermath, and then comes a rainbow. Not to fix everything. Not to draw attention away from the rain, but as a beautiful and peaceful promise of better days ahead.

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Perhaps my favorite part of the term is the tie rainbows have with God. In the Bible God sent a rainbow after the flood as a sign to Noah of hope and happiness in the future. I feel certain that my rainbow was sent to me from God as a promise of the same.

I made this video as a way to inform people of the meaning of rainbow baby, as well as a tribute to my sweet baby Rosie. She truly is my rainbow.

← He is the Gardener- Becoming who God wants me to BeCoping with Anxiety with a Rainbow Baby →
Happy 3rd anniversary to us! 👰🏼🤵🏻 Three years ago we couldn’t have known the trials we would have to face as a couple, but I can honestly say they’ve made us stronger. Dallas is patient and kind. He is extremely helpful around our house, and loves to be an involved father. He is loving and supportive and constantly builds me up. Not only does he make me want to be better, he helps me actually be better. I am so proud to be his wife.
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#anniversary #weddingpicture #weddingpictures #weddinganniversary #husbandoftheyear #wifeygoals #husbandgoals #realman #dadoftheyear #dadofgirls #couplelove
Apparently I’m into doing #saturdaysidebyside of Alice and Rosie. This is perhaps my very favorite picture of Alice and so I made Rosie take a similar one. Also if you haven’t seen my stories Rosie has started rolling over and it’s got me like 😱😭😍What milestones made you weirdly emotional? .
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#girlmomlife #girlmommy #babygirlsrock #mybabygirls #dollface #angelbaby #angelbabygirl #mybabyforever #mybabyhaswings #sidsawareness #proudmamamoment #momming #letthembelittle
All growing up I imagined what it would be like to be married and have children. I fantasized about my husband and what our children would look like and what their names would be (I’ve had the name Rosie picked since I was like, 7.) But now that it’s finally here, our love is sweeter, our daughters are more beautiful, and we are more richly blessed than I ever dreamt was possible. God is good. 💕
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#gratitudeattitude #gratitudedaily #familypictures #familyforever #familyiseverything #foreverfamily #angelbaby #mybabyhaswings #heavenonearth
We had a great time doing a photoshoot with @owletcare today 🌈 We Love Love LOVE Owlet and cannot wait to see the pictures!! Also, did you see Rosie is in a cute baby contest?? Voting is SO easy and there’s a link in my profile! The current 1st place picture has fewer than 400 votes and I KNOW we can beat that!! (Plus 3 babies will get the grand prize of $500 in an education fund and other baby goodies so there’s enough love to go around 😂)
I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find my purpose. Trying to figure out how to spend my time and energy, and what kind of a difference I could make. I have found my purpose in mothering my two girls. In mothering Alice, I feel a burning deep inside me to share her story. To share the joy she brought to me in her life, and to continue to share her light since her passing. I feel drawn to other parents who have lost children and I find tremendous strength in connecting with, and learning from them! You buoy me up 💕 Mothering Rosie has been a healing balm to my soul. Because the wound of child loss is so deep, I will always carry scars, but the love and life of Rosemary has taken away some of the sting. At times when I am sad I literally tell her, out loud how my heart hurts and I feel that she truly hears me and looks at me like “I will help you Mom”. She will never know how badly I needed her, and how much she has blessed my aching heart and arms. Thank you to my beautiful daughters. You are truly my greatest blessings. PC: @nataliemouritsenphotography . .
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I haven’t seen this picture since before Alice died. It got lost in the labyrinth of images and I thought I would never see it again, but last night my sister miraculously dug it up and I am so happy to see this beautiful Alice again ❤️.
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#feelinggrateful #tinymiracles #tinymiracle #mybabyhaswings #everydayblessings #blessed
#angelbaby #heavenisforreal #heavenisnear #momlifeisthebestlife #letthembekids #happyhearthappylife #attitudeiseverything
This girl💕 how is she real?? PC: @nataliemouritsenphotography
We had the perfect day celebrating our beautiful Rosie Mae and just showering her with love. 💕 We are blessed beyond measure. ❤️
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#lds #mormon #mormonfamily #ldsfamily #ldsfamilyphoto #blessingday #blessingdress #beautifulfamily #blessed #thankful #sharegoodness #familyisforever #foreverfamily #babygoals
One of my favorite pictures of me and Alice on her blessing day 😂😂Today we are blessing Rosie, so this morning my mind is reviewing the day we blessed Alice. Her blessing was shorter than I expected, but powerful. There was no mention of a mission or temple marriage, which is something you typically hear in LDS baby blessings. I chalked it up to being Dallas’s first infant blessing he had given, but now I know he listened to the spirit and gave Alice the perfect blessing for her. He said she was blessed with a sweet and kind spirit. That she was blessed to have a family who loves her and friends who care about her. And lastly that she would find joy in serving those around her. I think she continues to serve people and she’s watching from Heaven and loving every minute. It’s a powerful reminder to me that God had a plan for Alice from the very beginning. I don’t understand it, but it brings me comfort. Today we will bless Rosemary in the same dress Alice wore, and a brand new bonnet just for her. Happy Sunday my friends 💕

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 I'm the mother of a forever 5-month-old named Alice Michelle, and the queen of TMI. I created this page to help people better understand and cope with child loss.  I promise to be honest about everything bad, ugly, and beautiful that comes with pregnancy, birth, parenting, losing a child, and finding meaning in your “after”. I hope that you will join me in this journey and as you read you can feel that you are not alone in your pain.   This can be a place we can mourn together, cry together, and laugh together as we unify in times of tragedy and learn to feel joy again.

I'm the mother of a forever
5-month-old named Alice Michelle, and the queen of TMI. I created this page to help people better understand and cope with child loss.

I promise to be honest about everything bad, ugly, and beautiful that comes with pregnancy, birth, parenting, losing a child, and finding meaning in your “after”. I hope that you will join me in this journey and as you read you can feel that you are not alone in your pain. 

This can be a place we can mourn together, cry together, and laugh together as we unify in times of tragedy and learn to feel joy again.

@aliceandafter


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